Czechoslovakia Totally Explained

Czechoslovakia (Czech Československo; 1938 - 1939 and Slovak since 1990: Česko-Slovensko) was a sovereign state in Eastern-Central Europe that after declaring its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, existed from October 1918 until 1992 (with a government-in-exile during the World War II period). On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Basic characteristics

Form of state:

1918–1938: a democratic republic
1938–1939: after annexation of Sudetenland by Germany in 1938 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 by Poland.
1939–1945: De-facto split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic. De jure Czechoslovakia continued to exist, a supported by the Western Allies was based in London; after German invasion of Russia also recognised by the USSR.
1945–1948: a country governed by a coalition government with Communist ministers (including the prime minister and minister of interior) playing leading roles
1948–1989: a Communist country with a centrally planned economy (from 1960 onwards officially a Socialist Republic):
- 1969–1990: a federal republic consisting of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic;
1990–1992: a federal democratic republic consisting of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

Neighbours: Germany (1945–1990: BRD and DDR), Poland, from 1945 Soviet Union (1992: Ukraine), Romania (until 1939), Hungary, Austria Topography: Generally irregular terrain. Western area is part of north-central European uplands. Eastern region is composed of northern reaches of Carpathian Mountains and Danube Basin lands. Climate: Predominantly continental but varied from the moderate temperatures of Western Europe in the west to more severe weather systems affecting Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union in the east.

Official names

1918–1920: Czecho-Slovak Republic (abbreviated RČS); short form Czecho-Slovakia

1920–1938: Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR); short form Czechoslovakia

1938–1939: Czecho-Slovak Republic; short form Czecho-Slovakia

1945–1960: Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR); short form Czechoslovakia

1960–1990: Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (ČSSR); Czechoslovakia

April 1990: Czechoslovak Federative Republic (Czech version) and Czecho-Slovak Federative Republic (Slovak version),

afterwards: Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (ČSFR, with the short forms Československo in Czech and Česko-Slovensko in Slovak)

History

Foundation

Czechoslovakia was founded in October 1918 as one of the successor states of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I. It consisted of the present-day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and (until 1939/29 June 1945) Carpathian Ruthenia (briefly independent as Carpatho-Ukraine). Its territory included some of the most industrialized regions of the former Austria-Hungary. It was a democratic republic throughout the pre-World War II period, but was characterized by ethnic problems due to the fact that the second and third largest ethnic groups (Germans and Slovaks, respectively) were not satisfied with the political and economic dominance of the Czechs, and that most Germans and Hungarians of Czechoslovakia had never really accepted the creation of the new state.
The original ethnic composition of the new state was 51% Czechs, 16% Slovaks, 22% Germans, 5% Hungarians and 4% Rusyns. Many of the Germans, Hungarians, Ruthenians and Poles and also some Slovaks, felt disadvantaged in Czechoslovakia, because the political elite of the country introduced a centralized state and most of the time didn't allow political autonomy for the ethnic groups. This policy, combined with increasing Nazi propaganda especially in the industrialized German speaking Sudetenland, led to increasing unrest among the Non-Czech population.

World War II period

Following the German annexation of Austria with the Anschluss, Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland (the German-border regions of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia) would be Adolf Hitler's next demand. In accordance with the Munich Agreement, Wehrmacht troops occupied the Sudetenland in October 1938. The greatly weakened Czechoslovak Republic was forced to grant major concessions to the non-Czechs, creating autonomous republics in Slovak and Ruthenia. In November, the First Vienna Award gave Hungary territory in southern Slovakia. Finally Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on 15 March 1939, when Hitler occupied the remainder of the Czech lands and (the remaining) Slovakia declared independence. During World War II, the Czech lands were designated the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and were ruled directly by the German state. The newly independent Slovak Republic became an ally of Nazi Germany. Slovakia's troops fought on the Russian front until the summer of 1944, when the Slovak armed forces staged an uprising against their government. German forces crushed this uprising after several weeks of fighting.
During World War II a Czechoslovak government-in-exile was established in London by Edvard Beneš, who was recognised as President of Czechoslovakia by the British and other Allied governments. He returned to power as President when Czechoslovakia was liberated in 1945 and was re-elected in 1946.

Communist Czechoslovakia

After World War II, pre-war Czechoslovakia was reestablished, the Beneš decrees concerned the expropriation of wartime "traitors" and collaborators accused of treason but also all ethnic Germans (see Potsdam Agreement) and Hungarians. They also ordered the removal of citizenship for people of German and Hungarian ethnic origin who decided to acquire the German and Hungarian citizenship during the occupation. (These provisions were cancelled for the Hungarians, but not for the Germans, in 1948). This was then used to confiscate their property and expel around 90% of the ethnic German population of Czechoslovakia. The people who remained were collectively accused of supporting the Nazis (after the Munich Agreement, in December 1938, 97.32% of adult Sudetengermans voted for NSDAP in elections). Almost every decree explicitly stated that the sanctions didn't apply to anti-fascists although the term Anti-fascist wasn't explicitly defined. Some 250,000 Germans, many married to Czechs, some anti-fascists, but also people required for the post-war reconstruction of the country remained in Czechoslovakia. The Benes Decrees still cause controversy between nationalist groups in Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Hungary. Carpathian Ruthenia was occupied by (and in June 1945 formally ceded to) the Soviet Union. In 1946 parliamentary election the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia emerged as the winner in the Czech lands (the Democratic Party won in Slovakia). In February 1948 the Communists seized power. Although they'd 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 the religious sphere, atheism was officially promoted and taught.
In 1968, in response to a brief period of liberalization, the Eastern Bloc countries invaded Czechoslovakia. 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 centralized political control by the Communist Party severely limited the effects of federalization.
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, making itself felt by limits on work activities (up to a ban on any professional employment and refusal of higher education to the dissidents' children), police harassment and even prison time.

After 1989

In 1989, the country became democratic again through the Velvet Revolution. This occurred at around the same time as the fall of communism in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland. With three years, communist rule had been totally eradicated from Europe.
Unlike Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, the end of communism in this country didn't automatically mean the end of the "communist" name.
Only in 1992, due to growing nationalist tensions, Czechoslovakia finally ceased to exist. It was replaced by the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which were officially created on January 1 1993.

Heads of state and government

List of Presidents of Czechoslovakia

List of Prime Ministers of Czechoslovakia

International agreements and membership

After 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

Administrative divisions

1918–1923: different systems on former Austrian territory (Bohemia, Moravia, small part of Silesia) and on former Hungarian territory (Slovakia and Ruthenia): 3 lands [země] (also called district units [obvody]) Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia + 21 counties [župy] in today's Slovakia + 2? counties in today's Ruthenia; both lands and counties were divided in districts [okresy]

1923–1927: like above, except that the above counties were replaced by 6 (grand) counties [(veľ)župy] in today's Slovakia and 1 (grand) county in today's Ruthenia, and the number and frontiers of the okresy were changed on these 2 territories

1928–1938: 4 lands [inCzech: země / in Slovak: krajiny]: Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia; divided in districts [okresy]

late 1938–March 1939: like above, but Slovakia and Ruthenia were promoted to "autonomous lands"

1945–1948: like 1928–1938, except that Ruthenia became part of the Soviet Union

1949–1960: 19 regions [kraje] divided in 270 districts [okresy]

1960–1992: 10 regions [kraje], Prague, and (since 1970) Bratislava (capital of Slovakia); divided in 109–114 districts (okresy]); the kraje were abolished temporarily in Slovakia in 1969–1970 and for many functions since 1991 in Czechoslovakia; in addition, the two republics Czech Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic were established in 1969 (without the word Socialist since 1990)

Population and ethnic groups

Politics

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

Constitutional development

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

Temporary Constitution of November 14, 1918 [democratic], see:

The 1920 Constitution (The Constitutional Document of the Czechoslovak Republic) [democratic,in force till 1948, several amendments], see:

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 in 1989 (at which point the leading role of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia 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)

Economy

After WWII, economy centrally planned with command links controlled by communist party, similar to Soviet Union. Large metallurgical industry but dependent on imports for iron and nonferrous ores.

Industry: Extractive and manufacturing industries dominated sector. Major branches included machinery, chemicals, food processing, metallurgy, and textiles. Industry wasteful of energy, materials, and labor and slow to upgrade technology, but country source of high-quality machinery and arms for other communist countries.

Agriculture: Minor sector but supplied bulk of food needs. Dependent on large imports of grains (mainly for livestock feed) in years of adverse weather. Meat production constrained by shortage of feed, but high per capita consumption of meat.

Foreign Trade: Exports estimated at US$17.8 billion in 1985, of which 55% machinery, 14% fuels and materials, 16% manufactured consumer goods. Imports at estimated US$17.9 billion in 1985, of which 41% fuels and materials, 33% machinery, 12% agricultural and forestry products other. In 1986, about 80% of foreign trade with communist countries.

Exchange Rate: Official, or commercial, rate Kcs 5.4 per US$1 in 1987; tourist, or noncommercial, rate Kcs 10.5 per US$1. Neither rate reflected purchasing power. The exchange rate on the black market was around Kcs 30 per US$1, and this rate became the official one once the currency became convertible in the early 1990s.

Fiscal Year: Calendar year.

Fiscal Policy: State almost exclusive owner of means of production. Revenues from state enterprises primary source of revenues followed by turnover tax. Large budget expenditures on social programs, subsidies, and investments. Budget usually balanced or small surplus.

Resource base

After WWII, country energy short, 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.

Transportation and communications

Society and social groups

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.

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 2 constituent republics – see Czech Republic and Slovakia

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. Substantial improvement in rural health care in 1960s and 1970s.

Mass media

The mass media in Czechoslovakia was controlled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). 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 informational monopoly in the hands of organizations under KSČ control, all publications were reviewed by the government's Office for Press and Information.

Sports

The Czechoslovakia national football team was a consistent performer in 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 and came in third in 1980.
The Czechoslovak national ice hockey team has won many medals from the world championships and Olympic games. Emil Zátopek, winner of four Olympic gold medals in athletics, is considered one of the top athletes in history.
The famous tennis players Ivan Lendl, Miloslav Mečíř and Martina Navrátilová were born in Czechoslovakia.

Culture

Czech Republic, Slovakia

List of Czechs, List of Slovaks

MDŽ

Jazz in dissident Czechoslovakia

Postage stamps

List of people on stamps of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia's first issue

From creation to dissolution — Overview

External results

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