Editing Slovakia (section)

=== Communist party rule in Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) ===
{{Main|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic}}
{{See also|Cold War|Iron Curtain|Prague Spring|Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|Communist Party of Czechoslovakia}}

[[File:Bratislava 1968 2.jpg|thumb|[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] tank in Bratislava during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968]]

Borders with the West were protected by the [[Iron Curtain]]. About 600 people, men, women, and children, were killed on the Czechoslovak border with Austria and [[West Germany]] between 1948 and 1989.<ref>"[https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20030674/border-killings-remain-unpunished-decades-later.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308121818/https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20030674/border-killings-remain-unpunished-decades-later.html|date=8 March 2023}}." spectator.sme.sk. Retrieved on 9 June 2019. "Border killings remain unpunished decades later."</ref> 8,240 people went to forced labour camps in 1948–1953.<ref>"[https://www.upn.gov.sk/data/files/12-2016-EN-c-crimes.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526211346/https://www.upn.gov.sk/data/files/12-2016-EN-c-crimes.pdf|date=26 May 2023}}." upn.gov.sk. Retrieved on 9 June 2019. "Communist crimes in Slovakia."</ref>

On 11 July 1960, the [[1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia|Constitution of Czechoslovakia]] was promulgated, changing the name of the country from the "Czechoslovak Republic" to the "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic".

In 1968, following the [[Prague Spring]], the country was [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|invaded]] by the Warsaw Pact forces ([[People's Republic of Bulgaria]], [[Hungarian People's Republic|People's Republic of Hungary]], [[Polish People's Republic|People's Republic of Poland]], and [[Soviet Union]], with the exception of [[Socialist Republic of Romania]] and [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania]]), ending a [[Prague Spring|period of liberalisation]] under the leadership of [[Alexander Dubček]]. 137 Czechoslovak civilians were killed and 500 seriously wounded during the invasion.<ref name="victims">{{cite web |last1=Fraňková |first1=Ruth |title=Historians pin down number of 1968 invasion victims |url=https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/historians-pin-down-number-of-1968-invasion-victims |website=radio.cz |access-date=30 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826161237/https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/historians-pin-down-number-of-1968-invasion-victims |archive-date=26 August 2017 |date=18 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="victims2">{{cite web|title=August 1968 – Victims of the Occupation|url=http://www.ustrcr.cz/en/august-1968-victims-of-the-occupation|website=ustrcr.cz|publisher=Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů|access-date=23 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718191818/http://www.ustrcr.cz/en/august-1968-victims-of-the-occupation|archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref>

In 1969, Czechoslovakia became a [[Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation|federation]] of the [[Czech Socialist Republic]] and the [[Slovak Socialist Republic]] within the [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]].

[[File:Fidel Castro 1972 (SOA Prague).jpg|thumb|Czechoslovak communist leader [[Gustáv Husák]] (right) with [[Fidel Castro]] during his state visit of Czechoslovakia, 1972]]

Czechoslovakia was allied with communist regimes worldwide. As one of the first countries in the world acknowledged [[Kim Il-sung]]'s [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]. After the beginning of the [[Korean War]], Czechoslovakia protested against measures taken by the Security Council. Czechoslovak communist leaders considered the intervention against North Korean aggression illegal. During summer 1950, many resolutions against "American imperialism" were sent to the United Nations from Czechoslovakia. During the Korean War in 1952, Czechoslovakia sent a military hospital with two hospital teams consisting of 58 people to North Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=140012|title=Images shed light on work of Czechoslovakia|date=26 July 2013|website=The Korea Times}}</ref> 

When [[Fidel Castro]] took power after the [[Cuban Revolution]] in 1959, Czechoslovakia open embassy in Cuba and developed mutual relations. In August 1968, Castro denounced the [[Prague Spring]] as led by a "fascist reactionary rabble" and praised the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.<ref>[[#Bou86|Bourne 1986]]. pp. 270&ndash;271.</ref><ref>[[#Col03|Coltman 2003]]. pp. 216&ndash;217.</ref> During the [[Vietnam War]], Czechoslovakia sent [[International participation in the Vietnam War|significant aid]] to [[North Vietnam]].<ref name="Bischof2">{{Cite book |last1=Bischof |first1=Günter |title=The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 |last2=Karner |first2=Stefan |last3=Ruggenthaler |first3=Peter |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7391-4304-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gZzEYyB8X8YC&pg=PA293 293]}}</ref> The Czechoslovak government created committees which sought to not only promote and establish peace, but also to promote victory for [[Viet Cong]] and [[Vietnam People's Army]] forces.<ref name="Bischof2" />{{Rp|}} Czech-made equipment and military aid would increase significantly following the Prague Spring.<ref name="Francev2">{{Cite book |last=Francev |first=Vladimir |title=Československé zbraně ve světě: V míru i za války |publisher=Grada Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-80-247-5314-0 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NWQACgAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 166] |language=cs}}</ref> Czechoslovakia continued to send tens of thousands of Czech-made rifles as well as mortar and artillery throughout the war.<ref name="Francev2" />