History of the Czech Republic:
At the beginning of the 20th century Bohemia was a part of the Austrian Empire. After World War I (in 1918) Czechoslovakia declared its independence. The new republic had three parts: Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. The popular Tomas Garigue Masaryk became the first president. In October of 1938 the Nazis occupied the Sudetenland, with the acquiescence of Britain and France, after the infamous Munich Agreement. In March of 1939 Germany occupied Bohemia and Moravia. Slovakia proclaimed independence as a Nazi puppet state. After World War II (in 1945) Czechoslovakia was reestablished as an independent state. In the 1946 elections, the Communists became the largest party, with 36% of the popular vote, and formed coalition government. In 1948 the Communists staged a coup d'Ètat, and Czechoslovakia became a communist country. In the 1960s, Czechoslovakia enjoyed a gradual liberalization under the reformist general secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, Alexander Dubcek. But this short period was crushed by a Soviet invasion in August 1968. In 1969 the reformist Dubcek was replaced by the orthodox Gustav Husak, and Czechoslovakia stayed a communist country under Soviet influence. The communist government resigned in November 1989 after a week of demonstrations known as the Velvet Revolution. The popular Vaclav Havel was elected president of the republic. At the end of 1992, Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia) and the Slovak Republic (Slovakia). This peaceful splitting is called the Velvet Divorce. |
