Changes in the Czech history

First, euphoria accompanied the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918. All hopes were destroyed in 1939 when the country became Hitler´s occupied territory.

Liberation in 1945 was quickly followed in 1948 by a communist coup, beginning forty years of totalitarian rule from Moscow. The brutal Stalinist repression of the fifties gave way to reform in the sixties and hope during “Prague Spring” for “socialism with a human face”, only to be crushed in 1968 by the tanks of the Warsaw Pact states, ushering in twenty years of political and cultural gloom.

The 1989 “Velvet Revolution” brought new hope once again, and paved the way for the nation to return to democratic Europe. This date - 17. November is the Czech national holiday and is called “Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day”.

After these revolutionary events in Novemeber 1989, the entire country had to face the uneasy task of resuming its pre-Communist traditions and building a democratic political system. Political life rapidly began to be in turmoil after the cancellation of the Fourth Article of the Constitution (concerning the“leading role of the Communist Party“) in December 1989. So, the one-party goverment was overthrown. It was possible to establish more political parties and parliamentary democracy.

Do not forget the truth about what life was like behind the “Iron Curtain” and remind to ourselves and also to the new generation that we have to prevent our country and keep the democracy safe!



Accompany – doprovázet
Be like – být jako (what life was like – o čem byl život, jak vypadal život)
Coup – převrat
Crushed – rozdrcený, zlomený, zdrcený, rozmačkaný
Destroy – zničit
Entire – celý, veškerý, kompletní, úplný, naprostý, všechen
Establishment – upevnění, nařízení, zřízení, potvrzení
Euphoria – radostná nálada, eufórie
Follow – následovat
Give way – uvolnit, povolit
Gloom – beznaděj, šero, přítmí, smutek, deprese, zasmušilost, temno, sklíčenost
Have to face – muset čelit
Hope – naděje
Independent – nezávislý
Iron Curtain – železná opona
Keep st. safe – bezpečně uchovat
One-party goverment – vláda jedné strany
Ourselves – sami sobě (mn.č.)
Overthrown – svrhnutý, svržený (overthrow – svrhnout, porazit; převrat)
Pave (the way) – dláždit, razit (cestu), připravovat
Prague Spring – Pražské jaro
Prevent – bránit, chránit
Rapidly – rychle, rapidně
Remind – připomínat, upomenout
Resume – chopit se znovu, opět začít, rekapitulovat, shrnout, znovu zahájit
Socialism with a human face – socialismus s lidskou tváří
Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day – den boje za svobodu a demokracii
Task – úkol, povinnost, břemeno, problém
Truth – pravda
Turmoil – zmatek, nepokoj, vřava, rozruch, poprask, bouře
Uneasy – nelehký
Usher in – předznamenat, uvádět, ohlásit
Velvet revolution – sametová revoluce
Warsaw Pact – Varšavská smlouva