Czechoslovakia

Československo, Česko-Slovensko Czechoslovakia ← 1918–1992 →   →   → Flag since 1920 Coat of arms in 1990–1992 Motto Czech: Pravda vítězí ("Truth prevails"; 1918–1990) Latin: Veritas Vincit ("Truth prevails"; 1990–1992) Anthem Kde domov můj and Nad Tatrou sa blýska Capital Prague (Praha) Language(s) Czech and Slovak Government Republic President  - 1918–1935 Tomáš G. Masaryk (first)  - 1989–1992 Václav Havel (last) Prime Minister  - 1918–1919 Karel Kramář  - 1992 Jan Stráský History  - Independence from Austria–Hungary 28 October 1918  - German occupation 1939  - Liberation 1945  - Dissolution of Czechoslovakia 31 December 1992 Area  - 1921 140,446 km2 (54,227 sq mi)  - 1993 127,900 km2 (49,382 sq mi) Population  - 1921 est. 13,607,385       Density 96.9 /km2  (250.9 /sq mi)  - 1993 est. 15,600,000       Density 122 /km2  (315.9 /sq mi) Currency Czechoslovak koruna Internet TLD .cs Calling code +42 Current ISO 3166-3 code:        CSHH The calling code 42 was retired in Winter 1997. The number range was subdivided, and re-allocated amongst Czech Republic, Slovakia and Liechtenstein.

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia^[1] (Československo or Česko-Slovensko^[2]) was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992. From 1939 to 1945 the state did not have de facto existence, due to its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, but the Czechoslovak government-in-exile nevertheless continued to exist during this time period. In 1945 the eastern part of Carpathian Ruthenia was taken over by the Soviet Union. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Contents 1 Basic characteristics 2 Official names 3 History 3.1 Foundation 3.1.1 Origins 3.1.2 Founding 3.1.3 Ethnicity 3.2 Interwar 3.3 Munich 3.4 Communist Czechoslovakia 3.5 After 1989 4 Heads of state and government 5 Foreign policy 5.1 International agreements and membership 6 Administrative divisions 7 Population and ethnic groups 8 Politics 9 Constitutional development 10 Economy 11 Resource base 12 Transportation and communications 13 Society and social groups 14 Education 15 Religion 16 Health, social welfare and housing 17 Mass media 18 Sports 19 Culture 20 Postage stamps 21 Timeline: From creation to dissolution 22 See also 23 References 23.1 Sources 23.2 Notes 24 Further reading 25 External links

[edit] Basic characteristics

Form of state:

• 1918–1938: A democratic republic.
• 1938–1939: After annexation of Sudetenland by Germany in 1938, the region gradually turned into a state with loosened connections between Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian parts. A large strip of southern Slovakia and Ruthenia was annexed by Hungary, and the Zaolzie region was annexed by Poland.
• 1939–1945: The region split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic. A government-in-exile continued to exist in London, supported by the United Kingdom, United States and its Allies; after German invasion of Russia, it was also recognised by the USSR. Czechoslovakia was part of Declaration by United Nations and was a founding member of United Nations.
• 1946–1948: The country was governed by a coalition government with Communist ministers, with the prime minister and the minister of interior. Carpathian Ruthenia was ceded to the USSR.
• 1948–1989: The country became a communist state with a centrally planned economy. In 1960, the country officially became a socialist republic.
• 1969–1990: The federal republic consisted of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic.
• 1990–1992: The federal democratic republic consisted of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

Neighbours: Germany, 1945–1990, West and East Germany; Poland, from 1945; Soviet Union (1992: Ukraine); Romania (until 1939); Hungary; Austria.

Topography: The country was of generally irregular terrain. The western area was part of north-central European uplands. The eastern region was composed of northern reaches of Carpathian Mountains and Danube River basin lands.

Climate: The weather was predominantly continental, but varied from the moderate temperature of Western Europe in the west, to more severe weather of Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union in the east.

[edit] Official names

• 1918–1920: Republic of Czechoslovakia (abbreviated RČS)/Czecho-Slovak State;^[3], or Czecho-Slovakia/Czechoslovakia.
• 1920–1938: Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), or Czechoslovakia.
• 1938–1939: Czecho-Slovak Republic, or Czecho-Slovakia.
• 1945–1960: Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), or Czechoslovakia.
• 1960–1990: Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (ČSSR), or Czechoslovakia.
• April 1990: Czechoslovak Federative Republic (Czech version) and Czecho-Slovak Federative Republic (Slovak version).
• The country subsequently became the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, ČSFR, or Československo in Czech and Česko-Slovensko in Slovak.

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

[edit] Origins

The area was long a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire until the Empire collapsed at the end of World War I. A new state was born with Tomáš Masaryk (1850-1937) serving as the first president from 1918 to 1935. He was succeeded by his close ally, Eduard Benes (1884-1948).

The roots of Czech nationalism go back to the 19th century, when philologists and educators, influenced by Romanticism, promoted the Czech language and pride in the Czech nation. Nationalism became a mass movement in the last half of the 19th century. Taking advantage of the opportunities for limited participation in political life available under the Austrian rule, Czech leaders such as historian František Palacký (1798-1878) founded many patriotic, self-help organizations which provided a chance for many of their compatriots to participate in communal life prior to independence. At first, Palacky supported Austro-Slavism and worked for reorganized, federal, and Slavic-dominated Austrian Empire, which would protect Slavs against Russian and German threats.

The failure of the Revolution of 1848, however, crushed his hopes for Austro-Slavism. Palacky then turned gradually toward Russia and Russian-led Pan-Slavism. An advocate of democratic reform and Czech autonomy within Austria-Hungary, Masaryk was elected twice in 1891 and 1907 to the Austrian parliament. In 1900, he founded the Progressive (or Realist) party. With the outbreak of World War I, Masaryk began working for Czech independence in union with Slovakia. With Benes and Milan Stefanik, Masaryk visited several Western countries and won support from influential publicists.^[4]

Bohemia and Moravia, under Austrian rule, were Czech-speaking industrial centers, while Slovakia, which was part of Hungary, was an undeveloped agrarian region. Conditions were much better for the development of a mass national movement in the Czech lands than in Slovakia. Nevertheless, the two regions united and created a new nation.

[edit] Founding

Czechoslovakia was founded in October 1918 as one of the successor states of Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I and as part of the Treaty of Versailles. It consisted of the present day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia. Its territory included some of the most industrialized regions of the former Austria-Hungary.

[edit] Ethnicity

The new country was a multi-ethnic state. The population consisted of Czechs (51%), Slovaks (16%), Germans (22%), Hungarians (5%) and Rusyns (4%).^[5] Many of the Germans, Hungarians, Ruthenians and Poles^[6] and some Slovaks, felt oppressed, however, because the political elite did not generally allow political autonomy for minority ethnic groups. This policy, combined with increasing Nazi propaganda especially in the industrialized German speaking Sudetenland, led to unrest among the non-Czech population.

The state nonetheless proclaimed the official ideology that there are no Czechs and Slovaks, but only one nation of Czechoslovaks (see Czechoslovakism), to the disagreement of Slovaks and other ethic groups. Once a unified Czechoslovakia was restored after the World War II (after the country had been divided during the war), the conflict between the Czechs and the Slovaks surfaced again.

Nationalities of Czechoslovakia 1921[7]
total population	13,607.385
Czechoslovaks	8,759.701	64.37 %
Germans	3,123.305	22.95 %
Hungarians	744.621	5.47 %
Ruthenians	461.449	3.39 %
Jews	180.534	1.33 %
Poles	75.852	0.56 %
Others	23.139	0.17 %
Foreigners	238.784	1.75 %

[edit] Interwar

The period between the two world wars saw the flowering of democracy in Czechoslovakia. Of all the new states established in central Europe after 1918, only Czechoslovakia preserved a democratic government until the war broke out. The persistence of democracy suggests that Czechoslovakia was better prepared to maintain democracy than were other countries in the region. Thus, despite regional disparities, its level of development was much higher than that of neighboring states. The population was by and large literate, and contained fewer alienated groups. The impact of these conditions was augmented by political values of Czechoslovakia's leaders and the policies they adopted. Under Masaryk, Czech and Slovak politicians promoted progressive social and economic conditions that served to diffuse discontent.

Foreign minister Benes became the prime architect of the Czechoslovak-Romanian-Yugoslav alliance (the "Little Entente", 1921-38) directed against Hungarian attempts to reclaim lost areas with Hungarian majorities. Benes worked closely with France. By a risky move in 1918, the nation annexed "Sudetenland", a fringe region that comprised 3 million Germans, who opposed the annexation and were treated as second class citizens by the new government in Prague. The original idea was that the Sudetenland had hilly areas that made feasible a military defense. Far more dangerous was the German element, which after 1933 became allied with the Nazis in Germany. The increasing feeling of inferiority among the Slovaks, who were hostile to the more numerous Czechs, weakened the country in the late 1930s. Many Slovaks supported an extreme nationalist movement and welcomed the puppet Slovak state set up under Hitler's control in 1939.

[edit] Munich

In 1938, Hitler demanded control of the Sudetenland. Britain, and France at the Munich Conference ceded the control in the Appeasement, ignoring the military alliance Czechoslovakia had with France. In 1939, the remainder ("rump") of Czechoslovakia was invaded by Nazi Germany and divided into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the puppet Slovak State. Much of Slovakia and all of Subcarpathian Ruthenia were annexed by Hungary. Poland occupied Zaolzie, an area with Polish minority, in October 1938).

[edit] Communist Czechoslovakia

After World War II, prewar Czechoslovakia was re-established, with the exception of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which was annexed by the Soviet Union and incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Beneš decrees were promulgated concerning ethnic Germans (see Potsdam Agreement) and ethnic Hungarians. Under the decrees, citizenship was abrogated for people of German and Hungarian ethnic origin, who had accepted German or Hungarian citizenship during the occupations. In 1948, this provision was canceled for the Hungarians, but only partially for the Germans. The government then confiscated the property of the Germans and expelled about 90% of the ethnic German population, over 2 million people. Those who remained were collectively accused of supporting the Nazis after the Munich Agreement, and 97.32% of Sudeten Germans voted for the NSDAP in the December 1938 elections. Almost every decree explicitly stated that the sanctions did not apply to antifascists, although the term antifascist was not explicitly defined. 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.^[8]

Carpathian Ruthenia was occupied by (and in June 1945 formally ceded to) the Soviet Union. In the 1946 parliamentary election, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was the winner in the Czech lands, and the Democratic Party won in Slovakia. In February 1948, the Communists seized power. Although they would maintain the fiction of political pluralism through the existence of the National Front, except for a short period in the late 1960s (the Prague Spring) the country was characterised by the absence of liberal democracy. While its economy remained more advanced than those of its neighbours in Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia grew increasingly economically weak relative to Western Europe.

In 1968, in response to a brief period of liberalization, five Eastern Bloc countries invaded Czechoslovakia. Soviet tanks rolled into Prague on August 21, 1968.^[9] Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev viewed this intervention as vital to the preservation of the Soviet, socialist system and vowed to intervene in any state that sought to replace Marxism-Leninism with capitalism.^[10] In 1969, Czechoslovakia was turned into a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic. Under the federation, social and economic inequities between the Czech and Slovak halves of the state were largely eliminated. A number of ministries, such as education, were formally transferred to the two republics. However, the centralised political control by the Communist Party severely limited the effects of federalisation.

The 1970s saw the rise of the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia, represented (among others) by Václav 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.

[edit] After 1989

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In 1989 the Velvet Revolution restored democracy. This occurred at around the same time as the fall of communism in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland. Within three years communist rule was extirpated from Europe.

Unlike Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, the end of communism in this country did not automatically mean the end of the "communist" name: the word "socialist" was removed from the name on March 29, 1990, and replaced by "federal".

In 1992, because of growing nationalist tensions, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved by parliament. On January 1st, 1993, it formally separated into two completely independent countries: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

[edit] Heads of state and government

• List of Presidents of Czechoslovakia
• List of Prime Ministers of Czechoslovakia
• see also leaders of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

[edit] Foreign policy

[edit] International agreements and membership

After the WWII, active participant in Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), Warsaw Pact, United Nations and its specialized agencies; signatory of conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

[edit] Administrative divisions

• 1918–1923: Different systems in former Austrian territory (Bohemia, Moravia, a small part of Silesia) compared to former Hungarian territory (Slovakia and Ruthenia): three lands (země) (also called district units (obvody)): Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, plus 21 counties (župy) in today's Slovakia and two(?) counties in today's Ruthenia; both lands and counties were divided into districts (okresy).
• 1923–1927: As above, except that the Slovakian and Ruthenian counties were replaced by six (grand) counties ((veľ)župy) in Slovakia and one (grand) county in Ruthenia, and the numbers and boundaries of the okresy were changed in those two territories.
• 1928–1938: Four lands (Czech: země, Slovak: krajiny): Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia, divided into districts (okresy).
• Late 1938–March 1939: As above, but Slovakia and Ruthenia gained the status of "autonomous lands".
• 1945–1948: As in 1928–1938, except that Ruthenia became part of the Soviet Union.
• 1949–1960: 19 regions (kraje) divided into 270 okresy.
• 1960–1992: 10 kraje, Prague, and (from 1970) Bratislava (capital of Slovakia); these were divided into 109–114 okresy; the kraje were abolished temporarily in Slovakia in 1969–1970 and for many purposes from 1991 in Czechoslovakia; in addition, the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic were established in 1969 (without the word Socialist from 1990).

[edit] Population and ethnic groups

[edit] Politics

After WWII, a political monopoly was held by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC). Gustáv Husák was elected first secretary of the KSC 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 KSC. All political parties, as well as numerous mass organizations, were grouped under umbrella of the National Front. Human rights activists and religious activists were severely repressed.

[edit] Constitutional development

Czechoslovakia had the following constitutions during its history (1918–1992):

• Temporary constitution of November 14, 1918 (democratic): see History of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)
• The 1920 constitution (The Constitutional Document of the Czechoslovak Republic), democratic, in force until 1948, several amendments
• The Communist 1948 Ninth-of-May constitution
• The Communist 1960 Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic with major amendments in 1968 (Constitutional Law of Federation), 1971, 1975, 1978, and 1989 (at which point the leading role of the Communist Party was abolished). It was amended several more times during 1990–1992 (e.g. 1990, name change to Czecho-Slovakia, 1991 incorporation of the human rights charter)

[edit] Economy

After WWII, the economy was centrally planned, with command links controlled by the communist party, similarly to the Soviet Union. The large metallurgical industry was dependent on imports of iron and non-ferrous ores.

• Industry: Extractive industry and manufacturing dominated the sector, including machinery, chemicals, food processing, metallurgy, and textiles. The sector was wasteful in its use of energy, materials, and labor and was slow to upgrade technology, but the country was a major supplier of high-quality machinery, instruments, electronics, aircraft, airplane engines and arms to other communist countries.
• Agriculture: Agriculture was a minor sector, but collectivized farms of large acreage and relatively efficient mode of production enabled the country to be relatively self-sufficient in food supply. The country depended on imports of grains (mainly for livestock feed) in years of adverse weather. Meat production was constrained by shortage of feed, but the country still recorded high per capita consumption of meat.
• Foreign trade: Exports were estimated at US$17.8 billion in 1985. Exports were machinery (55%), fuel and materials (14%), and manufactured consumer goods (16%). Imports stood at estimated US$17.9 billion in 1985, including fuel and materials (41%), machinery (33%), and agricultural and forestry products (12%). In 1986, about 80% of foreign trade was with other communist countries.
• Exchange rate: Official, or commercial, rate was crowns (Kčs) 5.4 per US$1 in 1987. Tourist, or non-commercial, rate was Kčs 10.5 per US$1. Neither rate reflected purchasing power. The exchange rate on the black market was around Kčs 30 per US$1, which became the official rate once the currency became convertible in the early 1990s.
• Fiscal year: Calendar year.
• Fiscal policy: The state was the exclusive owner of means of production in most cases. Revenue from state enterprises was the primary source of revenues followed by turnover tax. The government spent heavily on social programs, subsidies, and investment. Budget was usually balanced or left small surplus.

[edit] Resource base

After WWII, the country was short of energy, relying on imported crude oil and natural gas from Soviet Union, domestic brown coal, and nuclear and hydroelectric energy. Energy constraints a major factor in 1980s.

[edit] Transportation and communications

[edit] Society and social groups

[edit] Education

Education free at all levels and compulsory from age six to fifteen. Vast majority of population literate. Highly developed system of apprenticeship training and vocational schools supplemented general secondary schools and institutions of higher education.

[edit] Religion

In 1991: Roman Catholics 46.4%, Evangelic Lutheran 5.3%, Atheist 29.5%, n/a 16.7%, but there were huge differences between the two constituent republics – see Czech Republic and Slovakia

[edit] Health, social welfare and housing

After WWII, free health care was available to all citizens. National health planning emphasized preventive medicine; factory and local health care centers supplemented hospitals and other inpatient institutions. There was substantial improvement in rural health care during the 1960s and 1970s.

[edit] Mass media

During Communist rule, the mass media in Czechoslovakia were controlled by the Communist 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 were reviewed by the government's Office for Press and Information.

[edit] Sports

The Czechoslovakia national football team was a consistent performer on the international scene, with 8 appearances in the FIFA World Cup Finals, finishing in second place in 1934 and 1962. The team also won the European Football Championship in 1976, came in third in 1980 and won the Olympic gold 1980.

The Czechoslovak national ice hockey team won many medals from the world championships and Olympic Games. Peter Šťastný, Jaromír Jágr, Peter Bondra, Marián Gáborík, and Pavol Demitra all come from Czechoslovakia.

Emil Zátopek, winner of four Olympic gold medals in athletics, is considered one of the top athletes in history.

Věra Čáslavská was an Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics, winning seven gold medals and four silver medals, and represented Czechoslovakia in three consecutive Olympics.

The famous tennis players Ivan Lendl, Miloslav Mečíř, Daniela Hantuchová and Martina Navrátilová were born in Czechoslovakia.

[edit] Culture

• Czech Republic, Slovakia
• List of Czechs, List of Slovaks
• MDŽ
• Jazz in dissident Czechoslovakia

[edit] Postage stamps

• List of people on stamps of Czechoslovakia
• Czechoslovakia's first issue
• Czechoslovakia stamp reused by Slovak Republic after January 18th, 1939 by overprinting country and value

[edit] Timeline: From creation to dissolution

v • d • e Timeline of Czechoslovak statehood
Timeline	Origins	1918–1938	World War II (1938–1945)		1945–1948	1948–1989		1989–1992	Dissolution
Bohemia Moravia Silesia	crown lands of the Austrian Empire	First Republic of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938) Full boundaries and government established by the 1920 constitution	Sudetenland annexed by Nazi Germany (1938–1945)		Third Republic of Czechoslovakia (ČSR) (1945–1948)	Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR) (1948–1960) Declared a "people's democracy" (without a formal name change) under the Ninth-of-May Constitution	Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (ČSSR) (1960–1990) Including Czech Socialist Republic & Slovak Socialist Republic (1969–1990)	Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (ČSFR) (1990–1992) Including Czech Republic & Slovak Republic	Czech Republic (since 1993)
			Second Republic of Czecho-Slovakia (ČSR) (1938–1939) Including autonomous regions of Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia	Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939–1945)
Slovakia	part of the Kingdom of Hungary			Slovak Republic (1939–1945)					Slovakia (since 1993)
				Southern Slovakia and Carpatho-Ukraine Awarded to  Hungary (1939–1945)
Carpathian Ruthenia					Zakarpattia Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR (1944/1946–1991)			Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine (since 1991)
			Czechoslovak government-in-exile

[edit] See also

• Former countries in Europe after 1815
• Effects on the environment in Czechoslovakia from Soviet influence during the Cold War
• 1968 Red Square demonstration

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Czechoslovak Republic

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

• Heimann, Mary. Czechoslovakia: The State That Failed (2009). the best scholarly history in English, but with a negative tone stressing maltreatment of minorities.
• Hermann, A. H. A History of the Czechs (1975)
• Kalvoda, Josef. The Genesis of Czechoslovakia (1986)
• Leff, Carol Skalnick. National Conflict in Czechoslovakia: The Making and Remaking of a State, 1918-87 (1988)
• Mantey, Victor. A History of the Czechoslovak Republic (1973)
• Myant, Martin. The Czechoslovak Economy, 1948-88 (1989)
• Naimark, Norman, and Leonid Gibianskii, eds. The Establishment of Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe, 1944-1949 (1997) online edition
• Paul, David. Czechoslovakia: Profile of a Socialist Republic at the Crossroads of Europe (1990)
• Renner, Hans. A History of Czechoslovakia since 1945 (1989);
• Seton-Watson, R. W. A History of the Czechs and Slovaks (1943)
• Stone, Norman, and E. Strouhal, eds.Czechoslovakia: Crossroads and Crises, 1918-88 (1989)
• Wheaton, Bernard; Zdenek Kavav. "The Velvet Revolution: Czechoslovakia, 1988-1991". (1992).
• Wolchik, Sharon L. Czechoslovakia: Politics, Society, and Economics (1990)
• online books and articles

[edit] External links

• U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies, "Czechoslovakia" in public domain
• Soviet Invasion of 1968

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Czechoslovakia

• Orders and Medals of Czechoslovakia including Order of the White Lion (in English and Czech)
• Czechoslovakia-The First Czechoslovak Republic
• Andropov to the Central Committee, about the Demonstration in Red Square Against the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia, September 20, 1968. Andrei Sakharov KGB file, Archieve posted at the Yale University, http://www.yale.edu/annals/sakharov/documents_frames/Sakharov_008.htm
• Hungarian Language Map, border changes after the creation of Czechoslovakia
• Map
• Map

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