3. Maturitni otazka_History of the Czech republic

History of the Czech republic

Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 28th of October 1918. There was German, Hungarian, Polish and Ruthenian speaking minorities. The first president of Czechoslovakia was Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.

Czechoslovak economy was strong thanks to industry, agriculture, arms industry and was one of the world's ten most industrialised countries. Most light and heavy industry were located in the Sudetenland and were owned by Germans. The Sudeten Germans constituted 3.5 million of the interwar state's population and were largely concentrated in the Bohemian and Moravian border regions.

Adolf Hitler's rise in Nazi Germany, the German annexation of Austria, the resulting revival of revisionism in Hungary and of agitation for autonomy in Slovakia, and the appeasement policy of the Western powers left Czechoslovakia without allies, exposed to hostile Germany. The Munich Agreement stipulated that Czechoslovakia must cede Sudetenland territory to Germany.

In 1939 the Slovak State declared its independence as a satellite state under Jozef Tiso. Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia came into existence in March. Beneš and other Czechoslovak exiles in London organized a Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile and negotiated to obtain international recognition for the government.

The protector Reinhard Heydrich in 1942 was killed by a group of Czech and Slovak commandos led by Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík. Hitler had burnd Lidice, Lezáky a Javorícko.

21st of September 1945, Czechoslovakia was liberated by Soviet troops, American forces liberated the city of Plzeň. A civilian uprising against the Nazi garrison took place in Prague in May 1945. Following Nazi Germany's surrender, some 2.9 million ethnic Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia with Allied approval, their property and rights declared void by the Beneš decrees.

President Edvard Beneš hoped that the Soviet Union would allow Czechoslovakia the freedom to choose its own form of government. Communist Party won the most votes in elections. The Communist leader Klement Gottwald became prime minister. The communists were able to gain control over all key ministries. The KSČ garnered its forces for the coup d'état of 1948.

The economy was committed to comprehensive central planning and abolition of private ownership of capital. Czechoslovakia began emphasizing the rapid development of heavy industry. Czechoslovak economy became severely stagnant. Normalization was characterized by initial restoration of the conditions prevailing before the reform period led by Alexander Dubček.

Velvet revolution - the restoration of continuity with the prereform period—was initiated. Normalization entailed thoroughgoing political repression and the return to ideological conformity.

The Dissolution of Czechoslovakia took effect on 1 January 1993 and created two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The economies of both countries were very poor. The Czech Republic joined to the EU in the 1st of May 2004 and to NATO in 1999.