Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia(/ˌtʃɛkoʊsloʊˈvæki.ə,ˈtʃɛkə-,-slə-,-ˈvɑː-/CHEK-oh-sloh-VAK-ee-ə,CHEK-ə-, -⁠slə-, -⁠VAH-;CzechandSlovak:Československo,Česko-Slovensko)was alandlocked countryinCentral Europe,created in 1918, when it declared its independence fromAustria-Hungary. In 1938, after theMunich Agreement, theSudetenlandbecame part ofNazi Germany, while the country lost further territories toHungaryandPoland(the territories of southern Slovakia with a predominantly Hungarian population to Hungary and Zaolzie with a predominantly Polish population to Poland). Between 1939 and 1945, the state ceased to exist, asSlovakiaproclaimed its independence andCarpathian Rutheniabecame part ofHungary, while the GermanProtectorate of Bohemia and Moraviawas proclaimed in the remainder of theCzech Lands. In 1939, after the outbreak ofWorld War II, former Czechoslovak PresidentEdvard Benešformeda government-in-exileand sought recognition from theAllies.
AfterWorld War II, Czechoslovakia was reestablished under its pre-1938 borders, with the exception of Carpathian Ruthenia, which became part of theUkrainian SSR(a republic of theSoviet Union). TheCommunist Partyseized power in acoup in 1948. From 1948 to 1989, Czechoslovakia was part of theEastern Blocwith aplanned economy. Its economic status was formalized in membership ofComeconfrom 1949 and its defense status in theWarsaw Pactof 1955. A period of political liberalization in 1968, thePrague Spring, ended when the Soviet Union, assisted by other Warsaw Pact countries,invaded Czechoslovakia. In 1989, asMarxist–Leninistgovernments andcommunismwereending all over Central and Eastern Europe, Czechoslovaks peacefully deposed their communist government during theVelvet Revolution, which began on 17 November 1989 and ended 11 days later on 28 November when all of the top Communist leaders and Communist party itself resigned. On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakiapeacefully splitinto the twosovereign statesof theCzech RepublicandSlovakia.
The country was of generally irregular terrain. The western area was part of the north-central European uplands. The eastern region was composed of the northern reaches of theCarpathian Mountainsand lands of theDanube Riverbasin.
The weather is mild winters and mild summers. Influenced by the Atlantic Ocean from the west, the Baltic Sea from the north, and Mediterranean Sea from the south. There is no continental weather.
The area was part of theAustro-Hungarian Empireuntil it collapsed at the end ofWorld War I. The new state was founded byTomáš Garrigue Masaryk,who served as its first president from 14 November 1918 to 14 December 1935. He was succeeded by his close allyEdvard Beneš(1884–1948).
The roots of Czech nationalism go back to the 19th century, when philologists and educators, influenced byRomanticism, promoted theCzech languageand pride in theCzech people. Nationalism became a mass movement in the second half of the 19th century. Taking advantage of the limited opportunities for participation in political life under Austrian rule, Czech leaders such as historianFrantišek Palacký(1798–1876) founded various patriotic, self-help organizations which provided a chance for many of their compatriots to participate in communal life before independence. Palacký supportedAustro-Slavismand worked for a reorganized federalAustrian Empire, which would protect the Slavic speaking peoples of Central Europe against Russian and German threats.
An advocate of democratic reform and Czech autonomy within Austria-Hungary, Masaryk was elected twice to theReichsrat(Austrian Parliament), from 1891 to 1893 for theYoung Czech Party, and from 1907 to 1914 for theCzech Realist Party, which he had founded in 1889 withKarel KramářandJosef Kaizl.
DuringWorld War Ia number of Czechs and Slovaks, theCzechoslovak Legions, fought with theAlliesin France and Italy, while large numbers deserted to Russia in exchange for its support for the independence of Czechoslovakia from the Austrian Empire.With the outbreak of World War I, Masaryk began working for Czech independence in a union with Slovakia. With Edvard Beneš andMilan Rastislav Štefánik, Masaryk visited several Western countries and won support from influential publicists.TheCzechoslovak National Councilwas the main organization that advanced the claims for a Czechoslovak state.
TheBohemian Kingdomceased to exist in 1918 when it was incorporated into Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was founded in October 1918, as one of the successor states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end ofWorld War Iand as part of theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It consisted of the present day territories ofBohemia,Moravia, parts ofSilesiamaking up present dayCzech Republic,Slovakia, and a region of present-dayUkrainecalledCarpathian Ruthenia. Its territory included some of the most industrialized regions of the former Austria-Hungary.
The new country was a multi-ethnic state, with Czechs and Slovaks asconstituent peoples. The population consisted ofCzechs(51%),Slovaks(16%),Germans(22%),Hungarians(5%) andRusyns(4%).Many of the Germans, Hungarians, Ruthenians and Polesand some Slovaks, felt oppressed because the political elite did not generally allow political autonomy for minority ethnic groups.This policy led to unrest among the non-Czech population, particularly in German-speakingSudetenland, which initially had proclaimed itself part of theRepublic of German-Austriain accordance with theself-determinationprinciple.
The state proclaimed the official ideology that there were no separate Czech and Slovak nations, but only one nation of Czechoslovaks (seeCzechoslovakism), to the disagreement of Slovaks and other ethnic groups. Once a unified Czechoslovakia was restored after World War II (after the country had been divided during the war), the conflict between theCzechsand theSlovakssurfaced again. The governments of Czechoslovakia and other Central European nations deported ethnic Germans, reducing the presence of minorities in the nation. Most of the Jews had been killed during the war by the Nazis.
*Jews identified themselves as Germans or Hungarians (and Jews only by religion not ethnicity), the sum is, therefore, more than 100%.
During the period between the two world wars Czechoslovakia was a democratic state. The population was generally literate, and contained fewer alienated groups. The influence of these conditions was augmented by the political values of Czechoslovakia's leaders and the policies they adopted. UnderTomas Masaryk, Czech and Slovak politicians promoted progressive social and economic conditions that served to defuse discontent.
Foreign minister Beneš became the prime architect of the Czechoslovak-Romanian-Yugoslav alliance (the "Little Entente", 1921–38) directed against Hungarian attempts to reclaim lost areas. Beneš worked closely with France. Far more dangerous was the German element, which after 1933 became allied with the Nazis in Germany.
Czech-Slovak relations came to be a central issue in Czechoslovak politics during the 1930s.The increasing feeling of inferiority among the Slovaks,who were hostile to the more numerous Czechs, weakened the country in the late 1930s. Slovakia became autonomous in the fall of 1938, and by mid-1939, Slovakia had become independent, with theFirst Slovak Republicset up as asatellite stateof Nazi Germany and the far-rightSlovak People's Partyin power .
After 1933, Czechoslovakia remained the only democracy in central and eastern Europe.
In September 1938,Adolf Hitlerdemanded control of theSudetenland. On 29 September 1938, Britain and France ceded control in theAppeasementat theMunich Conference; France ignored the military alliance it had with Czechoslovakia. During October 1938,Nazi Germanyoccupied the Sudetenland border region, effectively crippling Czechoslovak defences.
TheFirst Vienna Awardassigned a strip of southern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia to Hungary. PolandoccupiedZaolzie, an area whose population was majority Polish, in October 1938.
On 14 March 1939, the remainder ("rump") of Czechoslovakia was dismembered by the proclamation of theSlovak State, the next day the rest ofCarpathian Rutheniawas occupied and annexed by Hungary, while the following day the GermanProtectorate of Bohemia and Moraviawas proclaimed.
The eventual goal of the German state under Nazi leadership was to eradicate Czech nationality through assimilation, deportation, and extermination of the Czech intelligentsia; the intellectual elites and middle class made up a considerable number of the 200,000 people who passed through concentration camps and the 250,000 who died during German occupation.UnderGeneralplan Ost, it was assumed that around 50% of Czechs would be fit forGermanization. The Czech intellectual elites were to be removed not only from Czech territories but from Europe completely. The authors ofGeneralplan Ostbelieved it would be best if they emigrated overseas, as even inSiberiathey were considered a threat to German rule. Just like Jews, Poles, Serbs, and several other nations, Czechs were considered to beuntermenschenby the Nazi state.In 1940, in a secret Nazi plan for the Germanization of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia it was declared that those considered to be of racially Mongoloid origin and the Czech intelligentsia were not to be Germanized.
The deportation of Jews to concentration camps was organized under the direction ofReinhard Heydrich, and the fortress town ofTerezínwas made into a ghetto way station for Jewish families. On 4 June 1942 Heydrich died after being wounded by an assassin inOperation Anthropoid. Heydrich's successor, Colonel GeneralKurt Daluege, ordered mass arrests and executions and the destruction of the villages ofLidiceandLežáky. In 1943 the German war effort was accelerated. Under the authority ofKarl Hermann Frank, German minister of state for Bohemia and Moravia, some 350,000 Czech laborers were dispatched to the Reich. Within the protectorate, all non-war-related industry was prohibited. Most of the Czech population obeyed quiescently up until the final months preceding the end of the war, while thousands were involved in theresistance movement.
For the Czechs of the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia,German occupationwas a period of brutal oppression. Czech losses resulting from political persecution and deaths in concentration camps totaled between 36,000 and 55,000. The Jewish populations ofBohemiaandMoravia(118,000 according to the 1930 census) were virtually annihilated. Many Jews emigrated after 1939; more than 70,000 were killed; 8,000 survived at Terezín. Several thousand Jews managed to live in freedom or in hiding throughout the occupation.
Despite the estimated 136,000 deaths at the hands of the Nazi regime, the population in the Reichsprotektorate saw a net increase during the war years of approximately 250,000 in line with an increased birth rate.
On 6 May 1945, the third US Army of General Patton enteredPlzeňfrom the south west. On 9 May 1945, Soviet Red Army troops enteredPrague.
After World War II, pre-war Czechoslovakia was reestablished, with the exception of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which was annexed by theSoviet Unionand incorporated into theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. TheBeneš decreeswere promulgated concerning ethnic Germans (seePotsdam Agreement) and ethnic Hungarians. Under the decrees,citizenshipwas abrogated for people of German and Hungarianethnic originwho had accepted German or Hungarian citizenship during the occupations. In 1948, this provision was cancelled for the Hungarians, but only partially for the Germans. The government then confiscated the property of the Germans andexpelled about 90% of the ethnic German population, over 2 million people. Those who remained werecollectively accusedof supporting the Nazis after theMunich Agreement, as 97.32% of Sudeten Germans had voted for theNSDAPin the December 1938 elections. Almost every decree explicitly stated that the sanctions did not apply to antifascists. Some 250,000 Germans, many married to Czechs, some antifascists, and also those required for the post-war reconstruction of the country, remained in Czechoslovakia. The Beneš Decrees still cause controversy among nationalist groups in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Hungary.
Following the expulsion of the ethnic German population from Czechoslovakia, parts of the formerSudetenland, especially around Krnov and the surrounding villages of theJesenikmountain region in northeastern Czechoslovakia, were settled in 1949 by Communist refugees fromNorthern Greecewho had left their homeland as a result of theGreek Civil War. TheseGreeksmade up a large proportion of the town and region's population until the late 1980s/early 1990s. Although defined as "Greeks", the Greek Communist community of Krnov and the Jeseniky region actually consisted of an ethnically diverse population, includingGreek Macedonians,Macedonians,Vlachs,Pontic Greeksand Turkish speakingUrumsorCaucasus Greeks.
Carpathian Ruthenia(Podkarpatská Rus) was occupied by (and in June 1945 formally ceded to) the Soviet Union. In the 1946 parliamentary election, theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakiawas the winner in theCzech lands, and theDemocratic Partywon in Slovakia. InFebruary 1948 the Communists seized power. Although they would maintain the fiction of political pluralism through the existence of theNational Front, except for a short period in the late 1960s (thePrague Spring) the country had noliberal democracy. Since citizens lacked significant electoral methods of registering protest against government policies, periodically there were street protests that became violent. For example, there were riots in the town ofPlzeň in 1953, reflecting economic discontent. Police and army units put down the rebellion, and hundreds were injured but no one was killed. While its economy remained more advanced than those of its neighbors in Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia grew increasingly economically weak relative to Western Europe.
The currency reform of 1953 caused dissatisfaction among Czechoslovak laborers. To equalize the wage rate, Czechoslovaks had to turn in their old money for new at a decreased value. The banks also confiscated savings and bank deposits to control the amount of money in circulation.In the 1950s, Czechoslovakia experienced high economic growth (averaging 7% per year), which allowed for a substantial increase in wages and living standards, thus promoting the stability of the regime.
In 1968, when the reformerAlexander Dubčekwas appointed to the key post of First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, there was a brief period of liberalization known as thePrague Spring. In response, after failing to persuade the Czechoslovak leaders to change course, five othermembers of the Warsaw Pact invaded. Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia on the night of 20–21 August 1968.Soviet Communist Party General SecretaryLeonid Brezhnevviewed this intervention as vital for the preservation of the Soviet, socialist system and vowed to intervene in any state that sought to replaceMarxism-Leninismwithcapitalism.
In the week after the invasion, there was a spontaneous campaign ofcivil resistanceagainst the occupation. This resistance involved a wide range of acts of non-cooperation and defiance: this was followed by a period in which the Czechoslovak Communist Party leadership, having been forced in Moscow to make concessions to the Soviet Union, gradually put the brakes on their earlier liberal policies.
Meanwhile, one plank of the reform program had been carried out: in 1968–69, Czechoslovakia was turned into a federation of theCzech Socialist RepublicandSlovak Socialist Republic. The theory was that under the federation, social and economic inequities between the Czech and Slovak halves of the state would be largely eliminated. A number of ministries, such as education, now became two formally equal bodies in the two formally equal republics. However, the centralized political control by the Czechoslovak Communist Party severely limited the effects of federalization.
The 1970s saw the rise of the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia, represented among others byVáclav Havel. The movement sought greater political participation and expression in the face of official disapproval, manifested in limitations on work activities, which went as far as a ban on professional employment, the refusal of higher education for the dissidents' children, police harassment and prison.
During the 1980s, Czechoslovakia became one of the most tightly controlled Communist regimes in theWarsaw Pactin resistance to the mitigation of controls notified by Soviet presidentMikhail Gorbachev.
In 1989, theVelvet Revolutionrestored democracy.This occurred around the same time as the fall of communism in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany and Poland.
The word "socialist" was removed from the country's full name on 29 March 1990 and replaced by "federal".
Pope John Paul IImade apapal visitto Czechoslovakia on 21 April 1990, hailing it as a symbolic step of reviving Christianity in the newly-formed post-communist state.
Czechoslovakia participated in the Gulf Warwith a small force of 200 troops under the command of the U.S.-led coalition.
In 1992, because of growingnationalisttensions in the government, Czechoslovakia waspeacefully dissolvedby parliament. On 31 December 1992, it formally separated into two independent countries, theCzech Republicand theSlovak Republic.
After World War II, a political monopoly was held by theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia(KSČ). The leader of the KSČ wasde factothe most powerful person in the country during this period.Gustáv Husákwas elected first secretary of the KSČ in 1969 (changed to general secretary in 1971) and president of Czechoslovakia in 1975. Other parties and organizations existed but functioned in subordinate roles to the KSČ. All political parties, as well as numerous mass organizations, were grouped under umbrella of theNational Front. Human rights activists and religious activists were severely repressed.
Czechoslovakia had the following constitutions during its history (1918–1992):
In the 1930s, the nation formed a military alliance with France, which collapsed in theMunich Agreementof 1938. AfterWorld War II, an active participant in Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon),Warsaw Pact, United Nations and its specialized agencies; signatory ofconference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Before World War II, the economy was about the fourth in all industrial countries in Europe.The state was based on strong economy, manufacturing cars (Škoda,Tatra), trams, aircraft (Aero,Avia), ships, ship engines (Škoda), cannons, shoes (Baťa), turbines, guns (Zbrojovka Brno). It was the industrial workshop for the Austro-Hungarian empire. The Slovak lands relied more heavily on agriculture than the Czech lands.
After World War II, the economy was centrally planned, with command links controlled by the communist party, similarly to theSoviet Union. The large metallurgical industry was dependent on imports of iron and non-ferrous ores.
After World War II, the country was short of energy, relying on importedcrude oiland natural gas from the Soviet Union, domesticbrown coal, andnuclearandhydroelectric energy. Energy constraints were a major factor in the 1980s.
Slightly after the foundation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, there was a lack of essential infrastructure in many areas –paved roads,railways,bridges, etc. Massive improvement in the following years enabled Czechoslovakia to develop its industry.Prague's civil airport inRuzyněbecame one of the most modern terminals in the world when it was finished in 1937.Tomáš Baťa, a Czech entrepreneur and visionary, outlined his ideas in the publication "Budujme stát pro 40 milionů lidí", where he described the futuremotorwaysystem. Construction of the first motorways in Czechoslovakia begun in 1939, nevertheless, they were stopped after German occupation duringWorld War II.
Educationwas free at all levelsand compulsory from ages 6 to 15. The vast majority of the population wasliterate. There was a highly developed system ofapprenticeshiptraining andvocational schoolssupplemented generalsecondary schoolsand institutions ofhigher education.
In 1991, 46% of the population wereRoman Catholics, 5.3% wereEvangelical Lutheran, 30% wereAtheist, and other religions made up 17% of the country, but there were huge differences inreligious practicesbetween the twoconstituent republics; seeCzech RepublicandSlovakia.
AfterWorld War II,free health carewas available to all citizens. National health planning emphasizedpreventive medicine; factory and local health care centres supplementedhospitalsand other inpatient institutions. There was a substantial improvement inrural health careduring the 1960s and 1970s.
During the era between the World Wars, Czechoslovak democracy and liberalism facilitated conditions for free publication. The most significant daily newspapers in these times were Lidové noviny, Národní listy, Český deník and Československá Republika.
DuringCommunist rule, themass mediain Czechoslovakia were controlled by theCommunist Party. Private ownership of any publication or agency of the mass media was generally forbidden, although churches and other organizations published small periodicals and newspapers. Even with this information monopoly in the hands of organizations under KSČ control, all publications werereviewedby the government's Office for Press and Information.
TheCzechoslovakia national football teamwas a consistent performer on the international scene, with eight appearances in theFIFA World CupFinals, finishing in second place in 1934 and 1962. The team also won theEuropean Football Championshipin 1976, came in third in 1980, and won theOlympic goldin1980.
Well-known football players such asJan Koller,Pavel Nedvěd,Antonín Panenka,Milan Baroš,Tomáš Rosický,Vladimír Šmicer,Petr Čech,Ladislav Petráš,Marián Masný,Ján Pivarník,Ján Mucha,Róbert Vittek,Peter Pekarík, andMarek Hamšíkwere all born in Czechoslovakia.
TheInternational Olympic Committeecode for Czechoslovakia is TCH, which is still used in historical listings of results.
TheCzechoslovak national ice hockey teamwon many medals from the world championships and Olympic Games.Peter Šťastný,Jaromír Jágr,Dominik Hašek,Peter Bondra,Petr Klíma,Marián Gáborík,Marián Hossa,Miroslav ŠatanandPavol Demitraall come from Czechoslovakia.
Emil Zátopek, winner of four Olympic gold medals inathletics, is considered one of the top athletes in Czechoslovak history.
Věra Čáslavskáwas an Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics, winning seven gold medals and four silver medals. She represented Czechoslovakia in three consecutive Olympics.
Several accomplished professionaltennisplayers includingJaroslav Drobný,Ivan Lendl,Jan Kodeš,Miloslav Mečíř,Hana Mandlíková,Martina Hingis,Martina Navratilova,Jana Novotná,Petra Kvitová,Daniela Hantuchová,Barbora Krejčíková,Markéta VondroušováandKarolína Muchováwere born in Czechoslovakia (or what became the Czech Republic in 1993).
Maps with Hungarian-language rubrics