Masarykovy oprátky – Plachý Jiří, Pejčoch Ivo,

The book is dedicated to the issue of the death penalty during the First and Second Czechoslovak Republics, that is, from 1918 to 1939. It is introduced with texts discussing the death penalty in general and its practical implementation in our countries. The main part follows, which is divided into twenty-three chronologically ordered chapters. The first summarizes the period from 1918 to 1922, when the stabilization of the Czechoslovak state was taking place. At that time, executions were carried out primarily in connection with the military conflicts that the new republic was engaged in with its neighbors. The first sentence handed down by a regular court in Czechoslovakia was executed at the beginning of 1923. In the following years, a total of twenty-one executions were carried out in the republic: eleven during the presidency of T. G. Masaryk, seven during the first term of Edvard Beneš, and three during the so-called Second Republic. Except for three cases from 1937-1938, when professional soldiers of the Czechoslovak army were executed for military treason and espionage in favor of Germany and Hungary, these were the most brutal, often serial killers. Alongside names like Martin Lecián or Svatoslav Štěpánek, which still instill fear today, we can also find completely forgotten cases that are practically unknown today. The publication...