Alejandro Peña LealJuan Felipe VelásquezJuan Antonio Henao

10 B

Gimnasio Campestre

Background The Prague spring consisted in a political movement that

started at the beginnings of 1968 when citizens of Czechoslovakia started to fight for the bad management that the communist leader Antonin Novotny was giving to the country. Alexander Dubcek a Czech leader in the country wanted a change like all others citizens of the country, He imposed a series of actions in which the majority of the people agree with him, these were free speech, free expression, freedom of money and more laws that he wanted to impose in the country. As Alexander got to power , Brezhnev that was the communist leader of the party didn’t like these and told him to quit his policies or he would be expelled by the force. Alexander didn’t quit and by January 5, the USSR troops invaded the Czech republic taking control again of the country.

Why and how was communism imposed in Czechoslovakia?

The communism wasn´t imposed by the USSR as many people thought; it was basically imposed by the citizens, with the presence of The Communist Party Of Czechoslovakia (CPCS). The CPCS had been a fairly legal party who had pre-existed since many years before. It started with 80,000 memberships but then in 1948 it exceeded 1 million and they were a very strong party who knew how to talk to people, convince them and to make people part from their party too.

1967 Economic Crisis

After 1961 the economical growth of the country was very poor as past years. The five year plan applied by Antonín Novontý (Communist Czech politician, first secretary of the CPCS and Czechoslovakia president (1957-1968) were insignificant production lowered down, food shortages and also of people were also lowered. The Communist Party Of Czechoslovakia suffered some consequences because of the economical crisis, and it began to be weak; so they designed a new reform in the economical part. This reform was the New

Economic Model (NEM), but it wasn´t effective either. This politicians knew that this economic reform will not become a strong ideal and also it involved a new political reform; but they didn´t liked the idea because it implies to gave the citizens more freedom and money for new business; and the control of the social and economic part will be a complete failure so that was their big mistake, to don´t gave the people a bit of freedom.

No one can leave, No one wants to stay

People in Czechoslovakia weren´t able to travel abroad because the USSR troops were going there, so every citizen that tried to escape would be punished or murdered by the USSR troops. So the Czech army prohibit the people to leave the country for their own safety, making them stay there in a misery town.

Some Other Reforms and Changes

The Freedom Speech was one of the many changes that president Alex Dubcek make in Czechoslovakia. He announced that Newspapers, Magazines, Books, etc… would not be longer censored, people could criticize the government if the they didn´t like it and release from prison those who had done that, he decentralized the Czech economy and finally renews again relations with the church.

USSR WARNINGS!!

The five leaders from the Warsaw Pact sent president Dubcek a document called the “Warsaw Letter”, in which they concerned to Dubcek the security of communism in Eastern Europe. In this letter they told him, well they advise him to stop with all the things (reforms) that he had done in Czechoslovakia and everything will continue as always, but if it continues to implement more reforms or don´t release them, there will be a war against the Czech country; but Alex refuse and said no to their letter, and he attempt to the consequences.

CausesThe first signs that all was not well in Czechoslovakia occurred in May 1966 when there were complaints that the Soviet Union was exploiting the people. This developed when people in Slovakia complained about the government in Prague imposing its rules on the Slovaks and overriding local autonomy. A weak economy exacerbated the situation and none of the reforms that were introduced worked. The workers remained in poor housing and led the most basic of lifestyles. The same occurred in rural Czechoslovakia where farmers had to follow Party lines with regards to cultivation and innovation was frowned on. In June 1967, there was open criticism of Antonín Novontý, Party Leader, at the Writers’ Union Congress. In October 1967, students demonstrated against Novontý and early in 1968 he was replaced as First Secretary of the Party by Alexander Dubček. He had not courted leadership of the anti- Novontý movement but as the man who had handed in a long list of complaints against him (September 1967), Dubček was the obvious choice. On April 5th 1968, Dubček embarked on a programmed of reform that included amendments to the constitution of Czechoslovakia that would have brought back a degree of political democracy and greater personal freedom.

Dubček announced that he wanted the Czech Communist Party to remain the predominant party in Czechoslovakia, but that he wanted the totalitarian aspects of the party to be reduced. Communist Party members in Czechoslovakia were given the right to challenge party policy as opposed to the traditional acceptance of all government policy. Party members were given the right to act “according to their conscience”. In what became known as the ‘Prague Spring’, he also announced the end of censorship and the right of Czech citizens to criticize the government. Newspapers took the opportunity to produce scathing reports about government incompetence and corruption. The state of housing for the workers became a very common theme. Dubček also announced that farmers would have the right to form independent co-operatives so that they themselves would direct the work that they did as opposed to orders coming from a centralized authority. Trade unions were given increased rights to bargain for their members. Dubček assured Moscow that Czechoslovakia would remain in the Warsaw Pact and that they had nothing to worry about with regards to the reforms.

 

ConsequencesThis did nothing to reassure Soviet leader Brezhnev and on the night of August 20th and 21st troops from the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia to reassert the authority of Moscow. The bulk of these troops were from the Soviet Union but to give the impression that they represented the whole of the Warsaw Pact who were united in disapproval of what Dubček had done, there were contingents of Polish, East German, Hungarian and Bulgarian troops involved.The reforms of Dubček were abandoned. He was arrested and sent to Moscow. Here he was told what was expected of Czechoslovakia and he was released and sent back to Prague. Dubček announced that the talks in Moscow had been “comradely” and he returned still as First Secretary of the Party. Dubček did as was required and announced that all reforms were ending. However, his days were numbered and in April 1969, Dubček was removed from office.The Prague Spring had proved that the Soviet Union was not willing to even contemplate any member of the Warsaw Pact leaving it. The tanks that rolled through the streets of Prague reaffirmed to the West that the people of Eastern Europe were oppressed and denied the democracy that existed in Western Europe. However, to the masters in Moscow what they had ordered ensured the maintenance of the Warsaw Pact – something that they considered was vital to the survival of communism in Europe as a whole.

Students Against USSR

Czechoslovakian students reveal against the Soviet Union and the other Warsaw Pact countries troops

Jan Palach

Jan Palach was a 21 year old Czech student, who set fire to himself in Wenceslas Square in Prague, on January 19th, 1969. He was protesting against the Soviet Union invasion and the fact that Dubcek reforms had been abolished. Palach died from his injuries on January 21st. A huge crowd of 800,000 turned out to watch his funeral in Prague. They shouted “Russians go home”. It was an emotional occasion and gave people the chance to vent their hatred of the USSR.

Conclusions

Finally, to conclude with this tragic historical episode, it could be said that the Soviet Union and the other Warsaw Pact countries, act in a really evil and immature way by invading Czechoslovakia and destroying it and killing a lot of civil people. The reforms or new implements that Dubcek did was a good way to save a ruined country in that moment and also for the people to have a better life, he was a great leader and the country didn´t deserve that kind of treatment because of a different thinking.

Bibliography• The Cold War; social studies lecture.• http://www.janpalach.com• http://historylearningste.co.uk/prague_spring_1968.htm• http://library.thinkquest.org/C001155/index1.htm• http://googleimages.com/prague_spring.html•http://books.google.com.co/books?id=QRINAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=how+was+communism+imposed+in+czechoslovakia%3F&source=bl&ots=bZ9JLyJp7y&sig=SeehQsBWAT83JNsSs3cDotknC5g&hl=es&ei=J_7dTIXZNoPGlQey7KXeDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=how%20was%20communism%20imposed%20in%20czechoslovakia%3F&f=false• Remebering the Prague Spring.