The invasion of Czechoslovakia
The invasion of Czechoslovakia
The invasion of Czechoslovakia
‘Consolidating Socialism and peace’ from Pravda
TextOn 19 June 1968, Pravda, official newspaper of the Soviet Communist Party, condemns the new political course and the liberalisation measures taken in Czechoslovakia during the ‘Prague Spring’.
Address given by Ludvik Svoboda on the Soviet-Czech Summit in Cierna (1 August 1968)
TextOn 1 August 1968, the day after the Soviet-Czech Summit in Cierna, General Ludvik Svoboda, President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, confirms that the Czech Government will continue its experiment with ‘Socialism with a human face’ within the framework of the Warsaw Pact.
Declaration by the Communist and Workers' Parties of Socialist Countries on the political events in Czechoslovakia (4 August 1968)
TextOn 4 August 1968, the Communist Parties of the Soviet bloc countries take a position on the most recent political events in Czechoslovakia.
The Prague Spring (1968)
ImageIn 1968, there are regular demonstrations in Wenceslas Square, Prague, in support of the political reforms towards democracy undertaken by Alexander Dubcek, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
The Prague Spring (1968)
ImageA few days before the invasion of Prague by Warsaw Pact troops on 20 August 1968, Czechoslovaks show their support for the national democratisation movement in manifestos sent to the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Cartoon by Behrendt on the Prague Spring (1968)
ImageIn 1968, the cartoonist Behrendt condemns the determination of the leaders of the Kremlin and of the countries of the Communist bloc to repress any attempt at democratisation in Czechoslovakia. In this cartoon, the Czechoslovak leader, Alexander Dubcek, is portrayed as an animal ripe for shooting.
Appeal to the Communist Parties of fraternal countries (21 August 1968)
TextOn 21 August 1968, fearing a surge of protest in the country, members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, of the government and of Czechoslovakia’s National Assembly call for help from governments and sister Communist Parties.
Note from the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry to the governments of the five occupying powers (21 August 1968)
TextOn 21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry addresses to the Bulgarian, East German, Hungarian, Polish and Soviet Governments a note which strongly criticises the intervention of their troops in Czechoslovakia.
Statement by Ludvik Svoboda the day after the military intervention in Prague (21 August 1968)
TextOn 21 August 1968, the day after the Soviet military intervention in Prague, General Ludvik Svoboda, President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, calls on his fellow citizens to face up to the challenge and to continue to seek the liberalisation of Socialism.
Statement by TASS on the military intervention in Czechoslovakia (21 August 1968)
TextOn 21 August 1968, the Soviet press agency TASS justifies in its own inimitable fashion the invasion of Czechoslovakia by troops of the member countries of the Warsaw Pact.
Cartoon on the invasion of Czechoslovakia (22 August 1968)
ImageOn 22 August 1968, the Austrian Socialist daily newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung illustrates how the Prague Spring was crushed by Red Army tanks and draws a parallel with the events that took place in Berlin in 1953 and in Budapest in 1956.
Appeal to the citizens of the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia (24 August 1968)
TextOn 24 August 1968, the Warsaw Pact countries justify their military intervention in Czechoslovakia.
Cartoon by Opland on the invasion of Czechoslovakia (24 August 1968)
Image‘… in Czechoslovakia …’ On 24 August 1968, Opland, Dutch cartoonist, illustrates the end of the ‘Prague Spring’, crushed by Red Army tanks.
The end of the Prague Spring (August 1968)
ImageAt the end of August 1968, Prague inhabitants protest against the occupation of the city by Warsaw Pact troops.
Cartoon by Behrendt on the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968)
Image‘A blow to imperialism’. During the night of 20–21 August 1968, the plans of Alexander Dubcek, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, to establish Communism with a human face in Czechoslovakia are nipped in the bud by Soviet military intervention.
‘Soviet troops have occupied Czechoslovak territory’ — the front page in Le Monde
ImageThe day after the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia on 21 August 1968, the French daily newspaper Le Monde recounts the tragic events in Prague.
The Prague Spring (1968)
ImageOn 25 August 1968, young Czechoslovak patriots demonstrate in Wenceslas Square, Prague, calling for democracy in their country.
Cartoon by Behrendt on the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968)
Image‘Heading for Prague.’ In August 1968, the cartoonist Fritz Behrendt draws a parallel between the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops and the invasion of the country by the Nazis in 1939.
Radio Prague broadcast on the military intervention in Czechoslovakia (28 August 1968)
TextOn 28 August 1968, Radio Prague comments on the Soviet military intervention in Czechoslovakia the previous week and assures its listeners of its journalistic objectivity.
Cartoon by Lang on the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1 September 1968)
Image‘Right of way — Dubcek: “OK, OK, OK — I drove too far to the right!”’ In September 1968, Ernst Maria Lang, German cartoonist, commenting on Soviet military intervention in Czechoslovakia, illustrates the tragic policy of Alexander Dubcek, forced to accept Moscow’s orders.
'Letter from Prague' published in Le Figaro (10 September 1968)
TextOn 10 September 1968, the French Conservative daily newspaper Le Figaro publishes a letter addressed to French readers by a resident of Prague and member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party which testifies to the fear inspired in his fellow citizens by the Soviet military intervention.
Address given by Alexander Dubcek on the political consequences of the Moscow Agreements (14 September 1968)
TextOn 14 September 1968, Alexander Dubcek, First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, gives a televised address on the political consequences of the Moscow Agreements.
Alexandre Dubcek, C'est l'espoir qui meurt en dernier
TextDans ses Mémoires, Alexandre Dubcek, ancien premier secrétaire du Parti communiste de Tchécoslovaquie, explique son refus de croire, en été 1968, à l'éventualité d'une intervention militaire de l'Union soviétique pour mettre fin aux réformes dites du "Printemps de Prague".
Alexandre Dubcek, C'est l'espoir qui meurt en dernier
TextDans ses Mémoires, Alexandre Dubcek, ancien premier secrétaire du Parti communiste tchécoslovaque, explique la portée des réformes apportées, à partir d'avril 1968, au système politique national et plus connues sous le nom "Printemps de Prague".
The invasion of Czechoslovakia
Leonid Brezhnev
ImageLeonid Brezhnev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1964 to 1982.
Reactions
'An end to the dream of freedom?' from the Luxemburger Wort (21 August 1968)
TextOn 21 August 1968, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort condemns the actions of Moscow and the entry of troops from the Member States of the Warsaw Pact into Czechoslovakia during the night of 20–21 August 1968.
Summary record of a conversation between Kurt Georg Kiesinger and Henry Cabot Lodge (Bonn, 21 August 1968)
TextOn 21 August 1968, Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Henry Cabot Lodge, American Ambassador in Bonn, meet in Bonn to discuss recent events in Czechoslovakia.
'Czechoslovakia has been totally occupied by troops from the Soviet Union and its hard-line allies' from Le Monde (22 August 1968)
TextOn 22 August 1968, the French newspaper Le Monde examines Western reactions to the military intervention in Czechoslovakia by five Member States of the Warsaw Pact, including the Soviet Union, on the night of 21 to 22 August 1968.
'The violent attack on Prague', from Süddeutsche Zeitung (22 August 1968)
TextThe day after Warsaw Pact troops entered Czechoslovakia on 21 August 1968, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung considers the reasons behind Moscow’s desire to crush the ‘Prague Spring’ and analyses the impact of the military intervention on the countries of the Eastern bloc.
Pierre Werner’s reaction to the Prague Spring (CLT, 22 August 1968)
Audio extractOn 22 August 1968, the day after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact forces, the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Pierre Werner, outlines his Government’s position.
‘The Iron Curtain has come down once again' from Le Figaro (22 August 1968)
TextOn 22 August 1968, the day after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro outlines the international and political consequences of the Soviet aggression and speaks of a return to the darkest days of the Cold War.
Editorial from the French daily newspaper Combat (22 August 1968)
TextOn 22 August 1968, the French daily newspaper Combat condemns the invasion of Czechoslovakia by troops of the Warsaw Pact countries and analyses Moscow’s motivations for crushing the popular uprising in Prague.
‘Our armies guarantee peace' from Neues Deutschland (23 August 1968)
TextOn 23 August 1968, the East German Communist daily newspaper Neues Deutschland supports the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia, seeing the move as a sign of solidarity with the Czechoslovak people.
Statement by the US Department of State on the events in Czechoslovakia (23 August 1968)
TextOn 23 August 1968, in the wake of the tragic events in Czechoslovakia, the US Department of State denies all rumours in the press concerning any collusion between the United States and the USSR with regard to the distribution of ‘spheres of influence’ in Europe.
Interview with Willy Brandt on the events in Czechoslovakia (25 August 1968)
TextIn an interview for the German television channel ZDF on 25 August 1968, Willy Brandt, West German Foreign Minister, comments on the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.
Address given by Pietro Nenni on the military intervention in Czechoslovakia (Rome, 29 August 1968)
TextOn 29 August 1968, addressing the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the Socialist leader, Pietro Nenni, strongly criticises the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops and emphasises the need for the Six to pursue a determined policy to achieve European unity.
‘The Czechoslovak crisis and Europe' from Le Populaire (10 September 1968)
TextOn 10 September 1968, the French Socialist daily newspaper Le Populaire speculates on the geopolitical repercussions of the Czechoslovak crisis and regrets the absence of a joint reaction by the Six over foreign policy.
European Parliament motion for a resolution on events in Czechoslovakia (23 September 1968)
TextOn 23 September 1968, Mario Scelba, rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Political Affairs Committee, submits a motion for a resolution on the political implications of the recent events in Czechoslovakia.
Statement by Pierre Grégoire on the international situation after the occupation of Czechoslovakia (16 October 1968)
TextOn 16 October 1968, the Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Pierre Grégoire, makes a statement to the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies on the international situation following the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.
Address given by Gaetano Martino to the European Parliament on the military intervention in Czechoslovakia (1 October 1968)
TextOn 1 October 1968, Gaetano Martino, European Commissioner, in an address to the European Parliament, condemns the Soviet Union’s military intervention in Czechoslovakia.
Confidential note from the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the relations with the countries of Eastern Europe (24 October 1968)
TextOn 24 October 1968, a confidential note from the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers future relations between Luxembourg and the countries of Eastern Europe following the tragic events in Czechoslovakia.
Response of the NATO countries to the invasion of Czechoslovakia (Washington, 4 November 1968)
TextOn 4 November 1968, the NATO countries give an official response to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.
'A man of goodwill adrift in the land of the cynics', from Le Monde (5 January 1969)
TextOn 5 and 6 January 1969, commenting on the events that took place in Prague during the summer of 1968, the French daily newspaper Le Monde looks back at the political career of Alexander Dubcek, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
Report of the Assembly of Western European Union on the European security in the aftermath of the invasion of Czechoslovakia (15 January 1969)
TextOn 15 January 1969, the Assembly of Western European Union studies a report analysing European security after the invasion of Czechoslovakia.