This content details the history of the short-lived Third Czechoslovak Republic (1945-1948), focusing on its post-WWII establishment, the complex political landscape, and its eventual absorption into communist rule.
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Do you know what I find interesting? NO? Short- lived states! There are many examples and in this
video we're going to talk about the short-lived Third Czechoslovak Republic that existed from
the end of World War II till 1948. Many people know that countries in Central Europe became
communist after WW2, but did you know that Czechoslovakia did not become
communist right away. It happened in 1948 and how that all happened is what you will
learn in another short-lived states episode about the short-lived Third Czechoslovak Republic, keep watching!
Czechoslovakia was partitioned before the outbreak of World War II: after seizing the
Sudeten area Slovakia became a Nazi puppet state and the Czech lands were incorporated into the
Nazi Reich under the name of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The Nazis introduced
a wartime focused e economic system; the Czech lands held great significance for them as
many Industries for weapons were located there. Czechia was not affected by the Allied bombers
until late in the war. Towards the end of April 1945 the front line moved towards Prague. In May 1945
the Prague Uprising took place and on May 8th the Germans unconditionally surrendered; eventually
in the early hours of May 9th the unconditional German surrender was a fact and the first Soviet
tanks entered the Czech capital. In the immediate aftermath of the the end of World War II German
civilians within the Czech lands were targeted. Because of the German occupation the Czechs had really started
to hate the Germans and this would lead to the post-war expulsions: wild transfers claimed the
lives of many. “On June 29 and October 27, 1945, [Czechoslovak leader] Beneš signed retribution
decrees to revoke the citizenship of Germans and Hungarians and to establish extraordinary courts
for the punishment of traitors, collaborators, and others linked to the Nazi administration under the Protectorate.”
I covered the post-war expulsions of the Germans in another video so check the end card
for that. The pre-war and pre-Munich borders were restored. Czechoslovakia acquired a small piece of
Hungarian territory I believe, outside of Bratislava and south of the Danube, but Ruthenia was lost
to the USSR and during the war the Czechoslovak government-in-exile was led by Edvard Beneš. After
the war he returned to Prague and he wanted to restore the Czechoslovak democracy but then there were
the communists cause in April 1945 Czechoslovak communists and the USSR signed an agreement with
the Czechoslovak government-in-exile and this happened in a liberated Slovak city of Košice.
In this so-called Košice Program a National Front Government was to be installed in Prague: a coalition
of mostly left-wing parties. The National Front and Beneš governed the country from May till October
1945 and after that American and Soviet troops withdrew from Czechoslovakia. “Social and economic
restructuring began in earnest with Beneš’s decree of October 14, 1945, that allowed for
the nationalization of financial establishments, industrial concerns, and agriculture, ultimately
placing nearly two-thirds of Czechoslovakia’s industrial sector under state supervision.” Less than 2 weeks
later an economic recovery plan was designed with the goal of exceeding pre-war levels of
industrial production and also boost the Slovak industry and this was needed because the Soviets
had had seized many Czechoslovak assets when the war came to an end. Elections were held
in 1946 for the Constituent National Assembly; the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (the KSC) emerged
with around 40% of the votes. It gave communist nine positions in a newly formed National Front
Government under communist leader Klement Gottwald. Klement Gottwald had a Czech father and a German
mother... not sure why he took his mother's name. Under Interior Minister Vaclav Nosek, the security
forces became weapons that the communists could use against their political opponents and it led
to the arrest of 400 Slovaks in October and this was that because the government was suspicious
of the Slovak population, because Slovakia had been under the rule of the Hlinka's Slovak People's
Party that allied itself with Nazi Germany and Slovakia during World War II was a Nazi puppet
state; its leader Jozef Tiso was hanged in 1947. During that year the Communists started
to lose support: the Communist Party in power was held responsible for the economic issues
and failures experienced domestically and abroad; the nationalized economy's lackluster performance
coupled with subpar crop yields, shortages of food, inefficient distribution systems, and the increasing
prevalence of an underground economy, all eroded confidence in the governing communist ministers
who were tasked with managing the country's economic performance. New communist proposals
were blocked by the non-communist parties within the Czechoslovak government. Beneš
he wanted Czechoslovakia to be a bridge between the East and the West during the Cold War, but
this proved to be too idealistic. Under pressure of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin Czechoslovakia
turned away the Marshall Plan. On February 13th 1948 Justice Minister Prokop Drtina informed the
cabinet that a commander of the National Security Corps in Bohemia had directed the relocation of
the remaining 8 non-communist district police chiefs from Prague. Interior Minister Vaclav Nosek
supported this action, however the non-communist members of the cabinet supported this decision
and agreed to order Nosek to change his stance and prevent the transfers. Although Nosek was absent
from the meeting he was expected to comply with the cabinet's directive. Four days later, on February
17th, ministers from non-communist parties agreed that if Nosek did not cooperate the non-communist
ministers along with the Social Democrats, if they were willing to join, would resign and
bring down the government. President Beneš would then have two options: either appoint
an interim government and scedule new elections or reject resignations and compel the communists
to negotiate with the other coalition parties or assume responsibility for the government's
desintegration. However when 12 ministers resigned a couple of days later the expected solidarity
did not play out, because the ministers of the Social Democratsrefused to resign.
On February 21, the communists requested a gathering of a huge amount of people in
Prague's Old Town Square to gain political support and potentially form a militia. The
Prime Minister and KSC leader Gottwald urged Benes to accept resignations and form a new
government with greater communist influence. The pressure on Benes increased over the next two days
due to mass meetings of peasants and workers and the assurance from Minister of Defense
Svoboda that the army was with the crowds. On February 24, many people participated in
a one-hour general strike in support of the communists. After consulting with Lettrich,
the party chief of the Slovak Democrats, Benes agreed to accept resignations only
if all parties involved were in agreement. However, a communist delegation visited Beneš on
February 25 to recommend immediate acceptance of resignations and restructuring of the government
according to Gottwald's proposal. Feeling exhausted, unwell,
and without any viable options, Beneš eventually conceded to the communists and allowed Gottwald
to appoint a National Front Cabinet composed of communists, social democrats, and left-wing
allies from other coalition parties. Gottwald announced the formation of the new government
from a balcony on Wenceslas Square while appearing intoxicated and in a celebratory mood.
Following the communist takeover and his removal as justice minister, Prokop Drtina purportedly
decided to take his own life by jumping out of a third-floor window on February
26. Another defenestration occurred on March 10, with minister Jan Masaryk's body (son of
first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Masaryk) discovered in pajamas below the window of
his apartment at Czernin Palace, which housed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
the communists quickly declared that he had taken his own life but later more recent
investigations show that most likely he was murdered. On June 8th 1948 Beneš resigned as
president of Czechoslovakia and on September 3rd he passed away in his villa in a state
of defeat. Gottwald became the new president and fellow communist Antonin Zapotocky succeeded
him as prime minister. And so Czechoslovakia came under communist rule for years to come.
I hope you found this video interesting, please give a like, subscribe if you have not
done so yet. If you want to learn about other short-lived states, check out this playlist
cause I covered a lot already. Leave a comment and best wishes from Prague, Czech Republic.
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