Czechoslovakia
On the 28th of October 1918, a crowd gathered on Prague's Wenceslas Square to hear the declaration of independence. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk returned from exile to become the first president of the new state. The country emerged from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. It combined Czech lands with Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia into one republic. Masaryk served as president until the 14th of December 1935. He was succeeded by Edvard Beneš. The population included Czechs at 51 percent and Slovaks at 16 percent. Germans made up 22 percent of the total. Hungarians accounted for 5 percent. This multi-ethnic composition created immediate challenges for national unity. The government promoted an ideology that there were no separate nations but only one people called Czechoslovaks. This view clashed with Slovak aspirations for autonomy. Political life remained democratic between the two world wars. The state maintained alliances with France and Romania known as the Little Entente. Foreign policy aimed to counter Hungarian territorial claims. Economic conditions improved under progressive social policies. Literacy rates rose significantly across the region.
Adolf Hitler demanded control over the Sudetenland in September 1938. Britain and France agreed to his demands at the Munich Conference on the 29th of September 1938. They ignored their military alliance with Czechoslovakia. Nazi Germany occupied the border regions during October 1938. The country lost its defensive capabilities overnight. Hungary received a strip of southern Slovakia through the First Vienna Award. Poland annexed the Zaolzie area where most residents spoke Polish. On the 14th of March 1939, Slovakia declared independence as a satellite state of Nazi Germany. Carpathian Ruthenia was occupied by Hungary the next day. The German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia formed from the remaining territory. Reinhard Heydrich organized deportations of Jews to concentration camps. Terezín became a ghetto way station for Jewish families. More than 70,000 Jews were killed during the occupation. Only 8,000 survived at Terezín. Heydrich died after being wounded by an assassin in Operation Anthropoid on the 4th of June 1942. His successor ordered mass arrests and executions. Villages like Lidice and Ležáky were destroyed. Between 36,000 and 55,000 Czechs died from political persecution or in camps. Approximately 250,000 people passed through concentration camps. Soviet Red Army troops entered Prague on the 9th of May 1945.
The Communist Party won the election in the Czech lands in February 1946. They seized power completely in February 1948. Gustáv Husák became first secretary of the Communist Party in 1969. He later served as president starting in 1975. A currency reform in June 1953 caused widespread dissatisfaction among citizens. People had to exchange their money under unfavorable conditions set by state propaganda. The banks confiscated savings and bank deposits to control circulation. Riots erupted in Plzeň between May 31 and the 2nd of June 1953. Police units put down the rebellion with hundreds injured but no deaths. Economic growth averaged 7 percent per year during the 1950s. This allowed for substantial increases in wages and living standards. The country joined Comecon in 1949 and the Warsaw Pact in 1955. It functioned as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. All political parties operated under the umbrella of the National Front. Human rights activists faced severe repression throughout this period. Private ownership of media publications was generally forbidden. The government reviewed all content through its Office for Press and Information. Free health care became available to all citizens after World War II. Rural healthcare improved significantly during the 1960s and 1970s.
Alexander Dubček was appointed First Secretary on the 5th of January 1968. He initiated a brief period of liberalization known as the Prague Spring. Representatives from Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia signed the Bratislava Declaration on the 3rd of August 1968. Soviet troops left Czechoslovakian territory temporarily before returning on the 21st of August 1968. Tanks rolled into the country during the night of the 20th of August 21, 1968. Leonid Brezhnev viewed this intervention as vital for preserving the socialist system. A spontaneous campaign of civil resistance followed immediately after the invasion began. Citizens engaged in acts of non-cooperation and defiance against the occupation. The Communist Party leadership gradually put brakes on earlier liberal policies. In 1968, 69, Czechoslovakia became a federation of two equal republics. Social and economic inequities between the halves were supposed to be eliminated. Ministries like education became formally equal bodies in both republics. Centralized political control severely limited federalization effects. Václav Havel emerged as a leading figure in the dissident movement during the 1970s. Dissidents faced limitations on work activities and refusal of higher education for their children. Police harassment and imprisonment became common tactics used by authorities.
The Velvet Revolution began on the 17th of November 1989 and ended eleven days later on November 28. All top Communist leaders resigned along with the entire Communist party presidium. Milos Jakeš had become communist leader on the 17th of December 1987 before resigning on the 24th of November 1989. The word socialist was removed from the country's name on the 29th of March 1990. Pope John Paul II visited Czechoslovakia on the 21st of April 1990. He hailed it as a symbolic step toward reviving Christianity. Czechoslovakia participated in the Gulf War with 200 troops under U.S.-led command. Growing nationalist tensions led parliament to peacefully dissolve the state in 1992. On the 31st of December 1992, it formally separated into two independent countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Approximately 90 percent of the ethnic German population was expelled after World War II. About 2 million people left the country following these decrees. Some 250,000 Germans remained because they were married to Czechs or needed for reconstruction. Greek Communist refugees settled parts of the former Sudetenland around Krnov starting in 1949.
Before World War II, the economy ranked fourth among all industrial countries in Europe. Škoda manufactured cars while Tatra produced trucks and buses. Aero and Avia built aircraft during this period. Baťa made shoes and Zbrojovka Brno produced guns. The Slovak lands relied more heavily on agriculture than the Czech regions. After World War II, the economy became centrally planned like the Soviet Union. Large metallurgical industries depended on imported iron and non-ferrous ores. Machinery accounted for 55 percent of exports in 1985. Fuel and materials represented 14 percent of total exports. Manufactured consumer goods made up 16 percent of export value. Imports included fuel and materials at 41 percent and machinery at 33 percent. About 80 percent of foreign trade occurred with other socialist countries in 1986. Prague's civil airport in Ruzyně became one of the most modern terminals when finished in 1937. Construction of the first motorways began in 1939 but stopped after German occupation. Energy constraints became a major factor in the 1980s due to reliance on imported crude oil.
The national football team finished second in the FIFA World Cup Finals in both 1934 and 1962. They won the European Football Championship in 1976 and came third in 1980. Olympic gold medals were secured in 1980 by the same team. Jan 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, and Marek Hamšík all originated from Czechoslovakia. The ice hockey team won numerous world championship and Olympic medals. Peter Šťastný, Jaromír Jágr, Dominik Hašek, Peter Bondra, Petr Klíma, Marián Gáborík, Marián Hossa, Miroslav Šatan, and Pavol Demitra emerged as famous players. Emil Zátopek won four Olympic gold medals in athletics. Věra Čáslavská won seven gold medals and four silver medals in gymnastics. She represented Czechoslovakia in three consecutive Olympics. Professional tennis players like Jaroslav Drobný, Ivan Lendl, Jan Kodeš, Miloslav Mečíř, Hana Mandlíková, Martina Hingis, Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotná, Petra Kvitová, Daniela Hantuchová, Barbora Krejčíková, Markéta Vondroušová, and Karolína Muchová were born within the borders of the former state.
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Common questions
When did Czechoslovakia declare independence and who became its first president?
Czechoslovakia declared independence on the 28th of October 1918. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk returned from exile to become the first president of the new state.
What happened to Czechoslovakia during World War II and how many Jews died in Terezín?
Nazi Germany occupied the border regions during October 1938 and established the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. More than 70,000 Jews were killed during the occupation and only 8,000 survived at Terezín.
Who was the leader of Czechoslovakia when Soviet troops invaded in August 1968?
Alexander Dubček was appointed First Secretary on the 5th of January 1968 before Soviet troops entered the country on the 21st of August 1968. Leonid Brezhnev viewed this intervention as vital for preserving the socialist system.
How did Czechoslovakia end and what date did it separate into two countries?
Growing nationalist tensions led parliament to peacefully dissolve the state in 1992. On the 31st of December 1992, it formally separated into two independent countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Which sports achievements are associated with Czechoslovakia between 1934 and 1980?
The national football team finished second in the FIFA World Cup Finals in both 1934 and 1962 and won the European Football Championship in 1976. Olympic gold medals were secured in 1980 by the same team.