First Czechoslovak Republic
Czech Republic, 1918–1938. Draft, not yet reviewed
The First Czechoslovak Republic was the first Czechoslovak state, which existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on 28 October 1918 in Prague. After 1933, Czechoslovakia remained the only functioning democracy in Central Europe, organized as a parliamentary republic. Czechoslovakia was forced to cede its Sudetenland region to Germany on 1 October 1938 as part of the Munich Agreement.
Seat of power: Prague
Rulers
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
President of Czechoslovakia, 1918–1935
Masaryk presided over a period of stability as Czechoslovakia emerged as a strong democratic state. To a large extent, Czechoslovak democracy was held together by the country's first president, Tomáš Masaryk. He resigned from office in 1935 due to old age, and was succeeded by Beneš.
Portrait of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Edvard Beneš
President of Czechoslovakia, 1935–1938
As president, Beneš faced two major crises, which both resulted in his resignation. His first resignation came after the Munich Agreement and subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938, which resulted in his government's exile in the United Kingdom. He was known as a skilled diplomat.
Portrait of Edvard Beneš: UnknownUnknown . Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; ..., Public domain, file
Culture
- The Czechoslovak state was conceived as a unitary parliamentary democracy, guided primarily by the National Assembly, consisting of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Its members were to be elected on the basis of universal suffrage.
- National minorities were assured special protection; in districts where they constituted 20% of the population, members of minority groups were granted full freedom to use their language in everyday life, in schools, and in matters dealing with authorities.
- The constitution established Czech and Slovak as official languages.
Picture
The Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence was published by Czechoslovakia's Paris-based Provisional Government on 18 October 1918.
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Sources
- First Czechoslovak Republic (Wikipedia)
- First Czechoslovak Republic (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.