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Czechoslovakia

Country in Central Europe from 1918 to 1992 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Czechoslovakia[2] (/ˌɛkslˈvækiə, -kə-, -slə-, -ˈvɑː-/;[3][4] Czech and Slovak: Československo, Česko-Slovensko)[5][6] was a landlocked state in Central Europe,[7] created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland became part of Nazi Germany, while the country lost further territories to Hungary and Poland (Carpathian Ruthenia to Hungary and Zaolzie to Poland). Between 1939 and 1945, the state ceased to exist, as Slovakia proclaimed its independence and the remaining territories in the east became part of Hungary, while in the remainder of the Czech Lands, the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed. In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, former Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš formed a government-in-exile and sought recognition from the Allies.

Quick facts: CzechoslovakiaČeskoslovensko[lower-alpha 1], ...
Czechoslovakia
Československo[lower-alpha 1]
1918–1992
1939–1945: Government-in-exile
Motto: 'Pravda vítězí / Pravda víťazí'
(Czech / Slovak, 1918–1990)
'Veritas vincit' (Latin, 1990–1992)
'Truth prevails'
Anthems: 'Kde domov můj' (Czech)
'Where my home is'

'Nad Tatrou sa blýska' (Slovak)
'Lightning Over the Tatras'
Czechoslovakia during the interwar period and the Cold War
Czechoslovakia during the interwar period and the Cold War
Capital
and largest city
Prague
50°05′N 14°25′E
Official languagesCzechoslovak, after 1948 Czech · Slovak
Recognised languages
Demonym(s)Czechoslovak
GovernmentFirst Republic
(1918–38)
Second Republic
(1938–39)
Third Republic
(1945–48)
Socialist Republic
(1948–89)
Federative Republic
(1990–92)

President 
 1918–1935
Tomáš G. Masaryk
 1935–1938 · 1945–1948
Edvard Beneš
 1938–1939
Emil Hácha
 1948–1953
Klement Gottwald
 1953–1957
Antonín Zápotocký
 1957–1968
Antonín Novotný
 1968–1975
Ludvík Svoboda
 1976–1989
Gustáv Husák
 1989–1992
Václav Havel
KSČ General Secretary / First Secretary 
 1948–1953
Klement Gottwald
 1953–1968
Antonín Novotný
 1968–1969
Alexander Dubček
 1969–1987
Gustáv Husák
 1987–1989
Miloš Jakeš
Prime Minister 
 1918–1919 (first)
Karel Kramář
 1992 (last)
Jan Stráský
LegislatureNational Assembly (1948–1969)
Federal Assembly (1969–1992)
History 
28 October 1918
30 September 1938
14 March 1939
10 May 1945
25 February 1948
21 August 1968
17 – 28 November 1989
1 January 1993
HDI (1990 formula)0.897[1]
very high
CurrencyCzechoslovak koruna
Driving sideright
Calling code+42
Internet TLD.cs
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary
Czech Republic Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg
Slovakia Flag_of_Slovakia.svg
Today part of
Calling code +42 was withdrawn in the winter of 1997. The number range was divided between the Czech Republic (+420) and Slovak Republic (+421).
Current ISO 3166-3 code is "CSHH".
Close

After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reestablished under its pre-1938 borders, with the exception of Carpathian Ruthenia, which became part of the Ukrainian SSR (a republic of the Soviet Union). The Communist Party seized power in a coup in 1948. From 1948 to 1989, Czechoslovakia was part of the Eastern Bloc with a planned economy. Its economic status was formalized in membership of Comecon from 1949 and its defense status in the Warsaw Pact of 1955. A period of political liberalization in 1968, the Prague Spring, ended violently when the Soviet Union, assisted by other Warsaw Pact countries, invaded Czechoslovakia. In 1989, as Marxist–Leninist governments and communism were ending all over Central and Eastern Europe, Czechoslovaks peacefully deposed their communist government during the Velvet Revolution, which began on 17 November 1989 and ended 11 days later on 28 November when all of the top Communist leaders and Communist party itself resigned. On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the two sovereign states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.[8]

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