We, the Builders of the New Republic

4/30/2025

The building of post-war Czechoslovakia in 1945–1948 in a mosaic of unique diary entries and previously unpublished family films. The developments that Czechoslovakia underwent after the end of World War II were rapid and full of major events. First, there was a ruthless reckoning with traitors and collaborators. The principle of collective guilt was applied to citizens of German nationality, and almost all of them were forcibly expelled beyond the borders of Czechoslovakia. Changes also took place in the economy, which experienced its first wave of nationalization. The Communists played a major role among the political parties, as many saw them as a guarantee that the problems of the First Republic and the horrors of the Protectorate would never be repeated. They confirmed their dominant position in the May 1946 elections. Klement Gottwald and the Communists were given the green light. And what did the citizens of Czechoslovakia think about this?