The Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution is not about delicious red velvet cake but instead sweet freedom of a new government. Even better than a new government it was short and sweet as well. The Velvet Revolution took place in Czechoslovakia from November 17,1989 and ended December 29, 1989. Czechoslovakia was located in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east, and Poland to the north.When I choose this revolution I was intrigued by the name of it. Also, I wanted a non-violent revolution and that’s exactly what I found.
Before the outbreak of World War I, Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and declared its independence in October 1918, joining the Czech provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia to form the Republic of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia in the interwar period was the only functioning parliamentary democracy in eastern Europe. Even though it was the only functioning parliamentary democracy, the Czechs and Slovaks had issues that divided them from one another. In the Czech lands, they were more populated and industrialized than Slovakia’s. The Slovak population was also poorer, less educated, and extremely Catholic. The Prague government (Prague is the capital of Czechoslovakia; and why the government is called the Prague government) “attempted to address these economic inequalities by industrializing Slovakia in the 1920s but these efforts were cut short by the Great Depression (Merriman, Winter 2358). The result from the attempted fixes was the Slovaks grew resentful in the 1930s and a separatist movement began, which was led by Father Andrej Hlinka and Jozef Tiso.
In September of 1938, Czechoslovakia was dismembered due to the Munich agreement...
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...ca School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. "Velvet Revolution." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 2623-2626. World History in Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. "Slovakia." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Vol. 4. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 2358-2359. World History in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. "1989." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Vol. 4. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1874-1880. World History in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
"The Velvet Revolution: A Peaceful End to Communism in Czechoslovakia." Tavaana. E-Collaborative for Civic Education, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Heda Margolius Kovály’s memoir, “Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968” recounts her experience of the Holocaust and the Communist Regime in Czechoslovakia, during the 20th century. In 1945, after the holocaust and after World War II, Czechoslovakia was in a period of distress, which made people seek for communism as a solution. Communism, a totalitarian regime, was a form of government in which nobody was allowed to own any private property and the government controlled all economic activity. This government structure was not only corrupt, but it also caused more economic crisis in Czechoslovakia. Despite the rough situation that Czechoslovakia was going through, none of its
“East Central Europe between the Two World Wars,” written by Joseph Rothschild, is ninth volume of the 11-volume series of books written about the history of East Central Europe. Each book in the series provides study of specific period of time in different historical context and this particular volume concentrates on the countries of East Central Europe in the interwar period. The book is rich with detailed information about each state-nation that was established in the given period and it tries to identify important political as well as socioeconomic issues that were experienced in the region.
"Teheran Conference." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 2505-2507. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
"World War II." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd Ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 147-151. World History In Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
Karl, Kenneth. Cracking the AP European History Exam New York: Princeton Review Publishing, 2004: 118-120
Eric Dorn Brose, “Toward the Cataclysm”: A History of Europe in the Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. 207
With the rise of the Axis Powers came the outbreak of World War 2 and a potent evil that threatened the wellbeing and tranquility of the people in Asia, Europe, and Northern-Africa. One by one, countries fell into the grasp of the Axis Powers. With each fallen country, it became easier for the Axis P...
In the years leading up to the Prague Spring, Antonín Novotný governed Czechoslovakia. He openly supported Stalinism, and under his power, the people of Czechoslovakia suffered from fierce government regulations, censorship and poor leadership decisions. Although he led the process of de-Stalinization (since Stalin’s death in 1953), the pace of change was extremely slow and thus the people called for more reforms. In May of 1966 the Czechoslovakians began to complain that the Soviets were exploiting them, this was the first spark that eventually lead to the flame of his overthrow. Furthermore, Czechoslovakia was an industrialized nation and the Soviet’s model of economy did not suit them, in fact it hurt Czechoslovakians, and lead to a decline in their economy. In fact, the conditions for the working class were a...
The revolution of 1848 encompassed many of the European countries. The revolutions sweeping across Europe included Germany, Italy, and France, excluding Russia and England. Many historians refer to the year of 1848 as, “The Year of Revolutions”, because of how the revolts spread throughout Europe. The question is which political groups were the influence behind this revolution and what were the causes of the revolution. The revolution united many diverse groups of people; they were able to put aside their differences to move toward the greater good of the society as a whole. Perhaps, the revolution was about basic human survival, by means of having adequate food, shelter and the basic supplies to live; and political upheaval to make changes in the government.(“Revolutions of 1848”)
One difference between the Hungarians and the Czechs was the effects of nationalism on the uprisings. Rooted in their history from 1848 Revolution against the Habsburg Empire, the Hungarians sought independence with the death of Stalin. Matyas Rakoski, a Stalin protégé, came to power as General Secretary of the Hungarian Worker’s Party in 1949. Using his authority as General Secretary, Rakoski oppressed the people of Hungary including purging political dissidents and killing 2,000 people of the total population. He used the State Protection Agency to carry out the purges bringing in an administration of absolute control and fear to the people of Hungary. But, the Hungarians would not completely abandon their nationalist hop...
Leonard, Mark, and Hans Kundnani. "Think Again: European Decline." ForeignPolicy.com. Foreign Policy Magazine, 23 Apr. 2103. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia had these specific reforms spelled out in its Action Program:
University students demanding reforms were joined by peasants and workers, and as demonstrations spread across Europe, these rebellions became known as the Revolutions of 1848. These political upheavals set the stage for the series of republican revolts against European monarchies that ensued. The first occurrences began in Italy and quickly spread to other nations including France where the attention of the international community was gained. Although the corruption of government and economic structures which resulted in poor living conditions provoked some of the uprisings, there were many factors contributing to the dissatisfaction of European monarchy’s subjects. In addition to governmental and economic issues, the Revolutions of 1848
Smith, Tony. The End of the European Empire: Decolonization after World War II. Lexington, MA: Heath, 1975. Print.
During 1989 many revolts took place against eastern European governments under communism, including Czechoslovakia (Slovakia.Org, “20th Century”). Both Slovaks and Czechs staged massive protests against communism in Czechoslovakia and ended the communist regime in November 1989 (Slovakia.Org, “20th Century”). Under the new non-communist system of government, the two republics of Czechoslovakia were established: the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic (Embassy of the Slovak Republic). In June 1990, with the federal and republic-level governments in place, free elections were held for the first time in the country since 1946 (Slovakia.Org, “20th Century”).