1945-1948 1960-1968







Czechoslovakia 1948-1960


Administration . The People's Republic was proclaimed in February 1948. Klement Gottwald served as First Secretary of the Communist Party (KPC) from 1929 to 1953, and was succeeded by Antonin Novotny (1953-1968). Gottwald also served as President from 1948 to 1953; he was succeeded in this office by Antonin Zapotocky (1953-1957) and Antonin Novotny (1957-1968). Czechoslovak Party Congresses were held in 1949, 1954, 1960; a special Communist Party Conference in 1956, Slovak Party Congresses in 1950, 1958. General Elections to the National Assembly were held in 1954 and 1960.

Foreign Policy . Czechoslovakia joined COMECON in 1949 and the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Following the armistice terminating the Korean War in 1953, Czechoslovak officers joined the NNSC (Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission). Pressure on the Czechoslovak Catholic Church in 1948-1953 resulted in por relations with the Vatican State. In 1949 Czechoslovakia, in a treaty with Hungary, made assurances regarding the treatment of Slovakia's Hungarian minority. The CSR, in 1949, gave up a stance hostile to Germany and established relations with the newly founded GDR (BBoY 1950 p.214).
Czechoslovakia and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1948.
Czechoslovakia and the PR China established diplomatic relations in 1949.

Political History . In the Gottwald Era (-1953), the Catholic church suffered repression; political dissent similarly was suppressed, party purges implemented. The collectivization of privately owned land was promoted. In 1953 both Stalin and Gottwald died.
The 1953 currency reform negatively affected the savings of Czechoslovaks, because they were forced to exchange them into new Koruna accorduing to an exchange rate of 1:5; the measure provoked spontaneous demonstrations (BBoY 1954 p.210).
The events in the GDR in 1953, in Hungary and Poland in 1956 caused the political leadership in Czechoslovakia to pursue a policy of relaxing excessive suppressive policies while increasing political control over the state. Novotny, First Secretary, assumed the presidency in 1957; in 1960 Czechoslovakia adopted a new centralist constitution.

The Economy . Czechoslovakia had joined COMECON in 1949. A planned economy was introduced, industries nationalized, the collectivization of privately owned land promoted, the exchange rate of the Koruna fixed, prices were also fixed. First Five Year Plan 1951-1955, Second Five Year Plan 1956-1960.
In a 1953 currency reform, the Koruna was tied to the Soviet Rouble; prices were reduced (BBoY 1954 p.210); prices of consumer goods were again reduced in 1959 (BBoY 1960 p.194).
In 1948, Czechoslovakia produced 1.4 million metric tons of wheat, in 1960 1.5 million (IHS p.262), in 1948 Czechoslovakia produced 23.6 million metric tons of lignite, in 1960 58.4 million (IHS p.419).

Social History . The population estimate for 1950 was 12.59 million; the estimate for 1960 13.69 million.
In 1951, Czechoslovakia experienced a shortage of industrial workers and addressed the problem by increasing the number of female factory workers, and by transferring holders of clerical positions to factory jobs (in 1951 72,000, BBoY 1952 p.210).

Cultural History . The Catholic church found itself not only reduced to a private organization, but under political observation and pressure; the government promoted atheism. Archbishop Beran of Prague, from 1949 to 1963, was imprisoned.
Television broadcasting began in 1953.
Czechoslovak athletes participated in the Summer Olympics of London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960. "Locomotive" Emil Zatopek won gold in the 5000 m, 10,000 m and marathon runs in Helsinki 1952.
The 1959 Ice Hockey World Championship was hosted by Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia won the Ice Hockey World Championship in 1949 and took second place in 1948.
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences was established in 1953.






EXTERNAL
LINKS 		Articles Klement Gottwald, Antonin Zapotocky, Antonin Novotny, Czechoslovakia at the 1948 Summer Olympics, Czechoslovakia at the 1952 Summer Olympics, Czechoslovakia at the 1956 Summer Olympics, Czechoslovakia at the 1960 Summer Olympics, Josef Cardinal Beran, Ice Hockey World Championships, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, from Wikipedia
History of Czechoslovakia, from Library of Congress, Country Studies
Bilateral Relations, from Embassy of the Czech Republic in Israel
DOCUMENTS Warsaw Pact (1955), from Avalon Project at Yale Law School
Banknotes of Czechoslovakia, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money
Czechoslovak Constitution of 1948, posted by Verfassungen.de, in German
REFERENCE IHS : B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics. Europe 1750-1988, NY : Stockton Press 1992 [G]
Chapter 23 : Satellites and Soviet Policy, pp.327-352, in : John Gunther, Inside Europe Today, NY : Harper & Bros. 1961 [G]
Article Czechoslovakia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1950 pp.213-215, 1951 pp.213-215, 1952 pp.210-211, 1953 pp.207-208, 1954 pp.209-210, 1955 p.260, 1956 pp.195-196, 1957 pp.254-256, 1958 pp.195-196, 1959 pp.192-193, 1960 pp.192-193 [G]
Article : Czechoslovakia, in : Americana Annual 1957 pp.212-214 [G]
Article : Czechoslovakia, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1952 pp.124-125 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on July 8th 2007

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