Czech History: Part 2Part two of the Prague TV history lesson follows the Czech lands from foundation of Czechoslovakia in 1948 through to the present day
|
||||||
|
Czechoslovakia, which had inherited most of Austria’s industry, boomed between the wars, becoming one of the ten richest countries in the world. The interwar period – the First Republic – was also a golden age for culture, throwing up diverse delights ranging from the country’s unique Cubist architecture to the writing of Franz Kafka. All was not well, however: In the 1930s, tensions between German-speakers (23 percent of the population) and Czech-speakers were exacerbated by the rise of fascism across the border in Germany. The Sudeten German Party began to gather support among German-speaking Czechs, campaigning for the northwestern sections of Czechoslovakia heavily populated by German speakers to be absorbed into Germany. The British, French, German and Italian heads of state met in Munich to discuss the crisis and agreed – without Czechoslovakia’s consent – that Germany would take the Sudetenland. In return, Hitler promised not to press further claims on Czech territory. Six months later, Hitler broke his promise and took the rest of the country, which was occupied and divided into the Protectorate of Bohemia & Moravia and a nominally independent Slovak puppet state for the remainder of World War II. As an occupied territory, Bohemia escaped serious bombing, sparing Prague’s magnificent architecture but in every other way, the cost of occupation was immense: 300,000 people – most of them Jewish – died in World War II. Faith in Czechoslovakia’s pre-war Western European allies was badly shaken by the Munich Agreement while the Soviets were now regarded as war heroes. Unsurprisingly, the Czech Communists were the biggest winners in the 1946 election, with Communist leader Klement Gottwald heading a leftist coalition as prime minister. The Communists, backed by Stalin, soon infiltrated the Czech army and – seeing the writing on the wall – President Beneš stepped down in 1948. Gottwald now assumed the presidency, beginning a whole new era of fear and oppression in the Czech lands. The death of Gottwald in 1953 eventually led to an easing of restrictions on individual freedoms and in 1968 a reformist Slovak called Alexander Dubček was named First Secretary of the Communist Party. Dubček’s idea of “socialism with a human face” ushered in the “Prague Spring”, an era of hope and free expression that lasted until August 20th, 1968, when half a million Warsaw Pact troops entered the country. Dubček was summoned to Moscow, fearing for his life, and was forced to back down. He remained in power for eight more months before being replaced with the hardliner Gustáv Husák. A particularly grim period of Communist rule known as Normalization had begun, that would last up until the late 1980s. At first, the reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev seemed likely to have little impact on the timewarped Czechoslovak regime. Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall and the best efforts of playwright Václav Havel and other dissidents, Czechoslovakia seemed an unlikely breeding ground for revolution. That all changed on November 17th, 1989, when riot police brutally attacked an officially sanctioned students’ demonstration. Outrage spread rapidly, leading to massive nightly demonstrations on Wenceslas Square. Within days, the government had lost control and by the end of the year, Havel was president of a rapidly democratizing Czechoslovakia. The excitement of the bloodless “Velvet Revolution” soon dissipated, giving way to the harsh realities of capitalism and the “Velvet Divorce”, which saw Slovakia break away, reasonably amicably, as an independent state. Compared to most other former-communist Eastern European countries, however, the Czech transformation to Western-style has been relatively smooth. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and is set to join the European Union in 2004. And for the rest of the story, stay tuned… See Also: Czech History: Part 1 |
Article added on Tue 12th Aug, 2003 [last updated Thu 6th Oct, 2005]Share this page 
|
| COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE | ||
| READ ALL VISITORS' GUIDE ARTICLES MORE VISITORS' GUIDE ARTICLES |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Náměstí Míru Escalator by Prague TV Added on Fri 28th Jan, 2011 (Last updated Fri 28th Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Museum of Communism by Prague TV Added on Thu 13th Jan, 2011 (Last updated Fri 28th Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Planetarium by Prague TV Added on Tue 11th Jan, 2011 (Last updated Thu 13th Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Decorative Arts Museum by Prague TV Added on Fri 7th Jan, 2011 (Last updated Tue 11th Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Shooting Ranges by Prague TV Added on Thu 6th Jan, 2011 (Last updated Fri 7th Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Království železnic by Prague TV Added on Wed 5th Jan, 2011 (Last updated Thu 6th Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Mucha Museum by Prague TV Added on Mon 3rd Jan, 2011 (Last updated Thu 13th Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: IMAX by Prague TV Added on Mon 13th Dec, 2010 (Last updated Mon 3rd Jan, 2011) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Tenpin Bowling by Prague TV Added on Thu 9th Dec, 2010 (Last updated Mon 13th Dec, 2010) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: Ice Hockey by Prague TV Added on Wed 8th Dec, 2010 (Last updated Thu 9th Dec, 2010) |
|
100 Fun Things to Do in Prague: DOX by Prague TV Added on Tue 7th Dec, 2010 (Last updated Thu 9th Dec, 2010) |
|
Weddings in Prague by White - Prague Wedding Agency Advertising Feature Added on Tue 3rd Feb, 2009 (Last updated Thu 3rd Dec, 2009) |
|
Prague Parks by Steve Smith Green Spaces Guide Added on Tue 1st Jul, 2008 (Last updated Thu 3rd Dec, 2009) |
|
Changing Money in Prague by Prague TV Exchange Office? Bank? ATM? Added on Wed 30th Jan, 2008 (Last updated Thu 3rd Dec, 2009) |
|
Overpriced Taxis by Megan Cruz Combating Cab Corruption Added on Wed 21st Nov, 2007 (Last updated Thu 3rd Dec, 2009) |
| READ ALL VISITORS' GUIDE ARTICLES |
Galeria Harfa
The biggest shopping & administration mall in Prague
Ristorante Soave
La cucina italiana
Century 21
World Leader in Real Estate
MORE ARTICLES
Prague TV Home | Contact | About | FAQ | Site Map | Search | Advertise | Privacy | Terms of Service
Prague TV is a Real Time Production. ©2012 All rights reserved.
