Editing Prague Spring (section)

=== 1963 Liblice Conference ===
In May 1963, some Marxist intellectuals organized the ''Liblice Conference'' that discussed [[Franz Kafka]]'s life, marking the beginning of the cultural [[democratization]] of Czechoslovakia which ultimately led to the 1968 ''Prague Spring'', an era of political liberalization. This conference was unique because it symbolized Kafka's [[Rehabilitation (Soviet)|rehabilitation]] in the [[Eastern Bloc]] after having been heavily criticized, led to a partial opening up of the regime and influenced the relaxation of [[censorship]]. It also had an international impact as a representative from all Eastern Bloc countries were invited to the Conference; only the Soviet Union did not send any representative. This conference had a revolutionary effect and paved the way for the reforms while making Kafka the symbol of the renaissance of Czechoslovak artistic and intellectual freedom.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bahr|first=E.|date=1970|title=Kafka and the Prague Spring|journal=Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature|volume=3|issue=4|pages=15–29|issn=0027-1276|jstor=24776229}}</ref>