Velké dějiny zemí Koruny české XIX. (1968) – Hoppe Jiří (2026)

This Czech-language volume of the history of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown examines the events of 1968, when the attempt to give socialism a human face ended beneath tank tracks. The subject is rich enough to fill an entire volume, from Antonín Novotný’s two-month departure from the post of First Secretary and the Šejna affair to the abolition of censorship and the ruling party’s loss of control over the media. The book follows the creation of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia’s Action Programme, the emerging political system, the opening of the western borders and the rapid deterioration of Czechoslovak-Soviet relations. The nineteenth volume traces how the democratisation process largely escaped party control, how the country’s leadership fought for reform on two fronts, at home and within the socialist camp, and how it ultimately faced the invasion, abduction to Moscow and brutal pressure from its “allies.” The author assesses the content of the so-called Moscow Protocol and the consequences of its signing by Czechoslovakia’s representatives, while also examining the West’s response to these dramatic events.