Czechoslovak history
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What was Czechoslovakia?
Czechoslovakia was a country in central Europe that existed from 1918 to 1992, encompassing the historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia. It was formed at the end of World War I from provinces of the collapsing Austria-Hungary empire.
Sharing close linguistic and cultural ties, Czechs and Slovaks together accounted for about two-thirds of the country’s population; other groups included Germans, Hungarians, Ruthenians, and Poles. Under President Tomáš Masaryk, Czechoslovakia became a stable democracy and the most industrialized country in eastern Europe.
Czechoslovakia was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II and under Soviet domination from 1948 to 1989. In 1968, the Prague Spring brought a brief period of liberalization. The Velvet Revolution in 1989 ended communist rule. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This split was called the Velvet Divorce.
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When and why was Czechoslovakia created?
Czechoslovakia was formed on October 28, 1918, from the provinces of the collapsing Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I. The union of Czechs and Slovaks was viable because the two ethnic groups were closely related in language, religion, and general culture.
Prior to the war, the region consisted of Bohemia and Moravia, often called the Czech Lands, in the west, and Slovakia, a part of Hungary, in the east. The new country's borders encompassed not only Czechs and Slovaks but also Germans, Hungarians, Ruthenians, and Poles. Under the leadership of Tomáš Masaryk, Czechoslovakia became a stable parliamentary democracy and the most industrially advanced country in eastern Europe.
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Which countries bordered Czechoslovakia?
Czechoslovakia, existing from 1918 to 1992, shared borders with several countries. After its formation from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia's initial borders were established at the Paris Peace Conference.
Czechoslovakia was bordered by:
* Poland to the north
* Ukraine (Subcarpathian Ruthenia) to the east
* Hungary to the south
* Austria to the southwest
* Germany to the west5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did World War II affect Czechoslovakia?
World War II significantly impacted Czechoslovakia through territorial losses and German occupation. In 1938, the Munich Agreement forced Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. By 1939, Germany occupied Bohemia and Moravia, establishing a German protectorate, while Slovakia became a nominally independent state under German control.
During the war, Czech agents assassinated Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, leading to brutal Nazi reprisals, including the destruction of Lidice. In 1945, Soviet troops liberated Prague. After nearly seven years in exile, President Beneš returned, and the Communist Party gained influence with Soviet support.
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What was the Velvet Revolution?
The Velvet Revolution was a nonviolent protest movement in Czechoslovakia in November and December 1989 that led to the end of more than 40 years of communist rule in the country. Triggered by police brutality against student demonstrators in Prague, the revolution gained momentum through daily mass gatherings and a general strike on November 27, during which people demanded free elections and the end of one-party rule.
The communist authorities were compelled to negotiate with the opposition, resulting in a transition government that included members of the Civic Forum and Public Against Violence. Václav Havel, a dissident playwright and spokesman for Civic Forum, was elected interim president on December 29, 1989, becoming the first noncommunist leader since 1948. The peaceful transition earned it the name "Velvet Revolution".
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How and why did Czechoslovakia split into two countries?
Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved into Slovakia and the Czech Republic, an event known as the Velvet Divorce, on January 1, 1993. Mounting political tensions between Czechs and Slovaks, driven by ethnic differences and economic disparities, followed the Velvet Revolution of 1989, which ended decades of communist rule.
Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Mečiar, premiers of the Czech and Slovak Republics, respectively, could not form a lasting federal government due to disagreements over economic policy and Slovak sovereignty. Despite limited public support for separation, neither leader pursued a referendum. The federal legislature voted to dissolve Czechoslovakia in November 1992, leading to the creation of two independent countries.
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Czechoslovak history, history of the region comprising the historical lands of Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia from prehistoric times through their federation, under the name Czechoslovakia, during 1918–92. With the dissolution of the Czechoslovak federation, the modern states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia came into being on Jan. 1, 1993. Czechoslovakia itself had been formed at the end of World War I, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prior to the war the region consisted of Bohemia and Moravia, often called the Czech Lands, in the west, and Slovakia, a part of Hungary, in the east.
The Czechoslovak region lay across the great ancient trade routes of Europe, and, by virtue of its position at the heart of the continent, it was a place where the most varied of traditions and influences encountered each other. The Czechs and the Slovaks traditionally shared many cultural and linguistic affinities, but they nonetheless developed distinct national identities. The emergence of separatist tendencies in the early 1990s, following the loosening of Soviet hegemony over eastern Europe, ultimately led to the breakup of the federation.
The historical regions to 1918
The part of Europe that constitutes the modern states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia was settled first by Celtic, then by Germanic, and finally by Slavic tribes over the course of several hundred years. The major political and historical regions that emerged in the area—Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia—coexisted, with a constantly changing degree of political interdependence, for more than a millennium before combining to form the modern state of Czechoslovakia in 1918. Each was subject to conquest; each underwent frequent shifts of population and periodic religious upheavals; and at times at least two of the three were governed by rival rulers. Bohemia and Moravia—the constituent regions of the Czech Republic—maintained close cultural and political ties and in fact were governed jointly during much of their history. Slovakia, however, which bordered on the Little Alfold (Little Hungarian Plain), was ruled by Hungary for almost 1,000 years and was known as Upper Hungary for much of the period before 1918. Thus, the division of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992 was based on long-standing historical differences.
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Origins and early history
Bohemia
The prehistoric people of Bohemia, north of the middle Danube River, were of uncertain origin. The Boii, a Celtic people, left distinct marks of a fairly long stay, but its time cannot be firmly established. (The name Bohemia is derived through Latin from Celtic origins.) The Celtic population was supplanted by Germanic tribes. One of them, the Marcomanni, inhabited Bohemia, while others settled in adjacent territories. No outstanding event marked the Marcomanni departure.
Archaeological discoveries and incidental references to Bohemia in written sources indicate that the movements of ethnic groups were not always abrupt and turbulent but that the new settlers began to enter the territory before the earlier inhabitants had left it. It can be assumed, therefore, that the Slavic people were coming in groups before the southward migration of the Germanic tribes. In the 6th century ce, Bohemia and the neighbouring territories were inhabited by the Slavs.
While mountains and forests offered protection to Bohemia, the tribes in the lowlands north of the Danube and along its tributaries were hard-pressed by the Avars of the Hungarian plains. Attempts to unite the Slavic tribes against the Avars were successful only when directed by such personalities as the Frankish merchant Samo, who gained control of a large territory in which at least part of Bohemia was included. His death in 658 ended the loosely knit state. A more auspicious era dawned after the Frankish king Charlemagne defeated the Avars in the 8th century.
There followed a period of comparative security, in which the concentration of the Slavs into political organizations advanced more promisingly. Soon after 800 three areas emerged as potential centres: the lowlands along the Nitra River, the territory on both sides of the lower Morava (German: March) River, and central Bohemia, inhabited by the Czech tribe. In time the Czechs, protected from foreign intruders, rose to a dominant position. Governed by rulers claiming descent from the legendary plowman Přemysl and his consort Libuše (see house of Přemysl), the Czechs brought much of Bohemia under their control before 800 but failed to defeat the tribes in the east and northeast. Apart from occasional disturbances, such as Charlemagne’s invasions (805), the Czech domain was not exposed to war and devastation, and little of the life there came to the notice of clerics who were recording contemporary events in central Europe.
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