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Elek Köblös (Russian: Элек Балтазарович Кёблёш, romanized: Elek Baltazarovich Kyoblyosh; 12 May 1887 – 9 October 1938) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Hungarian and Romanian communist activist and political leader. He was also known by the pseudonyms Balthazar, Bădulescu, and Dănilă. He served as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1924 to 1927 and was executed in the Soviet Union during the Great Purge.

Biography

Early years

Köblös was born on 12 May 1887 into an ethnic Hungarian family in Sáromberke (present-day Dumbrăvioara, part of Ernei, Mureș County) in Transylvania. After completing elementary school in his native village, he continued his studies in Nagyenyed (today Aiud, Romania). He dropped out of school after four years, and started as an apprentice carpenter in Marosvásárhely (today Târgu Mureș).^[1]

As a carpenter, Köblös became active in the trade union movement and was won over to the ideas of revolutionary socialism. He took part in revolutionary activities in the Austro-Hungarian empire at the end of 1918,^[2] fighting against Romanian troops in defense of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, during the Hungarian–Romanian War. When Transylvania was incorporated into the Kingdom of Romania in 1920, Köblös became a Romanian citizen.^[2]

Political career

Köblös was a delegate to the May 1921 Congress of the Socialist Party of Romania, where supporters of the Russian October Revolution established the "Socialist-Communist Party" (soon renamed the Romanian Communist Party). Köblös was arrested at the closing of the Congress on 12 May 1921 and implicated in the Dealul Spirii Trial before being released in 1922.

In October 1922, at the 2nd Congress of the Communist Party held at Ploiești, Köblös was elected member of the Central Committee, together with Gheorghe Cristescu, Alexandru Dobrogeanu-Gherea, Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Marcel Pauker, Eugen Rozvan, and Boris Stefanov.^[3] Köblös headed the party's trade union section, with particular attention given to the woodworkers' union, of which he was the head.^[2]

In 1924, at the 3rd Congress held in Vienna, Köblös was appointed general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, replacing the disillusioned Gheorghe Cristescu. He continued in this position until 1927. During this period, Köblös came into conflict with Marcel Pauker.^[4]

In the summer of 1924, Köblös travelled to the Soviet Union, where he attended the 4th World Congress of the Communist International on behalf of the Romanian party.^[2]

Köblös returned to Romania in 1925, where he headed a secret meeting of the party Central Committee in July, which decided to use the existing workers' and peasants' bloc as a legal outlet for Communist Party activity.^[5] This effort at legal work proved unsuccessful, however, and Köblös was forced to flee the country in the fall of 1925. He remained in exile until 1927, staying in Vienna and the Soviet Union as a part of the Romanian Communist Central Committee in exile.^[5]

In 1927, Köblös returned to Romania, where he once again came under police scrutiny. He hastily fled to Czechoslovakia but was arrested at Košice by Czechoslovak authorities and held for possible extradition to Romania.^[5] A major press campaign was launched on Köblös' behalf, with many international leftist activists, including French novelist Henri Barbusse, successfully lobbying the Prague authorities not to extradite Köblös to Romania. Köblös was finally allowed to leave for the Soviet Union.^[5]

In June 1928, Köblös attended the 4th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, held in Kharkov in the Ukraine.^[5] Köblös came under severe criticism at that party gathering for perceived errors in the Romanian party's political line and despite engaging in public self-criticism for these alleged shortcomings, Köblös was not re-elected to the party's Central Committee.^[5]

In December 1929, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Comintern once again condemned the political activity of Köblös and he was forbidden to take part in any further work of the Romanian Communist Party.^[5] Instead, Köblös returned to carpentry in an aviation factory.

Arrest and execution

Köblös continued to make his home in the Soviet Union. He ran afoul of the secret police during the Great Purge of 1937, when he was arrested, accused of espionage. He was executed on 9 October 1938,^[6] most likely in the Lubyanka Prison, Moscow.

He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1968, during Nicolae Ceaușescu's move to establish his legitimacy in Communist Romania.

Footnotes

^ (in Romanian) Cristina Diac, "Ostaşul fidel al puterii proletare"^{[permanent dead link]}, Jurnalul Național, 11 October 2005
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Branko Lazitch with Milorad M. Drachkovitch, Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1986; pg. 219.
^ (in Romanian) Ilarion Țiu, "Aliatul lui Stalin"^{[permanent dead link]}, Jurnalul Național, June 7, 2005.
^ (in Romanian) "Pauker – Köblös, in lupta pentru putere"^{[permanent dead link]}, Jurnalul Național, January 6, 2005
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Lazitch with Drachkovitch, Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern, pg. 220.
^ (in Hungarian) Romániai Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon

Additional sources

Vladimir Tismăneanu, Fantoma lui Gheorghiu-Dej, Editura Univers, Bucharest, 1995
Dosarele Istoriei, 10/1998

Party political offices
Preceded by Gheorghe Cristescu	General secretary of the Romanian Communist Party 1924–1927	Succeeded by Vitali Holostenco

[1] (in Romanian) Cristina Diac, "Ostaşul fidel al puterii proletare"^{[permanent dead link]}, Jurnalul Național, 11 October 2005

[Lazitch219-2] Branko Lazitch with Milorad M. Drachkovitch, Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1986; pg. 219.

[3] (in Romanian) Ilarion Țiu, "Aliatul lui Stalin"^{[permanent dead link]}, Jurnalul Național, June 7, 2005.

[4] (in Romanian) "Pauker – Köblös, in lupta pentru putere"^{[permanent dead link]}, Jurnalul Național, January 6, 2005

[Lazitch220-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Lazitch with Drachkovitch, Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern, pg. 220.

[6] (in Hungarian) Romániai Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:Elek Köblös.jpg|thumb|Elek Köblös]]
-'''Elek Köblös''' (1887 &ndash; 1938) was an [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]]-born [[Hungary|Hungarian]] and [[Romania]] [[Communism|communist]] activist and political leader. He was also known by the [[pseudonym]]s ''Balthazar'', ''Bădulescu'', and ''Dănilă''.
+'''Elek Köblös''' ({{Lang-ru|Элек Балтазарович Кёблёш|translit=Elek Baltazarovich Kyoblyosh}}; 12 May 1887 &ndash; 9 October 1938) was an [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]]-born [[Hungary|Hungarian]] and [[Romania]]n [[Communism|communist]] activist and political leader. He was also known by the [[pseudonym]]s ''Balthazar'', ''Bădulescu'', and ''Dănilă''. He served as general secretary of the [[Romanian Communist Party]] from 1924 to 1927 and was executed in the Soviet Union during the [[Great Purge]].
 ==Biography==
 ===Early years===
+Köblös was born on 12 May 1887 into an [[Hungarian minority in Romania|ethnic Hungarian]] family in Sáromberke (present-day ''Dumbrăvioara'', part of [[Ernei]], [[Mureș County]]) in [[Transylvania]]. After completing elementary school in his native village, he continued his studies in Nagyenyed (today [[Aiud]], Romania). He dropped out of school after four years, and started as an apprentice carpenter in Marosvásárhely (today [[Târgu Mureș]]).<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Cristina Diac, [http://stiri.rol.ro/stiri/2005/10/_ostasul_fidel_al_puterii_proletare_.htm "Ostaşul fidel al puterii proletare"]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Jurnalul Național]]'', 11 October 2005</ref>
+As a carpenter, Köblös became active in the [[trade union]] movement and was won over to the ideas of [[revolutionary socialism]]. He took part in revolutionary activities in the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian empire]] at the end of 1918,<ref name="Lazitch219">Branko Lazitch with Milorad M. Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition.'' Stanford, CA: [[Hoover Institution|Hoover Institution Press]], 1986; pg. 219.</ref> fighting against Romanian troops in defense of the [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]], during the [[Hungarian–Romanian War]]. When Transylvania was incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Romania]] in 1920, Köblös became a Romanian citizen.<ref name="Lazitch219" />
-Elek Köblös was born May 12, 1887 into an [[Hungarian minority in Romania|ethnic Hungarian]] family in Sáromberke (present-day ''Dumbrăvioara'', part of [[Ernei]], [[Mureş County]]) in [[Transylvania]].
+===Political career===
-After completing elementary school in his native village, he continued his studies in [[Aiud]]. He dropped out of school after four years, and started as an apprentice [[carpenter]] in [[Târgu Mureş]].<ref>{{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</ref>
+Köblös was a delegate to the May 1921 Congress of the [[Socialist Party of Romania]], where supporters of the [[Russia]]n [[October Revolution]] established the "Socialist-Communist Party" (soon renamed the [[Romanian Communist Party]]). Köblös was arrested at the closing of the Congress on 12 May 1921 and implicated in the [[Dealul Spirii Trial]] before being released in 1922.
+In October 1922, at the 2nd Congress of the Communist Party held at [[Ploiești]], Köblös was elected member of the Central Committee, together with [[Gheorghe Cristescu]], [[Alexandru Dobrogeanu-Gherea]], [[Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu]], [[Marcel Pauker]], [[Eugen Rozvan]], and [[Boris Stefanov]].<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Ilarion Țiu, [http://old.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=35563 "Aliatul lui Stalin"]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Jurnalul Național]]'',  June 7, 2005.</ref> Köblös headed the party's trade union section, with particular attention given to the woodworkers' union, of which he was the head.<ref name="Lazitch219" />
-As a carpenter, Köblös became active in the [[trade union]] movement and was won over to the ideas of [[revolutionary socialism]]. He took part in revolutionary activities in the [[Austro-Hungarian empire]] at the end of 1918,<ref name="Lazitch219">Branko Lazitch with Milorad M. Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition.'' Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1986; pg. 219.</ref> fighting against Romanian troops in defense of the [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]]. When Transylvania was incorporated into [[Romania]] in 1920, Köblös became a Romanian citizen.<ref name="Lazitch219" />
+In 1924, at the 3rd Congress held in [[Vienna]], Köblös was appointed [[general secretary]] of the Romanian Communist Party, replacing the disillusioned Gheorghe Cristescu. He continued in this position until 1927. During this period, Köblös came into conflict with Marcel Pauker.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [http://old.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=25303 "Pauker – Köblös, in lupta pentru putere"]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Jurnalul Național]]'', January 6, 2005</ref>
-===Political career===
+In the summer of 1924, Köblös travelled to the [[Soviet Union]], where he attended the [[4th World Congress of the Communist International]] on behalf of the Romanian party.<ref name="Lazitch219" />
-Elek Köblös was a delegate to the May 1921 Congress of the [[Socialist Party of Romania]], where supporters of the Russian [[October Revolution]] established the "Socialist-Communist Party" (soon renamed the [[Communist Party of Romania]]). Köblös was arrested at the closing of the Congress on May 12, 1921, and implicated in the [[Dealul Spirii Trial]] before being released in 1922.
+Köblös returned to Romania in 1925, where he headed a secret meeting of the party Central Committee in July, which decided to use the existing workers' and peasants' bloc as a legal outlet for Communist Party activity.<ref name="Lazitch220">Lazitch with Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern,'' pg. 220.</ref> This effort at legal work proved unsuccessful, however, and Köblös was forced to flee the country in the fall of 1925. He remained in exile until 1927, staying in Vienna and the Soviet Union as a part of the Romanian Communist Central Committee in exile.<ref name="Lazitch220" />
-In October 1922, at the 2nd Congress of the Romanian Communist Party held at [[Ploesti]], Köblös was elected member of the Central Committee, together with  [[Gheorghe Cristescu]], [[Alexandru Dobrogeanu-Gherea]], [[Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu]], [[Marcel Pauker]], [[Eugen Rozvan]], and [[Boris Stefanov]].<ref>{{ro icon}} Ilarion Ţiu, [http://old.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=35563 "Aliatul lui Stalin"], ''Jurnalul Naţional'',  June 7, 2005.</ref> Köblös headed the party's trade union section, with particular attention given to the woodworkers' union, of which he was the head.<ref name="Lazitch219" />
-In 1924, at the 3rd Congress held in [[Vienna]], Köblös was appointed [[general secretary]] of the Romanian Communist Party, replacing the disillusioned Gheorghe Cristescu. He continued in this position until 1927. During this period, Köblös came into conflict with Marcel Pauker.<ref>{{ro icon}} [http://old.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=25303 "Pauker – Köblös, in lupta pentru putere"], ''[[Jurnalul Naţional]]'', January 6, 2005</ref>
-In the summer of 1924, Köblös travelled to [[Soviet Union|Soviet Russia]], where he attended the [[4th World Congress of the Communist International]] on behalf of the Romanian party.<ref name="Lazitch219" />
-Köblös returned to Romania in 1925, where he headed a secret meeting of the party Central Committee in July which decided to use the existing workers' and peasants' bloc as a legal outlet for Communist Party activity.<ref name="Lazitch220">Lazitch with Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern,'' pg. 220.</ref> This effort at legal work proved unsuccessful, however, and Köblös was forced to flee the country in the fall of 1925. He remained in exile until 1927, staying in Vienna and the Soviet Union as a part of the Romanian Communist Central Committee in exile.<ref name="Lazitch220" />
 In 1927, Köblös returned to Romania, where he once again came under police scrutiny. He hastily fled to [[Czechoslovakia]] but was arrested at [[Košice]] by Czechoslovak authorities and held for possible [[extradition]] to Romania.<ref name="Lazitch220" /> A major press campaign was launched on Köblös' behalf, with many international leftist activists, including French novelist [[Henri Barbusse]], successfully lobbying the [[Prague]] authorities not to extradite Köblös to Romania. Köblös was finally allowed to leave for the Soviet Union.<ref name="Lazitch220" />
-In June 1928, Köblös attended the 4th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, held in [[Kharkov]] in the [[Ukraine]].<ref name="Lazitch220" /> Köblös came under severe criticism at that party gathering for perceived errors in the Romanian party's political line and despite engaging in public [[self-criticism]] for these alleged shortcomings, Köblös was not re-elected to the party's Central Committee.<ref name="Lazitch220" />
+In June 1928, Köblös attended the 4th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, held in [[Kharkiv|Kharkov]] in the [[Ukraine]].<ref name="Lazitch220" /> Köblös came under severe criticism at that party gathering for perceived errors in the Romanian party's political line and despite engaging in public [[self-criticism]] for these alleged shortcomings, Köblös was not re-elected to the party's Central Committee.<ref name="Lazitch220" />
-In December 1929, the Russian Communist Party and the Comintern once again condemned the political activity of Köblös and he was forbidden to take part in any further work of the Romanian Communist Party.<ref name="Lazitch220" /> Instead, Köblös returned to carpentry in an aviation factory.
+In December 1929, the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] and the [[Communist International|Comintern]] once again condemned the political activity of Köblös and he was forbidden to take part in any further work of the Romanian Communist Party.<ref name="Lazitch220" /> Instead, Köblös returned to carpentry in an aviation factory.
 ===Arrest and execution===
+Köblös continued to make his home in the Soviet Union. He ran afoul of the [[NKVD|secret police]] during the [[Great Purge]] of 1937, when he was arrested, accused of espionage. He was executed on 9 October 1938,<ref>{{in lang|hu}} [http://mek.niif.hu/03600/03628/html/k2.htm Romániai Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon]</ref> most likely in the [[Lubyanka Building|Lubyanka Prison]], [[Moscow]].
+He was posthumously [[Rehabilitation (Soviet)|rehabilitated]] in 1968, during [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]]'s move to establish his legitimacy in [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Communist Romania]].
-Köblös continued to make his home in the Soviet Union. He ran afoul of the [[secret police]] during the [[Great Terror]] of 1937, when he was arrested, accused of espionage.
-Köblös was executed on October 9, 1938,<ref>{{hu icon}} [http://mek.niif.hu/03600/03628/html/k2.htm Romániai Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon]</ref> most likely in the [[Lubyanka prison]], [[Moscow]].
-Elek Köblös was posthumously [[Rehabilitation (Soviet)|rehabilitated]] in 1968, during [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]]'s move to establish his legitimacy in [[Communist Romania]].
 ==Footnotes==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist|2}}
 ==Additional sources==
 *[[Vladimir Tismăneanu]], ''Fantoma lui Gheorghiu-Dej'', [[Editura Univers]], Bucharest, 1995
 *''Dosarele Istoriei'', 10/1998
-{{start box}}
+{{s-start}}
 {{s-ppo}}
 {{succession box|
@@ Line 53: / Line 47: @@
  after=[[Vitali Holostenco]]
 }}
-{{end box}}
+{{s-end}}
 {{PCRGenSecs}}
+{{Authority control}}
-{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
-| NAME              = Koblos, Elek
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = 1887
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
-| DATE OF DEATH     = 1937
-| PLACE OF DEATH    =
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Koblos, Elek}}
-[[Category:General Secretaries of the Romanian Communist Party]]
-[[Category:Executive Committee of the Communist International]]
-[[Category:Executed activists]]
-[[Category:People from Mureș County]]
-[[Category:Romanian people of Hungarian descent]]
 [[Category:1887 births]]
 [[Category:1938 deaths]]
-[[Category:Communist Romania rehabilitations]]
+[[Category:People from Mureș County]]
-[[Category:Hungarian people executed abroad]]
+[[Category:Romanian politicians of Hungarian descent]]
-[[Category:Hungarian people executed by the Soviet Union]]
+[[Category:Dealul Spirii Trial]]
-[[Category:Romanian people executed abroad]]
+[[Category:General secretaries of the Romanian Communist Party]]
-[[Category:Great Purge victims]]
 [[Category:Hungarian emigrants to the Soviet Union]]
 [[Category:Romanian emigrants to the Soviet Union]]
+[[Category:Executive Committee of the Communist International]]
+[[Category:Executed activists]]
-[[hu:Köblös Elek]]
+[[Category:Hungarian people executed by the Soviet Union]]
-[[ro:Elek Köblös]]
+[[Category:Great Purge victims from Romania]]
-[[ru:Кёблёш, Элек]]
+[[Category:Socialist Republic of Romania rehabilitations]]
+[[Category:Executed communists]]

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