Rudolf Battěk

Rudolf Battěk was born on the 2 November 1924 to Czech parents in Bratislava. From 1934 his family lived in Banská Bystrice. Following the establishment of the separate Slovak state in March 1939, his family moved to Prague. During World War II, Battěk trained as a mechanical locksmith at ČKD Prague. Towards the end of the war, Battěk left his job and joined the anti-Nazi resistance, fighting in the Prague Uprising in 1945.[1]

In 1950, Battěk married his wife, Dagmar (Née Brzická), and soon after returned to education, finishing university studies in 1952 and began working as an economist. He refused to participate in parliamentary elections in 1958, which resulted in penalities regarding work opportunities, and he remained as a locksmith. In 1965, after some rehabilitation, Battěk was accepted as an 'expert worker' to the sociological institute ČSAV.[1]

Battěk co-founded and was vice-chairman the Club of Committed Non-Party Members (KAN) in May 1968, which promoted political plurality and a broad human rights advocacy.[2] KAN was later proscribed by the Czechoslovak National Front, under pressure from Soviet Union following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in September 1968.[2] Battěk served as a representative in the Czech National Council until his removal and arrest in October 1969. Battěk was imprisoned on two occasions for subversive activities against the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, in 1972, and again in 1981.[2] He spent almost ten years imprisoned by Communist authorities during the 1970s and 1980s, spending more time than Václav Havel or any other Chartist.[2]

Battěk was a signatory of Charter 77, which criticized the Communist regime for rejecting human rights.[2] He also joined the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted.[2] In February 1980 he became a spokesperson for the Charter.[1]

In 1989, Battěk re-entered politics following the Velvet Revolution. He helped establish the Civic Forum (OF) and was a signatory in its founding proclamation.[1] He joined the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), but was expelled from the party in June 1990.[2] Battěk became a member of the Association of Social Democrats after his expulsion from the ČSSD. In 1993, the leadership of the ČSSD reversed its original decision to expel Battěk and invited him to rejoin the ČSSD.[2] Battěk declined the offer to rejoin the ČSSD, choosing to remain a member of the Association of Social Democrats.[2] In 1996, Battěk ran as a candidate for the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic as an independent from ward 8 in Prague, but lost the election.[2]

In 1997, he was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk by President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel.[2]

Rudolf Battěk died on 17 March 2013, at the age of 88.[2]

• 'Spiritual values, independent activity and politics', Václav Havel and others, Dispute about freedom and power. Kolín nad Rýnem, Exile Publisher INDEX, 1980.
• Essays from the Island. Kolín nad Rýnem, Exile publisher INDEX, 1982.
• 'Spiritual Values, independent initiatives and politics', Paul Wilson (Trans). Václav Havel et al., The Power of the Powerless. London, Hutchinson, 1985.
• Ladies and Gentlemen. Firstly in Samizdat, then Prague, Inverze, 1992.
• Counting Days and Nights Strědokluky, Zdeněk Susa, 2001.
• Like Little Red Riding Hood. Prague: Gallery, 2002.
• Diary 1989. eds. Tomáš Vilímek, Micheala Tučková, Marek Suk. Prague, Ústav pro soudobé dějiny AV ČR. 2020.