1968: Prague Spring
The violent end of “socialism with a human face”
A number of factors propelled the events of 1968 in Czechoslovakia: the stagnant economy created a technocratic opposition, the antagonism between Czechs and Slovaks brought about nationalist tensions and many artists were looking to the West. These developments led to Alexander Dubček replacing the Stalinist Antonín Novotný as First Secretary of the KPČ (Komunistická strana Československa/ Communist Party of Czechoslovakia) at the start of 1968.
After the change in leadership, there were immediate reforms in the economy, cultural life, media and also in the Communist Party itself. The goal was “socialism with a human face”. The Communist Party was even ready to give up the political claim to sole representation. The universities, art and literature thrived. However, it did not take long for the Soviet Union to react. On August 21, 1968, tanks overtook the Reform Party Congress, with half a million soldiers from the Warsaw Pact states moving into Czechoslovakia. The Prague Spring was over. Thousands of people fled to the West. A political ice age resumed in the country.
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