New
New
Year 11
AQA
International responses to the Prague Spring
I can explain the reactions of countries in the East and West to events in Czechoslovakia from 1968-69.
New
New
Year 11
AQA
International responses to the Prague Spring
I can explain the reactions of countries in the East and West to events in Czechoslovakia from 1968-69.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring reforms were seen as a threat by other Warsaw Pact leaders.
- The USSR worried that Czechoslovakia might leave the Warsaw Pact.
- The USSR led an invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
- The Prague Spring reforms were overturned and Dubček was replaced with Gustáv Husák.
- The West opposed the invasion but was unwilling to fight over Czechoslovakia.
Keywords
Warsaw Pact - a military alliance of Eastern European countries led by the Soviet Union during the Cold War
Barricade - something that is quickly put across a road or entrance to prevent people from going past
Common misconception
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia created the risk of war between the superpowers.
The USA opposed the invasion but was unwilling to become involved in a military conflict involving the USSR and so limited its oppositions to criticism rather than taking steps to protect Czechoslovakia.
Students could be given a card with some information about a country / individual and then asked to predict their response to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Cards could include: the USA, Poland, Yugoslavia, Dubček, etc.
Teacher tip
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
Write the missing word. Czechoslovakia was a Soviet state.
Q2.
Write the misisng word. In the early 1960s, there were frequent shortages of goods in Czechoslovakia.
Q3.
Who became leader of Czechoslovakia in January 1968?
Antonín Novotný
Leonid Brezhnev
Q4.
What name is given to the period in early 1968 when Dubček introduced reforms in Czechoslovakia?
Pargue Summer
Prague Autumn
Prague Winter
Q5.
Write the missing word. Dubček's reforms were described as ' with a human face'.
Q6.
Which of the following was not a reform made by Dubček during the Prague Spring?
beginning of a 10-year plan to make Czechoslovakia democratic
end of press censorship
increased trade with the West
reduction in the powers of the State Security (StB) secret police
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
Which military alliance was made up of Eastern European communist states?
Q2.
Which communist countries supported Dubček's reforms during the Prague Spring?
Poland
Romania
USSR
Q3.
How many troops invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968?
Q4.
What war was the US fighting at the same time as the invasion of Czechoslovakia?
Second World War
Korean War
Gulf War
Q5.
Why did a meeting between Alexander Dubček and the Yugoslav leader Josip Tito increase Soviet concerns about Czechoslovakia?
Yugoslavia was a member of NATO.
Yugolsavia had stopped being communist.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
Additional material
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