Third Czechoslovak Republic
The Third Czechoslovak Republic, officially the Czechoslovak Republic, was a sovereign state from April 1945 to February 1948 following the end of World War II.
Czechoslovakian passport issued in 1947
1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état
In late February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia through a coup d'état. It marked the beginning of four decades of the party's rule in the country.
Pro-Communist demonstrations before the coup
Portraits of Klement Gottwald and Joseph Stalin at a 1947 meeting of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The slogan reads: "With Gottwald we won, with Gottwald we shall complete the Two-Year Plan"