Abstract
Although the Czechoslovak Republic experienced social breakdown and a wave of violence in the immediate post-war years, as did other countries in the region, it managed to overcome the postwar shock successfully. This article explores the main features of postwar Czechoslovak social development and politics.
It argues that the specific postwar setting shaped how Czechoslovak society evolved after the war. It further suggests that wartime suffering and postwar chaos do not inherently represent a direct threat to postwar democracy.