NATO Update - 1968 1968 Summary If NATO and the Warsaw Pact states are learning to live together, with some semblance of normality, the Soviet Union's determination to exercise rigid control over Eastern Europe remains as strong as ever. In 1953, the Soviet Union had suppressed protests by East German workers; in 1956, Soviet tanks crushed the anti-regime rebellion in Hungary. Now it is the turn of Czechoslovakia. While remaining loyal to Communism, the Czech leader, Alexander Dubcek, had begun to introduce liberal reforms but his Prague Spring is terminated in August 1968 when Soviet tanks enter the city. 19 Jan The United States and the Soviet Union table a draft nuclear non-proliferation treaty at the Geneva Disarmament Conference. 24-25 June The Ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Reykjavik, Iceland reviews current measures affecting access routes to Berlin and issues a Declaration on Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions.

Additional information: Soviets Invade Czechoslovakia - Aug 20, 1968 - HISTORY.com Soviets Invade Czechoslovakia Publisher A+E Networks On the night of August 20, 1968, approximately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring”–a brief period of liberalization in the communist country. Czechoslovakians protested the invasion with public demonstrations and other non-violent tactics, but they were no match for the Soviet tanks. The liberal reforms of First Secretary Alexander Dubcek were repealed and “normalization” began under his successor Gustav Husak. Pro-Soviet communists seized control of Czechoslovakia’s democratic government in 1948. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin imposed his will on Czechoslovakia’s communist leaders, and the country was run as a Stalinist state until 1964, when a gradual trend toward liberalization began. However, modest economic reform was not enough for many Czechoslovakians, and beginning in 1966 students and intellectuals began to agitate for changes to education and an end to censorship.

First Secretary Antonin Novotny’s problems were made worse by opposition from Slovakian leaders, among them Alexander Dubcek and Gustav Husak, who accused the central government of being dominated by Czechs. In January 1968, Novotny was replaced as first secretary by Alexander Dubcek, who was unanimously elected by the Czechoslovakian Central Committee. To secure his power base, Dubcek appealed to the public to voice support for his proposed reforms. The response was overwhelming, and Czech and Slovak reformers took over the communist leadership. In April, the new leadership unveiled its “Action Program,” promising democratic elections, greater autonomy for Slovakia, freedom of speech and religion, the abolition of censorship, an end to restrictions on travel, and major industrial and agricultural reforms. Dubcek declared that he was offering “socialism with a human face.” The Czechoslovakian public greeted the reforms joyously, and Czechoslovakia’s long stagnant national culture began to bloom during what became known as the Prague Spring. In late June, a popular petition called the “Two Thousand Words” was published calling for even more rapid progress to full democracy.

The Soviet Union and its satellites Poland and East Germany were alarmed by what appeared to be the imminent collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev warned Dubcek to halt his reforms, but the Czechoslovakian leader was buoyed by his popularity and dismissed the veiled threats. Dubcek declined to attend a special meeting of the Warsaw Pact powers in July, but on August 2 he agreed to meet with Brezhnev in the Slovakian town of Cierny. The next day, representatives of European Europe’s communist parties met in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, and a communiquÉ was issued suggesting that pressure would be eased on Czechoslovakia in exchange for tighter control over the press. However, on the night of August 20, nearly 200,000 Soviet, East German, Polish, Hungarian, and Bulgarian troops invaded Czechoslovakia in the largest deployment of military force in Europe since the end of World War II. Armed resistance to the invasion was negligible, but protesters immediately took to the streets, tearing down streets signs in an effort to confuse the invaders. In Prague, Warsaw Pact troops moved to seize control of television and radio stations.

At Radio Prague, journalists refused to give up the station and some 20 people were killed before it was captured. Other stations went underground and succeeded in broadcasting for several days before their locations were discovered. Dubcek and other government leaders were detained and taken to Moscow. Meanwhile, widespread demonstrations continued on the street, and more than 100 protesters were shot to death by Warsaw Pact troops. Many foreign nations, including China, Yugoslavia, and Romania, condemned the invasion, but no major international action was taken. Much of Czechoslovakia’s intellectual and business elite fled en masse to the West. On August 27, Dubcek returned to Prague and announced in an emotional address that he had agreed to curtail his reforms. Hard-line communists assumed positions in his government, and Dubcek was forced gradually to dismiss his progressive aides. He became increasingly isolated from both the public and his government. After anti-Soviet rioting broke out in April 1969, he was removed as first secretary and replaced by Gustav Husak, a “realist” who was willing to work with the Soviets. Dubcek was later expelled from the Communist Party and made a forest inspector based in Bratislava.

In 1989, as communist governments collapsed across Eastern Europe, Prague again became the scene of demonstrations for democratic reform. In December 1989, Gustav Husak’s government conceded to demands for a multiparty parliament. Husak resigned, and for the first time in nearly two decades Dubcek returned to politics as chairman of the new parliament, which subsequently elected playwright and former dissident Vaclav Havel as president of Czechoslovakia. Havel had come to fame during the Prague Spring, and after the Soviet crackdown his plays were banned and his passport confiscated. Related Videos Letná Park – Prague Blog Characteristics of the park Perhaps this 25-hectare park near the Ministry of the Interior, Technical Museum and Agricultural Museum in Prague’s seventh district is best known for its awe-inspiring views of the Vltava River and town. While there is no longer a carousel or ice rink on the grounds as there was in the early 20th century, the park does consist of many woody plants and grassy areas as well as biking paths, spaces for in-line skating, skateboarding and playing grounds for pétanque. It is also ideal for joggers. The park has a playground, too.

Rock concerts and a theatre-music festival have also been held here. Stalin in Letná Park Yet perhaps this park is best known for something else – the 15-meter high statue of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin and his entourage that loomed above Prague from 1955 to 1962, when it was blasted into smithereens. The statue showing Stalin as the leader of the people measured 22 meters in length and weighed 15,000 tons. Czechs joked that the statuary grouping resembled a line for meat. Twenty-three stones gathered from various parts of the country were used to make this mammoth totalitarian monument created by sculptor Otakar Švec. Just three weeks after the grand unveiling of his work May 1, 1955, the artist committed suicide. With Stalin in the limelight, the Communists held Labor Day parades here on May 1. At the Centennial Exhibition of 1991, a metronome was installed on the spot the statue once occupied. From the Přemyslids to Havel to the Pope But Letná has witnessed triumphant, historical moments, too.

Czech king Přemysl Otakar II celebrated his coronation here during 1261. Many centuries later, more than five percent of the country’s inhabitants listened to soon-to-be Czechoslovak President Václav Havel deliver a stirring speech here during a Velvet Revolution demonstration November 26, 1989. He spoke about his support for the general strike, much needed changes in the nation’s political sphere and the necessity of having free elections, among other topics. The chairman of the Communist government, Ladislav Adamec, also spoke up, stating that the government was prepared to give in to the people’s demands, and omitted addressing the crowd with the Communist word “comrade.” When former Communist politician Alexander Dubček took the microphone, he received a warm welcome. Dubček had been the First Secretary of the Communist Party who had initiated liberal reforms during 1968, only to have his reforms crushed by the Soviet tanks that entered the city and ended the Prague Spring. Other speakers included economist Miloš Zeman, who stressed that the level of economic growth in the nation was similar to that of a Third World country.

Ludvík Pinc, a lieutenant who had participated in the police brutality against students during the November 17 demonstration, surprised the crowd by accepting responsibility for the police’s behavior that evening, though he stressed that he was not the one who made the decision to use force against the students. The following year Letná was the site of another historical event: Pope John Paul II held mass in this park. The Hanavsky Pavilion and other sights astound Letná boasts the Hanavsky Pavilion, the small chateau (zameček) and the Expo 58 pavilion designed after the 1958 World’s Fair exhibition in Brussels, Belgium and now serving as an architecturally impressive restaurant with a spectacular view. The Hanavsky Pavilion, built in pseudo Baroque style for the Centennial Exhibition during 1891, is composed of molded iron, brickwork and glass. It consists of a magnificent staircase, a metal-plated balustrade and a spectacular oriel as well as a breathtaking balcony. Now it is used as a restaurant and can be booked for weddings and business gatherings.

The small chateau enthralls Designed by Vojtěch Ignáce Ullmann and constructed in 1863, the small chateau now features four restaurants and a garden terrace. The magnificent neo-Renaissance structure is situated above the Old Town and offers a spectacular view of the city. It boasts historical signifance as well. During the 1891 Jubilee Exhibition the restaurant served as the last station for Prague’s first tram line, created by famous inventor František Křižík. A funicular also was built at that time, and a splendid carousel stood next to the restaurant. The last renovations were faithful to the unique, original design of the chateau. Nowadays weddings, press conferences, banquets and even pétanque tournaments, among other social events, take place here. Why Letna Park? Relive the Pope’s mass, the Letná demonstration or Přemyslid Otakar II’s coronation. With its historical significance, remarkable view of the city, unique Hanavsky Pavilion and small chateau as well as tranquil areas and sporting attractions, Letná is a superb choice for spending some time away from the fast pace of city life.

A quiet stroll here will prepare you for another day of sightseeing. Check our best Prague Tours Related Articles CommunistCrimes.org - Prague Spring 1968 Prague Spring 1968 Send this article by e-mail Prague Spring 1968 By the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union and its satellite countries were facing more and more serious economic problems that necessitated the introduction of some economic reforms. The Soviet leaders, tired of paying heavy subsidies to support the feeble economies of the satellite countries, compelled their leaders to listen to the reformers. Thus, the first buds of 1968's Prague Spring blossomed in the field of economics. However, Communist reformers quickly realised that economic reforms also required changes in the totalitarian political system. The appointment of leader of Slovak communist Alexander Dubček to the position of Party Secretary in 1968 marked the beginning of an eight-month period known as the Prague Spring. The aim of the Czechoslovakian reformers was to combine socialism with democracy and blend economic security with civil liberties thereby creating ‘socialism with a human face'. At first, it seemed that the Soviet Union would tolerate reforms in Czechoslovakia, but quite quickly the position changed.

Alarming news of attempts to follow Prague's example filtered in from the other satellite countries; in Poland, riot police had struck out against student demonstrations directed mainly against Soviet dominance. All this raised fears that the Czechoslovakian initiatives could jeopardise Communist rule throughout the Eastern bloc. In March 1968, Yuri Andropov, the Soviet ambassador to Hungary in 1956 and now Chairman of the KGB, warned that ‘the methods and forms by which the work is progressing in Czechoslovakia remind one very much of Hungary'. Dubček understood that the Soviets now posed the same threat to Czechoslovakia as they had to Hungary in 1956 and was quick to reassure Moscow not only that his country would remain in the Warsaw Pact, but that the Czech Communist Party would also retain its monopoly on power. This time it was not enough. The GDR, Poland, Hungary and also the Ukraine, where the Communist leader Petr Shelest was afraid of the spread of the Czechoslovakian virus to the western areas of the Ukraine, especially after the restoration of Ukrainian autonomy in Slovakia, all pressed Brezhnev to stop the reforms in Prague.

Under pressure, Dubček had to promise that the liberal reforms would be reversed. With time, however, it became increasingly clear that even if Dubček had wanted to, he was not in a position to keep such a promise. Therefore, with the help of Shelest and the new leader of the Slovak Communist Party, Bilak, the search began in Czechoslovakia for the ‘second centre', which had to move Dubček from power and ask the Warsaw Pact to help Czechoslovakia to crush the ‘counter-revolution'. Several provocative actions were initiated by the KGB under the code-name ‘Progress', which sought to fabricate evidence of a counter-revolutionary conspiracy by Western intelligence services and thus justify a Soviet invasion. After some hesitation, the Soviet leaders decided to intervene militarily and stop reforms in Czechoslovakia.

On 14 August 1968, the Soviet ambassador in Prague met secretly with the leaders of the ‘second centre' and informed them that Soviet troops would move into action on the night of 20 August to support the creation of a ‘provisional government of workers and peasants.' The leader of the ‘second centre', Alois Indra, replied with a guarantee that the majority of the members of the ruling institutions would support the putsch when the Soviets arrived. On 18 August 1968, the Soviet defence minister, Andrei Grechko, summoned the commanders participating in operation ‘Danube' (the ongoing Warsaw Pact exercise) and announced: I've just come from the Politburo session. The decision was made according to which the troops will move into Czechoslovakia in order to suppress and if necessary, crush and liquidate the counterrevolution. This we will do even if it means the outbreak of a third world war. The Soviet army was prepared to meet NATO forces in Czechoslovakia. If such a meeting were to occur, the troops were ordered to stop immediately, not to open fire under any circumstances and wait for new commands.

Remembering how the Soviet officers understood the situation, Viktor Suvorov recalls that they had orders to ‘take control of as much territory as possible. Then let the diplomats decide where the border will run between Eastern and Western Czechoslovakia. It is a matter of honour that Eastern Socialist Czechoslovakia should be larger than the western part'. Some hours before the invasion, the USSR informed the American leadership of its decision and instructed its ambassador to inform President Svoboda of the planned invasion and ask for his support. Svoboda refused to do this, although in order to avoid extensive bloodshed he promised that Czechoslovakia's army would not resist. True to his word, Svoboda ordered the armed forces to stay in their barracks. Thanks to this, the invasion took place without any major problems. At dawn on 21 August, half a million soldiers with the support of 5,000 armoured vehicles and 800 airplanes, recruited from all of the Warsaw Pact countries except Romania (which refused in a bout of anti-Sovietism), marched into Czechoslovakia.

At intervals of less than one minute, a total of 120 AN-12 aircraft landed in Prague airport; by the end of the morning an entire airborne division had landed. At 4.00 am, troops reached the Central Committee building and arrested Dubček and five other members of the Presidium, sending them first by plane to prison in the Ukraine and then on to Moscow. There was no military resistance but from the first of hour of the invasion, there was massive civil protest and resistance. A crucial role in this was played by the radio, as broadcasters prevented the Soviets' pre-prepared declaration of a ‘revolutionary government' from being transmitted. Instead, they ensured that the statement of the Dubčekite majority protesting against the invasion was broadcast. When Soviet soldiers fighting the resistance eventually occupied the radio building, the broadcasters continued to transmit via a network of studios and small regional and army transmitters. An attempt to take over the Presidium of the Czech Communist Party failed; when putschists hiding in the Soviet embassy in Prague turned to President Sovoboda with a petition demanding that he form the new government around them, Svoboda kicked them out.

By this time, the streets of Czechoslovakia's cities were full of people protesting against the invasion. Leaflets were distributed and angry people accused Soviet soldiers of acting like fascists, which made them feel very uncomfortable. In several places, barricades were built to hinder the movement of Soviet tanks while in others, tanks were attacked by people throwing Molotov cocktails. At least 4 tanks were destroyed and 18 soldiers killed during these clashes. The Soviets responded in their customary way by killing at least 94 people, one of whom was a 15-year old boy painting ‘Go Home' on a wall. At the same time, a baby and his mother, who was trying to protect the boy, were shot by a trigger-happy psychopath using the machine gun on his tank. The Soviet invasion caused the most profound shift in the Czechoslovakian outlook since World War II; people who had been divided in 1948 became united in 1968. The Czechoslovakian experiment with humanised socialism and its military suppression effectively destroyed any base of support that Communism had enjoyed in the past.

This put Brezhnev in a difficult situation; even though Western governments' protests against the invasion were relatively mild-on 23 August, the Soviet Union and Hungary easily blocked the UN Security Council draft resolution condemning the invasion and on 31 August, NATO ambassadors noted in their communiqué that the situation around Czechoslovakia ‘poses a menace to the security of the US and its allies'-the Warsaw Pact forces had occupied a country whose only legal government had protested against the invasion and refused to cooperate with the Soviets. Thus, Brezhnev again found himself having to deal with Dubček, whether he liked it or not. The Czech leaders were interned in Moscow where they were put under pressure by pro-Soviet Czechs and threatened by the Soviets that if they refused to accept the presence of Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia and were not prepared to revoke liberal reforms, there would be war in Czechoslovakia. Ultimately, Dubček conceded defeat and signed the Moscow Protocol in which he basically accepted the invasion. Many people looked on this as Munich-type capitulation, others were not so condemning.

In reality, the ‘compromise' achieved was more useful to the ‘old forces' in Czechoslovakia and abroad, paving the way for a slow takeover of power. The crushing of the ‘Prague Spring' boosted the Soviets' self-confidence and gave them the impression that they could behave as they wished on the world stage. At the same time, the longer-term costs of the Soviets' success in 1968 were high. All this went unnoticed by the Soviet leaders as they continued to enjoy their success. In November 1968, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev prepared the ‘Brezhnev Doctrine' that obliged Moscow to intervene by force to defend the ‘socialist gains' of its allies. Over the following decades, however, the Brezhnev Doctrine was challenged by a growing tide of intellectual, social and political protest in Central and Eastern Europe. Resistance was not suppressed in Czechoslovakia until the beginning of the 1970s. Only in 1969 was Dubček replaced by Moscow's protégé, Gustav Husák. On the first anniversary of the Soviet invasion, spontaneous demonstrations broke out in several places around Czechoslovakia.

Units of the security services and the People's Militia, together with 20,000 handpicked army troops, brutally attacked their own people, even opening fire on unarmed crowds. On the streets of Prague and Brno alone, five people were left for dead on the pavement. That was finally the end of the ‘Prague Spring'. Such a situation made people desperate; in January 1969, a Czech student, Jan Palach, committed self-immolation in protest against the Soviet invasion. A similar act of protest by a Polish patriot named Siwak in Warsaw in September 1968 went unnoticed because the Polish media was forbidden to report it. Jan Palach was followed by other patriots in Czechoslovakia and in the Baltic countries. All this nevertheless could not anymore save the Prague spring. Czechoslovak resistance to Soviet occupation, 1968 | Global Nonviolent Action Database Czechoslovak resistance to Soviet occupation, 1968 Time Period: Time period notes: It should be noted that resistance to the occupation continued until August 1969, however the scope of this campaign looks at the week of protest leading to the Moscow Protocol.

The tactics used after the first week of protest are present in the narrative, but not in database fields. The case could be made that the ‘campaign’ actually extends until Soviet forces crushed protests in 1969. 21 August 180. Alternative communication system ›social networks through secret radio Methods in 2nd segment: 180. Alternative communication system ›social networks through secret radio Methods in 3rd segment: 180. Alternative communication system ›social networks through secret radio Methods in 4th segment: 180. Alternative communication system ›social networks through secret radio Methods in 5th segment: 180.

Alternative communication system ›social networks through secret radio Additional methods (Timing Unknown): Czechoslovak communist party, Czechoslovak Congress, Czechoslovak Communist First Secretary Alexander Dubcek Partners: villagers in Upa, Czech Radio Broadcasters, military who turned over secret broadcasting locations, the Horka Poricany Agricultural Cooperative External allies: Solidarity actions in Italy, Austria, France, and Holland; other Communist parties from around the world Involvement of social elites: Czechoslovak political elites helped organize and voice protests Joining/exiting order of social groups Groups in 1st Segment: Additional notes on joining/exiting order: Italian, Austrian, French, and Dutch citizens who demonstrated in solidarity, timing unknown Segment Length: Opponent, Opponent Responses, and Violence Opponents: Soviet leaders and troops; military units from Poland, East Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria Nonviolent responses of opponent: The occupiers distributed their own leaflets justifying the occupation Campaigner violence: Some resisters threw Molotov cocktails (homemade gasoline bombs), destroying some tanks and killing the tank crews. Immediately after these incidents, Dubcek denounced violence over the radio. Even still, some unorganized violent resistance did occur further.

Repressive Violence: Soldiers opening fire on protesters, killing and wounding some; 70 citizens were killed overall and hundreds more were wounded by soviet troops Success Outcome Success in achieving specific demands/goals: 3 points out of 6 points Survival: 1 point out of 1 points Growth: 3 points out of 3 points Total points: 7 out of 10 points Notes on outcomes: The Czechoslovak delegation accepted the ‘Moscow Protocol,’ which allowed most Czechoslovak leaders to remain in power, but implicitly condemned the post-January reforms. The agreement demanded the increased suppression of opposition groups and tighter censorship policy. It also allowed Soviet forces to remain in Czechoslovakia. So while the resistance did keep Dubcek in power a while longer, Soviet occupiers remained in the country. For this reason many protesters saw the campaign as a failure. This would eventually lead to Dubcek’s ousting and further repression from Soviet forces. Resisters persisted throughout the occupation, with many sentiments of the campaign leading to later protest and eventually the Velvet Revolution. However, after the initial week of protests, the resisters became exhausted and partly demoralized.

The campaign grew tremendously immediately after word of the invasion spread, involving many sectors of society. However, after the initial week of protests, the resisters became exhausted and partly demoralized. For the first eight months of 1968, the Czechoslovak Communist Party engaged in limited but significant reforms known as ‘Prague Spring,’ including declarations of freedom of expression and organization. The reform movement began in January, when moderate Alexander Dubcek replaced the Party’s hard-line First Secretary. Communist leaders in the Soviet Union and satellite regimes in Central Europe saw these reforms as a threat and took action to stop them. On the night of August 20, 1968, at least 300,000 Soviet troops, plus units from Poland, East Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Czechoslovakian forces were largely outnumbered; it was hoped that in the chaos of invasion, Dubcek’s leadership could be quickly destabilized and possibly replaced. Soviet forces shut down Czechoslovak borders, seized airports, and swiftly occupied most towns. Resistance to the invasion started immediately. Civilians met soldiers with arguments and condemnations. Signs and graffiti denounced the invasion.

People brought pictures of Dubcek into the streets and gave wrong directions to invading soldiers. The night of the invasion, the Czechoslovak military was told to stay in the barracks. The morning of August 21, statements from the Czechoslovak Communist Party Presidium were read over Prague radio denouncing the invasion, and pleading that civilians ‘stay calm’. Soon after, youth demonstrated in the streets, forming human blockades in front of tanks, later using overturned buses and vehicles. Radio broadcasters advocated ‘passive resistance,’ alerting the public that the invaders were looking for an excuse to attack. Hundreds gathered at iconic statues in Prague, where they fraternized with Soviet soldiers. Demonstrators sang the national anthem and chanted ‘Dubcek’. Banners and protest messages appeared throughout the city, denouncing the occupation and urging the soldiers to leave. On the afternoon of August 21 villagers in Upa formed a human blockade across a bridge, blocking the route of invading tanks. After some time, the tanks turned and left. In some confrontations in Prague and other cities, rude gestures and calls for Soviets to go home led to the soldiers opening fire, killing and wounding protesters.

Some resisters threw Molotov cocktails (homemade gasoline bombs) in return, destroying some tanks and killing the tank crews. Immediately after these incidents, Dubcek denounced violence over the radio. Even still, some unorganized violent resistance did continue to occur. Shortly after, Soviet forces captured Dubcek, along with other prominent Czechoslovak reformers. That evening, radio broadcasters discouraged even mass demonstration. Instead, resisters heavily used radio, leaflets, newspapers, and signs to spread a message of opposition and condemnation of the occupation. Resistance leaflets were distributed by Czechoslovak police cars using their sirens and lights in order to get through Soviet checkpoints. Civilians gained access to secret radio broadcasting stations set up by the military (unclear which military), which they used to set up social networks to spread instructions of resistance. Reports indicate that organized bodies formed through radio and telephone this way to organize and disseminate information. On the morning on August 22, the Fourteenth Congress of the Communist Party (national governmental congress of Czechoslovakia) held an emergency meeting in a factory outside of Prague. Some reports claim that the delegates disguised themselves as workers to make it past Soviet troops. Almost 1,192 delegates attended.

The Congress issued a statement that condemned the invasion as unjustified, stated that there had been no Czechoslovak counterrevolution, called for leaders to be released and reinstated, and called for a one-hour protest strike the next day if troops did not withdraw. More leaflets were distributed. A petition circulated calling for the release of Dubcek. Newspapers and magazines continued to publish, often with the words ‘legal’ or ‘free,’ indicating that they were not in the hands of the occupation. Some printed messages to the occupying soldiers in Russian; graffiti in Russian was also common. The call to strike was broadcasted over the radio, in addition to calls for a go-slow of railway workers, which successfully delayed the transport of radio jammers to the occupiers. The radio served other functions as well, assuring parents of the whereabouts of children in summer camp, and relaying updates about negotiations in Moscow. On August 23, Soviet leaders agreed to let Czechoslovakian President Svoboda travel to Moscow for negotiations. He insisted that Dubcek and others be present at the negotiation table. That evening in Prague, radio broadcasts warned of potential arrests. Civilians painted over street signs to confuse the occupiers.

Some rioting and looting did occur as well as Czechoslovakians conspiring with occupying forces. The next day, August 24, Soviet forces intensified the occupation, removing signs and graffiti (which resisters quickly replaced), conducting searches, and distributing their own leaflets justifying the occupation. International solidarity protests to the occupation occurred through August 27, which included demonstrations in Italy, a general strike in Austria, work stoppage in France, and a moment of silence in Holland. Soviet troops showed signs of decreasing morale, with some defying orders to disperse crowds. Farmers worked extra hours; the Horka Poricany Agricultural Cooperative announced it would donate over 5 tons of potatoes to citizens in Prague during the resistance. After four days of negotiation in Moscow, the Czechoslovakian delegation accepted the ‘Moscow Protocol,’ which allowed most Czechoslovakian leaders to remain in power, but implicitly condemned the post-January reforms. The agreement demanded the increased suppression of opposition groups and a tighter censorship policy. It also allowed Soviet forces to remain in Czechoslovakia.

One person, Chairman of the National Front Frantisek Kriegel, refused to sign the protocol; he was stripped of all official duties and was later expelled from the party. Public reaction to the protocol was mixed, with many seeing it as a failure of the resistance. Mass resistance is said to have lasted for about seven days, after which the resisters became exhausted and partly demoralized. Soviet forces would linger in Czechoslovakia for months, pushing their political agenda. But public resistance to the occupation didn’t stop completely. In early November there were mass demonstrations in Prague, Bratislava, Brno, and other cities. Later, tens of thousands of students conducted a four-day sit-in in high schools and colleges, with factories sending them food in solidarity. In mid-January 1969, Jan Palach a college student set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square to protest the occupation and the removal of civil liberties. His funeral turned into a protest demonstration and the next month another student, Jan Zajíc, burned himself to death in the same square. In April, Evžen Plocek committed the same act in Jihlava.

Soviet forces cracked down on further protest demonstrations later in the year with full force. Dubcek was ousted soon after demonstrations in March and replaced with a Party hard-liner who reversed Dubcek’s reforms and purged the party of any opposition. Protests in August 1969 were brutally suppressed. These turned out to be the last mass demonstration against the invasion. In total about 70 people were killed during the invasion and up to 1,000 were wounded in shootings. Research Notes Influences: The Velvet Revolution would nonviolently overthrow the Czechoslovak communist twenty years later; direct influence not known (2) Sources: Country Reviews - Country Watch Country Overview CZECH REPUBLIC Following World War I, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was invaded and occupied by the Nazi Germany during World War II, and after the war it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. The country had been under communist rule since the late 1940s.

The "Prague Spring" of 1968 for liberal reforms was crushed by Soviet tanks, and anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." In January 1993, Czechoslovakia was broken up as the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic were simultaneously and peacefully founded. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Among the transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous and has one of the most developed and industrialized economies. Its strategic location in Europe and skilled workforce has attracted strong inflows of foreign direct investment, which have been an important contributor to its economic strength. Note, however, that since 2008 -- the time of the global financial crisis -- the Czech Republic has been subject to no shortage of economic woes.

Country Forecast Milestones: 1961–1968 - Office of the Historian Milestones: 1961–1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968 On August 20, 1968, the Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia to crack down on reformist trends in Prague. Although the Soviet Union’s action successfully halted the pace of reform in Czechoslovakia, it had unintended consequences for the unity of the communist bloc. Czech youths holding Czechoslovakian ﬂags stand atop of an overturned truck as other Prague residents surround Soviet tanks in downtown Prague on Aug. 21, 1968. (AP Photo/Libor Hajsky/CTK) Before the Second World War , the nation of Czechoslovakia had been a strong democracy in Central Europe, but beginning in the mid 1930s it faced challenges from both the West and the East. In 1938, the leadership in Great Britain and France conceded the German right to takeover the Sudetenland in the Munich Agreement, but the Czech government condemned this German occupation of its western-most territory as a betrayal.

In 1948, Czech attempts to join the U.S.-sponsored Marshall Plan to aid postwar rebuilding were thwarted by Soviet takeover and the installation of a new communist government in Prague. For the next twenty years, Czechoslovakia remained a stable state within the Soviet sphere of influence; unlike in Hungary or Poland, even the rise of de-Stalinization after 1953 did not lead to liberalization by the fundamentally conservative Czech government. In the 1960s, however, changes in the leadership in Prague led to a series of reforms to soften or humanize the application of communist doctrines within Czech borders. The Czech economy had been slowing since the early 1960s, and cracks were emerging in the communist consensus as workers struggled against new challenges. The government responded with reforms designed to improve the economy. In early 1968, conservative leader Antonin Novotny was ousted as the head of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and he was replaced by Alexander Dubcek.

The Dubcek government ended censorship in early 1968, and the acquisition of this freedom resulted in a public expression of broad-based support for reform and a public sphere in which government and party policies could be debated openly. In April, the Czech Government issued a formal plan for further reforms, although it tried to liberalize within the existing framework of the Marxist-Leninist State and did not propose a revolutionary overhaul of the political and economic systems. As conflicts emerged between those calling for further reforms and conservatives alarmed by how far the liberalization process had gone, Dubcek struggled to maintain control. Soviet leaders were concerned over these recent developments in Czechoslovakia. Recalling the 1956 uprising in Hungary, leaders in Moscow worried that if Czechoslovakia carried reforms too far, other satellite states in Eastern Europe might follow, leading to a widespread rebellion against Moscow’s leadership of the Eastern Bloc. There was also a danger that the Soviet Republics in the East, such as the Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia might make their own demands for more liberal policies. After much debate, the Communist Party leadership in Moscow decided to intervene to establish a more conservative and pro-Soviet government in Prague.

The Warsaw Pact invasion of August 20–21 caught Czechoslovakia and much of the Western world by surprise. In anticipation of the invasion, the Soviet Union had moved troops from the Soviet Union, along with limited numbers of troops from Hungary, Poland, East Germany and Bulgaria into place by announcing Warsaw Pact military exercises. When these forces did invade, they swiftly took control of Prague, other major cities, and communication and transportation links. Given the escalating U.S. involvement in the conflict in Vietnam as well as past U.S. pronouncements on non-intervention in the East Bloc, the Soviets guessed correctly that the United States would condemn the invasion but refrain from intervening. Although the Soviet crackdown on Czechoslovakia was swift and successful, small-scale resistance continued throughout early 1969 while the Soviets struggled to install a stable government. Finally, in April of 1969, the Soviets forced Dubcek from power in favor of a more conservative administrator. In the years that followed, the new leadership reestablished government censorship and controls preventing freedom of movement, but it also improved economic conditions, eliminating one of the sources for revolutionary fervor. Czechoslovakia once again became a cooperative member of the Warsaw Pact.

The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia was significant in the sense that it delayed the splintering of Eastern European Communism and was concluded without provoking any direct intervention from the West. Repeated efforts in the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning the attacks met with opposition from the Soviet Union, and the effort finally died away. The invasion did, however, temporarily derail progress toward détente between the Soviet Union and the United States. The NATO allies valued the idea of a lessening of tensions, and as a result they were determined not to intervene. Still, the invasion forced U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to cancel a summit meeting with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Although Brezhnev knew this was the most likely outcome of the invasion, he considered maintaining Soviet control in the East Bloc a higher priority in the short-term than pursuing détente with the West. As it turned out, the progress on arms control agreements were only delayed by a few years in the aftermath of the Prague Spring. There were also long-term consequences.

After the invasion, the Soviet leadership justified the use of force in Prague under what would become known as the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated that Moscow had the right to intervene in any country where a communist government had been threatened. This doctrine, established to justify Soviet action in Czechoslovakia, also became the primary justification for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and even before that it helped to finalize the Sino-Soviet split, as Beijing feared that the Soviet Union would use the doctrine as a justification to invade or interfere with Chinese communism. Because the United States interpreted the Brezhnev Doctrine and the history of Soviet interventions in Europe as defending established territory, not expanding Soviet power, the aftermath of the Czech crisis also lent support to voices in the U.S. Congress calling for a reduction in U.S. military forces in Europe. Jan Palach – Prague Blog By Tracy A. Burns The winter of 1968-69 in Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia’s winter of 1968-1969 was cold and harsh.

Soviet tanks had crushed the 1968 Prague Spring with its liberal reforms on August 21 of that year, and the rigid Communist policy of normalization had set in. Czechoslovakia had become a federalized state on January 1, moving the Czechs and Slovaks farther apart politically. Trade unions were considering going on strike because the Party was threatening to oust Josef Smrkovský, the popular chairman of the national assembly who had supported First Secretary Alexander Dubček’s reforms, from his political posts. January 16, 1969 on Wenceslas Square at four o´clock That was the situation when 20-year old Charles University student Jan Palach set fire to himself on the ramp of the National Museum on upper Wenceslas Square at four o’clock in the afternoon of January 16, 1969, protesting against the lack of freedoms and passivity of citizens. While on fire, he managed to run across the street toward a grocery store before falling, succumbing to the flames. That day he did not die, though.

During an interview in the hospital and in his suicide letter, he called for a strike and expressed dissatisfaction with the resignation of citizens toward the regime’s policies. With 85 percent of his body covered in third degree burns, he passed away in the hospital three days after his self-immolation attempt. Who was Jan Palach? Born August 11, 1948 in the town of Všetaty of central Bohemia, Palach held his parents in great esteem. They ran their own business –a confectionery- until it was closed by the Communists in 1951. In 1955 his father wound up working in a factory while his mother found employment in a shop. Jan’s only sibling, brother Jiří, was seven years older. From 1954 to 1963 Palach developed interests in reading, nature and history while attending elementary school in his hometown. It came as a great blow to the 13-year old Palach when his father died in 1962. Still, he graduated from high school in Mělník and passed his entrance exam for Charles University’s Faculty of Philosophy.

Yet he was not accepted – one source asserts that he was rejected due to the high number of applicants, another because his parents had managed their own business. So, in 1966 he studied at the Prague School of Economics until he was accepted by Charles University’s Faculty of Philosophy in 1968, when he took up history and political economics. During his college years he went abroad twice, once to the Soviet Union and another time to France, taking part in student work brigades. An avid demonstrator against the Soviet occupation, he had been involved in the November 1968 student strikes. Yet these protests seemed to be falling on deaf ears. The funeral and the grave Palach’s funeral at Prague’s Olšany Cemetery on January 25 turned into a huge demonstration against the Soviet occupation. But Palach was not to find peace even in his grave. During October of 1973, without asking the family’s permission, the Secret Police had him cremated and replaced Palach with the body of an elderly lady in the Olšany grave. His ashes remained with his mother in Všetaty. The police would not even allow her to put the urn in the local cemetery until 1974.

The Secret Police watched his grave, forbidding followers from placing flowers on Palach’s resting place. Palach’s ashes were transported to Olšany in 1990. Deadly copycats Palach wrote in his suicide letter that he did not want others to follow his example. Yet some did not heed his warning. From January through April of 1969, 26 individuals set fire to themselves. The day after Palach’s death Josef Hlavatý committed an act of self-immolation in front of a memorial to first democratic Czechoslovak president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in Pilsen. Marking a month after Palach’s funeral 18-year old Jan Zajíc poured gasoline on himself at Wenceslas Square. Other deaths by fire took place in Jihlava and Košice. The self-immolation trend was not limited to Czechoslovakia, though. Students in Hungary and Latvia also attempted suicide in this way.

Jan Palach in 1989 On the 20th anniversary of Palach’s sacrifice, during the so-called Jan Palach Week lasting from January 15 to January 22, 1989, there were many demonstrations against the totalitarian regime. Protestors were beaten by the police, who also used water cannons to keep them at bay. On January 15, 1989 a citizen named Václav Havel was arrested at the statue of Saint Wenceslas and sent to prison. Monuments to Palach On Wenceslas Square now there is a modest monument to both Palach and Zajíc at the spot where Palach fell. A small memorial with Palach’s death mask adorns the façade of Charles University’s Faculty of Philosophy, and the square on which the building is situated is named after him. Squares in Rome and Luxembourg also bear the martyr’s name. Streets named after Palach can be found in Luxembourg, France, Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There is even a Palach memorial inside a glacier tunnel in Switzerland. Songs and poems have been written about Palach.

A radio play and a documentary also focus on the Všetaty native. In 1991 President Havel posthumously awarded him a medal for serving democracy and upholding human rights. The spring of 2003 During the spring of 2003, a wave of Palach imitators appeared on the scene. On March 6, 19-year old Zdeněk Adamec from Humpolec, a town about an hour from Prague, sparked off the trend by setting fire to himself on the terrace of the National Museum. He even referred to Palach in a suicide letter that illustrated among other issues his dissatisfaction with the political situation, the bad state of society and ecological concerns. Other March suicides – some students, some mentally ill – also blamed the condition of society, but pointed at the United States’ aggression in Iraq, too, as a reason for their actions. The situation in Czechoslovakia after Palach´s death After Palach’s brave death, the situation in Czechoslovakia did not get improve. Violent anti-Soviet riots took place after the Czechoslovak ice hockey team defeated the USSR, 4-3, in the world championships during March.

A few days later Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimír Semyonov warned Czechoslovak President Ludvík Svoboda that if the government was not able to restore peace, the Soviets would make sure peace was maintained, even if it meant crushing demonstrators with tanks. Then Smrkovský was removed from his posts, and Dubček was replaced by Slovak nationalist Gustav Husák as First Secretary. Finally revered as a hero It would be a long time before democracy and freedom came to Czechoslovakia and Palach would be officially recognized as a martyr. To be sure, Palach’s actions were not in vain. He stood up to the harsh regime while others merely accepted the political situation. He gave his life because he believed in democracy and human rights. And he will never be forgotten.

Related Tours Alexander Dubcek, 70, Dies in Prague - NYTimes.com Alexander Dubcek, 70, Dies in Prague By RICHARD SEVERO Published: November 9, 1992 Alexander Dubcek, the Czechoslovak leader whose bold attempt in 1968 to give his country "socialism with a human face" was crushed by an invasion of Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops, died on Saturday night at a hospital in Prague. He was 70 years old. Mr. Dubcek died of multiple organ failure as a result of injuries he suffered in an automobile accident on Sept. 1. Mr. Dubcek had been listed in critical condition at Homolse Hospital for the last two weeks and had been hospitalized since the accident. The accident occurred when a car driven by Mr. Dubcek's chauffeur left the highway in a rainstorm and plunged down a ravine. Mr. Dubcek suffered serious spine and chest injuries and underwent surgery. The chauffeur, Jan Reznik, who was not seriously injured, was charged with "causing bodily harm," the state news agency reported. The death of Mr.

Dubcek may complicate the political situation in Czechoslovakia, which plans to split into two independent states on Jan. 1. Mr. Dubcek, who had been subjected to years of banishment by the Communist authorities who replaced him after the collapse of his "Prague Spring" in 1968, remained a popular figure. Opposed Nation's Breakup Although he opposed the breakup of Czechoslovakia, he had been mentioned as a possible candidate to become President of an independent Slovakia. There were Czechs and Slovaks who thought he was too old to lead again, but nobody questioned his courage and his ideals. Almost immediately upon succeeding Antonin Novotny as first secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party in January 1968, Mr. Dubcek began to loosen the stringent control that had defined Communist political life in Eastern Europe under the dominant influence of the Soviet Union. He quickly found himself in confrontation with the Kremlin. He had previously been known as a loyal Communist with strong party credentials, and was regarded as a shy man, certainly not one given to impulsive action. Within weeks of taking office, however, Mr.

Dubcek stunned Moscow and the rest of the world with his publicly stated determination to achieve the "widest possible democratization" of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of "a free, modern, and profoundly humane society." Eased Censorship Mr. Dubcek relaxed the party's censor control of Czechoslovak newspapers and broadcasts and permitted the Writers Union, a group of militant dissidents, to freely write and edit a literary journal. And he sent out word that the purges and political vendettas of the past were to be no more. This was heady wine in 1968; nothing remotely resembling such independence had existed in Eastern Europe since the Hungarian uprising of 1956, which had also been crushed by Soviet troops. Party conformists in and out of Czechoslovakia were amazed and angry. By the middle of July 1968, Communist leaders from East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria were meeting in Warsaw to deliberate what had become the Dubcek problem. Conspicuously absent from the meeting was Mr. Dubcek himself, who would have nothing to do with it. He said the very goal of the gathering constituted meddling in the internal affairs of his country and was thus unacceptable.

When other Warsaw Pact nations denounced his own behavior as unacceptable, the Czechoslovak Communist Party's Central Committee announced rather nervously that Mr. Dubcek's liberal moves would only strengthen the nation's ties to the rest of the Warsaw Pact nations. The relationship between Moscow and Prague crumbled rapidly. In July 1968, the Soviet authorities reluctantly agreed to a meeting on Czechoslovak soil near the Soviet border between Mr. Dubcek and Leonid I. Brezhnev, the Soviet Communist Party leader. Some concessions were reportedly made by the Czechoslovaks, but Mr. Dubcek resisted Mr. Brezhnev's insistence that the important liberal reforms that had become known as the Prague Spring be rescinded. In the weeks that followed, Mr. Dubcek got some words of encouragement from President Tito of Yugoslavia and President Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania. Walter Ulbricht, the hard-line leader of East Germany, warned Mr. Dubcek that prudence dictated a quick return to Communist orthodoxy. On Aug. 21, 1968, after it became clear to the Moscow that Mr.

Dubcek was not going to compromise in any substantive way, Czechoslovakia was invaded by armed forces from the Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland, East Germany and Bulgaria. Flowers vs. Tanks For days, the world read accounts and watched on television as unarmed Czechoslovak students and workers confronted Soviet tanks and soldiers with flowers and placards, pleading with them to go home. The images contrasted with Moscow's assurances that the invasion had taken place only because Communist leaders within Czechoslovakia had asked for such intervention. Inside and outside the Communist world, there was widespread condemnation of the invasion. The Communist parties of France, Italy, Yugoslavia and China, among others, denounced the Soviet move. The United Nations Security Council voted 10 to 2 for a resolution that called for withdrawal of the invading forces, but the Soviet Union vetoed it. Sporadic violence erupted. Within a few days, 20 Czechoslovaks were killed and more than 300 were wounded in Prague, according to Government estimates.

1 August 21, 1968: Tanks roll into Czechoslovakia as Dubcek’s Prague Spring comes to a bloody end - BT August 21, 1968: Tanks roll into Czechoslovakia as Dubcek’s Prague Spring comes to a bloody end More than 20,000 soldiers from the Soviet Union and its allies invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the programme of liberal reform put in place by Prime Minister Alexander Dubcek. Print this story Troops and tanks from the Soviet Union and their main Warsaw Pact allies rolled into Czechoslovakia on this day in 1968 to bring a crushing end to the country’s programme of liberal reform that had become known as the ‘Prague Spring’. In a terrifying display of force shown in the video above, 20,000 soldiers and more than 2,000 armoured vehicles entered the country overnight after Prague’s main airport had been taken by a Soviet airborne division, and more would follow. The invasion stemmed from anxiety in Moscow over policies introduced by the government of Prime Minister Alexander Dubcek, who had taken office as leader of the ruling Communist Party in January.

Dubcek, while a committed Communist, was determined to eliminate the most repressive elements of the one-party regime, and had relaxed censorship of the media, restrictions on travel, and surveillance of those deemed to be politically dangerous by the secret police. Leonid Brezhnev and leaders of other Warsaw Pact countries were concerned that if the policies were seen to be successful, reformist unrest could occur in neighbouring countries, and that Czechoslovakia could even leave the Pact, destabilising the Soviet bloc. Although the Czechoslovak army were ordered not to resist the invasion, over 100 civilians would be killed as a result of it, and many more wounded after huge crowds gathered in the streets chanting slogans in support of their leaders, and against the foreign troops. Their opposition was of little use. With Mr Dubcek arrested and all rail, road and airline routes out of Czechoslovakia closed, any resistance was quickly overcome as more and more troops from the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria poured into the country.

Reformist members of the government were flown to Moscow and interrogated for days; Dubcek would remain nominally in power until April 1969 but his reforms were rolled back as a repressive regime was once more enforced which would remain in place for more than 20 years. Do you remember the Warsaw Pact countries invading Czechoslovakia? Should the West have done more to help the reformists? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The Prague Spring – Did you know? Czechoslovak leaders had met their Soviet counterparts in July 1968 at Čierna nad Tisou, near the Slovak-Soviet border, where they had pledged loyalty to the Warsaw Pact and promised to curb "anti-socialist" tendencies in their country. Dubcek felt that the outcome of the talks had overcome any Soviet fears about his programme of liberalisation; for this reason, he and his fellow reformists did not believe any military action against Czechoslovakia was likely.

In the wake of the invasion the Soviet press released an unsigned letter, purportedly from members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC) asking for “immediate assistance” in ending the “imminent danger of counterrevolution”. Though widely believed in Czechoslovakia at the time to be a fake, a copy of the letter, signed by five conservative members of the KSC, was handed to President Vaclav Havel in the early 1990s. Though widely condemned across the western world, the invasion was not challenged by its governments. US President Lyndon Johnson offered no formal opposition as he did not want to hinder talks on a proposed arms limitation treaty with the USSR Support for military action was not unanimous throughout the Warsaw Pact, however. Yugoslavia and Romania refused to take part in it, while Albania went so far as to withdraw from the Pact completely in protest. In Autumn 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev and other Warsaw Pact leaders drafted a statement condemning the 1968 invasion – giving rise to the peaceful transition to a parliamentary democracy in Czechoslovakia later that year, dubbed ‘the Velvet Revolution’.

After his expulsion from the KSC in 1969, Dubcek worked in the Forestry Service in Slovakia. He returned to Prague during the Velvet Revolution to great acclaim, was elected Chairman of the Czechoslovak Parliament on December 28, 1989, and re-elected in 1990 and 1992. Dubcek died in November 1992 as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in September of that year. He was buried in Bratislava, which two months later would become the capital city of a newly independent Slovakia following its ‘Velvet Divorce’ from the Czech Republic.

Question: What city had a liberal "spring" in 1968 that was crushed by Soviet tanks?
Answer: Prague