Uprising in Plzeň (1953)

During May 31 - June 2 1953 workers in the city of Plzeň, Czechoslovakia revolted in violent protest against currency reform and politics of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Estimated number of casualties is around 70 - 80.

Background

After communist party took all power in 1948 it started to concentrate on heavy industry, especially armament production. Agricultural sector was forcibly collectivised. These policies led to shortages of customer goods, especially food, accompanied by inflation (28% ). Government reaction was to increase prices on state-supplied goods at the start of 1953. This had led to growing disaffection among people and to short lived strikes.

Next step to be implemented was a currency reform - basically devaluation of the savings. All savings were devalued in ratio 50:1, all salaries in ratio 5:1 (small groups of people were exempted). All obligations of the state were abolished. Rationing of food on subsidized prices was stopped and work quotas increased. The reform was announced on May 31, 1953, at 22:00, after months of rumors and denials by the state representants.

Uprising in Plzeň

News of the reform spread quickly among night shift workers in a plant of Škoda Works in Plzeň who went on strike. Next day, at the morning, they decided to march to the city centre. First incident had occurred and a guard was killed. Around noon the mob attacked the city hall, started to build barricades on the streets, set fire on the building of State Security (StB) and destroyed symbols of communist party. Posters and slogans asking for the end of single party rule appeared. Some of local communists and uniformed policemen had joined or were forced to join the rebellion, on 2,000 students had joined too. Nearby Bory Prison was attacked and its prisoners released. Secret service members and their informers were lynched.

No central leadership of the uprising was established, all actions were chaotic and uncoordinated.

The government sent two police battalions (8,000 men) and an army unit (2,500 men, 80 tanks) to suppress the rebellion. During street fights about 40 rebels were killed, the insurgents managed to destroy 9 tanks and armored personnel carriers with petrol bombs. During afternoon, June 2, the last insurgents barricaded in factories gave up. Over 2,000 people were taken prisoners immediately and martial law was imposed. Leaders of the uprising were promptly tried and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, later one person was executed. Communists and militiamen who participated in the revolt have been treated especially harshly.

Other cities

The strikes had started in 19 large industrial plants in Bohemia and Moravia, in industrial cities as Kladno and Ostrava. These strikes didn't turn violent and ended within a week. Estimated, 360,000 workers went on strike, up to 250,000 of them had demonstrated in the streets.

Aftermath

Leaders of communist party decided to present the event as provoked by agents of imperialism and this stayed as official explanation until 1989. The party was ordered to purge members suspected from "social-democratism" or low loyalty. The army had stated that any future uprising will get suppressed immediately.

On June 8 the measures instituted on May 31 were recalled, except for the currency reform; also the prices were reduced somewhat.

This and other uprisings in Central Europe forced leaders of Soviet Union to exercise greater control over these countries.

No further violent uprising had occurred in Czechoslovakia. The Velvet Revolution (1989) that ended power of communist party was bloodless. Detailed knowledge of the 1953 events in Plzeň was and still is relatively low among Czech public. Shaken trust in stability of currency lasted for decades.

External links

* [http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/journal_of_cold_war_studies/v001/1.1kramer.html Description of the event within context of early post-Stalin succession struggle] (scroll to "The Plzen Rebellion" chapter)
* [http://www.zeit.de/2003/22/S_86_Vorspann_Pilsen?page=1 Description of the event by Czech emigré historian] (in German, in the Die Zeit daily) and [http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=15817206&postID=114899779164081597 shortened translation in Czech]