Figure 1.--Czech nationalists had wanted their own country for yearsnd were determined to hold on to it. One popular youth atthletic movemet with string Czech nationalist roots was Sokol. Gere we see aokol event just before Hitler struck. The press caption read, "Czech Boys Toe the Line: Uneasy may be their fathers in these days of cross-purposes within and avout the borders of Cechoslovakia, but Czechoslovkia's youth stepped out pridefully and precisely, June 19, at Praha [Prague] forthis Sokol exercise dring theSlet, or exhibition, that draws sectators from all over te world. This huge checker-board of Czech boys standing stifflyerect was witnessed by 170,000 prsons who packed the stadium fir the show." The photograoh was dated June 19, 1938.

Czechoslovakia was notable for both is democracy and its political stability. Well-organized political parties emerged in the country and played and importnt role in the prlimentary process. After the NAZI seizure of power in Germany, Czechoslovakia was left the only democracy in central and eastern Europe. Czecheslovakia was a very ethnically diverse country. The Czechs had a very narrow majority in an ethnically diverse country. The Czechs had wanted their own country for some time and were intent on protecting it. Unfortunately the other ethnic groups were less commited to the new state and the Germsns and Hungarians largely opposed to it. The new country of Czecheslovakia had a population of about 13.5 million people, composed of: 6.7 million Czechs, 3.1 million Germans, 2.0 million Slovaks, 0.7 million Hungarians, 0.5 million Ruthenians (Ukranians), 0.3 million Jews, and 0.1 million Poles. Czecheslovakia was one of the few real demiocracies that emerged in Eastern Europe. There were problems as a result of the country's ethnic diversity. The basic problem was the large German minority. There was also a problem with the Slovak minority. There were religious and historical differences. And there were different levels of economic development. Slovakia was primarily agricultural wjichethe Czechs had substantial indistrial development. Both the Germans and Magyars (Hungarians) agitated against the boundaries drawn as aesult of the World War I peace treaties. One unifying thread was that the Slovaks were not strong enoigh to resist Hungroan claims hile combined with the Czchs, Czecholovakia was. The Czech Goverment with its parlimentary democracy initiated a range of progressive reforms in housing, social security, and labor law. [Berend, p. 168.] While a small fraction of the territory of former Austro-Hungarian Empire, it had as much as 80 percent of the Empire's industry. It was thus one of the most heavily industrialized countries. A substantial part of the light industry was in the ethnic-German populasted Sudetenland. Heavy industry was centered in te Skoda Works located in Czech Bohemia. Much of the industry was controlled by Germans and German-owned banks. Subcarpathian Ruthenia was largely agriculturl and less deeloped than Slovakia. Before the onset of the Great Depression there was sunstanyial econnomic growth in Czechoslovkia, over 40 pervent over pre world war I levels and even greater levels of industrial growth. At the time Hitler targeted Czechoslovakia, the country had the 1th lrgest industrial plant in the world. [Rybák]

Sources

Berend, Ivan T. Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe before World War II (University of California Press: 1998), 485p.

Rybák, Pavel. "Ekonomika ČSSR v letech padesátých a šedesátých" Britské listy (July21, 2011).

Created: 6:35 AM 9/2/2016
Last updated: 4:36 AM 10/19/2021