Communist Czechoslovakia: 1945-89: a political and social history PDF
Preview Communist Czechoslovakia: 1945-89: a political and social history
Communist Czechoslovakia, 1945–89 European History in Perspective General Editor: Jeremy Black Benjamin Arnold Medieval Germany Ronald Asch The Thirty Years’ War Nigel Aston The French Revolution, 1789–1804 Nicholas Atkin The Fifth French Republic Christopher Bartlett Peace, War and the European Powers, 1814–1914 Robert Bireley The Refashioning of Catholicism, 1450–1700 Donna Bohanan Crown and Nobility in Early Modern France Arden Bucholz Moltke and the German Wars, 1864–1871 Patricia Clavin The Great Depression, 1929–1939 John D. Cotts Europe’s Long Twelfth Century Paula Sutter Fichtner The Habsburg Monarchy, 1490–1848 Mark R. Forster Catholic Germany from the Reformation to the Enlightenment Mark Galeotti Gorbachev and his Revolution David Gates Warfare in the Nineteenth Century Alexander Grab Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe Nicholas Henshall The Zenith of European Monarchy and its Elites Martin P. Johnson The Dreyfus Affair Tim Kirk Nazi Germany Ronald Kowalski European Communism Paul Douglas Lockhart Sweden in the Seventeenth Century Kevin McDermott Communist Czechoslovakia, 1945–89 Kevin McDermott Stalin Graeme Murdock Beyond Calvin Peter Musgrave The Early Modern European Economy J. L. Price The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century A. W. Purdue The First World War A. W. Purdue The Second World War (2nd edn) Christopher Read The Making and Breaking of the Soviet System Christopher Read War and Revolution in Russia, 1914–22 Francisco J. Romero-Salvado Twentieth-Century Spain Matthew S. Seligmann & Roderick R. McLean Germany from Reich to Republic, 1871–1918 David A. Shafer The Paris Commune Graeme Small Late Medieval France David J. Sturdy Louis XIV David J. Sturdy Richelieu and Mazarin Hunt Tooley The Western Front Peter Waldron The End of Imperial Russia, 1855–1917 Peter Waldron Governing Tsarist Russia Peter G. Wallace The Long European Reformation (2nd edn) Brett Edward Whalen The Medieval Papacy James D. White Lenin Patrick Williams Philip II Peter H. Wilson From Reich to Revolution European History in Perspective Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0–333–71694–6 hardcover Series Standign Order ISBN 978–0–333–69336–0 paperback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in the case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS, UK Communist Czechoslovakia, 1945–89 A Political and Social History Kevin McDermott © Kevin McDermott 2015 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE Palgrave in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave is a global imprint of the above companies and is represented throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978–0–230–21714–0 hardback ISBN 978–0–230–21715–7 paperback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. To Professor R. Leslie Reid, March 1924–September 2014 This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms xi Glossary of Leading Figures xiv Timeline, 1918–93 xvii A Note on Czech Pronunciation xix 1 Introduction – Communist Czechoslovakia in Historical Perspective 1 Historical Background: Czechoslovakia, 1918–45 2 The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, 1921–45 12 Main Themes, Issues and Interpretations 15 2 Communism on the Road to Power, 1945–48 21 The Impact of War 22 Stalin, the Cold War and Czechoslovakia’s ‘Limited Autonomy’ 28 The Communists’ Tortuous Road to Power 35 3 Stalinism Reigns, 1948–53 58 Elite Purges and Mass Repression 60 ‘Constructing Socialism’: Politics, Culture and Labour 73 Anti-Communist Resistance 84 4 Social Crisis and the Limits of Reform, 1953–67 91 Abortive De-Stalinisation 92 Economic Crisis and Social Flux 106 Intellectual and Political Ferment 114 vii viii CoNTENTS 5 Czechoslovak Spring, 1968–69 121 ‘Socialism with a Human Face’ 122 ‘Night Frost in Prague’: Soviet Intervention 134 From Invasion to ‘Normalisation’ 147 6 Everyday Normalisation, 1969–88 152 The Politics of Normalisation 153 Normalisation as a Way of Life 165 The Challenge of ‘Dissidence’ 172 7 1989 – The Demise of Communism 182 Why Did Communism Collapse? 183 A Multiplicity of Revolutions? 192 8 Conclusion – Into the Dustbin of History? 200 Communist Czechoslovakia: A Balance Sheet 201 Notes 206 Bibliography 228 Index 246 Acknowledgements Greatest appreciation goes to my good friend, Víteˇzslav Sommer, whose intellectual stimulation and practical support have proved vital to this project. He diligently read, and in many ways improved, the whole manuscript and as co-author of a piece on Czechoslovakia in 1956 helped to sharpen my understanding of state–society relations. I have learnt much in the last ten years or so from another great friend and colleague, Matthew Stibbe, who continues to inspire me with his fresh ideas on communism in Eastern Europe. Huge thanks to those colleagues and friends who read, and made invaluable comments on, the entire text: Jeremy Agnew, Jarmila Looks and John Morison. I am really grateful for all their efforts. Thanks, too, to those who read individual chapters: Christiane Brenner, Miroslav Klucˇka (who also generously gave me his large book of newspaper cuttings for 1968–69), Alan MacDougall, Jan Mervart, Miroslav Pospíšil, Alfred Rieber, who also kindly provided me with notes on Russian archival sources, and Kieran Williams. They will surely recognise their inputs. A special acknowledgement to Radka Šustrová, who carried out important work in the Public opinion Research Centre in Prague, and to David Green, who kindly sent, and permitted me to cite from, his doctoral thesis on the Czechoslovak Communist Party and the 1989 Revolution. other colleagues, friends and archivists assisted in numerous ways: Jitka Bílková, Jonathan Bolton, Wendy Bracewell, Paulina Bren, Tom Dickins, Miriam Dobson, Jakub Doležal, Eva Hahn, Peter Heumos, Igor Jílek, Jeremy King, Anna Kladnik, James Krapfl, Stefan Lehr, Jirˇí Nedveˇd, Hana Neˇmcová, Slavomír ondica, Klára Pinerová, Jirˇí Pokorný, Tomáš Pospíšil, Michal Pullmann, Pavel Rampula, Eva Šafránková, Jan Šindelárˇ, Adam Skála, ondrˇej Vojteˇchovský and Volker Zimmermann. ix
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