- Elek Köblös
Elek Köblös (also known under his
pseudonym s: "Balthazar", "Bădulescu", "Dănilă";May 12 ,1877 —1937) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Hungarian andRomania n communist militant.Köblös was born into an ethnic Hungarian family in Sáromberke (present-day "Dumbrăvioara", part of
Ernei ,Mureş County ). After completing elementary school in his native village, he continued his studies inAiud . He dropped out of school after four years, and started as an apprenticecarpenter inTârgu Mureş . [ro icon Cristina Diac, [http://stiri.rol.ro/stiri/2005/10/_ostasul_fidel_al_puterii_proletare_.htm "Ostaşul fidel al puterii proletare"] , "Jurnalul Naţional",October 11 ,2005 ] Köblös became active in the ranks of theHungarian Soviet Republic 's army, and fought against Romanian troops in 1919.Elek Köblös was a delegate to the 1921 Congress of the
Socialist Party of Romania , where the partisans of theBolshevik s and theOctober Revolution decided to found the Socialist-Communist Party (soon to be renamed theRomanian Communist Party ). He was arrested at the closing of the Congress (onMay 12 ,1921 ), and implicated in theDealul Spirii Trial .In October 1922, at the 2nd Party Congress, he was elected member of the Central Committee, together with
Gheorghe Cristescu ,Alexandru Dobrogeanu-Gherea ,Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu ,Marcel Pauker ,Eugen Rozvan , andBoris Stefanov . [ro icon Ilarion Ţiu, [http://old.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=35563 "Aliatul lui Stalin"] , "Jurnalul Naţional",June 7 ,2005 ] In 1924, at the 3rd Congress, Köblös was appointedgeneral secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, replacing the disillusioned Gheorghe Cristescu. He endured as theComintern 's favorite, holding the office until 1927. During this period, he came into conflict with Marcel Pauker. [ro icon [http://old.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=25303 "Pauker – Köblös, in lupta pentru putere"] , "Jurnalul Naţional ",January 6 ,2005 ]Köblös fled to the
Soviet Union and, in 1928, was accused of being a trotskyist and imprisoned for a few months. He was allowed to go free, but was not given any official positions, returning to carpentry in an aviation factory. He was, however, yet again arrested in 1937, and executed, most likely in theLubyanka prison ,Moscow . Elek Köblös was rehabilitated in 1968, duringNicolae Ceauşescu 's move to establish his legitimacy inCommunist Romania .References
*
Vladimir Tismăneanu , "Fantoma lui Gheorghiu-Dej",Editura Univers , Bucharest, 1995
*"Dosarele Istoriei", 10/1998
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