The Youth Desire Organic Unity! Youth and Sports Associations in Czechoslovakia, 1945–48

In 1945, Czechoslovakia’s coalition government declared its intention to rebuild an independent republic on a radical new foundation of participatory democracy and national unity. Both political leaders and rank-and-file activists understood reconstruction as a task that was ideological and moral as well as physical. The uplift of the nation’s youth was among their most pressing priorities, and voluntary associations took up the call to transform young people into disciplined citizens capable of self-governance. These groups would cooperate within newly-formed umbrella organizations, the Union of Czech Youth and the National Athletic Committee, which would prevent the reemergence of the political and social divisions that characterized Czech associational life during the interwar period. By working together for physical fitness and moral improvement, voluntary associations could build national unity on a democratic basis. But their local leaders held different ideas about both national unity and moral education. Catholic activists increasingly insisted on their organizations’ independence. They denounced the Communists’ ideological influence on the Union of Czech Youth, which they characterized as foreign to the national character. The nation’s religious traditions, they argued, demanded that its young people be educated in a Christian spirit. Their Communist opponents denounced this position as a betrayal of national unity and a “totalitarian” violation of the principle of democratic cooperation among citizens of different beliefs. Communists used this argument to justify their seizure of power in February 1948, using voluntary associations like the Union of Czech Youth to extend their control over civic life at the local level. By examining local debates about the proper role of voluntary organizations in educating the youth for citizenship, this paper explores how ordinary Czechoslovaks sought to institutionalize the postwar ideals of unity and democracy — and how these ideals and institutions enabled the rise of Communist Party dictatorship.