NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 18; CZECHOSLOVAKIA; THE SOCIETY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NIS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110015-7
• Release Decision: RIF
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 47
• Document Creation Date: October 25, 2016
• Sequence Number: 15
• Content Type: REPORTS

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 007078000200110015 -7
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PUBLICATIONS
The basic unit of the NIS is the General Survey, which is now
published in a bound -by- chapter format so that topics of greater per-
ishability can be updated on an individual basis. These chapters� Country
Profile, The Society, Government and Politics, The Economy, Military Geog-
raphy, Transportation and Telecommunications, Armed Forces, Science, and
Intelligence and Security, provide the primary NIS coverage. Some chapters,
particularly Science and Intelligence and Security, that are not pertinent to
all countries, are produced selectively. For small countries requiring only
minimal NIS treatment, the General Survey coverage may be bound into
one volume.
Supplementing the General Survey is the NIS Basic Intelligence Fact
book, a ready reference publication that semiannually updates key sta-
tistical data found in the Survey. An unclassified edition of the factbook
omits some details on the economy, the defense forces, and the intelligence
And security organizations.
Although detailed sections on many topics were part of the NIS
Program, production of these sections has been phased out. Those pre-
viously produced will continue to be available as lone as the major
portion of the study is considered valid.
A quarterly listing of all active NIS units is published in the Inventory
of Available NIS Publications, which is also bound into the concurrent
classified Factbook. The Inventory lists all NIS units by area name and
number and includes classification and date of issue; it thus facilitates the
ordering of NIS units as well as their filing, cataloging, and utilization.
Initial dissemination, additional copies of NIS units, or separate
chapters of the General Surveys can be obtained directly or through
liaison channels from the Central Intelligence Agency.
The General Survey is prepared for the NIS by the Central Intelligence
Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency under the general direction
of the NIS Committee. It is coordinated, edited, published, and dissemi-
nated by the Central Intelligence Agency.
WARNING
This document contains information affecting the national defense of the United States, within the
meaning of title 1!, section, 793 and 794 of the US code, as amended. Its transmission or revelation
of its contents to or receipt by an unauthorised person is prohibited by law.
CLASSIFIED BY 019641. EXEMPT FROM GENERAL DECLASSIFI-
CATION SCHEDULE OF E. O. 11634 EXEMPTION CATEGORIES
39 (1), (2), (3). DECLASSIFIED ONLY ON APPROVAL OF THE
DIRECTO% OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
WARNING
The NIS is National Intelligence and may not be re-
leased or shown to representatives of any foreign govern-
ment or international body except by specific authorization
of the Director of Central Intelligence in accordance with
the provisions of National Security Council Intelligence Di-
rective No. 1.
For NIS containing unclassified material, however, the
portions so marked may be made available for official pur-
poses to foreign nationals and nongovernment personnel
provided no attribution is made to National Intelligence or
the National Intelligence Survey.
Subsections and graphics are individually classified
according to content. Classification /control designa-
tions are:
(U /OU) Unclassified /For Official Use Only
(C) Confidential
(S) Secret
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
CONTENTS
This chapter supernades the soctatogical taocrage
in the General Survey dated December 1971
A. Introduction 1
B. Structure and characteristics of tha society 1
1. Ethnic makeup 1
2. Social structure 3
3. The family 4
4. Values and attitudes 4
C. Population 5
1. Distribution and density
7
2. Age -sex structure
9
D. Living and working conditions
9
I. Health and sanitation
13
a. Medical problems
13
b. Medical care
13
c. Environmental sanitation
13
2. Diet and nutrition
16
3. Housing
16
CON"DENTUL
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP0l- 00707R000200110015 -7
Page
Page
4. Work opportunities and conditions
17
a. The manpower problem and worker
Vital rates (table)
satisfaction
17
b. Labor legislation and organizations
18
5. Social security and public welfare
20
E. Religion
21
F. Education
24
1. Educational policy
25
2. System and organization
26
3. Levels of attainment
28
G. Artistic and cultural expression
29
1. Literature
30
2. Performing arts
31
Fig: 1
Ethnic minorities (imp)
Fig. 2
Vital rates (table)
Fig. 3
Population, area, and population
Average monthly wages table)
density (table)
Fig. 4
Population by size of community
Household expenditures table)
(table)
Fig. 5
Growth of cities (table)
Fig. 6
Age composition of the population
7
(chart)
Fig. 7
Age -sex composition of the population
(chart)
f if
a. Mur c and dance 31
b. Theater and motion pictures 32
3. Art and architecture 32
a. Painting, sculpture, and architecture 32
b. Folk and applied art 34
IL Public information 34
1. Printed matter 36
a. Press and periodicals 36
b. Books and libraries 36
2. Radio and television 38
I. Selected bibliography 39
Glossary 39
FIGURES
Page
Page
2
Fig. 8
Average monthly wages table)
9
6
Fig. 9
Household expenditures table)
11
Fig. 10
Retail price index table)
11
7
Fig. 11
Trends in sales of consumer goods
(chart)
12
8
Fig. 12
Public health facilities table)
14
8
Fig. 13
Enrollment by type of school table)
28
Fig. 14
St. Vitus Cathedral photo)
33
9
Fig. 15
Typical porcelain figurine photo)
34
Fig. 16
Modem glassware photos)
35
9
Fig. 17
Principal daily newspapers table)
37
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP0l- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
the Society
A. Introduction. (C)
Although Czechs and Slovaks are of common Slavic
ethnic and linguistic background, they differ in their
cultural and institutional heritages. The Czechs, who
inhabit the traditional areas of Bohemia and Moravia,
have a rich cultural tradition and have long remained
in the mainstream of central European development
linked to Western Europe. As one of the chief
industrial centers of the Austro- Hungarian Empire,
the Czech Lands were much more economically
developed than the eastern part of the country
inhabited by the Slovaks who comprise slightly less
than a third of the total population. Under the control
of the Magyar part of the Austro Hungarian Empire,
the Slovaks, in contrast to the Czechs, have
traditionally been an agriculturally oriented society.
Industrialization in their area has been more recent
and far less extensive than in the western regions.
Despite a rapid transformation of Czechoslovakia's
social structure and a remolding of its political,
economic, and cultural institutions on the Soviet
pattern, Czechoslovak society remains culturally part
of the West. The highly centralized and authoritarian
regime imposed on the Czechoslovaks in 1948 is alien
to the traditional political and. cultural aspirations of
the nation. By a combination of resignation and
passive resistance, developed through centuries of
foreign political domination, the Czechoslovaks have
learned to accommodate themselves to the demands of
a superior power but to maintain their intellectual and
natioi..tl integrity. This enduring national trait has
been personified in Jaroslav Hasek's "Good Soldier
Schweik," a fictional hero who, as a conscript in the
Austro- Hungarian Army, frustrates the will of his
sup riors by feigning obedience, indolence, and
stupidity.
As they move into the mid- 1970's, the Czecho-
slovaks appear to be striking an uneasy modus vivendi
with the regime of Gustav Husak, following a stormy
period of reform and rebellion that began in the 1960's
and, after a "thaw" in the spring of 1968, ended in
August of the same year with the dashing of hopes for
political, economic, and social reform by a Soviet -led
Warsaw Pact invasion of the country. A year later, the
liberal and popular leader of the reform movement,
Alexander Dubcek, was replaced by Gustav Husak, a
leader acceptable to the Soviets. In la'e 1973, the
Husak regime, after purging liberal and pro Dubcek
elements, was easing political and social controls
imposed after the downfall of Dubcek. Limited
improvements in living levels also were working to
stabilize the society, although shortfalls in economic
life still gave Czechoslovaks much to grumble about.
The new mode of moderation was nevertheless very
evident and a normalization of life seemed to suggest
that the population was prepared to accept the current
Soviet dominated regime and get on with the task of
improving their quality of life as best they could under
the circumstances.
B. Structure and characteristics of the
society (U /OU)
1. Ethnic makeup
Czechs and Slovaks, two closely related western
Slavic peoples, make up about 95% of the population
of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs, constituting about
65 are the largest ethnic group; the Slovaks, with
about 30 are the next largest. The Czechs inhabit
the so- called Czech Lands (Bohemia and western
Moravia), their home since the time of the massive
migration of Slavic tribes into eastern and central
Europe in the sixth century. The Slovaks inhabit
Slovakia, their home since the sixth century, as well as
parts of eastern Moravia.
Czechoslovakia's ethnic minority problems were for
the most part eliminated after World War 11,
following population exchanges with Germany and
Hungary and the cession of Ruthenia, with its
Ukrainian population, to the U.S.S.R. Czecho-
slovakia's minorities today make up only about 5% of
the population in contrast to almost 40% during the
1930's. At the beginning of 1973, Hungarians
(numbering some 582,000) constituted the largest
minority followed by Germans (80,000), Poles
(68,000), and Ukrainians and Russians (59,000). The
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
Hungarians are concentrated largely in southern
Slovakia, the Germans in western Bohemia, the Poles
in northern Moravia, and the Ukrainians (Ruthcnians)
in eastern Slovakia (Figure 1). In addition, some
30,000 Gypsies. who are not counted statistically as an
ethnic minority, are mainly located in southern
Slovakia and parts of Bohemia. A small Jewish
population is scattered throughout the country, and
lives mostly in the larger towns.
Czech Slovak rivalry has historical roots and is the
only ethnic divisive factor of any significance in the
society today. The Slovaks were dominated by the
Hungarians for a thousand years before Czechoslovak
independence in 1918, while the formerly independ-
ent Czech kingdom was subjugated to the Austrians
from 1620 to 1918, but linguistic and cultural
differences between Czechs and Slovaks remained
generally minimal. Following World War I, however,
a trend toward ethnic differentiation set in, which in
turn contributed to political differences. Much of the
ethnic differentiation arose out of socioeconomic
differences. The Czechs, who outnumbered the
Slovaks two to one, were moat' urban dwellers and as
such regarded themselves as culturally superior to th^
Slovaks, who traditionally made up a peasant society
dominated by a Hungarian elite. The Slovaks
naturally resented Czech airs of superiority and came
to think of themselves more and more as a separate
people. The existence of a separate Slovak state from
1939 to 1945, sponsored by the Nazis. strengthened
this feeling of distinctiveness.
During the early years of the Communist regime,
both the Slovaks and the minorities feared absorption
by the majority Czech population. In order to allay
this fear, the regime embarked on a program of
economic, social, and political equalization. The 1960
constitution granted minorities "all opportunities and
means for education in their mother tongue and for
their cultural development." In addition, it gave them
the right to publish their own newspapers and
periodicals.
The policy of equalization, however, was not wholly
successful and the regime switched to a campaign of
repression against what it termed "nationalism and
chauvinism." Another switch followed in 1968, when
the Dubcek regime reaffirmed the legal status of
minorities and the right of all ethnic groups to
"develop their own cultural identities." Of particular
importance was the granting to the Slovaks greater
control over domestic affairs and equal status with the
Czechs under a new federalization. Although the
current Husak regime has restricted somewhat the
effects of true federalization and has not carried out
the full intentions of the Dubcek government toward
minorities in general, it has not returned to the
repressive measures of the pre- Dubcek days.
Br�.I.y
Or�sd�no ..w V-
EAST GERMANY L7 I
�0 �Usti n.d L.bem Kraj boundary
SOEROCESKY VY� Kraj administrative center
G K.rl -y) Kr.o �o PRAGUE o K.fowre� Q 70 4 0 r 60 BO M,Ies
o CheO ry 'C P.rouolce 0 70 40 60 P' Ktometm
KOlinp o .5 `y
1 ZAPADOCESKY J ostr._t
STRF.DOCESKI� A'i'CHODOCESKJ. 00 P O L A N D
Plc�
SEVEROMORAVSKI Fes\
oLhl.v. mow.. AN
f G�ttw.ldov zd.n. f R N/ '7
JIHOCgKY Bmo o 0 4" S
FEDERA VYCHODOSLOVENP as V
L Buaewv ems JIHOMJRAVSK I' STRE OSLOVENSKY
REPUBLIC o n �lmo
wS L O V A K-,I A r
O rr�ne
F n Ar
C B.niYi evstr
GERMANY L..f.. Zv Ien
ERMANY
ZAPADOSLOVENSKY c. P'--,r "'�/��1 cnoP
VIENNA
:1 Novo
l j,n k, f
L A U S T R I A \Komi^� H U N G A R Y
RS
BUDAPEST
FIGURE 1. Major concentrations of e*.nic minorities (U /OU)
2
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
While Magyars, Germans, Poles, ai!d Ukrainians
enjoy a legal status as minorities (the Germans were
granted this right only in 1968), the Gypsies do vot. In
keeping with tradition, they are considered 'o be
citizens of a different national origin eventually to be
absorbed into the general population. Estimated at
300,000, the Gypsy population of Czechoslovakia may
be one of the largest in any single nation. Although
more settled than in the past (they are being relocated
in western Bohernia in increasing numbers as
industrial workers), many continue traditional
lifestyles, working, for example, at odd jobs only when
they need money.
Czechoslovakia is a bilingual state, with Czech the
official language of the Czech Lands, and Slovak the
official language of Slovakia. Both languages are
members of the western division of the Slavonic
language group, which in turn belongs to the eastern
division of the Indo- European family. Despite some
differences in vocabulary and grammar, both are
intelligible in all parts of the county, except in a few
areas where extreme: dialects are spoken. Slovak has a
softer tonality than Czech, and in this respect is closer
to Ukrainian and Polish.
In addition to Czech arid Slovak, other languages
spoken by any significant portion of the population
are German in the Czech Lands and Hungarian in
Slovakia. Among both Czechs and Slovaks, German
remains the principal Western language spoken.
Knowledge of Russian is increasing, and many
professional peoplo educated during the interwar
period know English or French. Members of the
younger generation express a great interest in learning
English or French, even though Russian is more
politically desirahle.
2. Social structure
In the independent Czechoslovakia thal emerged
after World War I there was no longstanding
professional military class, and the remaining
members of the landowning nobility lost most of their
estates thro..gh land reform. Differences in wealth and
social status were not as strongly marked as in
Hungary, Poland, or some of the Western European
countries. Such social conflict as existed was primarily
between nat; groups, which themselves were
socially homogeneous. Furthermore, religious conflict
was minimal.
'rhe social structure during the interwar period
consisted mainly of a strong, urbanized middle class
businessmen, intellectuals, and bureaucrats �and two
other distinct groups industrial workers and
peasants �who constituted the lower class. Vestiges of
it small upper class remained as rentiers or
industrialists. Most Czechs and Germans were
industrial workers, whereas most Slovaks, Magyars,
and Ukrainians were peasants. The class structure was
open with considerable upward mobility because of
the availability of educational opportunities at all
social levels.
The political and economic measures introduced by
the Communists beginning in 1948 radically changed
the prewar social structure. In the wake of post -1945
nationalization of major industrial and commercial
enterprises, followed by post -1948 suppression of non
Communist political parties and judicial actions
against "bourgeois" opposition elements, the former
tipper class virtually disappeared. In its place a new
tipper class emerged, made up of high Communist
Party arid government officials, leaders of mass
organizations, managers of nationalized enterprises,
scientists, and prominent writers and artists willing to
work within the political and ideological restrictions
imposed by the regime.
Despite the Communist regime's egalitarian
philosophy, members of the new upper class enjoy an
elite status which brings with it preferential treatment,
high income, and social prestige. In keeping with the
regime's political credo of the "rule of the proletariat,"
many members of this elite are of working class origin,
but their !:Jestyles belie this. Actually, there is little to
distinguish their way of life from that of members of
the former upper class, except in their ideological
orientation. They enjoy the same privileges the pre
Communist elite (lid: the best housing, schools, clubs,
and resorts; the opportunity to purchase goods
unavailable to the rest of the population; and
increased opportunities to travel abroad.
Below the elite upper class is a new middle class
drawn from the middle and lower echelons of the
part and bureaucracy. Its members manage the
government and economy for the ruling elite. One
chief requirement for membership in the new middle
class is ideological loyalty. A peasant or worker
background is ideal but there are many exceptions in
this last regard. The lifestyle of this class generally
resembles that of any other European managerial
class.
As in the prewar period, the lower class consists of
farmers and both blue- and white collar nonag-
ricultural workers. A new category is the collectivized
farmer, whose daily life and work comes under close
scrutiny and control by the state. The lower class is by
far the largest and includes many former members of
the prewar middle and upper classes whose property
was nationalized and whose privileges were abolished.
3
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
An overwhelming majority of its members passively
resist the regime, lacking as they do legitimate
political power or organization. Some, however, can
become quite active in their resistance, as was the case
during 1968 when workers united with students and
intellectuals in support of the popular reform program
and in opposition to the Soviet Union's interference in
the nation's internal affairs.
Upward social mobility is based chiefly on
education and political loyalty. In its early years, the
Communist government denied members of the
former middle and upper classes access to education,
so that a large number of individuals of the lower class
rose in the society to form the new middle and upper
classes. Membership in the new middle and upper
classes is not as secure as it was in the prewar period;
social and economic position today depends to an
unusually high degree on political fortunes that rise
and fall with every shift or change in the Communist
Party line.
3. The family
The prevailing family type is identical to that in
most industrial societies: the single- family moncga-
mous unit composed of father, mother, and unmarried
children. Ties between this basic unit and close
relatives tend to he weaker in the more urban and
industrial Czech Lands, and stronger in largely rural
Slovakia where close family relations resemble those in
other East European countries. However, uniformik
in family life throughout the country- is being
promoted by rapid industrialization, which has
in( reased population. mobility and shortened distances
between town and village.
The family unit has usually occupied a single
dwelling, but the postwar housing shortage has
obliged many newlyweds to mc:ve in with parents. In
Slovakia, partly because of tradition and partly
because of the housing shortage, the three generation
household is more evident than in the Czech Lands.
As a result of both this and a higher birth rate, the
average Slovak household has four persons, as
compared with three in the average Czech household.
In the typical Czech household before the advent of
the present regime, the husband earned the family
income and the wife took care of home and children.
The mother often exercised decisive influence in
household affairs, but the father remained, at least
formally, the head of the family. Marriages were
frequently the result not of a love affair but of an
arrangement entered into by the couple and parents,
with important consideration given to the groom's
education, occupation, and income, and to the bride's
trousseau and dowry. During the First Republic (1918-
38), religious and civil marriage ceremonies had equal
validity and divorce was legally recognized.
The traditional family pattern of life has undergone
considerable change under the impact of communism.
Marxist theories concerning the "emancipation of
women," the sharp inc:easc in the employment of
women, and the stare's assumption of greater
respcnsibilito in the upbringing of children all have
combined to le3sen family ties and weaken the
authority of parents, especiall that of the father.
These changes, along with an acute housing shortage,
have contributed to a rising divorce rate and a falling
birth rate. The government has abolished any legal
distinction between marned and unmarried mothers.
Individuals become legally eligible for marriage at
age 18; those between 16 and 1S must file an
application that includes parental consent, and those
below 16 are granted permission to marry only under
exceptional circumstances. To be legal, a marriage
must be contracted before an appropriate local
governmental agency. A church ceremony may follow,
but it carries no legal validity. Husbands and wives
may retain their own family names or use the family
names of either. Children bear the family name
stipulated at the time of birth. Marriage to a foreigner
without consent of the Ministry of Interior is
prohibited.
Since 1963, family legislation has emphasized the
welfare and upbringing of children. Largely with child
care in mind, the government has decreed that
"divorce should be an exception under socialism" and
that all citizens must strive for the "maintenance of
marital ties." 7 heoreticalty a divorce may not be
granted if it would "severely affect" one of the
partners or conflict with the interests of the children.
Custody of the children in event of divorce is
determined by the court, although the children are
almost invariably entrusted to the mother.
4. Values and attitudes
The Czechs and Slovaks are a tenacious people.
They are teadfast in purpose and will strive to achieve
goals whatever difficulties stand in the way. Tenacity
of purpose, however, does not mean achievement of
goals through force or violence. They believe in the
force of reason and prefer achieving goals through
compromise rather than violence. They gained their
independence in 1918 less through violence than
through reasoned appeals to international opinion,
and under the First Republic (1918-38) they created a
democracy unique to Europe chiefly through
compromise and negotiation. In the Czech character,
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
and to a slightly less degree in the Slovak, tenacity of
purpose aambines with the pragmatism and prudence
of the shrewd negotiator.
Both Slovaks and Czechs have a strong egalitarian
outlook. Class differences have never been very
pronounced in the country, nor have there been great
extremes in poverty and wealth. At the same time,
however, there is class consciousness which is stronger
among Slovaks than Czechs.
Czechoslovak values and attitudes are typically
middle class. The Czechs in particular place a high
premium on economic independence and personal
securit Since to amass material possessions re
hard work, diligence, and ability, these characteristics
are much admired and encouraged among the young.
And since security is so important in the scale of
values, personal characteristics that preserve security
are also greatly v :0 such as stoicism, adaptation to
difficulties, and compliance.
The Communists have persistently tried to
obliterate the nation's democratic heritage, to disrupt
traditional tics with the West and to isolate the people
from anti Communist influences. The government has
systematically vilified those principles of humanistic
liberalism which were the hallmark of the founder of
the Czechoslovak state, Tomas G. Masaryk. To
supplant individual thought with collective action,
the regime has involved most of the population on a
more or less compulsory basis in a busy organizational
life in state sponsored mass organizations. Czechs and
Slovaks, ho%%ever, still maintain traditional attitudes
and values despite governmental and party pressures
and indoctrination attempts.
Deeply rooted anti German .and, to a lesser extent,
anti Hungarian sentiments persist among some
segments of the population. Among members of the
younger generation, however, West Germany appears
as it model of material well -being and efficiency and
thus anti-( t-i man prejudices surface more with re spect
to East Germans than `Nest Germans. Recent efforts
by the government to normalize relations with West
Germany have considerably muted anti- German
sentiments.
Prior to the Communist takeover Czechoslovaks
usually sought support for their aspirations from the
Western democracies, particularly France, Great
Britain, and the United States. Pan- Slavisna and the
tendency to look to the Russians for support and
leadership was a minor clement in Czechoslovak
history, and only after the post Munich disillusion-
ment with the West did the Czechoslovaks turn
increasingly to the U.S.S.R. for support. However, tl
sympathetic attitude of many Czechoslovaks toward
their brother Slays of the Soviet Union has gradually
changed to hostilit as a result of the brutish behavior
of Soviet troops who liberated Czechoslovakia in 1945,
the Soviet directed communization of Czechoslovakia
after 1948, and, more dramatically and extensively,
because of the 1968 Soviet -led invasion.
C. Population (U /OU)
Czechoslovakia's population, estimated at 14,,%3.000
at midyear 1973, has been slowly increasing since
the vast population shifts between 19:38 and 19-50.
Among the six Warsaw Pact nations of Eastern
Europe, Czechoslovakia ranks fourth in total
population; however, only East Germany has a greater
population density. Like Eastern Europe in general,
Czechoslo has a lower density than most nations
of Western Europe.
The rate of population growth has been fairly slow
throughout the 20th century. Naturu: increase in
present day Czechoslovakia was high in the early 20th
century, but emigration, particularly to the United
States, Austria, and Hungary, was heavy. In the
interwar period, emigration was sharply reduced but
the birth rate sharply declined also. Czechoslovakia
had relatively few military losses during World War 11
but other population changes, including the
decimation of the Jewish population under the
German occupation and the expulsion of almost 3
million Germans between 1945 and 1950, reduced the
1950 population to 12,338,000, or about the same
level as in 1900. Following the large postsar shifts of
population, migration to and from Czechoslovakia nas
been small. In the early 1950's immigrants
outnumbered emigrants slightly, but since then this
movement has been reversed. Some German emigrants
have been permitted to move to West Germany to join
relatives. Following the Warsaw Pact invasion of
August 1968, according to official figures, about
20,000 persons emigrated between August 1968 and
the end of 1970; other sources, however, estimate that
as many as 80,(XX) Czechoslovaks fled the country
because of the threat of political repression. (Even this
figure is considered low by some in view of the
possibility of relatively free travel to the West which
ended only some months after the 1968 invasion.) The
efforts of the Husak regime to coax them back through
amnesties met with little success, and in early 1970 the
government began confiscating thei. homes and
property. A new amnesty was granted to all political
exiles in early 1973 as part of a move to gain greater
public support for the government.
Czechoslovakia's birth rate was not appreciably
affected by World War II and was higher immediately
5
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
following the war. Since the early postwar years,
however, the birth rate has been in a general decline,
primarily because of extensive birth control practices,
and now, along with other Central European
countries, is among the lowest in the world. Prom a
postwar high of 24? per 1,0(X) persons in 1947, the
birth rate dropped to a record low of 14.9 in 19(i8.
Since then the rate has shifted upward to reach 17.3
per 1,000 persons in 1972. Between 1950 and 1968 the
number of births declined by 265c, considerably
higher than the average Eastern Europe decline of
1651..
The two major divisions of Czechoslovakia have
long had strikingly different demographic characteris-
tics. Those of the Czech Lands, comprising the
western three- fifths of the country, are typical of
Western Europe whereas those of Slovakia are more
typical of Eastern Europc. The birth rate has been
consistently l(mer in the Czech Lands than in Slovakia
(Figure 2). The gap in the death rate, however, was
closed as living conditions and medical facilities in
Slo.val�.ia improved during the interwar period. Since
the early 19-30's, the death rate in Slovakia has been
lower than that in th- Czech lands primarily because
the population is younger. Hence, natural increase in
Slovakia was twice as high as that in the Czech !.ands
in the interwar period and has been as much as three
times higher than that in the Czech Lands in recent
years. Infant mortality, how%aver, continues to remain
higher in Slovakian, which "lad an infant death rate of
25.4 per I,OW live births compared with 19.3 for the
Czech Lands in 1972.
Czechoslovakia's slow ,ix)pula.tion growth has led to
chronic labor shortages which pose a major economic
problem to the country. The regime embarked on a
number of schemes during the 1960's to stimulate:
population growth, offering financial inducements
such as family allowances, maternity benefits
(increased again in 1970 and 1971 rent reductions for
FIGURE 2. Vital rates for the Czech Lands and Slovakia
(Per 1,000 population) %U /OU)
Cy
families with several children, and reduced tax rates
for larger families. Running counter to this, however.
are many factors conducive to family limitation, such
as inadequate housing, preoccupation with obtaining
consumer gmids, the difficulty of supporting more
than two children, the increasing employment of
women, and the availability of abortions.
In the mid -1950s the countries of Eastern Europe
followed the Soviet lead in relaxing their abortion
laws. This is generally recognized to have been a
decisive step, sinct- it provided government sanction to
efforts to limit the size of families. Abortion in
Czechoslovakia had been legal exclusively for medical
reasons, but in 1957 virtually all limitations were
removed. A sharp rise in the number of abortions
followed until 1961, when the government, concerned
over the declining birth rate, imposed new restrictions.
Although these were effective for a few years, in 1964
the abortion rate again began increasing. The number
of abortions jumped from 94,((X) in 1964 to 125,000 in
1970, but during 1971 the number fell to 122,000 and
during 1972 to I18,000.The number of abortions in
1972 represented one abortiop for every 2.1 births.
Data on life expectancy at birth reveal striking
results in the control of disease over the past 40 years:
MALES FEr swr.cs
(in yeore)
1929- 32.....
CZECH
LANDS
SLOVAKIA
YEAR
Births
Deaths
Births
Deaths
IM- 24........
24.1
15.6
35.9
19.5
1930- 34........
17.5
13.?
26.7
15.4
1950- 54........
19.6
11.0
28.0
10.5
1960...........
13.3
9.7
22.1
7 9
1965...........
15.1
10.7
19.3
8.2
1970...........
15.1
12.6
17.8
9.3
1971...........
15.7
12.4
18.2
9.4
1972...........
16.5
12.0
19.1
9.0
Cy
families with several children, and reduced tax rates
for larger families. Running counter to this, however.
are many factors conducive to family limitation, such
as inadequate housing, preoccupation with obtaining
consumer gmids, the difficulty of supporting more
than two children, the increasing employment of
women, and the availability of abortions.
In the mid -1950s the countries of Eastern Europe
followed the Soviet lead in relaxing their abortion
laws. This is generally recognized to have been a
decisive step, sinct- it provided government sanction to
efforts to limit the size of families. Abortion in
Czechoslovakia had been legal exclusively for medical
reasons, but in 1957 virtually all limitations were
removed. A sharp rise in the number of abortions
followed until 1961, when the government, concerned
over the declining birth rate, imposed new restrictions.
Although these were effective for a few years, in 1964
the abortion rate again began increasing. The number
of abortions jumped from 94,((X) in 1964 to 125,000 in
1970, but during 1971 the number fell to 122,000 and
during 1972 to I18,000.The number of abortions in
1972 represented one abortiop for every 2.1 births.
Data on life expectancy at birth reveal striking
results in the control of disease over the past 40 years:
MALES FEr swr.cs
(in yeore)
1929- 32.....
51.9
55.2
1937
54.9
58.7
1949 -51
60.9
65.5
19,55
66.2
71.1
1960
67.8
73.2
1965
67.3
73.2
1970
66.2
72.9
1972
67.0
73.8
Life expectancy values for males have not improved
significantly since 1955 and those for females
remained much the same sine_ 1960. Nonetheless, the
1972 values for both sexes are among the highest in the
world. furthermore, the values are about the same in
Slovakia as they are in the Czech Lauds. The
differences between the values for the two sexes -6.8
years in 1972 -is clear evidence of a more favorable
mortality pattern for females.
Should mortality decline at a moderate pace and
fertility remain at the 1971 level, the population is
projected to continue to increase slowly -From 14.6
million in midyear 1973 to 15.1 million in 1980, to
15.4 million in 1985, and to 15.6 million in 1990.
These projections imply that the average annual rate
of population. increase will decline from 6.2 per 1,000
in 1972 to 4.5 in 1980, to 3.4 in 1985, and to 3.1
million in 1990.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
1. Distribution and density
The distribution of Czechoslov;,kia's population is
fairly L-ven throughout the 10 administrative regions
kraje), with the heaviest con titration in central and
northern Bohemia around Prague, the two kraje which
occupy the former territor-,, of Moravia, and western
Slovakia around Bratislava. The least populous areas
are southern and western Bohemia and predominantly
mountainous central and ea�.tern Slovakia.
As reported at midyear 1971, 42.3% of the total
population lived ill Bohemia, which comprises 41.3%
of the national territory. Another 26.0% of the
population lived in Moravia, which constitutes 20.4%
of the Lind, and the remaining 31.7% lived in
Slovakia, which snakes up 38.3% of the total area
(Figure 3).
With a population density of 292 persons per square
mile at midyear 1971, Czechoslovakia ranked second
in Eastern Europe to similarly industrialized East
Germanv. Like Eastern Europe in general, however,
Czechoslovakia has a lower density than most nations
of Western Europe. The highest densities outside the
major cities occur along the East German border, in
central Moravia, and in the Danube basin (see
population inset to Summary Map in Country P-ofiie
chapter). No large area of Czechoslovakia can be
called sparsely populated by U.S. standards, as only
one kraj had fewer than 200 persons per square mile in
1971.
Throughout the years the population et,ncentrations
were centered in the more industrialized Czech Lands.
but long -term tme id indicate that a redistribution of
population is taking place throughout the country, as
noted in the following percentage distribution:
1930 1961 1971 1973
Bohemia 51.3 43.9 42-3 66 1
Moravia 25.0 15.7 26.A
Slovakia 23.7 30.4 31.7 31.9
As indicated by Bohemia's declining share of the total
national population, oat- migration i.nd a declining
birth rate are major population trends in Czecho-
slovakia's industrial region. More significant,
however, is the movement of rural people into urban
areas, especially to the rapi& growing cities and
towns of Slovakia and Moravia. Total internal
migration numbered 392,711 persons in !971, of
which 42.9% occurred within the same okres (district).
In 24.6�%0 of the moves, the migration was from one
okres to another in the same kraj, while 27% were from
or kraj to another. Only 5.5% of the moves were
between the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
Czechoslovakia is essentially a country of small
cities and towns (Figure 4). With more than 62% of
the 1970 population living in cities and towns of over
2,000 inhahi: ants, Czechoslovakia is the secor.1 most
urbanized country in Eastern Europe, surpassed only
by East Germany. The emphasis put on industrializa-
tion has resulted in a 37% increase in the urb�in
population since 1546. The rate of urban growth,
however, is well below that of most other Eastern
European countries because, like East Germany,
Czechoslovakia had much higher proportion of
urban population to begin with. As was true in most of
Eastern Europe, the greatest increase in urban
FIGURE 3. Population, area, and population density, 1971 (U /OU)
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
PERCENT OF
AREA
PERCENT OF
PERSONS PER
TOTAL
(.N SQUARE
TOTAL
SQUARE
GEOGRAPHIC AREA AND KRAJ
POPULATION
POPULATION
MILES)
AR,A
MILE
Czech Lands:
Stredocesky (central Bohemia)
2,272,746
15.8
4,439
9.0
512
Jihocesky (southern Bohemia)
654,674
4.5
4,381
8.9
149
7,apadocesky (western Bohemia)
852,313
5.9
4,198
8.5
203
Severocesky (northern Bohemia)
1,105,721
7.7
3,015
6.1
367
Vychodocesky (eastern Bohemia)
1,204,013
8.4
4,340
8.8
277
Jihomoraysky (southern Moravia)
1,942,445
18.4
5,803
11.7
335
Severomoraysky (northern Moravia)
1,809,893
12.6
4,273
8.7
424
Total
9,841,805
68.8
30,449
61.7
323
Slovakia:
Zapadosl ovens ky (western Slovakia)
1,892,802
18.1
5,737
11.6
330
Stredoslovenskv (central Slovakia)
1,408,494
9.8
6,940
14.1
203
Vychodoslovensky (eastern Slovakia)
1,263,671
8.8
6,247
12.6
202
Total
4,564,967
31.7
18,924
38.3
241
Total Czechoslovakia
14,406,772
100.0
49,373
100.0
292
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
FIGURE 4. Population by size of community, 1970 (U /OU)
*Excluding the 4,000 persons who did not record a permanent
residence at the time of the l December 1970 census.
population in Czechoslovakia occurred in middle
sized cities with populations of 20,000 to 100,000. The
populatioi, of towns below 2,000 inhabitants Las
remained largely static.
Czechoslovakia has six cities with populations over
100,000, which at the beginning of 1973 accounted for
165ci of the total population. Prague in 1973 had a
population of nearly 1,086,000, or more than three
times the size of Brno, the next largest city. Population
increases between 1961 and 1973 were especially rapid
in Kosice' which almost doubled in population and in
Bratislava which grew by mote than 30% (Figure 5).
Much of the increase in urban population has been
the result of the migration of agricultural workers to
the cities. This migration, already characteristic of the
pre -World War II period, accelerated following 1950,
when the disparity betweel, rural and urban incomes
became more pronounced and as more people,
especially the young, were attracted by city life.
Between 1950 and 1961 some 590,000 persons,
For diacritics oo place names see the list of names on the aproi,
of the Summary Map and the snap itself in the Country Profile
chapter.
FIGURE 5. Growth of cities of 100,000 or more
inhabitants (U /OU)
POPULATION
PERCENT OF
AGGREGATE
TOTAI
BILE CLASS
NUMBER
POPULATION
POPULATION
100 000 and over..
6
2,269,349
15 8
50,000- 99,999.....
14
932,432
6.-
20,000- 49,999.....
43
1,257,530
8.0
10,000 19,999.....
84
1,151,249
8.0
5,000- 9,999.......
170
1,193,972
8.3
2,000 4,999.......
718
2,147,498
15.0
1,000- 1,999.......
1,441
1,987,401
13.8
500- 999..........
2,750
1,943,154
13.5
Under 500........
5,382
1,474,972
10.3
Total..........
10,608
0 14,357,557
1j0.0
*Excluding the 4,000 persons who did not record a permanent
residence at the time of the l December 1970 census.
population in Czechoslovakia occurred in middle
sized cities with populations of 20,000 to 100,000. The
populatioi, of towns below 2,000 inhabitants Las
remained largely static.
Czechoslovakia has six cities with populations over
100,000, which at the beginning of 1973 accounted for
165ci of the total population. Prague in 1973 had a
population of nearly 1,086,000, or more than three
times the size of Brno, the next largest city. Population
increases between 1961 and 1973 were especially rapid
in Kosice' which almost doubled in population and in
Bratislava which grew by mote than 30% (Figure 5).
Much of the increase in urban population has been
the result of the migration of agricultural workers to
the cities. This migration, already characteristic of the
pre -World War II period, accelerated following 1950,
when the disparity betweel, rural and urban incomes
became more pronounced and as more people,
especially the young, were attracted by city life.
Between 1950 and 1961 some 590,000 persons,
For diacritics oo place names see the list of names on the aproi,
of the Summary Map and the snap itself in the Country Profile
chapter.
FIGURE 5. Growth of cities of 100,000 or more
inhabitants (U /OU)
8
representing 27% of the agricultural labor force in
1950, left agricultural employmett. By 1972 an
additional 242,000 had left agricultural employment,
with the result that the total agricultural labor force
decreased from 2,188,000 in 1950 to 1,356,000 in
1972. It may ba prest;med that most of these persons,
along with `heir depenrlents, took up residence in
urban areas when 'hey transfcl ;ed to nonagricultural
occupations, which during the 22 -year period
increased from 3.6 million to 6.0 million.
Since World War 11 successive governments have
tried to encourage young rural people to stay on the
farm and young urban people to take up agricultural
pursuits. The largest return movement occurred in
1946 -47, when the postwar coalition government
induced 1.5 million Czechs and Slovaks to settle in the
border areas which had been depopulated by the
expulsion of the Sudeten Germans. Subsequent
attempts by the government have been considerably
less successful. In July 1970 the government
announced a new long -term borderland resettlement
program, offering lucrative bonuses and economic
subsidies to induce people of all professions to move to
these underpopulated agricultural areas.
2. Age -sex structure
Since 1900, the age structure of Czechoslovakia's
population has undergone considerable change: the
proportion of the population age 60 and older has
been rising while the proportion of those under age 15
has been declining (Figure 6). The we structure is now
typical of countries which have experienced the
demographic transition from comparatively high to
low levels of both fertility and mortality and have low
rates of growth. At present, Czechoslovakia's
population is characterized by a large proportion of
adults and a relatively sillall proportion of children.
The median age, which has risen from 30.4 years in
1950 to 32.1 at the beginning of 1971, is 4 years higher
than the median age in the United States. Regional
differences show that the population of the Czech
Lands had a median age of 33.8 years while that of
Slovakia had a median age of only 28.6 years.
The profile of the population in 1972 (Figure 7)
clearly shows the sharp reductions in the birth Tate
during World War I and during the severe lepression
years of the 1930's, and the declining birth rate of the
1960's. The lag in the demographic development of
Slovakia as compared with that of the Czech Lands is
also reflected in the age structure of each region. The
broader base of the population pyramid for Slovakia
reflects the higher fertility and younger population in
that region.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
POPULATION
PERCENT
CITY
1961
1 January 1973
CHANGE
Prague...........
1,005,379
1,085,872
8.0
Brno
314,235
350,309
11.5
Bratislava........
241,796
317,993
31.5
Ostrava..........
234,222
287,589
22.8
Kosice...........
79,352
157,918
99.0
Plze
137,209
151,243
10.2
8
representing 27% of the agricultural labor force in
1950, left agricultural employmett. By 1972 an
additional 242,000 had left agricultural employment,
with the result that the total agricultural labor force
decreased from 2,188,000 in 1950 to 1,356,000 in
1972. It may ba prest;med that most of these persons,
along with `heir depenrlents, took up residence in
urban areas when 'hey transfcl ;ed to nonagricultural
occupations, which during the 22 -year period
increased from 3.6 million to 6.0 million.
Since World War 11 successive governments have
tried to encourage young rural people to stay on the
farm and young urban people to take up agricultural
pursuits. The largest return movement occurred in
1946 -47, when the postwar coalition government
induced 1.5 million Czechs and Slovaks to settle in the
border areas which had been depopulated by the
expulsion of the Sudeten Germans. Subsequent
attempts by the government have been considerably
less successful. In July 1970 the government
announced a new long -term borderland resettlement
program, offering lucrative bonuses and economic
subsidies to induce people of all professions to move to
these underpopulated agricultural areas.
2. Age -sex structure
Since 1900, the age structure of Czechoslovakia's
population has undergone considerable change: the
proportion of the population age 60 and older has
been rising while the proportion of those under age 15
has been declining (Figure 6). The we structure is now
typical of countries which have experienced the
demographic transition from comparatively high to
low levels of both fertility and mortality and have low
rates of growth. At present, Czechoslovakia's
population is characterized by a large proportion of
adults and a relatively sillall proportion of children.
The median age, which has risen from 30.4 years in
1950 to 32.1 at the beginning of 1971, is 4 years higher
than the median age in the United States. Regional
differences show that the population of the Czech
Lands had a median age of 33.8 years while that of
Slovakia had a median age of only 28.6 years.
The profile of the population in 1972 (Figure 7)
clearly shows the sharp reductions in the birth Tate
during World War I and during the severe lepression
years of the 1930's, and the declining birth rate of the
1960's. The lag in the demographic development of
Slovakia as compared with that of the Czech Lands is
also reflected in the age structure of each region. The
broader base of the population pyramid for Slovakia
reflects the higher fertility and younger population in
that region.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
PERCENT
100
90
so
70
60
s0
40
30
20
10
AME
0 and ever
5 -59
1-14
FIGURE 6. Age composition of the population (U /OU)
In 1972, 22.9% of the population consisted of
persons under age 15, and 17.45(' were age 60 or older.
Reflecting the higher mortality rates among males, the
fernale population had a markedly higher proportion
of older members than did the male population.
During the period 1950 -72, the population in the
working (or able- bodied) ages -16 to 59 for males and
16 to 54 for females increased less rapidly than did
that in the other two broad age groups, and therefore
the working -age population declined as a share of the
total. The proportion of persons under working age
also declined, while the share of the population in the
older ages increased sharply.
Women have outnumbered men in Czechoslovakia
throughout the 20th century. In 1972 the popul
comprised 7,030,786 males and 7,404,827 females, a
ratio of 94.9 males per 100 females. Males
outnumbered females in all age groups under 30.
Beginning at age 30, however, women exceeded men
in all age groups, and they did so strikingly at the older
ages. The deficiency of males is greater in the more
urbanized Czech Lands. In 1972 the latter area had a
ratio of 93.9 males per 100 females whereas Slovakia
had a ratio of 97.3. The lower sex ratio in urban areas
also reflects the greater opportunities for employment
of females in the cities.
D. Living and working conditions (U /OU)
Living levels in '7.cchoslovakia are higher than
those in the other European Communist countries
except for East Germany, but are lower than those in
the United States and many Western European
countries. The industrialized western and central
regions of Czechoslovakia were on economic par with
neighboring Germany before World War 11 and
suffered little damage during the war, with the result
that living levels recovered rapidly to prewar levels
during the late 1940's. As in the other Communist
countries, however, Czechoslovak consumers were
forced to lower their levels of living 4:. the government
invested the country's resources during the 1950's
primarily in production o; capital goods, particularly
in heavy industry. In the distribution of income, both
the peasants and unskilled urban laborers have been
far better off than they were before the war.
Conversely, most white collar employees (including
nearly all of the prewar middle class) and skilled urban
workers have been considerably worse off. The most
highly educated and technically skilled elements of
the population have had the most reason to be
discontented with their living conditions and with the
inconveniences and chronic shortages which have so
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
100 1921 Im 1970
FIGURE. 7. Age -sex composition of the population of the
Czech Lands and Slovakia, 1972 (U /OU)

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
frequently been part of everyday life in Eastern
Europe.
The mild economic liberalization of Eastern Europe
during the early 1960's was manifested in Czecho-
slovakia by more attention to public welfare and to
the production and importation of consumer goods,
and much greater improvements in living and working
conditions were promised under Dubcek's Action
Program with its emphasis on the rights of the
individual. Few of Dubeek's proposed reforms were
implemented, however, owing largely to the turmoil
following the Soviet invasion of 1968. Although the
Husak government has tightened central controls over
the economy, in addition to suppressing political
opposition, it has also undertaken to raise levels of
living by substantially increasing the supply of
consumer goods. Moreover, expenditures on social
security, pensions, housing, and health ,crvices have
been increased at the expense of funding capital
investments and subsidies for state ente prises. As of
mid -1973 the government's well publicized interest in
popular welfare -Husak has continually reminded the
people that they "never had it so good"- appeared to
have won qualified and grudging acceptance from the
Czechoslovak population.
The monthly cash earnings of both white and blue
collar workers have increased significantly since the
mid- 1960's (Figure 8). Owing to the importance
attached to industrial expansion and construction,
cruployees in these sectors, as well as transportation
.workers, have generally earned higher than average
incomes. Since the late 1960's, the average earnings of
transportation workers have even surpassed those of
scientific personnel, who comprise the highest paid
white collar category recorded by the published
statistics. The average cash earnings of workers in
agriculture have been consistently lower than those
paid in the high priority industries; however, on
collective farms, which occupied 565, of the country's
farmlands it, 1970, the workers are paid both in cash
and in kind out of the farms' earnings. Irrespective of
the type of occupation, most Czechoslovak workers
receive a variety of noncash benefits, incl;iding
incentive bonuses, which have been particularly
effective in stimulating production. Much of the
increase in average per capita income, which
amounted to 35% for the period from 1960 to 1971,
Ivis been attril.utable to sources other than basic
wages.
The rates of personal consumption have risen since
the 1960's, primarily as the result of rising per capita
income, industrial expansion, and the increasing
availability of consumer goods. In 1971 the family of
an average urban blue collar worker expended 32.2%
of its income on food, 27.4% on consumer durables,
and 18.1� on ren', utilities, and taxes (Figure 9)
Households on collective farms spend a smaller
proportion for food but a much higher proportion for
consumer durables. The relatively large proportion of
personal income allotted for food by urban families is
offset to some degree by the artificially low rents
established by the government. Originally frozen at
their prewar levels, most rents have bey i raised since
1964 to make this sector of the economy viable and to
reduce the cost of upkeep.
FIGURE 8. Average monthly wages, by occupation (in korunas) (U /OU)
OCCUPATION
1955
1960
1965
1968
1970
1971
Blue- collar workers, total
1,206
1,384
1,526
1,779
1,957
2,026
Industry
1,278
1,442
1,573
1,788
1,967
2,040
Construction
1,350
1,521
1,700
1,989
2,195
2,209
Agriculture
893
1,113
1,308
1,647
1,806
1,809
Forestry
1,064
1,265
1,443
1,671
1,890
1,952
Transpon ,scion
1,262
1,475
1,642
2,039
2,271
2,353
Communications
1,019
1,205
1,31
1,551
1,780
1,802
Public catering
na
1,'03
1,247
1,537
1,654
1,703
White-collar workers, total
l ,1 R
1,,
1,380
1,656
1, 872
1,955
Transportation
1,205
1,43E
1,589
1,949
2,193
2,270
Communications
1,019
1,205
1,311
1,551
1,786
1,802
Science and research
1,434
1,545
1,763
1,992
2,238
2,331
Municipal services
990
1,053
1,091
1,334
1,514
1,603
Housing
701
772
918
1,110
1,266
1,317
Health and social welfare
984
1,183
1,229
1, 511
1,776
1,912
Education and culture
1,036
1,293
1,363
1,604
1,832
1,907
Administration and courts
1,193
1,388
1,551
1,860
2, 055
2,127
Banking and insurance
1,180
1,323
1,414
1,769
2,164
2,221
na Data net available.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
FIGURE 9. Household expen0tures for average urban
and rural families (in percent), 1971 (U /OU)
URBAN URBAN
BLUE- WHITE
COLLAR COLLAR COLLECTIVE
EXPENDITURE WORKER WORKER FARMER
Food and beverages......
32.2
29.0
26.8
Other consumer goods....
27.4
27.6
35.5
Services
11.5
13.6
10.1
Rent, utilities, taxes.....
18.1
18.5
8.3
Savings
9.6
10.2
16.6
Other expenditures......
1.2
1.1
2.7
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
As indicated by the retail price index (Figure 10),
the Husak government has made a major policy of
countering inflationary pressures by prohibiting
significant rises in the prices of consumer goods. The
supply of both domestic and imported consumer
durables has steadily increased. The published
statistics on the marketing of consumer goods during
19-59 -71 (Figure 11) indicate upward trends in sales of
automobiles, furniture, refrigerators, and television
sets. According to preliminary results of the 1970
census, 73% of all households had a television set, 69%
had an electric washing machine, 61% had it
refrigerator, 51 had a vacuum cleaner, and 17% had
an automobile. In mid -1973 Czechoslovakia was the
only European Communist country without waiting
lists for the purchase of automobiles, and there was
roughly one automobile for every four families.
Although the consumption of textiles, clothing,
footwear, and household goods is relatively high in
comparison with most other European Communist
countries, the- items have often failed to satisfy the
sophisticated tastes a: demands for quality on the
part of most Czechoslovak consumers. Under
regulations in force since 1966, industrial concerns are
liable to pay fines for failure to meet exacting
standards of quality control over their products.
However, little progress appears to have been made in
improving the quality of consumer durables. One of
FIGURE 10. Retail price index (U /OU)
0964= 100)
the principal reasons for a consistently high rate of
person:,i savings, particular) in collective farm
househods (Figure 9), has been the lack of desirable-
goods and services. Moreover, none of the available
measures of personal coul,umption reflect the
inconveniences and frustrations experienced by people
who have had to wait in line to buy many prc!ucts,
the shortages and overcrowding of living quarters, the
difficulty of obtaining repair and other services, and
the lack of numerous small personal and household
items that are easily available in the West.
Under Communist rule. crime and other social
problems have developed to increasingly serious
proportions. However, in absolute terms cri. ic,
particularly violent crime, is lower than in the West.
The rising incidence of crime can be attributed larger
to the disdain for authority that has unwittingly been
inbred into the population by a system seekiog, to
control the individual's thoughts and actions from
infancy. The crimes committed 'include a wide range
of misdemeanors and economic offenses, motivated in
some cases by public petulance as much as by a desire
for personal gain. The number of prosecutions
increased by 50% during the 1960's according to
Czechoslovak statistics, with approximately 142,000
cases being tried in 1969. Only half of these
prosecutiops resulted in convictions, a fact which the
regime today attributes to the former laxity of the
judicial system. Crimes involving property
particularly massive pilfering from state enterprises
have accounted for most of this increase throughout
Czechoslovakia. In 1971 some 56000 persons were
tried for theft, and the number of those not
apprehended was estimated to be considerably larger.
Throughout Czechoslovakia the increase in crime
has been most acute among juveniles and those in the
17 -24 age group, who in 1969 accounted for 62.4% of
all criminal offenses. The failure of the Communist
system to alleviate the sociai problems affecting youth
has caused the party to reassess its attitude I, ward the
young and to reexamine the educational system and
numerous other institutions. This reassessment began
in 1963, anti under the Dubcek government youth
YEAR FOOD TEXTILES FUELS RENT ELECPRICITI ALL ITEMS
1965.........
100.3
100.8
99.5
129.3
99.4
101.5
1967.........
99 1
107.5
100.6
131.7
98.5
104.0
1968.........
100.1
109.3
100.5
131.7
99.5
105.4
1969.........
101.2
112.5
101.7
131.7
100.2
109.6
1970.........
101.4
114.7
101.6
131.7
99.7
111.5
1971.........
101.0
112.2
101.4
131
98.9
111.2
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
were promised .i greater opportunity to choose their
own activities and to form organizations outside the
jurisdiction of the government and party. The Nusak
regime, 'e aiso acknowledgipg the need to atiract
the support o f youth, has abrogated most of these
reforms ai:d consequently has had little success in
securing the cooperation of youth.
The regime has been particularly concerned about
the marked increase in crime since 1968 and is taking a
tougher approach to the problem. Underlining this
concern is a shift in the ideological ;approach to the
problem. Dismissing the traditional dogma that a
socialist society is by definition devoid of "imperfcc-
tions" that could lead to crime, the regime now quotes
the more realistic Marxist philosophy that the
transitional stage between capitalism and socialism
contains many of the "birthmarks" of capitali! m from
which "antisocialist behavior" stems. While much
attention is being given to encouraging more public
cooperation in regard to illegal activities, the regime is
espousing Lenin's theory that punitive measures based
on the certainty of punishment more than its severity
are the best deterrent to crime. In particular, officials
have bee,, critical of the traditional practice of
suspending sentences for first offenders.
The measures to toughen law enforcement
procedures have included a thorough realignment of
the judicial system. The wholesale removal of
"liberal" judges in 1970 resulted in a nearly complete
turnover in the top judicial organs, including the
Supreme Court. A revised judicial law provides for
summary dismissal of judges. New legislation has also
been enacted widening the definitions of criminal
activities and authorizing the courts to impose harsher
sentences. Economic offenses such as black- marketing
and smuggling have come under heavy attack. In late
1970 the Czech and Slovak Republics were divested of
much of their responsibility for law enforcement and
those powers restored to the federal Ministry 4 the
Interior, which had gone into eclipse under Dubeek.
According to Czedhoslovak statistics, the result has
been an increase in the number of convictions in
criminal court cases; in both 1970 and 1971, for
example, about 95% of all such cases resulted in
convictions.
Alcoholism is a serious social problem. The
consumption of alcohol has increased at an alarming
rate since the early 1960's. According to the
Czechoslovak press, the number of persons prose
for crimes committed under the influence of alcohol
had risen to 39,888 by 1971. In 1970, 22% of the
juveniles who committed criminal offenses so
while under the influence of alcohol. Moreover, the
12
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
FIGURE 11. Trends in soles or consumer goods (U /OU)

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
number of traffic offenses caused by drunkenness
increased by 41 between 1967 and 1972 leading to
a more stringent enforcement of the law against
drinking before driving �and two thirds of the
convictions for public disorders in 1970 were
attributed to drunkenness. From 1953 to 1970 the
incidence of fatal cases of cirrhosis increased by 306%
among men and 200% among women. In response to
the negative influence of alcoholism on family life and
its relationship tr ju .:nile delinquency, the Novotny
regime in 1964 made it a criminal offense to supply
minors with liquor. The state now makes it a common
practice to remove the child rather than the alcoholic
from an unbearable family situation. It has also waged
an extensive propaganda campaign, against alcohol-
ism, stressing both th, preventive and curative aspects,
and has approved the establishment of several
agencies io deal with the problem.
Czechoslovak authorities believe that sexual
problems are primarily responsible for the growing
number of divorces and suicides, and the increasing
incidence of venereal disease. Since 1965 the regime
has established institutes and clinics for research
psychiatry, psychology, and sexology, and has
encouraged improved sex education among the
population. To reduce the high number of divorces,
which reached 28,000 in 1971, the government has
also operated marriage counseling offices. Newspapers
have also taken to printing articles on various social
problems, such as prostitution, which were taboo in
the past. The striptease shows, nudie magazines, and
other forms of "softeore" pornography that appeared
in the larger cities in the 196Q's have been denounced
as reflecting vestiges of "bourgeois morality." The
illegal use of narcotics has been a relatively minor
problem.
1. Health and sanitation
a. Medical problems
Diseases characteristic of an aging population
disorders of the heart, cerebrovascular maladies,
malignant neoplasms� constitute the major health
threats to the people of Czechoslovakiai and are the
principal causes of death. In 1970, these maladies
accounted for more than half of all deaths. Obesity,
which is common because of an excessive amount of
carbohydrates in the diet, is associated with many
cardiovascular disorders. An effective public health
program has resulted in the decreased incidence of
most communicable diseases. Immunization cam-
paigns have enabled authorities to sharply reduce or
eliminate such diseases as diphtheria, tetanus,
whooping cough, dengue fever, poliomyelitis,
smallpox, plague, and typhus fever. Czechoslovakia
has also made great strides in reducing infant
mortality. Shortly after World War 11, one out of every
seven infants died before reaching I year of age; at
present only one in 30 succumb.
In 1971, the leading contagious diseases were
measles, scarlet fever, shigellosis, infectious hepatitis,
gonorrhea, pulmonary tuberculosis, and salmonellosis.
Enteric infections are common; there were over 30,000
cases of shigellosis and salmonellosis in 1971. Enteric
disorders are most prevalent in the western part of
Czechoslovakia where sewage contamination of water
supplies or food contamination are frequently a source
of infection. Water pollution has also caused
infectious hepatitis; in 1972, an outbreak of this
disease in Bratislava was traced to an oil seepage i.,to
the city's water supply.
Diseases of the respiratory system are common
causes of morbidity and mortality. In 1970
approximately 16,000 r;ied of respiratory infections,
including influenza, pneumonia, acute bronchitis,
and tuberculosis. Influ.:nza epidenics occur each year
or every other year; t ie incidence is highest among
children and young adults, but mortality is highest
among the elderly. A severe epidemic of "Hong
Kong" flu raged through Bohemia and eastern
Slovakia during the winter of 1971 -72 causing a large
number of hospitalizations and considerable
disruption in th economy. The incidence of venereal
disease, particularly gonorrhea, has been increasing.
Official commentary blames the increase, more
marked in the Czech Lands than in Slovakia, on
prostitution and declining moral standards.
Improved living conditions and better personal
hygiene are responsible for lows levels of insect -borne
diseases. Encephalitis has been on the decrease, and
malaria is limited to a few imported cases. Q -fever is
the most common rickettsial infection, affecting both
animals and humans. Diseases affecting the animal
population include foot -and -mouth disease, Teschen
disease, Newcastle disease, fowl plague, swine
erysipelas, and parasitic infections.
b. Medical care
The Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovdk
Socialist Republic each has its own ministry of health.
Each ministry k responsible for regulating the training
of medical pe rsonnel and setting medical standards,
overseeing medical research facilities, governing the
production and distribution of pharmaceuticals, and
supervising all public health activities at re;ional,
district, and local medical facilities. Coordination of
13
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
the two state ministries is provided by the federal
Minktry of Labor and Social Affair:..
Health care, including hospitalization and
medication, is provided to all citizens, with only a
nominal fee paid for medical irr,urance. In general,
the quality of medical personnel and health care
provided is good and has helped to produce a level of
public health which is second to none in Eastern
Europe. Nevertheless, there are a number of problems
existing in the health services, sonic of whi0i are
associated with Cie rigid state controlled system of
health administration. Deicrioration of the traditional
physician- patient relationship has been, according to
Czechoslovak public opinion, one of the more
regrettable developments. By imposing heavy
administrative duties on doctors, encouraging
overspecialization of practitioners, and establishing
relatively low pay scales, the regime has contributed to
an increasingly impersonal physician- patient relation-
ship and to a general lessening of prestige for the
medical profession. Dissatisfaction with the existing
state of affairs was voiced by doctors and the general
public in a survey conducted 'ay the Dubcek regime in
1968. Specific criticism was leveled at the
government's disposition to treat the sick more as
temporary incapacitated units of "productive society"
than as human beings who are ill.
As of December 1971 there were 31,426 physicians
in Czechoslovakia, or one for every 460 inhabitants.
This is the highest ratio in Eastern Europe, where the
avc�age is over 1:600, and one of the most favorable
ratios in the world. Since the 1930's there has been a
substantial increase in the size of the medical
profession. As a consequence, the number of
physicians increased from 7.9 per 10,000 inhabitants
in 1937, to 10.9 in 1960, and to 23.9 in 1971. Other
health professionals and paramedical personnel in the
country, in the year indicated, were as follows:
Dentists
4,752 (1971)
Pharmacists
5,546 (1971)
Veterinarians
2,200 (1970
Midwives
5,770 (1971)
Nurses
72,808 (1971)
The distribution of professional medical personnel is
regarded as satisfactory, although there have been
reports of shortages of doctors and dentists in some of
the outlying border regions. Of much greater concern
is a chronic shortage of nurses and other paramedical
personnel which has resulted in reports of inadequate
nursing care.
Contrasting to practice in Western nations, the
Czechoslovak medical profession has a large
proportion of women, over four tenths of all
14
pratitioners were women in 1971. Women doctors
dominate such specialities as infectious diseases,
allergies, pediatrics, ophthamology, and dermatology,
but are a minority in such fields as surgery,
orthopedics, urology, and prosthetics.
Czechoslovakia has 10 medical schools and 9 dental
schools offering degrees in medicine and dentistry. All
of these facilities operate under the authority of the
Czech and Slovak ministries of education and receive
their financial support from the government. Nursing
education is conducted in hospitals throughout the
country, while other paramedical training is offered at
specialized secondary schools.
Health facilities are inadequate both quantitative)
and qualitatively. There L re an insufficient number of
hospitals to adequately treat the sick, and many of
those that exist are old and without modern medical
equipment. The existence of poor medical facilities
has affected the length of stay in the hospital, which
on the average is roughly double that in the -West. In
an attempt to remedy the situation, new hospitals are
being constructed and modern equipment is gr.Atially
replacing the old. In 1971, Czechoslovakia had 249
general hospitals with a total of 114,706 beds, or a
ratio of roughly 8.0 beds per 1,000 persons. Additional
medical facilities included specialized clinics,
sanitoriums, and maternity homes (Figure 12).
The bulk of public health services are rendered on
an outpatient basis, either through hospital
departments estahlished for that purpose or through
networks of polyclinics, district health centers, and
medical stations. By 1971 there were 416 polyclinics,
FIGURE 12. Public health fa( ities, 1971 (U /OU)
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
MEDICAL
STAFF
FACILITY
NUMBER
BEDS
POSITIONS
General hospitals........
249
114,706
7,815
Tuberculosis sanitoriums.
40
9,012
256
Psychiatric hospitals.....
32
16,428
394
Institutes:
Oncological...........
3
469
85
Rehabilitation........
2
342
12
Endocrinological......
1
160
9
Infants
30
2,081
74
Sanitoriums and special
institutes for children
48
4,979
42
Night sanitoriums.......
4
205
2
Sanitoriums in spas......
116
28,346
504
Maternity homes........
11
188
7
Children's homes (under
age 3)
45
2,495
32
Research institutes......
36
1,833
710
Total
617
181,145
9,942
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
2,406 district health centers, and 2,291 medical
stations, with a combined total of 19,:325 medical and
dental staff positions.
Medical care is offered at each of three
administrative levels. Local health services provide
public health care at the lowest level; each serves a
population of 3,000 to 7,000. This service emphasizes
preventive medicine through the administration of
routine inoculations and the reporting of health
statistics. District health services provide treatment for
a population of 150,000- 2(x),000, offering a rar. -e of
facilities which vary with the particular health
problems of the area and the population served. The
highest level of health care is offered by the 11
regional institutes of health each of which serve
approximately 1 million inhabitants. These institutes
offer the country's most advanced medical technol-
ogy, diagnostic procedures, therapy, and opportunities
for specialized medical training.
c. Environmental sanitation
Despite plentiful precipitation in the mountain
areas, parts of Bohemia in particular are relatively dry
(annual precipitation in the Prague area is tinder 25
inches), and the w;,ter supply is occasionally
inadequate for the needs of the people. As a rule,
untreated water is not potable; most urban areas have
filtration and chlorination treatment plants.
Construction of piped water networks is a continuing
project, and a larger proportion of the population is
being served by such systems each year. By 1971,
nearly 60% of the total population was rc 2eiving water
from public mains, and nearly all of the cities and
towns of ove- 10,000 inhabitants have it piped water
system Communities without piped water rely on
private or communal wells, or rivers and streams. In
1969 the government reported that seven tenths of the
private wells, serving a significant portion of the
population, faileJ to meet the required standards for
purity. Also, many of the water distribution systems in
existence are more than 40 vears old, and because of
their age and poor condition wastage and spoi age
occur. Approximately one -fifth of the water
distributed in Czechoslovakia `s lost in this manner.
Seepage of sewage and industrial wastes into water
supplies is also a potential threat to health.
Sewage disposal methods in much of Czecho-
slovakia are inadequate. Approximately 47/ the
population in 1971 was served by waterborne sewage
systems, but these systems generally were concentrated
in the urban areas. In order to meet increased loads,
new sewage treatment plants are under construction
and older facilities are being expanded. In 1967, a new
sewage treatment plant was constructed in Prague and
expansion of the system has 1) in progress in recent
y ears. New construction, however, has failed to keep
pace with the increase in sewage loads, and as a
consequence there has been increased contamination
of water supplies. An additional -oblem in many
areas is that sanitary and storm drainage often flow
through the same piped systems creating a potential
hazard during periods of heavy rain and flooding.
Outside urban areas, cesspools, septic tanks, and pit
privies are used for the disposal of human wastes.
Utilization of an open ditch type of sewage system in
some rural locales leads to pollution of surface water
supplies.
In the major cities, solid waste materials arc
regularly collected by municipal trucks and either
burned in incinerators or buried. Trash in the rural
areas is either buried or burned in the open.
Czechoslovakia faces a serious air and water
pollution problem, and concern is reflected in the
growing attention given the subject by government
spokesmen and the communications media. Air
pollution is most serious in West and North Bohemia,
which hsvc it heavy coneentration of industry, in the
coal and steel center of Ostrava, and in Prague.
Damage caused by air pollution has been estimated at
3.5 b;llion ku unas per annum. Most serious has been
the loss of equipment through corrosion, forestry and
crop damage, and losses in human health. According
to government sources, the primary contributor; of
noxious smoke and gases are the power, smelting, and
construction materials industries, home furnaces, and
automobiles and buses. In an effort to combat
industrial pollution, air purifying equipment is being
installed in industria: plants to reduce the emissions of
sulfur and iron oxides. Czech experts predict, however,
that air pollution in the 1980's will be worse than in
the 1970's. Water pollution is caused by the discl rge
of effluents into the country's surface water supplies
by industrial plants, and inadequate sewage disposal
facilities.
The problem of environmental pollution was
discussed at the 14th Party Congress in 1971. A
resolution adopted by the Congress specified that
future economic development "should be conducted
in a way produces it balance between ecouk.mic
requirements and the living environment." To
implement this decision, a council for environmental
problems was established in each of the two republics
with authority to monitor processes resultin(I in the
changing of the environment and to direct activities
which would protect and improve the environment.
Working through the United Nations, Czechoslovakia
15
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
has taken part in international research projects on
pollution and the environment.
Enforcement of food sanitation standards resides
with regional and district health officers working
closely with inspectors from the Ministry of
Agriculture. Regulations provide for the inspection of
all dairies, livestock farms, slaughterhouses, and food
production and handling establishments. A lack of
uniformity exists in the enforcement; inspection is
more effective in the Czech Lands than in Slovakia.
Pasteurization of milk is carried out in the larger cities
and towns, but delays in delivery lead to spoilage. In
the rural areas, the consumption of uninspected and
untreated milk is a continuing source of tuberculosis
infection.
2. Diet and nutrition
Progress has been made in increasing the quantity
and upgrading the quality of the food consumed in
Czechoslovakia. According to official reports, the per
capita intake of calories during the l ^riod 1936 -68
increased by over one -fifth while protel; intake
increased by one- fourth. Furthermore, the inequalities
in food consumption which existed between the
Czechs and Slovaks have been reduced; nutritional
indicators in Slovakia have risen to levels approximat-
ing those in Czech Lands. Domestic agriculture is
unable to provide an adequate quantity of foodstuffs;
as a result, imports or foods are accessary to meet the
expanding demands of the population. Principal
imports include meat, wheat, vegetable oils, and fresh
fruit and vegetables. The Czechoslovak market
appears to offer the possibility of a balanced diet on a
steady basis, although it is costly for the average
citizen to maintain a high nutritional level. Official
statistics show that approximately 30% of consump-
tion expenditures are for food and drink; however,
other sources indicate that expenditures on these items
may run as high as 50
Cereal products, particularly bread, have been
staples in the Czechoslovak diet. As recently as 1970,
the average person: consumed approximately 330
pounds of cereals annually. This accounted for 40% of
the daily per capita caloric intake and 30% of protein
intake. Dairy products and potatoes have also been
dietary :mainstays. Since World War II, the average
diet has become more varied; the consumption of
meat and eggs has more than doubled, and there have
been moderate increases in other foodstuffs.
Czechoslovaks consume more meat and eggs �an
average annual per capita consumption of 71.3
kilograms of meat and 252 eggs �than any other
Eastern European country. Yet, due to the
LIT
inauequacies of don:est:c production and the
inefficiencies in distribution, there are still occasional
shortages of meat and of certain fruits and vegetables.
The diet of the Czechoslovaks contains an adequate
supply of calories and is not seriously lacking in
essential nutrients. There is no evidence of diseases
associated with dietary deficiencies, although some
citizens may not receive sufficient vitamins during the
inter months. The daily per capita caloric intake, in
1970, was 3,130, slightly less than that in the United
States. There is a high level of carbohydrate intake;
nearly one -half of the calories in the typical diet derive
from cereals, potatoes, and legumes, a much higher
proportion than that found in the United States. Per
capita daily intake of protein in 1968 was 91.9 rams,
only marginally less than the U.S. average. Animal
protein accounted for 30% of total protein.
3. Housing
The chronic shortage of housing has severely
affected the quality of life of the average citizen. Poor,
overcrowded housing, more than anything else, makes
urban life in Czechoslovakia dismal and tedious. Even
families with an adequate income by Czechoslovak
standards live in two or three rooms, often sharing
toilet and kitchen facilities with relatives or neighbors.
A 2% sample of the I December 1970 census returns
indicated that over two-thirds of the total housing
units had three or less rooms. The average young
married couple has to wait years for a modest
apartrrPnt. The result has been overcrowding and lack
of privacy. The horsing deficit in large measure has
been responsible for the prevalence of a low birth rate,
which will result in an .ven greater labor shortage in
the future. Social tension and friction apparently have
increased because of overcrowding. attended by such
problems as juvenile delinquency, crime, and
alcoholism.
Because of artificially low rents, the average
Czechoslovak household spent less on housing in 1971
than its Wester:., counterpart �about 5% of income in
contrast to 1445 Nonetheless, lower housing costs
are more than offset by the smaller amounts of living
space and by the general scarcity of furnishings and
other amenities.
The Husak regirre has greatly stepped up the pace
of housipg construction since the beginning the
Fifth Five Year Plan (1971 -75). These efforts, however,
are far from adequate. In the late 1960's, ,i was
estimated that for Czechoslovakia to catch up to the
housing standards of the advance:: countries of
Western Europe, it woi,ld have to build 1:.0,000
dwellings of the enrrent average size annually. In
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
1971, 107,000 housing units were completed, along
with 1970 the hest construction record ever, but this
number still fell almost 40% short of the 150,000.
Before 1964 the largest proportion of housing units
were built by the state, but since then c �operative and
private construction has become numerically more
important. In 1971, construction by the state
numbered 17,000 of the 107,000 units, construction by
enterprises numbered 22,000, construction by private
individuals numbered 29,000, and construcion by
cooperatives numbered 39,000. Most of the
governmer;t- provided housing consists of plainly but
functionally designed multistoried apartment
buildings. Individual homes remain prevalent in rural
areas.
The quality of the sousing stock is also
unsatisfactory as 71% of the units were built before
1946 including 20% before 1900. Aside from the
relative decrepitude of these units because of their age,
a large proportion of them lack modern conveniences.
The new housing units are quite modern, but the
majority of them are of relatively low quality
prefabricated construction. Of the units built in 1971
by the state, cooperatives, and enterprises, for
axample, 87.7% were supplied with gas, 99.3% with
hot water, 98.6% with central heating, and 93.6%
with built -in furniture. The proportion of the housing
stock supplied with gas increased from 19.1% in 1961
to 30.35(' in 1970, the share having central heating rose
from 8.1% to 29.4 and the share having a
bathroom /shower went up from 33.3% to 57.2
In 1960, Czechoslovakia completed the electrifica-
tion of ill villages and th�: number of housing units
supplied with electricity reached 98.6% in 1970. At the
latter date, over three quarters of all units had their
own water supply; however, the proportion (47.1 of
units linked to the sewage system was still relatively
low.
Preliminary results of the 1970 census also showed
some other improvements in housing since 1961. The
rumber of mailable housing units increased by 10.7
whereas the poptrlati:rn increased only by 4.5 The
number of rooms per housing unit increased from 1.77
in 1961 to 2.12 in 1970, and the Floor space, excluding
kitchen and bathroom, increased from 374 square feet
to 423 square feet. Although the number of persons per
unit dropped only slightly �from 3.58 to 3.38 �the
units were larger and provided somewhat more space
for each person.
4. Work opportunities and conditions
a. The manpower problem and worker
satisfaction
The main factor affecting work and work
opportunities in Czechoslovakia is the virtual absence
of a labor reserve. Almost half the population is
economically active (490 per 1,000 compared to 418 in
the United States in 1972). Most of these persons work
in the socialized (state -owned and cooperative) sector
of the economy; the 2.5% in the nonsocialized sector
include mainly farmers and craftsmen. Although the
labor force of the Czech Lands has long been
composed basically of industrial workers and small
businessmen, the occupational structure in Slovakia
has changed radically during the past 30 years as the
impoverished farmers who formerly dominated the
labor force have been surpassed in number by those
working outside agriculture. The labor reserves that
Slovakia provided in the past is now minimal as that
part of the country catches up with the more heavily
industrialized Czech Lands. In 1973, more than 90%
of those persons capable of working were already
employed. Moreover, the present annual increase in
employment of approximately 70,000 is expected to
decline to less than 20,000 by 1980, and the working
age population is expected to stagnate and eventually
decline within a few decades.
Numerous measures have been enacted to attract
additional persons into the labor force and to retain
those already employed. The measures have been
particularly directed at 15 -year olds, housewives, and
pensioners. For young persons, the regime is
combining work school programs and shortening
apprenticeships. In addition, the Socialist Youth
Federation has organized a campaign to utilize
students at the secondary and college levels during
their vacations. Special attention is being given to the
problem of the working mother. Part -time positions
are being created and the already extensive day care
system is being expanded The Husak regime has
looked increasingly to retired persons as a source of
manpower. In addition to offering higher wages, the
regime is allowing pensioners to work 4 months each
year without a reduction in pension. It also is requiring
individuals who wish to qualify for the increased
benefits availaHe under the 1970 pension law to
actively seek work. The regime is expected to rely more
heavily in the future on foreign manpower,
particularly from Poland and Yugoslavia, both of
which have surplus labor. Agreements being
negotiated with Yugoslavia, and many Polish laborers
are already working in border areas.
IH
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
Most importantly, the government is implementing
plans for the more efficient utilization of existing
manpower resources. Time losses are estimated at 20-
25% because of long coffee breaks, the use of workiime
for personal chores, and generally apathetic attitudes
toward work. Managers have encouraged workers to
take fewer coffee breaks, to compete for production
goals, and to utilize nonworking time for personal
chores. New measures adopted in 1971 included the
addition of four unpaid working shifts annually, a
10% cut in administrative staff, and an increase in
production quotas.
Many workers resent these attempts to step jp
production, viewing them as a cut in their real wages,
and as unfairly applied to workers as opposed to
management. There is little sign of overt political
unrest but morale and discipline are low and ::re
expressed in slowdowns and a high rate of
absenteeism. In 1971, Husak said that some 500,000
workers stay out of work daily because of real or
feigned illness. Strict laws regulating absenteeism were
passed to counteract this trend. Although rarely
invoked, the� new regulations provide punishment of
up to 3 months in prison or a heavy fine for those who
systematically and without substantive cause miss
work." On the positive side, Husak has emphasized
the provision of food and consumer goods as a means
of stemming worker discontent. These measures have
had some effect, as official sources claim that
absenteeism during the first 9 months of 1973 dropped
to 189,0X0 per day.
Worker, also resent the favoritism shown party
members, who are assured of the best jobs and their
children guaranteed space in crowded educational
facilities. In some cases, enterprises having excess
money in wage funds contribute bonuses to party
members without regard to job performance.
Following the 1968 invasion, mo eover, many
qualified technicians were removed from supervisory
positions arid replaced by "politically reliable"
persons in a so- called consolidatior, process. Screening
for political reliability was stepped rip in 1972
following growing signs of worker unrest.
Attitudes toward work are also adversely affected by
the magnitude of bribery and corruption in most
industrial plants. Monetary or material payments are
commonly made at all levels of administration to
obtain spare parts, machinery, and raw materials.
The labor shortage is cornpo by a high rate of
turnover, termed the "chronic illness' of the Czech
economy. Some one fourth of all Czech workers
change jobs annually either to improve their income
and chances for advancement or because of
18
dissatisfaction with the administration of their
enterprise. The highest turnover is among young
workers, many of whom are highly trained but cannot
be placed in sr table john. Almost halt of all workers
under age 30 remain in their place of employment less
than 2 years. The regime's efforts to reduce this rate of
turnover include an emphasis on improving relations
between supervisors and workers and giving rewards
for length of service. In addition, a crackdown is
underway on those enterprises which lure workers from
other plants with excessive promises. Since June 1971,
moreover, the national committees have been
empowered to regulate employment in order to see to
it that priority industries mining, agriculture, and
construction� receive the necessary personnel. The
committees are informed by the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs as to the numbers of workers and their
qualifications in given regions and the requirements of
the economv in the area. They are then expected to
maintain a balance between manpow ^r resources and
industrial and agricultural requirements. In some
cases, the committees have determined that enterprises
have been requesting manpower far in excess of their
requirements; they then advise the enterprise on a
more effective utilization of existing manpower.
Under the new uniform system of regulating
employment, moreover, enterprises found to have a
high turnover rate can be spotte 1 and properly dealt
with. Also, the committees are empowered to offer
bonuses, free housing, moving expenses, and large
interest -free loans in order to re-ruit personnel for high
priority areas.
b. Gabor legislation and organizations
As is true in other Communist countries, the
regulation of labor is based upon the premise that the
workers own the means of production and thus have a
commonality of interests with the state and with
management. Thus, since 1948 labor legislation has
been directed as much to the fulfillment of the
economic plan as it is to the improvement and the
safeguarding of the workers lot. The present labor
code closely regulates all aspects of employment
labor contracts, work hours, wages, health and afety,
labor disputes, atnd the employment of women and
children �but it has been applied almost consistently
in favor of t!re state. Except for a brief period during
the Dubcek government, strikes have been illegal and
collective bargaining as practiced in the Western
countries is nonexistent. Because of increasing
dissatisfaction with the present code, the regime in late
1973 was preparing a new labor code which is
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
expected to be somewhat more protective of workcrs'
rights.
Czechoslovakia ranks high among the Communist
countries in hygienic and safe working conditions. The
working e�nvif(mment, however, ranges from modern
well- equipped factories to obsolescent neglected
plants, and the use of such safety devices as hard hats,
steel tipped workshoes, and protective goggles is
miniscule compared to practice in the United States.
The inspection of facilities, equipment, and working
conditions is the responsibility of the Czechoslovak
Bureau of Labor Safety. This agency has reported that
some 1(10X) workers are absent (fail due to work
accidents, most of which it ascribes to carelessness and
low morale. The Bureau has also documented an
increasing number of self inflicted injuries.
Virtually all of Czechoslovakia's approxinautel 6
million wage and salary workers are uunion members,
belonging to one of the IS federaCons and one
nationwide military union which crnnprise the
Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (ROIU. [n
accordance with the federal structure of the country,
the Czecli and Slovak divisions have separate
executive councils. I'll( highest national administra-
tive unit is the (ventral Council of "'rade Unions
(URO) whose rnenubers are chosen b% delegates from
each of the unions. The council provides secretariat
services and is charged with implementing the policies
determined at the R011's annual congress.
Unions are organized on an industn basis rather
than bN craft or trade. Thus. there are separate unions
for the chemical industry, health services, food,
metallurgy, and so forth. "There had been separate
unions in the Czech Lands and Slovakia but these
were unerged during the reforu( era under Dubcek only
to he relined to their original status in 1970.
Indifference and apathy characterize the rank and
file of Czech trade unions today. From auspicious
beginnings in the first half of the 20th c�c.(tury when
they had earned an outstanding reputation as
champions of the workers' rights, the unions were
reduced to "schools of socialism" after the 19�48 coup,
their main goal being to insure worker suppo -t for the
regime. In view of the supposed commonality of
interests between the state and the workers, it was fell
that the workers needed .o one but the state to further
their interests. 'I'll(- unions goal was seen as
encouraging the workers to f.Jtill the states economic
goals, mobilizing support for the regime, and
implementing existing regulations concerning working
conditions. In general, however, there has been it
continuing dichotomy between the stales and trade
unionists' view of the trade union role.
7'he unions play ed a major role in the t
takeover of 1948, Communist Party members having
acquired most of the important positions within the
trade union movement by that time. During the
19.50's, the unions became large and unwieldy and
were frequently divided and merged as the
government reorganized its ministries. Control wae
highly centralized, hos:ev ^r, and all dues were turned
over to the URO, which then distributed the money
according to its (�w�n criteria.
During the 1960's reform movement, the unions
sought to gain greater independence from their own
central committees and from the URO and to reorient
tit(- trade union role. Elaborate plans were made to
resole a wide range of social problems affecting the
workers and to implement guidelines for collective
bargaining for higher wages and better working
conditions. The latter was ideally to be achieved
through the formation of "workers councils" in each
enterprise, in order to permit worker participation in
management. By August 1968, when invasion by the
Warsaw Pact forces put an end to further reform,
councils had been i,,rmed in about one fourth of the
country's 700 enterprises. However, their role was
never fully defined and in some cases their actual
composition was still being debated. Sonic of the
councils were inactive from the start, while the
activities of others ranged from mere advisory bodies
to actual economic planning. The fate of workers'
councils %vas uncertain for several months after the
August 1968 invasion. In November, Prime Minister
Cernik announced his intention to proceed with the
idea, but in a reversal of policy, new councils were
prohibited in March 1969 and all were abolished in
jape 1970.
During the reform p ^rind, the unions also sought to
icturn to the notion of the trade union as independent
of any political party. They deposed the chairman of
the URO and gave greater independence to local
unions. The existing 12 unions were decentralized and
reconstituted as a�L unions. A high percentage of local
dues were retained within the union instead of being
sent to the URO. The reform period was evidently too
brief to allow the previously inactive unions time to
gain it solid foothold under the new regulations. New
leadership had barely been formed, so there was little
opportunity to gear up for resistaiiee to the Soviet
invasion. The Soviets, however, were careful not to
occupy the factories and, face a direct confrontation
with the workers.
In the postinvasion purge which lasted from late
1969 to late 1970, almost half of the local trade union
officials were replaced by "politically reliable'
19
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
persons. At the >am(- time, leaders were cautioned to
regain the support of the rank and file; tc this end
some were sent to Moscow for training in Soviet trade
union tnethOdS. In addition, nu:ny specially selected
shop stewards were given training. In late 1973. the
government was stepping up activity at the lowest
11111 11 echelons where the URO could exert greatest
influence, while gradually returning control of the
unions to the national level.
5. Social security and public welfare
All social security and public welfare activities are
administered by the state. The social securih� system,
referred to as "national insurance," is built on an
extensive prewar base and covers over "797, of the
population. Prior to 19(iS, social securih� benefits were
used to offer incentives as well as to provide security to
workers who conformed to the patterns imposed by the
government. The political bias of the system was
reflected in higher benefits offered to "exemplary'
workers and the reduction or withholding of benefits
from "unreliable elements." Legislation passed in
!S 1 38, and reaffirmed in 1966, provided for the
lowering o� suspension of allowances to one -time
entrepreneurs, representatives of the former political
and social order, and other persons considered anti
Communist. Such discriminatory practices were
largely eliminated during 1968, and by 1969 a
nationwide, computer -based system of administering
wage a11(1 social security programs had been initiated
on it uniform basis.
National insurance is of two hypes: health
insurance, administered through the Central Council
of "Trade Unions, aril pension insurance, managed by
the National Social Security Office. The Central
Council of "Trade Unions and the regional trade union
councils also administer family allowances, supervise
the use of health resorts, and participate in the
distribution of pension insurance payments on the
local level. Coverage under the system applie.,
automatically to all persons gainfully employed in the
"socialized" economy and their dependents.
Receipts and expenditure, for all social insurance
are included in the Czech and Slovak state budgets
and t�o national committee budgets. For health
insurance, the state contributes 85 -901i of the cost and
the employer the remainder; for pensions, the state
assumes full responsibility. Total outlays for social
insurance benefits have steadily increased, with
expenditures in 1971 reaching roughly one -fifth of the
total state and national committee budgets
Health insurance coverage includes hospitalization,
drugs, doctors services, maternih and funeral
20
benefits, and is some instances special cash
allowances. Sick -pay is granted to a vorker
temporaril unable to work due to sickness or injury.
Depending un the length of employ meat, benefits
range from %-7W4 of net wages for the first 3 days
and from 60 -9Wi thereafter, for up to 2 years if
recover is expected. A system of charging nominal
tee; for medicine was introduced in M4 as part of an
effort to increase revenues. In 1966 free health care
was extended for the first time to private farmers, thus
making the entire population eligible .or this service.
Health expenditures in 1971 amounted to over 15 /z
billion korunas, or roughly 74 of total national
income.
Pension insurance provides money for the aged and
retired, for the disabled, and for widows �d orphans.
Pension benefits are graded by categnry of
employment and number of years of employment.
The system has been revised considerably, with eight
modifications to the law having been enacted since
195. In an effort to persuade older workers to
postpone retirement, the period of employment
necessary for claimic,g a full retirement pension has
been extended from 20 to 25 years. Those who are not
qualified for a pension by 25 years of employment
must work until age 65 to receive a full annuity. The
retirement age for women, formerly 55, now is based
(111 a sliding scale according to the number of children.
The retirement age for childless women is set at 57,
and that for women with children is 53 -57 depending
upon the number of offspring; men may retire at 60 or
at 55 -58 if engaged in unhealthy or onerous work.
Workers permanently disabled are eligible immedi-
a:tely for a pension equivalent to 60% of their earnings,
plus it I i increase for each year of employment
between 26 -35 years. Persons with partial disabilities
re;:eive a reduced pension.
A change in the pension law, in 1970, increased the
minimum monthly pension to 550 korunas for single
persons and SW korunas for married couples, nearly
triple the average payments in 1948. To be eligible,
however, the pensioner must seek additional
employment, subject to his physical and mental
capabilities and local working conditions. The
additional annual expenditure for pensions is expected
to exceed L! billion korunas. To help bring pension
benefits in Slovakia up to the level of the Czech
Lands, the government earmarked 4091; of the
additional finds for Slovakia. By 1971, the average
worker's old age pension in Slovakia, 909 korunas per
month, was slightly higher than the average of 885
korunas per month in the Czech Lands. Approxi-
mately one fourth of the 3,400,M) pensioners in 1971
lived in Slovakia.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
State allowances to families with children include
support for the children, pensions for orphans, and
grants for education. Besides these benefits, the state
also provides each child with textbooks and school
meals and arranges for the care and training of
children who are physically or mentally handicapped.
Other concessions to families with children include
deductions from the wage tax, rent and fare
allowances, and clothing grants. However, the broad
diffusion of state funds for children had resulted in a
system that was not encouraging families to have
a.tditional children. Consequently, the government
increased these allowances in 1968, particularly to
families with many children. In addition. the monthly
maternity leave allowance was raised to as high as 120
korunas it clay for 26 weeks.
Apart from the national insurance program. public
welfare services are very limited. Natio .al committees
and a few charitable institutions �still managed by
religious denominations but under state control
carry on a certain amount of charitable work and
operate several homes for those few aged persons who
are not covered by social security. The Czechoslovak
Red Cross, theoretically independent, is controlled by
the government. The Red Cross gives training in first
aid and nursing, renders aid to victims of natural
disasters, and carries out other tasks assigned by the
state.
E. Religion (U /OU)
In contrast to other East European nations, such as
Hungary and Poland, where there are large Catholic
populations, the Communist regime in Czecho-
slovakia has maintained intense internal pressure on
all religious denominations. Because of its ties with the
Vatican, its position as the c lintry's largest religious
group, and because of its sudden resurgence under the
Duhcek government, the Catholic Church has been
repeatedly accused of playing it com,terrevolutionary
role. Despite the limited accord reached between the
Czechoslovak Government and the Vatican in (-arty
1973, tht Church is still kept under tight control
through the Secretariat for Church Affairs.
Although the Communist regime's intensive
antireligious campaign may have increased the
proportion of atheists and nonbelievers among the
population to as many_ as 10 most evidence
indicates that Christian churches are continuing to
grow. Complaints are regularly voiced in the press
about officials who are exemplar- Communists on the
job but publicly participate in church activities
because they wish to "avoid ostracism in a strongly
religious village."
Whereas the deep religious involvement of the past
among thi Czechs has been widely commuted into a
strong ideological consciousness, whether of the
Marxist, National Democratic, or Masarvkite
tradition, religious attachment among the Slovaks to
the Catholic Church remains strong arid, as in Poland,
has ,nerged somewhat with nationalist feelings. In
recognition of the strength of religious ties in Slovakia,
the Institute for Scientific Atheism, based on the
Soviet model. was established in 1971 at the Slovak
Academy of Sciences to combat religion and
propagate atheism primarily through the periodical
Ateizmus. Although the periodical se!ccts Catholicism
as its chief target, sharp attacks are also made on
Judaism, the other Christian churches, and on various
sects such as Jehovah's Witnesses.
Christianity has been in the forefront of
Czechoslovakia's cultural history and political
development. First introduced into Bohemia and
Moravia and a part of Slovakia by German
missionaries in the ninth century in conjunction with
German political expansion, Christianity had become
firmly implanted by 973 when a bishopric was
established in Prague. The Eastern rite and Slavonic
liturgy were introduced in the present Czech Lands by
the Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius, who
proselytized after 863 upon the invitation of Moravian
princes who sought to counteract French and German
influences. The Slovaks, cut off from the Czechs by
the Magyar invasion of 896 -906, received the Roman
Catholic faith from the first Christian ruler of
Hungary about a century later.
Having become a center of learning in central
Europe by the 15th century, the city of Prague
provided the setting for the rise to prominence of Jan
Hus, one of the more notable religious reformers
preceding Luther. The burning of Hus at the stake for
heresy in 1415 rallied Czech nobility and commoners
against the Church hierarchy, the Holy Roman
Emperor, and particularly the German element in
Bohemia whose leaders had denounced Hus. Although
it Hussite party led by the Czechs was successful for a
time in protecting the Hussite Church against
Catholic forces heat upon its destruction, the forces
supporting the Counter- Reformation decisively
defeated Protestant elements at the battle of White
Mountain in 1620. As a result, Protestant religious
activities were practically eliminated from Bohemia
and Moravia for about 1.50 years. The Age of
Enlightenment in the latter 18th century led to the
passage in 1781 of an Edict of Toleration, thereby
bestowing upon Protestant and Greek Orthodox
believers the legal right to worship. A subsequent sciies
of Austrian laws, enacted from 1864 to 1890, further
21
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
strengthened religious toleration and freedom of
conscience and formed the legal basis of all religious
aciir;`ies in Bohemia and Moravia until 1939.
Aftec the creation of the republic in 1918, the
Rowan Catholic Church lost many members and
much of its strong influence in national affairs in the
popular reaction against its close relations with the
former Hapsburg rulers. Between 1918 and 1921 the
Church lost an estimated 1,300,000 of its members in
Bohemia and Moravia, about half of them joining the
newly (-stablished Czechoslovak National Church or
other Protestant churches and the other half remaining
without any religious affiliation. Through it modus
oioendi finally concluded between the government
and the Vatican in 1928, whereby ecclesiastical
jurisdictions were changed and the Vatican agreed to
submit its appointments to certain Church positions to
prior approval of the government, the Catholic
Church once again became an influential force in
national life. Its power was not confined to the
religious sphere; it was also exercised through the
Catholic political parties, labor unions, sports clubs,
and charitable and educational institutions.
Despite the departure after World War 11 of some 3
million Germans, 90% of whom were Catholic
according to the 1930 census (the latest official
information on religious affiliation), and of almost
100,000 Hungarians, 63% of whom were Catholic in
1930, most estimates currently place the Roman
Catholic population at about 10 million, or about 70%
of the total population. The Catholic Church is
divided into two archdioceses and 12 dioceses. There is
no archdiocese in Slovakia; Slovak bishops are still
technically subordinate to the Hungarian archdiocese
of Esztergom.
Following the Communist takeover in 1938, the
regime launches; it massive campaign to bring the
churches under complete state control. This campaign
was directed mainly against the Catholic Church,
which the regime sought to shape into a pliable
instrument of domestic and foreign policy. The
Communists viewed the church as an obstacle to the
development of socialism and regarded the Vatican as
virtually a foreign enemy �the headquarters and
espionage center of "world clergy" in the service of the
capitalist powers.
From 1948 until the fall of Novotny in January
1968, the regime was dedicated to the eventual
dissolution of all organized religion and all vestiges of
religious feeling. For political expediency, the regime
at first was content merely to weaken the church's
authority and maintained a relatively conciliat:rry
attitude calculated to elicit compliance and
22
cooperation. The bishops r. listed regime tactics,
however, and the Communists responded by
launching an all -out offensive against all religious
communities but mainly against the predominant
Catholic Church. Legislation was enacted giving the
state financial control and power of appointment over
the clergy. Those clergymen refusing to bow were
expelled from church activities, deported, or jailed,
including the Ar6bishop of Prague, Jesef Beran, who
was to spend 14 years in prison. The regime recruited
its own group of' patriot :c priests" tc fill the vacancies
and set tip the Catholic Clergy for Peace as a front.
Religious orders were liquidated, monasteries were
closed, citizens were pres,ured into leaving the church,
and atheism was introduced as a formal subject in the
schools. Although forced into submission, the church
remained for many people a symbol of resistance to
communism.
Throughout the 1950's the regime conducted an
antireiigious propaganda campaign designed to
accelerate their "cultural revolution" and the
development of the "Socialist man." As a result of
their conversion into state supervised organizations,
the churches became economically dependent on the
state and were governed by officials lo\,al to the
regime. In addition, the churches were forced to
propagate and support various policies such as
collectivization of agriculture and the "peace
campaigns." At the same time they were not
permitted to propagate or defend reiigion outside the
churches or to contest the antireligiovis propaganda
and activities of the regime.
As the: demands for liberalization and change swept
across Czechoslovakia in the earl 1960'x, the regime
appeared to be seeking a new accommodation with
the Catholic Church. This development stemmed in
part from the general casing of tensions between the
Vatican and the Communist countries of Eastern
Europe, fostered by the late Pope John XX111, and the
confidence of the Prague regime that :lie church posed
no great threat to stability. \loreovcr, the regime
wanted to improve its image internally and 4broad. In
addition to toning down antireligious propaganda, the
regime permitted it Czechoslovak Catholic delegation
to attend the Second Vatican Council beginning in
1962 and facilitated the transfer of Archbishop Beran
to Rome in 1963 after his 1.1 of detention.
The sociopolitical reformation of the mid- 1960's
and the promise of a new era in relations between
church and state aroused optimism among church
officials who hoped for an atmosphere under which
religion aid communism could coexist. In addition to
replacin c. nservative government officials respon-
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
sible for church affairs Hith liberals who were in favor
of restoring some of the rights lust by the church, the
Dubcek leadership reinstated several bishops 'o their
dioceses and lifted restrictions on seminaries and other
church activities. In 1968 the Minister of Culture and
Information, under whose province church affairs fell,
.went on record as saying that "religion is the private
affair of every citizen," and that religious education
might be patterned after the system of Sunday schools
in the United States. The number of children enrolled
in religious classes ruse sharply, in sonic areas to 805(.
There were fewer than 800 students enrolled in 1968 in
the c�ountrv's two seminaries, however.
After the fall of ne Dubcek regime, church -state
relations reverted to those of the 1950's, but protracted
and difficult negotiations between tie Vatican and
the representatives of the Czechoslc�rak Government
resumed in November 1972 and resulted in a partial
compromise agreement in February 1993 on the
appointment of four new bishops to fill some of the
numerous vacancies in the hierarchy, a problem that
had grown especially acute with the death of three
bishops in 1972. With the consecration of these four
new bishops �three of whom filled vacancies in
Slovakia �by a representative of the Vatican, the
Catholic Church has reestablished bishops in six of the
12 dioceses in Czechoslovakia. Although at least three
of the four new bishops have previously participated
in true activities of the regime sponsored organization
for priests �Pacem in Terris, the successor to t1w
Catholic Clergy for Peace organization abolished by
the Dubcek government in 1968 �a Vatican official
noted that the Pope took into conside valid
pastoral achie In addition, the Vatican has
made allowance for the fact that it large number of
Catholic clergy had joined the Pacem in T(rris
movement under pressure from state authorities
because to refuse to do so would have resulted in the
entirch in Czechoslovakia being without priests.
"Therefore if the Czechoslovak Government has desired
to improve its international image and, like Poland
and I ungary, establish it policy of limited cooperation
with the Catholic Church. the Vatican at the same
time has afforded another example of its concern over
the inadetpuac�y of its presence in Czechosiovakia,
which has compelled it to come to terms with
Communist regimes in Eastern Europe in the interests
of preserving and extending its influence.
Policy changes nd official attihtdes apparently
extend only to Czechoslovakia's external relations with
the Vatican. On the donestic front, the activities of
the some 3,300 priests are still severely restricted, with
many not permitted to perform Their pastoral duties
even though hundreds of communities in Czech and
Slovak dioceses are without priests. Admission to the
two Catholic seminaries evas again restricted in 1973,
thereby restoring the situation as it existed hefore
1968. Notwithstanding the February 1973 accord, the
Czechoslovak Government antireligious campaign has
continued unabated in the mass media. Also,
according to recent reports, children of practicing
Catholics may no longer he admitted to general
secondary schools. Thereto.-_ from the Vatican's
standpoint, key issues remain unresolved.
Another event which may affect church -state
relations in Czechoslovakia was the formal installation
of Stepan Trochta, bishop of Litomerice, as a cardinal
on 12 April 1973. On that occasion the Pope told the
new cardinal that his elevation might contribute to the
solution of church -state problems in Czechoslovakia.
The second secretary of tnc Czechoslovak Embassy in
Rome was among those who attended the ceremony.
In addition to the Catholic Church, two other
important pre Reformation churches existed in the
territory of the Czechoslovak First Republic �the
Greek Catholic or Uniat, and the Orthodox. Both of
these churches were ethnically based upon the
Ukrainian population of Carpathian Ruthenia and
eastern Slovakia. After the cession in 1945 of
Carpathian Ruthenia to the Soviet Union the
Orthodox Church became insignificant, with a
remnant .within Czechoslovakia of only slightly over
23,000 communicants. The Uniat Church, left with it
membership of nearly 200000 and with a hierarchy
subordinate to Rohm (although its rite is similar to that
of the Orthodox Church), was forcibly merged by the
government in 1950 into the smaller Orthodox Church
under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchiate of Moscow
in order to sever the Vatican ties of the Greek Catholic
Church and promote Czechoslovak- liussian relations.
Most of the Greek Catholic parishes are located in
eastern Slovakia. "The results of it 1966 survey
conducted in Slovakia seeking information on
religions affinities indicate that the official pressure on
the Greek Catholics to accept allegiance to the
Orthodox Church was not too successful. Only 25i
considered themselves as Orthodox. Another survey in
1968 showed that the overwhelming majority of the
Greek Catholics who had become Orthodox in the
1950's would return to Catholicism if they had the
option. During the liberalization period in 1968 the
Greek Catholics began to reestablish their own
parishes but it is not known whethe- their connection
to the Orthodox Church has been permanent)
severed.
Protestant churches rapidly expanded their
membership in the 1920's and 1930'x, particularly in
2'3
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
the Czech areas, as part of the nationalist movement
away from Roman Catholicism. After the Communist
takeover, the Protestant churches were subjected to
state control, as was the Catholic Church. Aithough
the Protestant groups were relatively small and lacked
the power to resist, they were autonomous and were
more strongly identified with Czech nationalism than
was the Catholic Church. Thus they were able to more
easily accommodate themselves to government
demands and therefore were less vulnerable to
Communist pressure. In addition, egalitarianism and
social reform had been part of the creed of the
Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren, the largest
Czech Protestant church. However, Slovak Protestants
found it more difficult to reconcile themselves to
Communist rule, and their opposition prompted harsh
repressive measures. Protestants currently constitute
about 1051 of the total population.
Numbering an estimated 400,000 members in 1970,
the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession,
sometimes referred to as the Slovak Evangelical or
Slovak Lutheran Church, is the largest Protestant
denomination in Slovakia. Resisting Communist
attempts to gain control, the leaders of the church
were forced to resign in 1931 and were replaced by a
more cooperative group of proregime leaders.
Formerly containing a minority of Magyars among its
members, the church has been almost 100% Slovak
since the emigration of German and Magyar
populations after World War 11. However, the other
major Protestant denom nation in Slovakia, the
Reformed Church, has been from its inception during
the Protestant Reformation predominantly Hun
g.rian. In 1970 its membership was estimated at about
I W, U00.
The Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren,
claiming the allegiance of between 250,000 to 300,000
Czech Protestants in 1970, traces its origins to the 15th
century Hussite reform movement. After uniting with
the Lutheran Church of Bohemia in 1573, it rapidly
became the dominant Protestant group in Bohemia
and Moravia and has enjoyed through the centuries
the prestige of being the religious vehicle of Czech
nationalism. After the Counter- Reformation many of
its believers emigrated to other parts of Europe, and
later others settled in the United States and founded a
branch known as the Moravian Church. The Czech
Brethren emphasize the Bible as the foundation of
Christian faith and require simplicity in worship and
rigorous morality in the life of its membership.
Founded in 1920 by a group of Roman Catholic
clergy and laymen who broke away from the Catholic
Church as part of the nationalist and anti Catholic
24
fervor of the times, the Czechoslovak National Church
was composed of a membership variously estimated to
number bet%een 500,000 and 730,000 in 1970. The
religious inspiration for its reformist teachings
emanates from Jan Hus, and its theology is on the lines
of the Unitarians. It introduced the Czech language
into church services in place of Latin, abolished tFe
compulsory celibacy of the clergy, introduced
presbyterial ordination of the bishops and lay
representation in the governing bodies, and
democratized the organization of the parish.
During the pre -World War II period, the
Czechoslovak National Church was heavily subsidized
by the government. Its close assn.� ^iation with Czech
nationalism and liberal social philosophies made it a
target for persecution during the G -rman occupation
of World War IL Under the Communists it has
probably been least affected by the various restrictive
measures imposed on religious organizations, because
both its organization and its theology are loose enough
to be adapted to government demands.
Other Protestant denominations in Czechoslovakia
number only a few thousand each. These include the
Methodists, the Baptists, the Congregationalists, and
even a small group of Jehovah's Witnesses who have
strongly resisted the government's attempts to thwart
their religious practices. In the 1930 census Jews
numbered about 240,000. Nazi extermination policies
during World War II and large -scale migration
betwi-en 1945 and 1950 have reduced their number to
an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 in 1970.
F. Education (U /OU)
Education has a long tradition of high esteem
among the Czechs and Slovaks. Following the
formation of the First Republic in 1918, the
government placed major emphasis on maintaining
the high standards that had been a hallmark of the
educational system in Bohemia and Moravia for
centuries, especially since the days of Jan Komensky
(Cornenius), the 17th century theologian and
educator, who is widely regarded as one of the fathers
of modern education. The schools sought to produce a
well- rounded, educated, i nd cultured citizen rather
than a specialist, and the structure and curriculum
reflected that aim. After the Communist takeover in
1948 the educational system underwent major changes
in structure, curriculum, and philosophy. Of primary
importance was the abandonment of the Western
philosophical approach, with its emphasis on the
dignity of man, in favor of the Marxist principle that
the individual has no rights independent of the state.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
1. Educational policy
Schools were. viewed by the incoming Communist
government as huving two functions: to train the
specialists needed by the e. and to inculcate the
young with the ideological orientation of a Socialist
society. In order to accomplish these ;rims the system
was restructured to conform to the Soviet model, and
options as to the kind of education available were
severely restricted. The matching of student ai.d
school in secondary and higher education was
determined on the basis of economic needs and not by
student preference. There was a major expaision of
vocational education, especially in the induct ial and
agricultural fields. Vocational subjects and pe.iods of
practical work in factories or on farms were made
compulsory in all schools. Textbouks and syllabuses
were rewritten to make them conform to the ideology
and objectives of the Communist Party. Only
candidates with proven sympathies for the regime
were considered for admission to secondary and higher
education, and preference was given first to children
of Communist Party members and then to children of
working clasp and peasant origin regardless of
academic qualifications. In order to reduce the time of
study, emphasis was placed on occup:aional training
and ideological orientate )n, and so- called superfluous
subjects were eliminated. The net result of these
changes was narrow specialization anc! a lowering of
the standards of education.
By 1960 it was evident that the new school system
was not producing graduates of the kind and quality
needed for the functioning of the society. The radical
excision of much of the traditional liberal, or cultural,
curriculum during the first Communist decade
resulted in a graduate which came to be perceived as
being without '.he intellectual depth and judgmental
capabilities to man a modern economic and social
system. Consequently, the early 1960's witnessed
modifications in some of the fundamental constructs
of the system in order to provide for it broader
education for all and greater differentiation between
pure vocational training and a higher level of general
and technical education. Emphasis on exclusively
Marxist ideological indoctrination was relaxed and a
restricted study of alternative ideologies wan tolerated.
At the elementary level, criteria were established for
grading the economic potential of students and those
with the most promise were provided with training
specifically designed to facilitate entry into the
secondary school curriculum. "Ilands -on" work was
eliminated from the academic secondary school
curriculum beginning in 1961/65 because it was found
to he interfering with the college preparatory
objectives of the school. At the same time, however,
greater emphasis was pu' on the study of the
theoretical aspects of new production technologies. In
1968 the secondary school curriculum was expanded
from 3 to 4 years in order to provide a better
foundation for those who would pursue college
careers. The 1966 "law on universities" formally
acknowledged the role of higher education in the
development of society and granted more administra-
tive and financial autonomy to the universities. For
the first time since 1948, university scientific councils
were permitted to elect high academic officials
rectors, prorectors, deans, and vice deans �from
among their own professional staff. The Law of 1966
also prohibited the practice of numems clausus
(numerical restriction on enrollment) based on social
and political criteria. Although this legislatien did not
basically alter party control over education, it did
restore a measure of confidence to the entire scholastic
community and encouraged the universities to push
for additional reforms.
The liberalizing trends of the 1e60's, which
culminated in the Dubcek regime, clearly showed the
ineffectiveness of the political indoctrination in the
schools. Students and teachers were strongly
represented among those wise exerted major pressure
for political reform during the Dubcek interlude and
who were most vocal in expressing unorthodox
political and economic views. Major blame for the
failure of indoctrination was placed on teachers, who
became the target of a major purge when the orthodox
forces regained control of events and launched a
"normalization" drive during 1969 and 1970.
Hundreds of liberal professors and administrators were
removed from academic institutions, including a third
of the faculty of Charles University, Czechoslovakia's
most prestigious institution of higher learning. Up to
80% of all teachers in the country were reassigned to
new schools in order to eliminate any undesirable
ideological bonds they might have established with
the student body.
The Husak regime has placed prin ary emphasis on
political indoctrination for students and teachers alike.
Strict state control of education was reimposed on 1
January 1970, when the government empowered
Czech and Slovak Ministers of Education to appoint
and recall administrators and educators and to create,
abolish, or reorganize educational and scientific
institutions. Directives in 1970 and 1971 defined the
principal role of education as that of training
specialists who have accepted Socialist ideological
orientation and who display a willingness to use their
talents to further the aims of socialism in all fields of
25
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
endeavor. Political loyalty again became the
prerequisite for hiring teachers and for the admission
of students to secondary and higher institutions.
School authorities were once more explicitly ordered to
give preference in admission to children of loyal party
members and to those of proletarian origin.
Disciplinary commissions were set up to deal witii
student nonconformists.
University students were required to attend 2 hours
of Marxist- Leninist training a week. School inspectors
were again assigned to insure that schoolteachers
properly indoctrinated their charges. History and
social science textbooks were ordered rewritten to
reflect the party line more faithfuiiv. Students' spare
time was again taken up with state- sponsored athletic
and cultural programs. A program for "all -day
education." patterned on the Soviet model was
implemented to keep children of working mothers in
class after regular school hours. And parents received
instructions on how to supplement their children's
political training at home.
Despite these changes and efforts, the Husak
government appears to have made relatively little
headway in its program of "normalization" as far as
ideological education is concerned. Comprehensive
strategies and plans to achieve this objective had been
laid out in a series of directives in January 1970 and
again in July 1971 at the 14th Party Congress; but still
in the October 1972 plenum of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party, the regime's mass
organizations were �-sked to come up with concrete
"political educational and ideological programs," and
in July 1973, the plenum once more called upon
educational authorities to prepare to present to the
upcoming 15th Party Congress "clearcut, specific
educational goals at every school level In his
concluding speech to the July 1973 plenum of the
Central Committee, Husak acknowledged that the
problem of winning the allegiance of youth to the
socialist cause was no longer as easy as before the 1968
reform and that the task would require the full
activation of all political and social institutions �from
the party and government to the family.
2. System and organization
The base of Czechoslovakia's formal educational
system is the compulsory 9 -year elementary school, or
first cycle, designed for attendance by the 6- to 15 -vear
age group. The first 3 years are devoted to inculcation
of the basic "building block" subjects (language and
arithmetic); the remaining 4 years are designed to
elaborate these basic subjects but also to introduce the
social and natural sciences and to sort out the children
26
according to their aptitudes for either academic or
vocational study. Special schools or classes are
provided for retarded children, juvenile delinquents,
and artistically talented youth. In addition to
traditional subject matter, the elementary school is
supposed to provide systematic political in-
doctrination and practical experience in workshops
and fields as a means of inculcating the child with the
attitudes toward work characteristic of Marxist
Socialist philosophy. Some elementary school
students reportedly one of every six in 1973 �fail to
finish elementary school due to poor grades and go
directly info the lowest level apprentice school or, in a
few cases, di ectly to work. A Secretary of the Central
Committee i.. its 14th plenum in) uly 1973 announced
that experiments had demonstrated the feasibility of
contracting the curriculum of the loser form of the
elementary school from 5 to 4 years and hinted that
this might be done after necessary preparations were
made. Czechoslovakia's progressively tightening
tnanpower supply led observers to suggest that such a
measure might be particularly motivated by the desire
to hasten the induction of new labor force increments.
In Czechoslovakia as in other Soviet bloc countries
the subordination of educational to economic
objectives has worked to make job- training activities
largely inseparable from formal educational activities
as such. In the early 1970's, 33% of those completing
their basic 9 -year schooling entered apprenticeships;
the large majority qualified as journeymen after a
course which, for most, lasted 3 years. Training is
provided in approximately 230 apprentice schools for
students who live at home with their parents, and in
some 1,400 apprentice training centers attached to
large enterprises which furnish room and board for the
student. Completion of an apprenticeship entitles the
student to a job as a skilled worker with journeyman
status, and qualifies him to matriculate in an off -hours
vocat,onv I school leading to foreman status or in off
hours classes at the general secondary school level with
an opportunity to take the examination for entry to a
higher educational institution. In the interest of those
with broader aptitudes, the apprentice curriculum is
set up to comprise not only technical subjects but also
general subjects which would make possible
movement back into the academic track. The
broadening of vision and elevation of expectations
motivating youth in Czechoslovakia, as in most
advanced countries, have resulted in many youths
setting their sights beyond the goals achieved by their
fathers in blue- collar activity, complicating the task of
the regime in achieving planned enrollment targets in
apprentice schools. Thus, apprentice schools registered
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
a shortfall of about 1,000 enrollees in 1972 and,
further, some 1,300 slots scheduled fo; boys had to be
filled with girls. In response to these and related
problems, educational authorities have concluded that
the basic terms surrounding apprentice training might
have to be altered substantially in order to improve the
wage and career benefits of skilled occupations and to
provide increasingly larger numbers of voting blue
collar workers with the opportunity to acquire a
secondary and even higher education. Beyond this,
authorities have also claimed that inadequate political
indoctrination aggra�ated the defects in the
apprentice training system.
The more intellectually talented 9th grade
graduates enter one of approximately 700 basic and
sec( idary vocational schools or go into one of
approximately 330 general secondary (academic)
schools. The basic vocational school curriculum,
which is from 2 to 3 yeah' duration, is designed to
develop lower grade technical or administrative
personnel for direct entry into the work force without
acquiring the School Leaving Certificate; however,
college entrance qualifications can be acquired
through off -hours courses in the system of Secondary
Schools for Workers. The secondary vocational school
curriculum is designed to provide graduates with a
higher level of skill than that obtained in the basic
vocational school. The schools are generally of 4 years'
duration, and graduation leads to a School Leaving
Certificate. Training is offered in such fields as mining
geology, machine industry, electrical engineering,
food processing, construction, agriculture and forestry,
public Udministration, public health, and pedagogy.
Of some 70.0)0 graduates of secondary vocational
school. in 1971, the largest group about 20,000
had specialized in public administration; other fields
represented by 50X) or more graduates were machine
industry, pubi.e health, agriculture and forestry, and
electrical engineering.
General secondary schools, called gymnasiums and
equivalent to the gymnasium in the classic European
e ducational system, have traditionally been viewed as
the principal channel of educational advancement
and a prime factor in social mobility. Prior to 1968 the
general secondary school comprised a 3 -year course
but was lengthened to 4 years in response to criticism
of some educators that a broader arid more thorough
curriculum was needed to prepare the student for
university level study. Graduates from both the
secondary vocational and secondary general school
qualify to take the examination for entry into an
institution of higher learning or to apply for middle
level civil service positions or high level technical jobs.
Higher education in Czechoslovakia is provided at
general universities, technical universities and
colleges, teacher training colleges, and advanced
schools of economics, of agriculure, and of art. The
state also recognizes seven theological faculties but
separates them statistically from other higher
educational institutions. The number of higher
education institutions has fluctuated since 1910,
reaching a high of 51 in 1961/62 and a low of 33 in
1966/67; in 1971/72 there were 37. This does not
reflect an absolute decrease in institutional facilities
but rather a merging of some faculties. There are four
general universities �the prestigious Charles Univer-
sity (founded in 1348), Palackv University (1573), J. E.
Purkyne University (formerly Masaryk University,
1919), and Komenskv (Comenius) University (1919).
The most prestigious of the technical colleges is the
Czech Institute of Technology founded in 1707. Most
schools, except for those specializing in only one field,
are divided into faculties that, in turn, are divided into
departments. Most degr;-e courses require years to
complete; however, some technial courses require an
additional 1 /2 year, and a medical degree requires 6
years.
The numb ?r of students at institutions of higher
learning has almost trebled since the early 1950's
reaching a high of 145,000 in 1965/66 and then
declining to 128,000 in 1971/72, but the rate of
attrition of students during the college course has been
a constant source of disappointment to educational
authorities. Graduations in the late 1960's and early
1970's fell short of initial enrollments by almost one
third. The attrition rate in the technical disciplines has
been as high as 50
The traditional European prestige attaching to the
liberal professions still pervades Czechoslovakia's
social value system manifesting itself in the chronic
oversupply of applicants for the liberal faculties and
the undersupply for the engineering faculties. A
breakdown of applicants for admission to institutions
of higher learning for the 1972 /73 school year shows
that the target for mining engineering fell short by
65 mechanical engineering by 30%, chemical
engineering by 20 and electrical engineering by 5%,
while the target for natural sciences was exceeded by
44 medicine by 63 social sciences by 174 and
arts by 572
Students, including leading Communist members of
the Czechoslovak Youth Union �then the official
party sponsored mass organization designed to
organize atA control youth activities played a
v anguard role in the reform movement. "Targets of
student criticism included the practice of prohibiting
27
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
the use of certain books, frequent reorganization of
university curricula, shortages of teaching and
learning aids, rigidity of study regulations and
examination procedures, and absence of self
government in student establishments. In addition to
de^nands pertaining to student life, the Czechoslovak
students' movement issued a broad document entitled
"Ten Points for Freedom" which summarized the
liberal political philosophy of the Dubcek regime.
W,'h the suppression of the Dubcek regime all student
periodicals Here banned and reformist student
federations and committees were disbanded and
replaced under a party controlled mass organization,
the Socialist Youth Union (SSM). In 1970, regime
sponsored Czech and Slovak Centers of University
Students and a federated body, the Czechoslovak
Center of University Students, were created and
attached to the regime's mass youth organization,
renamed the Socialist Youth Union of the Czecho-
slovak Socialist Republic.
3. Levels of attainment
The high standards of education set in Czecho-
slovakia at the time it became a republic have resulted
in the achievement of near universal basic literacy in
the Czech Lands and of a dramatic rise in that rate in
traditionally backward Slovakia. At the time of the
Communist takeover illiteracy was not a significant
problem, except among the Gypsies, although
significant portions of the adult population had passed
the terminal year of compulsory education -the 15th
year of age- without completion of the full 9 -year
course of elementary school education.
Implementation of education reforms was pressed
with full vigor beginning in the 1950's and during the
subsequent two decades enrollments in the lower
elementary grades reflected accommodation of
virtually all children in the compulsory school age
class and progressive increases in kindergarten,
secondary, vocational, and higher education
enrollments (Figure 13). By the mid- 1960's -as
indicated in the tabulation below -a school
FIGURE 13. Enrollment by type of school (U /OU)
enrollment of nearly 100% had been achieved with
respect to the elementary school age population and
significant gains had been made in the secondary and
higher education age cohorts:
FIRST LEVEL SECOND LEVEL TMRD LEVEL
age 6-14) age 15 -W age 20-24)
1960/61 93 36 10.9
1965/66 98 39 :3.9
1969/70 90 37 11.0
Data are lacking on the point but the possibility is
strong that the decline in the ratios at the secondary
and higher levels at the end of the 1960's were due at
least partially to the stiffened application of political
criteria in the selection of students. The effect of these
criteria apparently persisted into early 1973, when the
Czechoslovak press acknowledged that authorities
were alarmed about the decline in the 1972/73
enrollment at the secondary level, particularly in the
vocatio.al schools.
Two decades after the Commurvst takeover only a
negligible proportion of the population over 15 years
of age lacked some elementary school education, and
as suggested in the following tabulation, marked
increases at higher levels had been achieved:
1950 1970
The success of policy measures designed to bring
Slovak levels up to those prevailing in the Czech
Lands have met with considerable success during the
two decades, as suggested by the rise in the Slovak
share of the adult population (over 13 years) with a
secondary education background from 18% to 28%
and with L university background from 205- to 26%.
As in all Communist countries, women's oppor-
tunities for education have increased dramatically
over that prevailing before World War 11 and, as
TYPE Or SCHOOL
NUMBER
NUMBER
No schooling
63,000
0.7
41,000
0.4
Completed secondary
330,084
371,013
377,762
377,593
school
411,000
4.5
1,474,000
13.4
Of which vocational
238,000
2.6
1,081,000
9.8
Completed university-
241,252
3b7,032
na
na
level studies
87,000
0.9
365,000
3.3
The success of policy measures designed to bring
Slovak levels up to those prevailing in the Czech
Lands have met with considerable success during the
two decades, as suggested by the rise in the Slovak
share of the adult population (over 13 years) with a
secondary education background from 18% to 28%
and with L university background from 205- to 26%.
As in all Communist countries, women's oppor-
tunities for education have increased dramatically
over that prevailing before World War 11 and, as
TYPE Or SCHOOL
1950/51
1960/61
1965/66
1968/69
1969/70
1970/71
1971/7'
Nursery and kindergarten........
256,306
285,863
330,084
371,013
377,762
377,593
384,980
Compulsory 9 -year School........
1,615,875
2,152,834
2,721,160
2,052,526
2,002,053
1,966,448
1,939,590
Apprentice School
na
241,252
3b7,032
na
na
348,670
355,774
Vocational School
94,054
238,201
297,654
278,685
282,674
286,407
279,978
Secondary general School.........
50,471
73,778
112,298
107,978
107,383
110,038
120,124
Higher School
45,241
94,040
144,990
137,654
133,524
131,099
128,124
na Data not available.
78
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
indicated in the following distribution of postelemen-
tary school enrollments b%
sex during
the 1971/72
school year, women predominate in
the secondary
schools ;in percent):
MEN
Wostev
ApprenUee schools
70
30
Vocational schools
44
56
Full -time (76
41
59
Part -time (24
54
46
Secondary general schools
37
63
Full -time (93%)
35
65
Part -time (7
69
31
Higher education
62
38
Full -time (83
S3
40
Part -time (17%)
64
36
The high proportion of male students in apprentice
schools reflects the chronically tight manpower
situation which necessitates the early induction of
males into the labor force, especially in the industry
and construction sectors. Males prevail in the process
of selection of full -time higher education, but their
relatively high proportion of all part -time students
reflects the need to keep them on the job. Male
predominance in higher education is based mainly on
the high proportions they contribute to the
engineering and agricultural schools; women
outnumber them in most departments of the
universities, notably in pedagogy, medicine, the social
sciences, and philosophy.
During the post -World War 11 period the
pupil/ teacher ratio in the elementary school system
improved significantly from 27.5 pupils per teacher in
1955/56 to 19.9 in 1971/72 and in the latter academic
year represented the hest in Europe alongside Sweden,
Hungary, Norway, and Denmark. At the secondary
level the ratio consistently a favorable one
throughout the 16 -year period improved from about
19 to about 16. The combined ratio of professors,
docents, and instructors to matriculants in institutions
of higher learning improved from 10.1 to h.'.
G. Artistic and cultural expression (U /OU)
Although Czechoslovakia in the past has had a rich
and creative cultural tradition, hased on freedom of
expression, contemporary artistic life is controlled by
the state for its purposes. According to official police
all cultural activit} must serve the cause of building
communism and "the revolutionary rebirth of
society," and contribute to the development of
"socialist nvin. Tlw concept of "art for arts sake" is
an alien one, and frequently hooks, paintings, musical
compositions, or other art forms not conforming to
official ideology are banned.
As it vela, �s to cultural expression, official ideology,
modeled on that of the Soviet Union, is embodied in
the concept of "socialist realism," v. limits the
writer or artist to expressing the party line, to
portraying the party as the guiding force of all positive
activity;, and to creating works that would he vehicles
for socialist ideas and comprehensible to the people.
Basically a political tool, art must appeal to the tastes
of the working man, and expression must he simple
and direct. The results have been stagnation of
creative artistic initiative and dull uniformity.
Consequently, some artists have chosen inactivity or
exile. Nonetheless, a significant number of works, as
well as performing artists, are internationally
acclaimed. In these instances, token recognition is
accorded to official policy while more artistic and
"bourgeois" themes are developed.
To implement its cultural policy, the regime has
developed an extensive control apparatus. Cultural
policy is created by the part and administered by the
Ministry of Int -rior, the Ministries of Culture of the
two Republics, and the relevant professional
organizations. These -.arious professional groups or
unions, working closely with the party, are the main
vehicles of control; they enforce standards of artistic
expression, act as representative bodies for their
memberships, set salary scales, and establish
professional qualifications for employment. The
unions also operate housing facilities, stores, and
vacation resorts for their members. Membership in the
unions is a prerequisite for effective artistic and
intellectual expression since only members may he
employed and their works published, performed, or
exhibited. Expulsion from the union, usually caused
by deviation from cultural policy, effectively ends an
artists career within his own country.
As it part of its cultural policy, the government
emphasizes certain past cultural traditions, and praises
and rewards selected contemporary intellectuals and
cultural figures who have shown political loyalty and
professional achievement. The state also supports
theatrical groups, dance troupes, and musical
ensembles. To encourage mass participation in
cultural life, admission is either free or nominal. [n
addition, ancient castles, churches, and other historic
buildings are preserved as national museums; 437 such
institutions existed in 1969.
Since the Communist takeover in 19.18. Czecho-
slovak cultural lift: has been characterized by alternate
periods of relaxation and suppression. The free
atmosphere that had nourished the development of
cultural and intellectual life in the prewar period
vanished after February 1948 with the imposition of
79
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
systematic controls and restrictions in accordance with
Marxist theor.�. Artists and writers were subsequently
unionized, mainly within the state controlled Creative
Artists Union and the various writers' and journalists'
unions, and for the most part they received their
salaries from state institutions and publishing houses.
Repression and control reached its peak in the period
immediately preceding and following the death of
Stalin in 1913. Besides imposing "socialist realism"
and "administrative measures," such as police
interference and censorship, the regime denied writers
and artists the Western cultural influences that had
nurtured them in the past. In Slovakia, the struggle
against "bourgeois nationalism" resulted in the arrest
of several prominent intellectuals, including Gustav
Husak, the present party leader. During the cultural
thaw in the mid- 1950's, writers and artists sought a
more liberal attitude on the part of the regime, but
there was no unrest comparal to the uprisings in
Poland and Hungary in 1956. A limited relaxation of
restrictions permitted the importation of some
contemporary Western literature and films, and some
artists began to Shur, socialist realism and follow the
lead of avant -garde artists in the West. However, the
campaign beginning in June 19513 to complete the
development of a socialist state brought a restoration
of ideological restrictions that prevailed until the 12th
Party Congress in December 1%.2, when party boss
Novotny reluctantly abandoned some of his repressive
controls.
The Fourth Congress of the Czechoslovakian
Writers' Union in June 1967 marked the beginning of
a true liberalization drive by a significant number of
intellectuals; many speakers ignored the party's
planned program, and attacked the regime's political
and and cultural policies. Novotny's failure: either to
crush the opposition of the intellectuals or to initiate
reforms that would satisfy at least some of their
demands was a key factor in his downfall the
following January. Subsequently, during the H months
of the Prague Spring, almost every aspect of
Czechoslovak culture flourished. Censorship was
ended and free expression was permitted. Czecho-
slovak writers and artists were allowed greater contact
with their colleagues in other countries, and national
culture was again exposed to Western influences. The
creative artist in Czechoslovakia explored to a greater
degree the techniques, methods, and theories thi:t
formerly were officially denied him: ideological
neutralism, "ideal- less" light entertainment, formal
experimentation, "cosmopolitanism," symbolism,
abstractionism, "art for art's sake," and similar
"bourgeois ideologies and elernents."
30
A new period of cultural repression began after
Dubeek's fall and Husak's acquisition of power.
Prominent artists were dismissed from their jobs and
unions, and eventually from the party to complete
their professional and social ostracism. Some were
jailed. In late 1970 the regime drafted legislation
designed to complete the state's control over cultural
institutions. A new theater law was drawn up
providing for government support for theaters
producing "politically involved" (pro Communist)
plays and for staging works by authors from he Soviet
Union and other Communist nations. A state
controlled music program was implemented, with
emphasis on youth education. However, noting a
decline in cultural standards in 1972 -73, the regime
has tried to reintegrate into the unions talented but
alienated artists, who must prove themselves through
"committed" works. To date, few respected
intellectuals hav, responded. Instead, denies; freedom
of expression, artists revert to subdued cynicism, using
satire, derisive humor, bitterallegory, innuendoes, and
disrespectful allusions.
1. Literature
According to official interpretation, contemporary
I
iterature is the offspring of the socialist revolution. In
fact, however, the roots of Czechoslovak literary
tradition are found in religion and nationalism, and
are strongly influenced by Western European
traditions as well. The first literature, the translation of
scripture into old Slavonic by the missionarieN Cyril
and Methodius appeared in the ninth century. High
quality illuminated manuscripts, combining art and
literature, became a primary form of cultural
expression in the Middle Ages, and religious dramas
were also part of the literary heritage until the 14th
and 15th centuries when the writings of Jan Hus, Petr
Chelcicky, and Thomas of Stetny on moral and
religious questions appeared. The translation of the
Kralice Bible, published in the 16th century, was the
culmination of religious prose and became a model for
classical Czech. Religious upheavals in the 17th
century brought a literary decline although Jan
Komensky (Comenius), in exile, wrote philosophical
works in Latin and Czech.
The nationalistic and Western European roots of
Czechoslovak literature developed in the 113th and
19th centuries. The most famous literary figure of that
time was Frantisrk Palackv, w�ho wrote extensively on
the nationality question and the concept of it national
past. Called the "Father of the Nation," Palackv is
best remembered for his The History of the Czech
Nation, which is reg!urded as a classic. Other noted
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
writers of that period were historian Pavel Safarik and
Jan Kollar whose allegorical sonnet The Daughter of
Slava is a major work of Czech literature. Karel
Macha is regarded as one of the greatest Czech poets.
Ilis best known work May influenced many other
poets. In the late 19th century a more universal
literature, influenced by Western Europe, emerged.
Novelists &tzena Nemcova and Jaroslav Vrchlicky
were known for writing in the new vein. Other
outstanding figures of that period were poets Jan
Neruda, Svatopluk Cech, and Pavel Orszagh, who
wrote under the pen name Hviezdoslay.
It the 20th century, the creation of at independent
Czechoslovak state was a great stimulus to literature,
and some of the best works were written during the
interwar period. Outstanding poets were Josef Hora,
Frautisek Halas, Viterslav Nezval, and Jaroslav
Seifert. Distinguished prose authors included Ivan
Olbracht, Vladislav Vancura, and Karel Capek, who
was also it playwright. The Good Soldier Schweik, a
work of international reputation, was written by
Jaroslav Hasek during this period. (Franz Kafka,
though it native and a resident of Prague, wrote in
German and is therefore no; usually listed as a Czech
writer.
After a decline during the Nazi and Stalinist eras,
literary production increased consider� bly in the late
1950's and 1960's, and became primarily concerned
with people in human situations, indifferent to social
ideas and alienated from society. Josef Skvorecky is
recognized for several novels, particularly The
Cowards and The Ernoeke Legend, while Peter Karvas
k noted for The Scar, it sharp criticism of Stalinism.
U.ing the same theme, Ladislav Mnacko wrote
Related Reportages and A Taste of lower, which
exposed the corruption and hypocrisy of the
bureaucracy. During the relative freedom of the
1960's, poets Miroslav Holub and Jiri Kolar
commented on tit(- contemporary scene while Ivan
\Vernisch and Ivan Divis concentrated on the inner
world of the individual.
In the 1970's with the reimposition of ideological
restrictions, many authors no longer write or have gone
into exile. However, the regime favors poet Valentin
Beniak, and has pmsented literary prizes to B. Rita, A.
Z. Plud, and Jan Solovic.
2. Performing arts
a. Music and dunce
As with literature, Czechoslovak music ostensibly
derives from the revolution, but in fact it is an integral
part of ancient folk life, religion, and Western
European musical tradition. Folk music and dance
have not only influenced the classical forms of music
and ballet, but have survived in pure farm as a part of
daily life. The music and dance of each region of the
country are distinctive and reflect their cultural
heritage.
The 16th through the 19th century was a
particularly creative period in the development of
Czechoslovak music. Classical secular music was
introduced from Western Europe in the 16th century,
and by the 18th century, a Czechoslovak baroque
musical tradition, based on folk melodies and
characterized by energetic rhythms, had emerged.
Czech musicians were playing in orchestras all over
Europe; Jan Ladislav Dusek, a piano virtuoso, was
particularly well known throughout the continent.
The best known composer of the time was Jan Jakub
Ryba. In the 19th century, classical music began to
have it mass appe�.I. Opera was sung in Czech and in
1811 the Prague Conservatoire, the oldest in Central
Europe, was established. The most important figures
in Czechoslovak music, Bedrich Smetana (1824 -84)
and Antonin Dvorak (1841- 1904), were writing operas,
symphonies, and chamber music heard throughout the
world. Several other composers, such as Zdenek
Fibich, Josef Suk, Josef Foerster, and Viterslav Novak,
were writing lesser known works.
Creativity and experimentation in music continued
in the first part of the 20th century with the
development of modern atonal music by composers
Leos Janacek and Bohuslav Martinu. Other modern
composers, who are still living, �Iude Eugen Suchon,
who wrote the opera The Whirlwind, and Alois Haba,
who is best known for his quarter tone music.
Although atonal music and avant -garde experimenta-
tion have been discouraged since the Communist
revolution, musical expression in contemporary
Czechoslovakia is allowed more freedom than the
other arts because of its nonideological character. A
few young composers continue to write less extreme
modern works, which are performed mostly in Eastern
Europe. The government condemns most forms of
Western popular music as decadent, particularly rock,
although jazz is tolerated. The hest known
Czechoslovak popular singer is Karel Gott who
performs in mane countries, including the Unit
States.
Classical ballet is a popular form of entertainment,
and the Brno ballet company is considered tit- hest in
the country.�. Its repertoire includes internationaliv
known works such as "The Nutcrackers Suite,
domestic productions such as Dvorak's "Slavonic
Dances," and new Russian presentations such as "The
31
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
Creation of the World" by A. Petrov. Ballerina Jarmila
Mansinerova and dancer choreographer Miroslav
Kura are among the most highly reg rded performers.
Music and dance facilities and performances are
readily available to the public. The National,
Smetana, and Tyl Theaters are the principal stages for
opera and ballet, but 14 others also exist. Concerts are
performed by seven symphony orchestras, the best of
which is the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Chamber
music is played by 30 professional groups, the Prague
String Quartet is the most prominent. There are many
vocal groups, choirs, and dance and jazz hands, and
numerous schools of music and (lance.
b. Theater and motion pictures
The theater in Czechoslovakia has long had a
political role and it is currently recognized as a
powerl instrument of mass agitation and propagan-
da. In the Middle Ages, the church trade extensive use
of dramatic presentations to instill religious and
political ideas through songs, folk humor, and social
satire. 'These plays, performed in churches by students
or wandering theater companies, were generally
comprehensible and accessible to all. Almost as old as
church drama is the puppet theater, which is highly
developed and popular in modern sue iet During the
preindependence period, the theater was particularly
instrumental in arousing national consciousness and
rejuvenating national culture The popular demand
for a national theater forced the Austrian authorities to
construct the Czech National Theater, which became
it symbol of independence. In fact, state independence
was declared there in 19i8.
After independence, particularly in the interwar
period, theatrical production tended to he less political
but activity was intense and creative. An array of
domestic and foreign plays were presented. Several
innovations were made, which were later adopted by
theaters in other countries. The main playwrights of
this period were Jiri Voskovec, Jan Werich, and Karel
C:apek.
After the Communist takeover, the theater again
became it political vehicle for the purposes of the
regime. Drama was to he politically `safe." As a
reaction and protest, public preference turned to light
plays although certain serious dramas, such as classics
by Moliere aril Shakespeare arid it few Russian
productions, remained popular. During the brief
period of liberalization in the 1960's, theatrical
activity increased, and plays tended to he absurd and
satirical, criticizing the shortcomings of the socialist
sN tent. Prague became the center of Eastern
European avant -garde theater, and Czech actors
32
toured abroad. Mane Western plays were presented.
Noted dramatists were Josef Topol, Vaclav Havel,
Pavel Kohout, Milan Uhde, and Peter Karvas.
However, after the reimposition of controls in the late
1960'x, theater was again restricted to "safe"
productions. Nonetheless, local theaters, enjoying a
degree of security through partial anonymity,
continue to tweak Soviet and regime sensitivities
through humor and the theater of the absurd.
Audiences make the most of such opportunities with
catcalls arid applause and go out of their way to
discover unintended innuendoes and disrespectful
allusions.
Although the Czechoslovak film industry was
established 70 years ago, Czech films gained
international recognition only after World War II
when The Siren was awarded the grand prize at the
Iniernational Film Festival in Venice in 1917.
Imaginative animated puppet films such as
Midsummer Night's Dream by Jiri Trnka also became
popular. In the more relaxed atmosphere of the 1960'x,
films developed into an important medium of
expression. Portraying everyday life as well as the
shortcomings of the political system, such films as The
Shop on Main Street and Closely Watched Trains
were internationally acclaimed. Among the notable
directors of that period were Pavel Juracck, Ivan
Passer, Jaromil Jires, and Milos Forman, who is still
making films in exile in Western Europe and the
United States.
In the 1970's creative film efforts have been sharpy
red-tced. Films made before 1969 and not vet released
were subject to review and censorship, while many of
those already released were recalled or banned from
distribution. Popular interest in firms has declined,
probably, as elsewhere, clue to the impact of television.
The number of theaters decreased from 3,711 in 1965
to 3,495 in 1971 .while attendance in the same period
dropped from 128.4 million to 110.7 million.
3. Art and architecture
a. Painting, sculpture, and architecture
Although lacking an international reputation,
Czechoslovak fine arts and architecture have
flourished during several creative periods in the
country's history. In the earlier period, religion exerted
a great influence. The small, round churches of
simple, geometric design were typical of Czech
Romanesque architecture from the 10th to the 13th
centuries. In the late 13th century, Peter Parler, an
outstanding architect and sculptor, was commissioned
by the King of Bohemia to complete the construction
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
FIGURE 14. St. Vitus Cathedral in
Prague (U!OU)
of St. Vitus Cathedral, a famous landmark in Prague
(Figure 14). Saints were the subject of the 128
celebrated panel paintings of Master Theodoric in the
Chapel of the Hole Rood. Also inspired by religious
beliefs, Master Paul of Leyoca, a great sculptor of the
late loth century, is noted or his masterpiece, the
large altar at Levoca.
Religion was still an important subject for art during
the Bohemian Renaissance of the 16th century and the
Baroque period of the 18th century, but secular motifs
also became more important. Among the major works
were the monumental Church of St. Nicholas in
Prague by K. 1. Diezenhofer, and the highly regarded
altar paintings of K. Skreta and P. Brandl. During the
same period, rich decoration and articulated, painted
gables, inspired by Italian secular design were popular
additions to housing. The sculpture of the period was
noted for the worldly, realistic forms of F. M. Brokoff
and M. Braun.
Art turned from religious subjects to people,
everyday life, landscapes, and historical events during
the national revival of the 19th century. Best
remembered are the realistic paintings of Josef Manes,
Nicholas Ales, and Max Svabinsky, and the sculptures
of Josef Vaclav Myslbek. Later in the 20th century
before World War 11, Czech artists, influenced by new
ideas from Western Europe, were concerned with nea
forms of expression in painting and sculpture.
Examples were the impressionism of Antonin Slavicek,
the symbolism of J. Preisler, the abstractionism of
Frantisek Kupka, and the cubism of Emil Lilla and O.
Gutfreund. Also recognized are Alfons Mucha for his
decorative and symbolic avant -garde paintings and
Oskar Kokoschka for his psychological portraits and
allegorical paintings.
After the Communist takeover, experimentation,
abstractionism, and expressionism were officially
discouraged. Studies of still life and nudes were no
longer acceptable. Instead, intelligibility, monumen-
tality, and nationalism were stressed. The art
produced was generally unimaginative, sterile, and
mannered. Limited experimentation in style and form
returned after 19,53, and has more or less continued in
contemporary Czechoslovakia despite the tightening
of restrictions on ar.istic expression in the late 1960's
and 1970's. Although sometimes cynical and macabre
and not as dynamic as in earlier periods,
Czechoslovakian fine arts and architecture still exhibit
originality and individuality. A noted artist is Libor
Fara who stresses simple planes with accented
contours, scaled in tones of white, gray, and black.
Architecture has become modern but somewhat
sterile. No true innovations are permitted, even those
that are functional. Noted architects are Karel Hunzik
and Zdenek Plesnik.
b. Folk and applied art
Originating in pre- Christian times, folk woodcarv-
ing is one of the earliest forms of cultural expression in
Czechoslovakia. Wooden household gods and
decorated wooden posts, marking sacred groves, served
religious functions. After the arrival of Christianity,
holy figures and tall wooden crosses were richly carved
with both pre Christian symbols of life, such as the sun
33
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
and rosettes, and Christian signs, such as vines and
chalices. The best woo(1- arving was done by
professional and amateur Slovak artists from the 18th
to the 20th century. In contemporary Czechoslovakia,
this art form has disappeared and is found mostly in
museums because, as the country became more
industrialized, woodcarving was rejected as a reminder
of poverty and peasant ways.
Ceramics is also one of the oldest folk crafts, dating
back to the fourth and fifth centuries when the first
pottery was produced. Jugs were often decorated with
brightly colored folk scenes. later in the 19th century
porcelain figurines were fashionable; they were often
rococo in style and decorated with cobalt, purple, and
burnished gold (Figure 13). In modern Czecho-
slovakia, ceramics remain a dynamic art form; artists
are experimenting with new and abstract forms for
figures, statuettes, and vessels of various kinds. A
significant number of Czechoslovak ceramic works
have won international prizes.
Czech artistry in glassmak :ng has long been
internationally acclaimed. :)riginating in Bohemia,
glassmaking became important in the l6th century
with the development of cutglass. Examples of the fine
glass work of that period were Kaspar Lehmann's
goblets, decorated with allegories of the virtues. In the
17th century, cut crystal, characterized by carved lacy,
star -like patterns inspired by folk embroidery, was
developed.
FIGURE 15. A typical decorative porcelain figurine of
the 19th century (U/OU)
34
One of the most :restive artistic and technical
periods of Czech glassmaking was the 113th century.
New shapes for bott,es, goblets, and flagons were
conceived and decoratrl in new ways. Among these
innovations were painted glass with allegorical motifs,
created by Daniel Prei,sler; agate and opal colored
glass, decorated wit!i gold, double walled glass which
has become a col',ector's item; and glass engraving.
Using heavy Engl sh lead glass, Czech artists engraved
scenes of towns and spaF; particularly fashionable
were reproductions of famous paintings.
In the 20th century, impetus has been given to
modern glassmaking by its organization into an
industry and the establishment of schools. Moreover,
the government has encouraged high standards for
export purposes. New techpiques continue to be
discovered. In the 1930'x, blown glass was introduced,
and fine table glass was created by J. Sutnar and A.
Loos. Since the 1940's, serviceability, simplicity, and
technical purity have been combined (Figure 16).
Noted contemporary artists are J. Soukup and V.
Hanus, working in pressed glass, and M. Velishova
and Rene Rou:)icek, skilled with hand- sculped glass.
One of the newest forms is free glans sculpture. S.
Libensky and J. Brychtova, his wile, are recognized for
their monumental windows, panels, and three
dimentional objects.
H. Public information (C)
The mass media in Czechoslovakia are extensive
and well- developed, an(! completely under the control
of the government and Communist Party. Justified in
terms of Marxist- Leninist theories, both the media
system and the control oparatus are oriented toward
mobilizing the mind and will of the population and
strengthening the party in its self assigned role as
leader, teacher, and guide of the people. While a
considerable amount of educational and cultural
material is also disseminated, these. "nonpolitical"
activities are not ends in themselves. They facilitate
the prime task of ideological indoctrination and the
efi:ctive realization of the party's economic and
political goals.
In modern Czechoslovak history, the degree of
control and restriction on the media have fluctuated.
Prior to the 1948 Communist takeover, the Republic,
functioning as a democracy, operated effectively
under the 1920 constitution, which guaranteed
freedom of the press. Even after controls on public
information were established (luring the Communist
period, the press functioned more freely in
Czechoslovakia than in the other Eastern European
countries. In fact, encouraged in the 1960's by radical
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
Cut lead crystal by ludislav Oliva
r
economic changes and demands for freedom of
expression by various cultural and literary periodicals,
Czechoslovak intellectuals began it liberalization
drive, and some controls were relaxed during the
Novotny government. With the accession to power of
the Uubcek regime, tic party's management of the
media was further diminished and manv restraints
reduced, including the abolition of prepublication
censorship. In the brief disorder during the Russian
invasion, freedom of the press became it reality
because much of the media functioned in secret
without official restraints. However, thereafter full
park supervision was reinstated; many publications
were banned, editorial boards purged, and journalists
dismissed.
In the 1970's the theories and system of controls on
the inedia closely resembled those in existence prior to
1968. Although freedom of speech and press are
guaranteed by the 1961 constitution, still basically in
effect, the 1966 press law stated that they may only be
exercised when they are "consistent with the interests
of the working people," the sole judge being the
Communist Party. Criticism for its own sake and
antiparty statements are not tolerated. Mass
communication is not based on the pursuit of profit
nor sloes it provide it vehicle for individual expression.
The right to issue information through any legal
public medium is accorded only to the party, the
government, and public organizations controlled by
the party, such as labor unions.
All media are regulated by the government's Press
and Information Office. "rhe general guidelines and
directives are formulated by top party officials. The
party Central Committee and its press staff are
35
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
"Spring --a cut relief vase,
designed by Miroslav Platik
and engraved by Vaclov Kacer

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
responsible for the final preparation of policy, filling
in details with the cooperation of pertinent
government departments. The final instructions are
then implemented at lower levels of government by
the various committees and offices concerned with the
media. 1n addition, regular briefing sessions, held by
party and governmew officials for media personnel,
are effective mechanisms which diminish the need for
prepublication censorship.
1. Printed matter
a. Press and periodicals
Bec�use of strict controls, the daily press has
experienced a decline in the total number of
publications, total circulation, and the quality of
content and format. As a result of merger or
elimination of the non Communist press, the number
of daily publications decreased from 20 in 19.8 to 13
in 195?; in the same period total daily circulation
decreased from 2.4 million to 1.7 million. Reflecting
the press reforms of the Dubeek government, the
number of dailies reached a high of 33 in IW9
although circulation was only 1.2 million. After the
press was again reduced to being a government
mouthpiece, the number of dailies decreased to 29 in
1971 while circulation fell slightly below 1.2 million.
M )reover, newspapers became even more stereotyped
in form and content, tending to concentrate on
prescribed themes with little variation in depth of
coverage or extent of comment.
In 1971, among the dailies with circulations of at
least 100,000 (Figvre 17), the most authoritative and
widely circulated newspapers were Rude Pravo, the
official organ of the Czechoslovak Communist Party
(KSC), and Pravda, its sister Slovak publication.
Founded in 1920, Rude Pravo is imitated by other
newspapers in presentation and layout. National in
outlook and scope, it has it large subscription list as
%yell as substantial newsstand sales. The paper is also
commonly displayed on public bulletin boards. Lik,
its Czech counterpart, Pravda is authoritative and an
outlet for official views. However, its circulation is
mostly limited to Slovakia, and regional news receives
more attention. General news is often summarized or
extracted from Rude Pravo.
In 1971, 1,315 periodicals were published, a decline
from a high of 1,589 in 1969. The total average
circulation for weekly periodicals in 1971 was about
7.9 million; total circulation for all periodicals is
unavailable. Virtuallv every major party and
government organ, as well as intellectual institution,
publishes its own periodical. Aimed at a selected
36
readership, the vast majority are newsletters or highly
specialized in content, and few have a national
circulation.
Among the important weekly periodicals are Tvorba
(Creation) which deals principally with domestic,
political, and cultural affairs, and Tribuna, which
focuses on party problems and foreign events. More
popular weeklies include Vlasta (Motherland), an
illustrated magazine for women with a weekly
circulation in 1971 of 650,000, and Kvety (Blossoms),
an illustrated party periodical wJh a weekly
circulation of 300,000 in 1971. Occasionally
magazines, critical of the government and the party,
appear, but they are published by a small number of
dissidents and appeal to a limited readership. The
authorities often take no action against such
publications as long as their i� fluence remains small.
An example was Samizdat, a political monthly, which
circulated among intellectuals in Prague and other
cities in 1971.
The sole outlet for all domestic and foreign news for
all media is the Czechoslovak News Agency (CTK or
CETEKA), which functions as an arm of the Press and
Information Office. Distributing more than 40,000
items annually, CTK prepares and disseminates
special news summaries, bulletins, and short articles. It
is represented in several major foreign capitals. Fifty
seven exchange agreements are also maintained with
the news services of both Communist and Western
nations, including United Press International. In
addition, CTK established the Prague -based
International Organization of Journalists, which has
trained over 100 editors, technicians, and photog-
raphers from various Asian and African countries.
b. Books and libraries
Book publishing has grown only slightly d,iring the
1960's. In 1960, the number of published titles toialed
5,818. The number increased to 6,503 in 1965,
decreased to .5,800 in 1969, and increased again to
6,607 in 1971. In that year, the major subject
categories included social policy and popular
education (1,086 titles), fiction (982 titles), technical
sciences (648 titles), and children's literature (597
titles).
The restrictions imposed on the publishing industry
since 1968 have been less sweeping than tho%e placed
op the other mass media, which played a considerai- iv
more important role in moi,ilizing public opin on
during the Dubcek era. Book publishers have came
tinder increasing government criticism, however, for
their reluctance to reemphasize: "socialist" literature
over Western and politically "unconstruclive" works.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDPO'I- 0070780002001 100'16 -7
FIGURE 17. Principal daily newspapers, 1971 (U /OU)
ESTIMATED
NAME LANGUAGE .'',ACE OF PUBLICATION CIRCULATION
t ESKOSLOVENSKY SPORT
Czech.................
f.IDOVA DEMOKRACIE (People's Democracy)
....do................
MLADA FRoNTA Youth Front)
....do................
PRACA Labor)
Slovak................
PRACE Labor)
Czech.................
YRAVDA Truth)
Slovak................
RovxosT Equality
Czech.................
RUDE PRAVO (Red Justice
Slovak, Czech..........
SMENA Relay)
Slovak................
SVOBODNE SLOVO (Free Word)
Czech.................
Ur Szo (New Word
Hungarian.............
ZEMEDELSKE Novi-;y (Agricultural News)
Czech
co
4
PUBLISHER
Prague
200,000
Czechoslovak Physical Culture Association.
....do
122,000
Czechoslovak People's Party.
....do
295,000
Czechoslovak Youth Federation.
Bratislava
117,000
Slovak Council of Trade Unions.
Prague
290,000
Revolutionary Trade Union Movement.
Bratislava
295,000
Communist Party of Slovakia.
Brno
130,00
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
Bratislava, Prague..........
1,130,000
Do.
Bratislava
160,000
Slovak Youth Federation.
Prague
134,000
Czechoslovak Socialist Party.
Bratislava
295,000
Communist Party of Slovakia.
Prague
100,000
Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
As a result, publishing houses have begun to
concentrate on Soviet and other Commui authors.
Wester-i technical books continue to be sold, but they
are expensive and limited in quantity. Overseeing the
publishing industry, the zechoslovak Center for
Publishing and the Book Trade promotes ideological
objectives and coordinates all activities of publishing
houses and bookstores in accordance with official
guidelines.
Because of the high literacy rate and the general
interest in intellectual pursuits, a great demand for
library resources exists. Consequently, the system is
extensive, consisting of public libraries, university and
school libraries, state society facilities, and libraries
associated with mass organizations. In addition, some
industrial plants and s( clubs maintain small
libraries or reading rooms. Facilities are heavily
concentrated in the Czech Lands which had 74% of
the country's 13,391 public libraries and branches in
1971. In the same year, all facilities contained a total
of 34,665,(Xx) volumes, and 1,825,000 readers were
registered. All library facilities are regulated by the
Cents! Council for Libraries.
The largest library is the State Library of the
Czechoslovak Republic. Established in 1956 as a
consolidation of six libraries it has approximately 4
million volumes a-id an extensive microfilm collection.
Other significant facilities are the Slovak National
Library in Martin with 1.8 million volumes, the
National Museum Library in Prague, containing 1.7
million volumes, the University Library at Brno with
1.6 million volumes, the Prague City Library with 1.4
million volumes, the State Technical Library at Brno,
and the Slovak Technical Library at Bratislava. The
two technical libraries contain 1.1 million volumes
each. Five other state scientific libraries offer
comphrensive collections in special technical fields.
2. Radio and television
Radio is the most important medium of mass
communication and a major vehicle for political,
social, and cultural indoctrination. Operated by
Czechoslov�k Radio (Ceskoslovensky Rozhlas),
broadcasting began in 1923 with 2 hours daily. By
195':. there were 120 hours of daily broadcasting as
well as extensive foreign transmissions. In the 1970's a
campaign to reorganize and expand the radio system
was begim, and by the end of the next Five Year Plan
(1976 -80), it is anticipated that stereo broadcasting
will reach the entire countryside.
Radio reception is already extensive. In 1971, 3.8
million licensed radio receivers existed, the ratio of 264
radio receivers per 1,(Xx) population was one of the
38
highest in Eastern Europe. The number of transmitters
has doubled since 1960 to reach 100 in 1971.
Additional and more powerful transmitters are
planned.
The radio system consists of three networks
Programs 1, 11, 111. Utilizing medium and long wave
AM transmitters, Program I is composed of Radio
Prague, which presents general news and educational
broadcasts and certain specialized programs in Czech.
and Radio Bratislava, which broadcasts similar
programs in Slovak as well as in Hungarian and
Ukrainian. In 1973, Program I added transmissions i:.
Czech and Slovak, capable of reception in the rest of
Europe, Africa, South and East Asia, and Australia.
Program 11, Radio Star (Hvezda), was created in 1970
to replace a previous national system. It broadcasts 24
hours daily in Czech and Slovak over long and
medium wave AM transmitters. Light music
constitutes the bulk of the second network's
programing and, while newscasts are frequent, they
are less detailed and compose a smaller proportion of
broadcast time than those presented on Program 1.
Because Program 11 requires less concentration, it is
the most popular of the networks. Program III is
composed of the Czech language Radio Vltava and
the Slovak language Radio Devin. Radio Vltava also
broadcasts in English, German, Russian, and Spanish.
The programing for the third network consists of
classical music, modern jazz, operas, art and literary
discussions, and foreign language instruction.
Czechoslovakia also has an extensive foreign
broadcast program. The Czechoslovakian Interna-
tional Service in Prague, employing shortwave
transmitters, broadcasts in seven languages to all parts
of the world. The largest target area is Europe.
Programs usually consist of news and commentary on
Czechoslovak developments and world affairs.
Introduced in 1953, television broadcasting is one of
the most popular mediums, and is the responsibility of
Czechoslovak Television (Ceskoslovenske Televize).
Nonetheless, because of the mountainous terrain, TV
coverage has not been as complete as radio, and
consequently, has not had the influence or
propaganda value of that medium. Therefore, the
regime is in the process of increasing the number and
power of broadcast facilities. The 32 transmitters is
existence in 1971 are more than double the total in
1960. By 1973, 4,500 hours of television programing
per annum were being transmitted to 3.3 million TV
receivers. The ratio of 243 TV sets per 1,000
population ranks Czechoslovakia among hie five
leading nations in the world, and the government
claims that 80% of all families own a television set.
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
CONFIDENTIAL
Since :970, the national system has operated two
networks� Programs 1 and 11. Program I, broadcasting
in Czech, can be received by most of the country while
the Slovak- language Program II is considerably
weaker. It is planned that by 1975 Program I will be
available throughout the country and that Program II
will be available to about 40% of the country. Czech
network broadcasting emanates from the main studio
in Prague, with features supplied by the other major
studios located in Brno and Ostrava. The majority of
programing for the Slovak network originates in
Bratislava, with occasional contributions from the two
other main studios located in Kosice and Banska
Bystrica. Most programing is devoted to cultural and
artistic subjects as well .:s general information, all
heavily laden with propaganda. Domestic and Soviet
films are frequently shown.
Color television has developed slowly. Although
trial color transmissions were begun in 1970,
broadcasting started only in May 1973 and there are
only about .300 color receivers in the country thus far.
These receivers are expensive Russian imports. Plans
call for color reception by 50% of the country, and
80% color programing by 1980.
Czechoslovakia participates in and uses both the
Communist European TV network Intervision and,
through a West German link, Western Europe's
Eurovision. Czechoslovak television also has direct
links with the U.S.S.R. and all Eastern European
countries except Albania. In 1970, the government
announced plans to construct a ground receiving
station for the Soviet orbits satellite 1''v' system.
I. Selected bibliography (U /OU)
Cole, K. C. "Prague, Two Years After," New York
Times Magazine, 16 August 1970, pp, 7 -9, 69 -73.
Czechoslovakia, Presidium of the Central Commit-
tee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. "The
Socialist Education of the Young Generation and Its
Preparation for Life and Work in a Mature Society."
Glossary (u/ou)
ABBREVIATION FOREIGN
CTK.........
KSC..........
ROH.........
SS M..
URO.........
Report delivered to the plenum of the Central
Committee, 3 July 1973. In U.S. Foreign Broadcast
Information Service, Eastern Europe, Number 133,
Supplement 26, 8 August 1973.
Dasbach, Anita. "Czechoslovakia's Youth,"
Problems of Communism, XVIII, No. 2, pp. 24 -31,
March -April 1969.
Farrell, R. Barry (ed.). Politieol Leadership in
Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Chicago:
Aldine. 1970.
Feiwel, George R. New Economic Patterns in
Czechoslovakia. New York: Praeger. 1968.
Horeeky, P. L. (ed.). East Central Europe. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press. 1969.
Krejci, Jaroslay. Social Change and Stratification in
Postwar Czechoslovakia. New York: Columbia
University Press. 1972.
Kusin, Vladimir V. Political Grouping in the
Czechoslovak Reform Movement. New York:
Columbia University Press. 1972.
Prucha, Vaclay. "Basic Features of Economic
Development in Czechoslovakia in 1945- 1970,"
Czechoslovak Economic Papers, 13, pp. 35-57.
Prague: Academia. 1972.
Rechcigl, Jr. Miloslav (ed.). Czechoslovakia, Past
and Present. Vol. 1. The Hague: Mouton. 1968.
Selueky, Radoslay. Czechoslovakia: The Plan That
Failed. London: Nelson and Sons. 1970.
Srb, Vladimir. "The Population of Czechoslovakia
in 1918 1968," Czechoslovak Population Problems,
pp. 3 -15. Prague: Secretariat of State Population
Committee. 1968.
Smile, Tad. Czechoslovakia Since World War 11.
New York: Viking Press. 1971.
Taborsky, Edward. "Czechoslovakia: The Return to
'Normalcy'," Problems of Communism, XIX, No. 6,
pp. 31 -41, November December 1970.
United States, Radio Free Europe. "Rising
Education Levels," Radio Free Europe Research: East
Europe. Czechoslovakia Situation Report Number 3,
17 January 1973.
Ceakoslovenska Tiakova Kancelar......
Komunisticka Strana Ceskoslovenska...
Revolueni Odborove Hnuii............
Svaz Soeialisticke Afladeze............
Ustrendni Rada Odboru
CONFIDENTIAL
ENGLISH
Czechoslovak News Agency
Czechoslovak Communist Party
Revolutionary Trade Union Movement
Socialist Youth Union
Central Council of Trade Unions
39
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200110015 -7