K 231. Association of Former Political Prisoners in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F44555601%3A13410%2F20%3A43895759" target="_blank" >RIV/44555601:13410/20:43895759 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/publikacje/periodyki-ipn/pamiec-i-sprawiedliwosc/118885,Pamiec-i-Sprawiedliwosc-nr-1-35-2020.html" target="_blank" >https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/publikacje/periodyki-ipn/pamiec-i-sprawiedliwosc/118885,Pamiec-i-Sprawiedliwosc-nr-1-35-2020.html</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

K 231. Association of Former Political Prisoners in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968

Original language description

The Prague Spring of 1968 represents the most extensive attempt at reform Communism. Delayed destalinization brought various changes, and socialism was to be given a &quot;human face.&quot; At the end of March 1968, K-231 was established, associating political prisoners convicted under Section 231 for &quot;subverting the republic&quot;, and over three thousand of them from all over Czechoslovakia gathered in Žofín, Prague. They were called &quot;former people&quot; or &quot;hostile persons&quot; by the ruling Communist regime. Political prisoners stated that they did not want to be a political party. They actively built their organization - they established local, district, regional and provincial branches. They were headquartered on Karlovo náměstí (Charles Square) in Prague, eight commissions were active, and their mission was to achieve legal, civic and social rehabilitation. Around 80,000 members subscribed to the &quot;reform process&quot;, demanded the removal of all discriminatory measures and emphasized that they were not seeking revenge, but justice. Political prisoners from Slovakia became involved in the establishment of K-231, but soon decided to go their own way and set up their own organization. The Slovak Organization for the Defending of Human Rights, a sister organization of K-231, was founded on April 7, 1968 in Bratislava. Although former Czech and Slovak political prisoners acted amicably, they became as undesirable for Dubček?s reform Communists as the Klub angažovaných nestraníků (Club of Involved Independents) or the preparatory committee of the Social Democratic Party. Throughout the Prague Spring, they tried to legalize their activities, but in vain. Instead, they remained under the control of the secret police, and under pressure from Moscow, hostility and media attacks against them escalated. With the occupation of August 21, 1968, when all hopes were shattered, their five-month tenure ended. On September 5, 1968, the Ministry of the Interior refused to register K-231, and the association ceased all operations. Numerous representatives went into exile; those who remained in their homeland became &quot;people of interest&quot; to the State Security, were monitored, called for questioning, and their &quot;counter-revolutionary efforts&quot; were denigrated. In fact, their work showed the possibilities and limits of the Prague Spring. Former political prisoners were still strong enough and their association had great potential, not only moral, but also intellectual and educational. Strong personalities, strong stories - the first organization of political prisoners in Czechoslovakia.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60101 - History (history of science and technology to be 6.3, history of specific sciences to be under the respective headings)

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2020

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Pamięć i sprawiedliwość

ISSN

1427-7476

e-ISSN

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Volume of the periodical

35

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1 (35)

Country of publishing house

PL - POLAND

Number of pages

26

Pages from-to

114-140

UT code for WoS article

000592239000006

EID of the result in the Scopus database

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