Jaroslav Krejčí - Protektorátní premiér a předseda ústavního soudu – Koudelka Zdeněk (2021)

Jaroslav Krejčí (1892–1956) – a constitutional lawyer, judge, politician, but also a husband, father, and social man, whose life was fatefully linked to the difficult period of German occupation. Originally theoretically oriented, Krejčí was interested in politics and, as a student, was among Masaryk's supporters. He entered the service of the Czechoslovak Republic, first in the Moravian regional administration, and with the appointment of Moravian regional president Jan Černý as prime minister, he moved to Prague. There, he worked in the government presidium and as secretary of the Constitutional Court. In 1938, he became the president of the Constitutional Court and Minister of Justice in Rudolf Beran's government. He remained a minister in Alois Eliáš's government as well. After his arrest, he took over the management of the government and in January 1942 was appointed president of the Protectorate government. After the war, Jaroslav Krejčí was sentenced to 25 years in prison for collaborating with the Germans. He died in 1956 while serving his sentence. The author uses contemporary records and testimonies to create a portrait of an ambitious professional who found himself in the political limelight at a time when no decision was easy and every day could have been the last.