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Czechoslovakia Reaction to Normalization
The absence of popular support for the Husak leadership was
an inevitable reaction to the repressive policies instituted
during the normalization process. Early post-invasion efforts to
keep alive the spirit of the Prague Spring were quashed through a
series of subversion trials in 1972 that led to jail sentences
ranging from nine months to six and one-half years for the
opposition leaders. Czechoslovak citizens over the age of fifteen
were required to carry a small red identification book,
containing an array of information about the individual and a
number of pages to be stamped by employers, health officials, and
other authorities. All citizens also had permanent files at the
office of their local KSC neighborhood committee, another at
their place of employment, and another at the Ministry of
Interior.
The most common attitudes toward political activity since the
1968 invasion have been apathy, passivity, and escapism. For the
most part, citizens of Czechoslovakia retreated from public
political concern during the 1970s into the pursuit of the
private pleasures of consumerism. Individuals sought the material
goods that remained available during the 1970s, such as new
automobiles, houses in the country, household appliances, and
access to sporting events and entertainment. As long as these
consumer demands were met, the populace for the most part
tolerated the stagnant political climate.
Another symptom of the political malaise during the 1970s was
the appearance of various forms of antisocial behavior. Petty
theft and wanton destruction of public property reportedly were
widespread. Alcoholism, already at levels that alarmed officials,
increased; absenteeism and declining worker discipline affected
productivity; and emigration, the ultimate expression of
alienation, surpassed 100,000 during the 1970s.
Data as of August 1987
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