Facts about Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia came into existence in October 1918 as one of the successor states of Austria-Hungary, whose Empire had been slowly losing ground to nationalist movements in the final years of World War I.
Czechs and Slovaks were to be disjoined for a thousand years, until 1918, when the federal Czechoslovakia would be established.
Czechoslovakia fell under the Soviet sphere of influence following liberation largely by the Soviet Union's Red Army.
In 1947, the Soviet Union and, consequently, its satellites, including Czechoslovakia, turned down the Marshall Plan, authored by U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall to address the economic needs of war-torn Europe.
On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
On October 28, 1939, the 21st anniversary of the establishment of the country, Czechoslovakia, emboldened by hopes for an early restoration of the independence, was swept by massive demonstrations.
The Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia was facilitated by the fact that most of the country had been liberated by the Red Army, as well as the overall social and economic downturn in Europe.
Economy was controlled by five-year plans and the industry was overhauled in compliance with Soviet wishes to focus on heavy industry, in which Czechoslovakia had been traditionally weak.
Hitler thus defeated Czechoslovakia without taking up arms, while a strip of southern Slovakia was handed over to Hungary in November.