Communists Seize Power
After the war, Czechoslovakia's prewar borders were restored, except for the eastern tip of the country (Ruthenia), which was incorporated into the Soviet Union. Most Sudeten Germans were expelled. A coalition government, which included Communists, was organized with Beneš as president. With the country under constant pressure from the Soviet Union, the Czechoslovak Communist party was able to increase its power. By February, 1948, the Communists were powerful enough to seize control of the government. Soon after, Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk, son of the first president and a leading anti-Communist, was found dead under mysterious circumstances. In May, 1948. a more restrictive constitution replaced the democratic constitution of 1920. The following month, Beneš resigned, broken both in health and in spirit.
The new government was strongly influenced by the Soviet Union and maintained close commercial and cultural relations with other Soviet satellite countries. All industries were nationalized. All opposition to Communist rule was eliminated. Under Antonin Novotny, who became Communist part} chief in 1953 and president of Czechoslovakia in 1957, the government was one of the most repressive in eastern Europe. In 1960 a new constitution was adopted, proclaiming Czechoslovakia a socialist republic In effect, it made the government subject to the will of the Communist party.
For some time, pressures had been mounting among the people for a liberalization of the Communist regime. When promised reforms did not come, a group of younger and more progressive Communists, headed by Slovak Communist leader Alexander Dubcek, ousted Novotny from power early in 1968. Far-reaching political, economic, and social reforms were announced.
The Soviet Union, fearing that demands for reform would spread to other Communist Bloc countries and thus weaken its position, attempted to intimidate the Czechoslovaks and bring a halt to the liberalization program. When this attempt failed, Soviet forces and troops from other satellites invaded Czechoslovakia in August, 1968. The invasion and occupation met with widespread, although mainly nonviolent, resistance on the part of the Czechoslovak people. The Soviet Union moved at once to legalize its position. The Czechoslovakian government was forced to sign a treaty permitting Soviet troops to be stationed in the country. The liberal policies of the so-called Prague Spring were reversed and authoritarian rule reimposed.
In 1969 Dubcek was forced to resign as head of the Communist party. His replacement was Gustav Husak, a nationalist who was, however, willing to cooperate with the Soviets Liberals were rooted out of government, army commands, and union leadership. Censorship was established, secret-police surveillance reinstated, and unrestricted travel to the West abolished.
Popular resentment of the Soviet invasion led to a work slowdown that brought on a recession. During the 1970's, prosperity returned. In 1972–73 a series of arrests and trials of former supporters of Dubcek took place. In the late 1970's, a dissident movement arose to protest human rights violations and as a result government repression intensified. Husak resigned in 1987 after a dispute with other Czech leaders over reform.
