"Wouldn’t that be fucked up or what?

Anyway, I’m Rod Sterling"

Which Czechoslovakia? The states over its history were quite different.

• First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938)
  • Declared as Austria-Hungary fell apart at the end of WWI.
  • Industrial powerhouse dismantling Austro-Hungarian power structures, investment in modernizing rural Slovakia
  • Some people see the creation of this state as attempts of entitled Czechs to legitimize their country stretching far east but Slovaks were not organized as a nation before this point so joining Czechs was their best option (days before Czechoslovakia was declared in Prague, the few Slovak intellectuals who knew about their nation’s extent and situation reached this consensus and informed the Prague AH-separatists in a letter). Frankly, the inclusion of German-populated Sudentenland (establishing historic Bohemian, rather than ethnical borders), Transcarpathia and Upper Hungary were way more problematic, not to mention Trans-Olza, settled in a minor war with Poland over Cieszyn Silesia They do have a minor point: the prevalent push towards “Czechoslovak” national identity as opposed to accepting CSR as a country of Czech and Slovak (and Ruthenian, plus Hungarian and increasingly problematic German) nationals (some were even trying to classify Slovak as a Czech dialect) was ignoring many ethnical differences, and Slovakia only got represented on the flag as it changed from the not helpful Poland🇵🇱-with-slightly-more-contrast to still-controversially-used-today-🇨🇿 in 1920.
• Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938-1939)
  • Beaten into submission by superpowers signing the Munich agreement that was supposed to appease Nazi Germany but nobody believed that would hold. Prior to the agreement, Czechoslovakia could likely defend itself long enough for Allies to come but didn’t want to start a war that Chamberlain insisted wasn’t inevitable.
• Protectorate of Bohemia & Moravia + Slovak Staat (1939-1945)
  • Two Nazi puppet states, not actually called Czechoslovakia. Created after Czechoslovakia, weakened by the Sudetenland loss and other Munich Agreement consessions, plus flanked by the now-annexed Austria, surrendered to Nazi Germany in exchange for not being bombed.
  • The democratic government fled to London and helped organize dissent via radio & sent elite paratroopers to sabotage the arms industry and assasinate the Protector
• Third Czechoslovak Republic (1945-1948)
  • Created after the Prague Uprising and liberation by Soviets (most territory) and Americans (West Bohemia)
  • Struggling to restore democracy with the Soviet-puppeted Communist Party’s influence
  • Controversial expulsion of Germans that was a humanitarian disaster and a massive brain drain
• Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948-1989)
  • After Communists gained majority vote, they did a coup d’etat and Czechoslovakia became a Soviet puppet state.
  • Collectivization and Stalinist purges in the 50s, hopes of democratization in 1968 crushed by Soviet invasion (the only success was that Slovaks gained more independence and CSSR became a federation because the Soviets didn’t care), largely passive submission until Gorbachev (1988) but moderate living standards increase in the 70s and 80s
• Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (1990-1992)
  • After the Berlin Wall fell, it was obvious the Soviet sphere of influence wouldn’t hold so on the next protest opportunity (legal marches on 1989-11-17, 50th anniversary of protests for a Nazi-assasinated student), dissent members spoke out and a general strike was announced; police beat some protesters but nobody died, hence “Velvet Revolution”
  • Democracy, unrestricted import of foreign goods & media and wild privatization started, people could get rich or poor overnight as the economy turned inside out
• Czech Republic + Slovakia (1993-present)
  • Created after Slovak politicians wanted more independence and everybody was just trying to comprehend the market changes so nobody really complained and a no-fault divorce was scheduled on 1993-01-01
  • The countries have a brotherly relationship but went their own ways and it’s clear there will most likely never be a Czechoslovakia again