The Joke

As the Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled at the end of World War I, Czech and Slovak nationalists saw an opportunity to forge their own independent state. On October 28, 1918, Czechoslovakia was officially founded, with Tomas Garrigue Masaryk as its first president. The new republic promised democracy and prosperity, but it faced numerous challenges, including economic instability and political strife. In the 1920s and early 1930s, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC) was a marginal political force, influenced by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia but lacking mass support. However, the global economic crisis of the 1930s, coupled with the threat of fascism in neighboring Germany, led to increased radicalization among the Czechoslovakian people. The Munich Agreement of 1938, which ceded parts of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany, marked a turning point that highlighted the country’s vulnerability.

At the end of World War II, the Soviet Red Army liberated Czechoslovakia from the Nazis. The country saw a resurgence of the Communist Party, now led by Klement Gottwald. The Communist Party capitalized on anti-fascist sentiments and rapidly gained influence within the post-war coalition government. In February 1948, a political crisis erupted when the Communist Party, supported by the Soviet Union, orchestrated a coup d’état. This event, known as the February Victory, led to the formation of a Communist-dominated government. President Edvard Benes resigned, and Czechoslovakia became a People’s Republic under Soviet influence. Czechoslovakia entered a period of Stalinist rule in which the government suppressed dissent, imposed censorship, and carried out purges of perceived enemies. The economy was nationalized and the collectivization of agriculture began, mirroring the Soviet model.

By the early 1960s, cracks began to appear in the communist monolith. A new generation of leaders, including Alexander Dubcek, emerged with more moderate views. In 1968, under Dubcek’s leadership, Czechoslovakia embarked on a path known as the Prague Spring. The Prague Spring aimed to introduce political reforms, including increased freedom of the press, a multiparty system, and an end to censorship. These reforms were met with enthusiasm by the Czech population but caused alarm in Moscow. On the night of August 20, 1968, Czechoslovakia was invaded by Warsaw Pact forces led by the Soviet Union. The invasion crushed the Prague Spring and reinstated a hardline communist regime. The international community, including Western countries, condemned the invasion.

After the failure of the Prague Spring, Czechoslovakia entered a period of “Normalization,” characterized by ideological conformity and repression. Dissidents such as the playwright Vaclav Havel became voices of resistance, advocating for human rights and political change. Despite the regime’s attempts to suppress dissent, cultural and intellectual movements flourished underground. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was still oppressive to artists, and in 1975, Milan Kundera fled his homeland to settle in Paris.

The end of communism in Czechoslovakia came suddenly, unexpectedly, and non-violently with the Velvet Revolution of November 1989. Sparked by the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, mass protests erupted across Czechoslovakia on November 17, led by dissident intellectuals, students, and workers. The Communist Party, facing mounting pressure, eventually agreed to negotiate with the opposition. On December 10, 1989, President Gustav Husak appointed the first noncommunist government since 1948. The playwright Havel was elected president on December 29. This peaceful transition of power marked the end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Three years after the Velvet Revolution, Czechoslovakia split into two nations: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.