page_title: History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989)
section_title: Stalinization
hierarchical_section_title: History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) / Stalinization
caption_attribution_description: English: Czechoslovak sign from the beginning of the 80th, providing information about entry to the frontier zone. "WARNING! Border Zone. Enter only on authorization. Čeština: Československá cedule ze začátku 80. let, informující o vstupu do hraničního pásma. "POZOR! Hraniční pásmo. Vstup jen na povolení."
context_page_description: From the Communist coup d'état in February 1948 to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Czechoslovakia was ruled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The country belonged to the Eastern Bloc and was a member of the Warsaw Pact and of Comecon. During the era of Communist Party rule, thousands of Czechoslovaks faced political persecution for various offences, such as trying to emigrate across the Iron Curtain.
  The 1993 Act on Lawlessness of the Communist Regime and on Resistance Against It determined that the communist government was illegal and that the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was a criminal organisation.
context_section_description: On 25 February 1948, President Edvard Beneš gave in to the demands of Communist Prime Minister Klement Gottwald and appointed a Cabinet dominated by Communists.  While it was nominally still a coalition, the "non-Communists" in the cabinet were mostly fellow travelers. This gave legal sanction to the KSČ coup, and marked the onset of undisguised Communist rule in Czechoslovakia.  On 9 May, the National Assembly, purged of dissidents, passed a new constitution. It was not a completely Communist document; since a special committee prepared it in the 1945–48 period, it contained many liberal and democratic provisions. It reflected, however, the reality of Communist power through an addition that declared Czechoslovakia a people's republic – a preliminary step towards socialism and, ultimately, communism – ruled by the dictatorship of the proletariat, and also gave the Communist Party the leading role in the state. For these reasons, Beneš refused to sign the so-called Ninth-of-May Constitution.  Nevertheless, elections were held on 30 May, and voters were presented with a single list from the National Front, the former governing coalition which was now a broad patriotic organisation under Communist control. Beneš resigned on 2 June, and Gottwald became president twelve days later.
  Within the next few years, bureaucratic centralism under the direction of KSČ leadership was introduced. So-called "dissident" elements were purged from all levels of society, including the Catholic Church. The ideological principles of Marxism-Leninism and pervaded cultural and intellectual life. The entire education system was submitted to state control. With the elimination of private ownership of means of production, a planned economy was introduced. Czechoslovakia became a satellite state of the Soviet Union; it was a founding member of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) in 1949 and of the Warsaw Pact in 1955. The attainment of Soviet-style "socialism" became the government's avowed policy.
  Although in theory Czechoslovakia remained a multi-party state, in reality the Communists had complete control of the country. Political participation became subject to KSČ approval. The KSČ also prescribed percentage representation for non-Marxist parties. The National Assembly, purged of dissidents, became a mere rubber stamp for KSČ programmes. In 1953, an inner cabinet of the National Assembly, the Presidium, was created. Composed of KSČ leaders, the Presidium served to convey party policies through government channels. Regional, district, and local committees were subordinated to the Ministry of Interior. Slovak autonomy was constrained; the KSS was reunited with the KSČ but retained its own identity.
  After consolidating power, Klement Gottwald began a series of mass purges against both political opponents and fellow Communists, numbering in the tens of thousands. Children from blacklisted families were denied access to good jobs and higher education, there was widespread emigration to West Germany and Austria, and the educational system was reformed to give opportunities to working-class students.
  Although Gottwald originally sought a more independent line, a quick meeting with Stalin in 1948 convinced him otherwise and so he sought to impose the Soviet model on the country as thoroughly as possible. By 1951, Gottwald's health deteriorated and he was suffering from heart disease and syphilis in addition to alcoholism. He made few public appearances in his final year of life.
  Gottwald died on 14 March 1953 from an aortic aneurysm, a week after attending Stalin's funeral in Moscow. He was succeeded by Antonín Zápotocký as President and by Antonín Novotný as head of the KSČ. Novotný became President in 1957 when Zápotocký died.
  Czechoslovak interests were subordinated to the interests of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin became particularly concerned about controlling and integrating the socialist bloc in the wake of Tito's challenge to his authority. Stalin's paranoia resulted in a campaign against "rootless cosmopolitans" which culmina
caption: The Czechoslovak border to West Germany and Austria was intended to prevent citizens of the Eastern Bloc from emigrating to the West. The sign is from the beginning of the 1980s and reads: WARNING! Border Zone. Enter only on authorization.
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