Description
Book SynopsisAt 11 o'clock in the evening of 20th August 1968, the armies of four Warsaw Pact countries, the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, and Hungary, crossed the borders of Czechoslovakia, starting the Operation Danube. Literally overnight the Czechoslovak experiment with Alexander Dubček's liberalization reforms was transformed from living reality into history. Although the Soviet Unions action successfully halted the pace of reform in Czechoslovakia, it had unintended consequences for both the unity of the communist bloc and the establishment of the new Soviet foreign doctrine. This book brings the international context of the 1968 crisis in Czechoslovakia to the center of attention. It brought together experts from within as well as from without Central Europe with the hope of igniting, or, perhaps better, re-igniting an international discussion on the Prague spring, its origins, its unfolding, its aftermath, and, most importantly, the international context. The volumes contributors are: Ljubodarg Dimić, Jakub Drábik, Mihail Gruev, Slavomír Michálek, Miklós Mitrovits, Jackques Rupnik, Alexander Stykalin, Mirosław Szumiło, Michal tefanský, and Virgiliu Tarau.
Trade Review"The publication is a contribution to Czechoslovak history in 1968 and its deep international context, revealing the character of the Soviet bloc and the essence of relations between its countries, and the Western and Eastern bloc, too. It is very valuable for both professional historians and for general readers." -- Miroslav Lysý, Comenius University Bratislava
Table of ContentsPreface by Peter Bielik; Introduction; Reflections on 1968 and its Legacies; The Prague Spring and the Evolution of the Position of Leonid Brezhnev; Limits of Washingtons Position Towards the Invasion of Czechoslovakia in the Summer of 1968; Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia During 1968; Towards Military Intervention. Prague Spring and Party Representatives in Hungary; The Communist Authorities and Polish Society in the Face of the Prague Spring and the Intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968; The Bulgarians and the Prague Spring, 1968; Operation Danube; The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 as Reflected in the Western Historiography; Conclusion; Selected Sources.
