1953 Plzeň uprising

Demonstrations in Plzeň against currency reform March 2019 March 2019 1953 Plzeň uprising the Cold War 1953 05 31 1953 06 2 y Plzeň, Czechoslovakia Uprising suppressed Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Czechoslovak People's Army People Militia Public Security (VB) State Security (StB) Demonstrators 8,000 policemen2,500 soldiers80 tanks 20,000 peopleMěnová reforma 1953: TOTALITA http://www.totalita.cz/vysvetlivky/ref_menova_1953_03.php www.totalita.cz 23 October 2020Marek Pavel Protikomunistické demonstrace v Československu v roce 1953 Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů 34 https://www.ustrcr.cz/data/pdf/publikace/securitas-imperii/no24/009-034.pdf 23 October 2020 48 injuredProtikomunistické demonstrace v Československu v roce 1953 https://www.ustrcr.cz/data/pdf/publikace/securitas-imperii/no24/009-034.pdf 23 October 2020 220 injured650 arrestedPražáková Hana Plzeň před 60 lety povstala. Kvůli penězům https://plzensky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/plzen-pred-60-lety-povstala-kvuli-penezum-20130531.html Plzeňský deník 23 October 2020 cs 1 June 2013 The 1953 Plzeň uprising occurred when workers in the Czechoslovak city of Plzeň revolted in violent protest for three days, from 31 May to 2 June, against the currency reforms of state party, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The estimated number of casualties is 200 injured, none fatally. Background After the communist party took over power in 1948 it started to concentrate production on heavy industry, especially in armament production. The agricultural sector was forcibly collectivised. But these policies led to shortages of customer goods, especially food, accompanied by an inflation of 28 percent. The government's reaction was to increase the prices of state-supplied goods at the start of 1953. This led to growing disaffection among people, and to short-lived strikes. The next step to be implemented was a currency reform, which amounted to a devaluation of savings. All savings were devalued in the ratio of fifty to one, all salaries in the ratio of five to one – small groups of people were exempted. All obligations of the state were abolished. Rationing of food at subsidized prices was stopped and work quotas increased. The reform was announced on 31 May at 22:00, after months of rumors and denials by state representatives. Plzeň Plzeň is a city in western Bohemia with large concentration of heavy industry, the largest factory being the famous Škoda Works. In the previous years and decades, the city saw many strike actions by workers demanding improvement of their living standards. Many of the strikes were led by the Communist party itself. As long as the Party's reforms after 1948 favoured the workers in heavy industry, there was no reason to expect troubles. But in 1953 the factory management of Škoda Works deliberately paid off the wages for May one week earlier - thus reducing their values by 80% after the currency reform was announced. Uprising News of the reform spread quickly among night shift workers in a plant of the Škoda Works in Plzeň, who then went on strike. The next day, in the morning, they decided to march to the city centre. Around noon the people attacked the city hall, and started to build barricades in the streets, and destroyed symbols of the communist party. Posters and slogans asking for the end of single party rule appeared.March 2019 Some of the local communists and uniformed policemen had joined or were forced to join the rebellion, and 2,000 students had joined too.September 2013 Nearby Bory prison was attacked with intention of releasing the prisoners, but the attack failed. No central leadership of the uprising was established; its actions were chaotic and uncoordinated. To suppress the uprising, strong reinforcements were called to the city, consisting of armed units of the Border Guard, the Czechoslovak People's Army, the People's Militia, the StB and the troops of the Ministry of National Security. During the afternoon, these units gradually regained control of the city, and in the evening there were only isolated skirmishes.František Čapka:Dějiny zemí Koruny české v datech, Libri Praha 2010, str 754 The government sent two police battalions totalling about 8,000 men, and an army unit of 2,500 men and 80 tanks to suppress the rebellion. During street fights about 220 rebels were injured. During the afternoon of 2 June, the last insurgents barricaded themselves in factories and gave up. Over 2,000 people were taken prisoner immediately and martial law was imposed. The leaders of the uprising were promptly tried and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, one of whom was later executed.September 2013 Communists and militiamen who had participated in the revolt were treated especially harshly.September 2013 Other cities Strikes had started in 19 large industrial plants in Bohemia and Moravia, in industrial cities such as Kladno and Ostrava. These strikes didn't turn violent and ended within a week. An estimated 360,000 workers had gone on strike; up to 250,000 of them had demonstrated in the streets.September 2013 Aftermath The leaders of the Communist party decided to present the event as having been provoked by agents of imperialism and this remained the official explanation until 1989. The party was ordered to purge members suspected of "social-democratism" or of low levels of loyalty. The army stated that any future uprising would be suppressed immediately. On 8 June the measures instituted on 31 May were recalled, except for the currency reform; also prices were reduced somewhat. The uprising and the wider wave of strikes forced the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to reconsider its priorities and, together with pressure from Moscow, contributed to a tentative shift towards a “New Course” focused on improving workers’ living standards. In September 1953, the government announced retail price reductions and plans to construct 40,000 new homes in 1954. Between autumn 1953 and autumn 1956, retail prices were reduced six times, while personal consumption increased by 14 percent in 1954.McDermott Kevin Popular Resistance in Communist Czechoslovakia: The Plzeň Uprising, June 1953 Contemporary European History 19 4 2010 306–307 10.1017/S096077731000024X No further violent uprising occurred in Czechoslovakia until the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968. The Velvet Revolution (1989) that ended the power of the communist party was mostly bloodless. Detailed knowledge of the 1953 events in Plzeň was and still is relatively low among the Czech public. The shaken trust in the stability of the currency lasted for decades. Notes Sources Newspapers Pfaff I. 2003-05-22 dmy-all Weg mit der Partei! https://www.zeit.de/2003/22/S_86_Vorspann_Pilsen Die Zeit de Hamburg Journals 30em Kramer M. 1999 The Early Post-Stalin Succession Struggle and Upheavals in East-Central Europe (Part 1) Journal of Cold War Studies 1 1 17–22, "The Plzen Rebellion" 10.1162/15203970152521881 57565942 McDermott K. 2010 Popular Resistance in Communist Czechoslovakia: The Plzeň Uprising, June 1953 Contemporary European History 19 4 287–307 10.1017/S096077731000024X free Category:1953 in Czechoslovakia Category:1953 protests Category:Anti-communism in Czechoslovakia Category:Anti-communist resistance movements in Eastern Europe Category:Cold War rebellions Category:1953 conflicts Category:History of Plzeň Category:Political repression in Czechoslovakia Category:Rebellions in the Czech Republic Category:Rebellions against the Soviet Union