This 1968 Czechoslovakian stamp honors an individual who is not particularly well known to the West, but who had an extraordinary life. His name is Ludvík Svoboda. Svoboda was a Czech and fought in both World Wars on behalf of his country. For his heroic service in WWII he was hailed as a national hero. It was in the early days of the war that Svoboda began cooperating with Soviet intelligence.
Following the war Svoboda was appointed Minister of Defense only to be subsequently swept up in Stalin’s purges and removed from office. Following Stalin’s death Khrushchev restored Svoboda to public life, and in 1968 Svoboda was elected President of Czechoslovakia. Svoboda’s story is an example of the extraordinary influence the Soviet Union wielded against the countries behind the Iron Curtain, even prior to their post-World War II annexation.