Date of Award

Spring 6-14-2025

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

B.A. in History

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, History

First Advisor

Elizabeth Campbell

Second Advisor

Carol Helstosky

Third Advisor

Joshua Furman

Fourth Advisor

Hilary Smith

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Czechoslovakia, United States, Soviet Union, Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Sudeten Germans, Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, Ethnic cleansing, Democratic erosion, Democratic backsliding, Coup, 1938-1948, History

Abstract

The role played by the post-WWII expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia in catalyzing the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état has been underexplored in favor of the traditional narrative of an East-West clash between Czechoslovak democratic and communist parties backed by the United States and Soviet Union, respectively. Scholarship on the expulsion and the coup has on occasion brought up connections between the two events, albeit briefly and only as a small part of larger examinations of one of the two. The Eastern and Western forces at play in Czechoslovakia were undoubtedly key factors in the coup’s outcome: the end of Czechoslovakia’s young postwar democracy and the establishment of a communist regime. This paper does not seek to challenge this reality, but rather to integrate the expulsion into the timeline of the coup in greater detail than seen in existing literature. It will accomplish this by identifying three key factors in the coup – the expulsion of ethnic Germans, mistakes made by the democrats and US, and aggressive strategies by the Communists and Soviets – and analyzing the role played by each in the coup’s outcome. Czechoslovakia enjoyed a strong democratic tradition established during the years between the two world wars. After World War II, Czechoslovakia was a rare instance of a country that was able to hold free and fair elections while within the Soviet sphere of influence. Despite these advantages when compared to neighboring countries, Czechoslovak democracy was still gradually eroded and eventually killed off in a coup d'état. Nearly eighty years later, lessons from this coup – including those that require study of the postwar expulsion of ethnic Germans to be understood fully – remain important for those who wish to defend their own countries’ democratic institutions and remain vigilant against any signs of their endangerment.

Copyright Date

3-18-2025

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Douglas Joys

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

37 pgs

File Size

601 KB

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