Emil Hácha (12 July 1872 – 27 June 1945) was a Czech lawyer who served as the third President of Czechoslovakia from 1938 to 1945. From March 1939, he presided under the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Hácha's role as a puppet of the Nazis has been the subject of some controversy. While many allege that Hácha too readily gave Germany power over his country, others argue that he had few options before him, and collaboration was the best way to protect his people. He died in Soviet custody at the end of World War II, some believing he had been assassinated.