Czechoslovakia: The Prague Spring

Prague is the
capital city of Czechoslovakia

1968 Prague Spring: Origins
What came before:
February 1948 communist take-over
Polarisation of society: stalin version of communism was never popular neither communist party

1968 Prague Spring: origins
Show trial of may 1950
Milada Horakova
Accused of treason and espionage to the West
Slansky trial (Nov 1952)

1968 Prague Spring
President, CP leader Antonín Novotný (1957-1968)
Took part in 1950s persecution
Delayed rehabilitation, economic reform
Tried to please both conservatives and reformers ? hated by both groups

Background: Economic
-Sovietization of Czech economy disastrous
--Before Soviets took over, Czechoslovakia had been among the wealthiest of Eastern European states
-In 60’s, commodities in decline, standard of living lower, caused discontent
-Industry grossly maladjusted in terms of its home and foreign markets
-Citizens upset over the lower living standards, the collapsing industries, scarcity (implementations of meatless Thursdays etc.)

1968 Prague Spring: origins
The 1960s: disillusionment of the thirty-year-olds
Increasing role of the literature and the arts
Film, theatre, pop music, radio

1968 Prague Spring: origins
Role of culture in creating freedom:
Miloš Forman, Fireman´s Ball
Milan Kundera,
The Joke
Pavel Kohout’s Living Room Theatre

1968 Prague Spring: Preparation
June 1967: Congress of Czechoslovak Writers
Milan Kundera: "The existence of the Czech nation is not self-evident"
Ludvík Vaculík Party’s role is exaggerated

1968 Prague Spring: Preparation
31st October 1967: student demonstration
(Strahov Hall of Residence: "We want light!")
while the Communist Party Central committee in session, discussing the Writers´ Congress
police brutality - criticism

A Run Up to 1968 Prague Spring:
Dramatic debates in CzCP Central Committe:
Russian leader Brezhnev arrived in December 1967:
"Eto vashe delo"
("It´s your own business")

Prague Spring 1968
CzCP Central Committee´s session interrupted for Xmas 1967, "comradesses needed to bake Xmas baking".
Slovak CP leader Alexander Dubček elected Head of CzCP on 5th Jan 1968

Socialism with human face
Dubcek’s policies included:
allowing Czechs to travel to the West
ending press censorship so that non-communist
papers could be published
the election of a new parliament in which
communists would share power with non-
communist parties
freeing of political (anti-communist) prisoners

1968 Prague Spring
Political cartoons:
Reform debate was totally driven by the media. Cartoonists were beginning to attack Dubček´s arbitrary attempt to curtail it

1968 Prague Spring
President Novotný resigned end of March 1968, replaced by General Ludvík Svoboda
CP Action Programme
"party to become democratic", to retain its "leading role"

1968 Prague Spring
Increasing pressure from the Allies came to dominate the media agenda, troops
Pressure especially from the East German party leader Walter Ulbricht – "fear of the third world war"

Reaction of the USSR
Brezhnev (who had replaced Khruschev in October ‘64) was alarmed by what was happening
Soviet’s held military manoeuvres near Czech border
Warsaw pact countries held military exercises inside Czechoslovakia
Dubcek met with Brezhnev and other communist leaders, promising that the Communists would remain in control, they would remain in the Warsaw pact and that the Czech press would not criticise the USSR

21st August, 1968
Warsaw Pact Invasion
CP leadership kidnapped to Russia
Vital role of 24 hour media, mostly radio
Euphoria of a unified nation

1968 Russian invasion
Cartoons in the street:

1968 Russian Invasion
Political posters which covered the streets

1968 Russian Invasion
Front page of a picture weekly, one of many periodicals which came out every day and were distributed from moving vans for free in the Prague streets

‘The Camera doesn’t lie…’?
The top photo was taken in April 1968. It shows Dubcek, 2nd from the left of the
four men standing. The bottom photo is the 1969 version but with Dubcek airbrushed out.
In this way, Dubcek became a ‘non-person’. This method of doctoring photos was common
under Stalin, so remember this the next time you write ‘photos are always reliable evidence.’
Dubcek died in 1992 – once again a popular figure in a free Czech Republic.

The crushing of the Prague Spring did not seriously damage East-West relations. Czechoslovakia, like Hungary before it, belonged to the Soviet zone and could not be helped.
Brezhnev developed the Soviet version of the Truman Doctrine. The Brezhnev Doctrine declared that
Communist countries had the right to defend fellow communist states from western attempts to make them capitalist
loyal communist states had to remain in the Warsaw Pact and
maintain a one-party system with only the Communist Party allowed.
The Brezhnev Doctrine was a warning to other communist states. Poland would be the next to test it.
Why do you think the Soviet Union used troops from other communist states in the invasion?
What evidence is there that the Czechs had learnt two lessons from the events in Hungary?
What evidence is there that the Soviet reaction was not as repressive as it was in 1956?
In 1968 Albania left the Warsaw Pact because it claimed that the USSR was ‘not communist
enough’ but Brezhnev did nothing. Can you suggest why?
A Czech looks at the remains of a burnt-out Soviet tank.
There was some violent resistance but it was minor
compared to 1956. Most protest was non-violent. Many
of the Soviet troops were from Soviet Asia. Why?

The Aftermath
Spontaneous resistance of the public saved the CP leaders lives
They returned on 27th August, having signed a secret protocol on defeat

Jan Palach
Jan Palach
Burn himself as protest against demoralization of Czech’s society following WP intervention

Clampdown
Brezhnev came back and threatened second invasion
Dubček was deposed and replaced by Gustáv Husák, who presided over the whole "normalisation" period (as Party chief until 1987)

Consequences: Social and Economic
Immediate
-After the invasion, people soon became apathetic and indifferent [1]
-About 150 000 Czechs and Slovaks fled, yet many stayed to continue their protests
-Eastern Bloc troops remained in Czechoslovakia to ensure counter-revolutionary forces were quelled and stability was achieved[2]
Long Term
-During the “normalization” much construction focused on building pre-fabricating housing districts on outskirts of cities.