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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 10 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Czech
| The 'Velvet Revolution' of November-December 1989 resulted in the collapse of Communism in Czechoslovakia. Vaclav Havel, the former dissident who became the new President, was also well known as a ...? | Czechoslovakia 1918-93
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Playwright. In 1993, the country divided, without bloodshed, into two separate countries - the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
| Who was the politician who tried to implement a series of political and economic reforms in the 'Prague Spring' of 1968, which was suppressed by the other Warsaw Pact countries in August 1968? | Czechoslovakia 1918-93
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Alexander Dubcek. Dubcek tried to introduce 'socialism with a human face' in Czechoslovakia. In some respects he was a forerunner of the reformers of 1989.
(Novotny was Dubcek's immediate predecessor and Husak was his successor. Svoboda was elected President of Czechoslovakia on 30 March 1968, during the Prague Spring).
A Nazi puppet state. Tiso, the Fascist dictator of Slovakia from 1939-44, was a zealous supporter of the Nazis.
| In May 1942, the Free Czechoslovak Army killed the only prominent Nazi to be assassinated in World War II. Who was it? | Czechoslovakia 1918-93
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Heydrich. Heydrich was the 'Protector' (= Governor) of Bohemia and Moravia, an SS-general and was in charge of the 'Final Solution.' (He was also Head of the 'Reichssicherheitshauptamt' (RSHA) - the Reich Main Security Office - which co-ordinated the activities of the SS from late September 1939 till the end of WWII). After his assassination he was officially revered by the Nazi régime as if he were some kind of Germanic 'saint'.
| In 1938, Czechoslovakia was forced to hand over a substantial part of its territory to Nazi Germany. What was the territory called? | Czechoslovakia 1918-93
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The Sudetenland. The Sudentenland bordered Germany and Austria, and the population was predominantly German-speaking. The Nazis' claim that the German-speaking population was persecuted by the government of Czechoslovakia was untrue.
| The Czech author, Jaroslav Hasek (1883-1923), wrote a novel satirizing Austrian rule, especially during WWI. He created a character which has achieved wide currency. The English title of the book is 'The Good Soldier ...'? | Czechoslovakia 1918-93
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Schweik . Jaroslav Hasek succeeded in creating a new archetype - the now surly, now cheerful 'awkward guy', passive resister and clown, too.
Tomas Masaryk. Masaryk also served as president of Czechoslovakia from 1918-35. Smetana (1824-84) is a well known Czech composer. President Wilson supported the establishment of Czechoslovakia, but that doesn't make him the 'founding father'.
Prague . Prague is also the capital of the province (formerly Kingdom) of Bohemia. It is now the capital of the Czech Republic. In Slav mythology Princess Libusa (or Libussa) prophesied: 'There shall arise a city in Bohemia, whose beauty and glory will reach to the heavens. It will be called "Praha" '. Prague survived WWII relatively unscathed and is arguably the most beautiful major city in Central Europe. A great range of architectural styles from Gothic to Early Modern are well represented there.
Central Europe. The Cold War, which divided Europe into East and West, tended to make many older sub-divisions of the continent obsolete. However, geographically and culturally, Czechoslovakia was (and its successor states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, are) part of Central Europe.
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