Introduction to History of Czechoslovakia
A country in central Europe that existed from 1918–93. The country consisted of the Czech lands (Bohemia and Moravia) and Slovakia. In 1993 Czechoslovakia broke up into two independent countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Formation of Czechoslovakia
At the end of World War I, as the empire of Austria-Hungary crumbled, Czech nationalists moved to gain independence. They were led by Tomáš G. Masaryk and Eduard Beneš. In October, 1918, in Paris they formed a provisional government that was recognized by the Allied powers, and they formally declared their country's independence. Slovak nationalists chose to unite with the Czechs, and by the end of the year the republic of Czechoslovakia had been organized, with Masaryk as its first president and Beneš as foreign minister Czechoslovakia's boundaries were officially defined by the Treaty of Saint-Germain (1919), under which the nation's independence was recognized by Austria, and the Treaty of Trianon (1920), in which Slovakia was relinquished by Hungary.
In 1920 a constitution was adopted that established a parliamentary form of government. During the 1920's and early 1930's, when many governments in eastern and central Europe fell to dictators, effective democracy existed in Czechoslovakia, mainly because of the skill of many Czechoslovakian leaders and the personal prestige of Masaryk. Land reforms had eliminated social unrest, and industrial development brought relative economic prosperity.
Stability was jarred, however, by growing dissension among Czechoslovakia's ethnically mixed population. The Czechs, who made up the largest ethnic group, dominated the new republic. The Slovaks resented their subordinate status. There was also unrest among the Germ an-speaking people of the Sudetenland (an area in northern Bohemia adjoining Germany).
After Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, he fostered discontent among the Sudeten Germans. As a result, relations between Czechoslovakia and Germany deteriorated. In 1938 Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland be ceded to Germany. Czechoslovakia, assured by various treaties of the backing of France and the Soviet Union, prepared for war. Hoping to forestall what could become a major war, France and Great Britain intervened. In 1938 French, British, Italian, and German leaders signed the Munich Agreement, under which Germany was allowed to annex the Sudetenland. The Czechs had not been invited to the conference and felt that the French and British had betrayed them in order to appease Hitler. Beneš, who had succeeded Masaryk as president in 1935, resigned in protest.
In March, 1939, Hitler's troops invaded and occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. Bohemia and Moravia were annexed to Germany; Slovakia was set up as an independent state under German protection. A war-time government-in-exile was established by Beneš in London in 1940. During World War II, the Czechoslovaks waged guerrilla warfare against the Nazi occupation forces. One act of reprisal by the Nazis was the complete destruction of the village of Lidice. The country was liberated by Soviet and American troops. 1944–45.
Communists Seize Power
After the war, Czechoslovakia's prewar borders were restored, except for the eastern tip of the country (Ruthenia), which was incorporated into the Soviet Union. Most Sudeten Germans were expelled. A coalition government, which included Communists, was organized with Beneš as president. With the country under constant pressure from the Soviet Union, the Czechoslovak Communist party was able to increase its power. By February, 1948, the Communists were powerful enough to seize control of the government. Soon after, Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk, son of the first president and a leading anti-Communist, was found dead under mysterious circumstances. In May, 1948. a more restrictive constitution replaced the democratic constitution of 1920. The following month, Beneš resigned, broken both in health and in spirit.
The new government was strongly influenced by the Soviet Union and maintained close commercial and cultural relations with other Soviet satellite countries. All industries were nationalized. All opposition to Communist rule was eliminated. Under Antonin Novotny, who became Communist part} chief in 1953 and president of Czechoslovakia in 1957, the government was one of the most repressive in eastern Europe. In 1960 a new constitution was adopted, proclaiming Czechoslovakia a socialist republic In effect, it made the government subject to the will of the Communist party.
For some time, pressures had been mounting among the people for a liberalization of the Communist regime. When promised reforms did not come, a group of younger and more progressive Communists, headed by Slovak Communist leader Alexander Dubcek, ousted Novotny from power early in 1968. Far-reaching political, economic, and social reforms were announced.
The Soviet Union, fearing that demands for reform would spread to other Communist Bloc countries and thus weaken its position, attempted to intimidate the Czechoslovaks and bring a halt to the liberalization program. When this attempt failed, Soviet forces and troops from other satellites invaded Czechoslovakia in August, 1968. The invasion and occupation met with widespread, although mainly nonviolent, resistance on the part of the Czechoslovak people. The Soviet Union moved at once to legalize its position. The Czechoslovakian government was forced to sign a treaty permitting Soviet troops to be stationed in the country. The liberal policies of the so-called Prague Spring were reversed and authoritarian rule reimposed.
In 1969 Dubcek was forced to resign as head of the Communist party. His replacement was Gustav Husak, a nationalist who was, however, willing to cooperate with the Soviets Liberals were rooted out of government, army commands, and union leadership. Censorship was established, secret-police surveillance reinstated, and unrestricted travel to the West abolished.
Popular resentment of the Soviet invasion led to a work slowdown that brought on a recession. During the 1970's, prosperity returned. In 1972–73 a series of arrests and trials of former supporters of Dubcek took place. In the late 1970's, a dissident movement arose to protest human rights violations and as a result government repression intensified. Husak resigned in 1987 after a dispute with other Czech leaders over reform.
Collapse of Communism
In 1989, following nationwide strikes and protests, the Communists relinquished power. A new, transitional government was formed with most of the posts being held by opponents of the Communists. Václav Havel, a playwright and leading opponent of Communism, was elected president. The new government was Czechoslovakia's first non-Communist government in more than 40 years. In 1990, after the country's first free multiparty elections since 1946, a government made up of a coalition of parties opposed to the Communists replaced the transitional government and Havel was re-elected. The new government began to establish an economy based on private enterprise.
Breakup of Czechoslovakia
During 1990–92, several disputes arose between Czech and Slovak leaders. Chief among these concerned the pace at which the Czechoslovak economy would be transformed into one based on private enterprise. Czech leaders favored measures that would bring about a swift transition. Leaders in Slovakia feared that a rapid transition would harm the economy of their region and favored measures that would bring about a slower transformation.
Also during this period leaders in Slovakia began demanding more autonomy for their region. Nationalist sentiment in Slovakia soon intensified and Slovak leaders advocated the breakup of the country and the creation of an independent Slovakia. President Havel championed a unified state but failed to get reelected in June, 1992. Although his term of office did not expire until October, Havel resigned as president in July. In August, leaders from the Czech lands (Bohemia and Moravia) and Slovakia agreed to dissolve the federation of the Czech and Slovak republics. In 1993 this agreement became effective, ending the existence of Czechoslovakia.