Czechoslovakia Since World War II [antikvár]

PRAGUE, JUNE 27, 1968 "The life of our nation was first threatened by the war. Then followed another bad time with events which threatened the nation's spiritual health and character. The majority of the nation hopefully accepted the program of socialism. Its direction got into the hands of the wrong people, however. . . Parliament forgot how to proceed, the government forgot how to rule, and the directors how to direct. Elections had no significance and the laws lost their weight. We could not confide in our representatives in any committee, and if we could trust them we could not ask them to do anything because they could change nothing. It was still worse that we could not trust even one another. Personal and collective honor declined. Honesty led nowhere and it was futile to speak of appreciation of ability. . . . Personal relations were spoiled, joy in work was lost; in siun the country reached a point where its spiritual health and character were threatened. . . This spring, as after the war, a great chance has again been given us. Again we have the possibility of taking into our hands our common cause, which for all practical purposes we call socialism, and giving it a shape which will better correspond with our once good reputation and with the relatively good opinion which we once had of ourselves. This spring has just ended and will never return. In the winter we will know everything." —From the Manifesto called Two Thousand Words. THE VIKING PRESS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK