After the second world war Eastern Europe was a scattered mess of communism, fascism, and countries that needed liberation from the old powers of Europe . Czechoslovakia was a small country between Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Poland. It was a buffering country between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia during WWII. After the war, Czechoslovakia was still under the control of the Soviet Union but very little soviets remained there, so there was room for curiosity and aspirations from the czechoslovakian people. The people of czechoslovakia had experienced a brutal war and were ready to liberate themselves from the puppet strings of the Soviet Union.
The Prague Spring was an important event in the cold war. Its was when the czechoslovakian people started their push for freedom and reforme from their already corrupt communist system. It was called the Prague Spring because it was in the Spring that the people of czechoslovakia had hope and optimism to change their ways peacefully. During this time the Cold War was still in progress. The czech communist leader Antonin Novotny was quite unpopular and the people began to campaign against him and his communist ways. They wanted to be free and feel liberated not tied down like an animal. A Man named Alexander Dubcek was a politician for the country of czechoslovakia. Dubcek was different type of communist, he called it Socialism with a human face. Dubcek agreed with the people of his country and was in full support of their thirst for freedom and liberation. He went against His superiors from Moscow who feared that this would jeopardise the Warsaw pact. In 1968 Dubcek was elected the secretary of the communist party and lead a campaign to liberate the people from Soviet Russia. He Granted the press with a greater freedom of expression. He also helped rehabilitate the people caught in the political purges from the Joseph Stalin era. He had bequeathed a new reform program and revised the constitution to guarantee civil rights and liberties for the czechoslovakian people. His reomesd were accepted widely and he became a very popular man. It seems as if they were likely to succeed, they called this hope the Prague Spring. The Soviets Did Not respond positively to this reform and the mood in moscow was not in support of this. The Soviets then decided to launch an invasion of czechoslovakia. They surrounded the country and invited on all fronts taking cities and reforms and enforcing a deliberate form of communism. They cast Dubcek out of the country and took over all of the political followers. Although czechoslovakia was invaded and repressed, the future of the country would find its independence in time. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-cold-war/alexander-dubcek/ https://www.britannica.com/event/Prague-Spring |