Editing Velvet Revolution (section)

==Prior to the revolution==
The [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia|Communist Party]] [[1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état|seized power]] on 25 February 1948. No official opposition parties operated thereafter. [[Dissident]]s (notably [[Charter 77]] and [[Civic Forum]]) created Music Clubs (on a limited basis as only allowed NGOs) and published home-made periodicals ([[samizdat]]). Charter 77 was quashed by the government and its signed members were persecuted until the fall of the regime in Czechoslovakia. Later, with the advent of the Civic Forum, independence could truly be seen on the horizon. Until Independence Day on 17 November 1989, the populace faced persecution by the authorities from the secret police. Thus, the general public did not openly support the dissidents for fear of dismissal from work or school. Writers or filmmakers could have their books or films banned for a "negative attitude towards the socialist regime". They also did not allow Czechs and Slovaks to travel to other non-communist countries. Following this they banned music from foreign countries. This [[blacklisting]] included children of former entrepreneurs or non-Communist politicians, having family members living in the West, having supported [[Alexander Dubček]] during the [[Prague Spring]], opposing [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[military occupation]], promoting religion, boycotting (rigged) parliamentary elections or signing Charter 77 or associating with those who did.  These rules were easy to enforce, as all schools, media and businesses belonged to the state.  They were under direct supervision and often were used as accusatory weapons against rivals.

The nature of blacklisting changed gradually after the introduction of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s policies of [[Glasnost]] (openness) and [[Perestroika]] (restructuring) in 1985. The Czechoslovak Communist leadership verbally supported Perestroika, but made few changes. Speaking about the [[Prague Spring]] of 1968 was taboo. The first anti-government demonstrations occurred in 1988 (the [[Candle Demonstration]], for example) and 1989, but these were dispersed and participants were repressed by the police.

By the late 1980s, discontent with living standards and economic inadequacy gave way to popular support for economic reform.  Citizens began to challenge the system more openly. By 1989, citizens who had been complacent were willing to openly express their discontent with the regime. Numerous important figures as well as ordinary workers signed petitions in support of [[Václav Havel]] during his imprisonment in 1989.

Already in early 1989, the first signs of thawing relations began to appear between [[Communist Czechoslovakia]] and [[Israel]], with meetings held on shared issues, including Jewish religious freedom, the memory of the Holocaust and ties of remaining Czechoslovak Jews with the [[Diaspora]], including the strong Jewish community in the United States.<ref>Wein, Martin J.. A History of Czechs and Jews: A Slavic Jerusalem. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis Limited, 2019, pp. 185-190 [https://books.google.com/books?id=0bugBgAAQBAJ&q=wein+slavic+jerusalem]</ref>

Reform-minded attitudes were also reflected by the many individuals who signed a petition that circulated in the summer of 1989 calling for the end of [[censorship]] and the beginning of fundamental political reform.<ref>Wolchik, Sharon L. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/200723100 “Czechoslovakia's ‘Velvet Revolution.’”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224144914/https://www.proquest.com/docview/200723100 |date=2024-12-24 }} 1990. Current History. 89:413–16, 435–37. Retrieved 11 March 2009</ref>

The immediate impetus for the revolution came from developments in neighbouring countries and in the Czechoslovak capital. From August, [[East German]] citizens had occupied the [[West German]] [[Embassy]] in Prague and demanded exile to [[West Germany]]. In the days following 3 November, thousands of East Germans left Prague by train to West Germany. On 9 November, the [[Berlin Wall]] fell, removing the need for the detour.

By 16 November, many of Czechoslovakia's neighbours were beginning to shed [[authoritarian]] rule. The citizens of Czechoslovakia watched these events on TV through both foreign and domestic channels. The Soviet Union also supported a change in the ruling elite of Czechoslovakia,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wolchik |first=Sharon L. |date=1999 |title=Czechoslovakia on the eve of 1989 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48609377 |journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=437–451 |doi=10.1016/S0967-067X(99)00021-5 |jstor=48609377 |issn=0967-067X}}</ref> although it did not anticipate the overthrow of the Communist regime.