CESTA KE SVOBODĚ PŘÍBĚHY BEZPRÁVÍ - Euroskop.cz

A GOOD TRADITION OF DEFENDING FREEDOMNotes on those who opposed the government, apparatus and ideologyof the Czechoslovak Communist Party in the years 1948–1989.The communist government lasted so long and had so many different “stages ofdevelopment” that the forms of resistance it encountered and the risks connected withanti-communist activities naturally varied as well. Nevertheless, there is a clear lineconnecting the resistance of the 1950s and that of the so-called “normalisation” era of the1970s (following the quashing of the Prague Spring). Among other things, this is becauseresistance always demanded courage and a willingness to sacrifice a reasonably peacefullife for the sake of the greater good. In relation to the size of the country’s population,those who actually had the courage to resist were a tiny minority. It often seems that theimportance of these people is played down by society today when in fact it should be theopposite. It is necessary to finally thank these people and to recognise that their actionshave given the Czech nation a continuous tradition of activity in defence of freedom. Today,we can now use this tradition as a reference point and as a counterweight to the defeatisttradition that also existed here for many years. The following text tries to at least partiallytell the story of this good tradition.THE FIRST, MOST BRUTAL DECADEOF THE COMMUNIST REGIMEThe Za pravdu group, protest pamphlets and illegal publicationsThe illegal, mimeographed magazine Za pravdu (“For Truth”) has been preserved in thefiles of the communist secret police. The earliest issue of this publication from February1949 has this to say about the first anniversary of Gottwald’s putsch: “The communists are inpower. This is true. But it is also true that barely 30 % of the nation is in favour of their reign of terror. Itis true that the Czech nation now recognises the scourge of communism for what it really is. It is true thatthis nation is uniting to effectively fight against modern Asian barbarism, contemporary slavery, thieves,robbery, denunciation and the worst kind of brutality.” Around 70 issues of this magazine werepublished and it was written by Karel Pecka, František Šádek and Antonín Řežáb. Theyissued the following challenge to their readers “Keep fighting! You are not alone. Decent people allover the world are behind you. Don’t be intimidated by Bolshevik criminals! It’s possible that many of youhave felt the truncheons of the Bolshevik police, but ultimately victory will be ours! We shall also be free.The Czech Lands will be ours once more!”Today, these words sound poignant and pathetic. Like most lofty declarations, theyexpress unwarranted hopes. Unfortunately, in this instance, they were also accompaniedby a rather accurate appraisal of the situation. The publishers of this magazine wouldvery soon “feel the truncheons of the Bolshevik police” and they would ultimately findthemselves being condemned to serve many years in prison.In February 1949, most of the Czech nation* was undoubtedly aware of the “scourge ofcommunism”. A large number of politically motivated trials had already been held andpersecution was part of everyday life. It appears absurd to think that somebody would nothave known (or not have understood) what sort of regime was governing the country bythe end of 1948 and during 1949. It is hard to estimate today how many people at the timebelieved that the government would fall in the foreseeable future. But most of those whowanted this to happen hoped that it would be brought about by the efforts of others. Theyfollowed international political developments and thought that freedom would arrivethrough an open conflict between the West and the East. They believed that a revolt wouldsooner or later happen which they could possibly join or at least passively support.In the first months following the 1948 putsch, Czechs who protested openly against theCommunist Party government were very often completely unaware of the danger theywere exposing themselves to. For a long time, the Communist Party (KSČ) had lied aboutits intentions. At least until 1947, its official, visible policies did not differ in manyrespects from those of the other parties in the National Front (which was a coalition ofall permitted political parties and civic organisations after 1945). Initially, oppositionwas focused primarily on the distribution of pamphlets and blank leaflets (which citizenswere supposed to place in ballot boxes as a way of expressing their disagreement with thecommunism government). It was mainly young people who were involved in this activity,but the communist secret police (StB) very quickly stamped out the pamphlet campaigns.* Because of its specific situation we shall not consider Slovakia.32 | 33