On this Day, in 1948: the Communist Party Took Power in Czechoslovakia
On February 25, 1948, the Communist Party, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia, marking the onset of four decades of undisguised communist rule in the country. After World War II through May 1946 After World War II, Czechoslovakia looked favorably on the Russians, who had liberated them. In fact, the Communist Party had had a solid following in the country from the 1920s, when the nation was democratic. Eduard Beneš, who became the postwar president, had signed a friendship treaty with the Soviets while working with the government-in-exile in 1943. The Czechoslovak army and local government structure were modeled after those in the USSR. By the beginning of 1946, there was no USSR military presence in the country, yet Communists were well-represented in the government with Klement Gottwald as the Prime Minister and other Communists looking after the ministries of the interior, agriculture, information, defense, and education. The results of the May 1946 elections demonstrated the popularity of the Party, as it nabbed 38 percent of the vote. The Communist Party’s popularity drops From May 1946 until July 1947, things seemed to be running smoothly in Czechoslovakia. Then the nation wanted to obtain Marshall Aid....
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