The Road to October 28, 1918. The Idea of Czechoslovak Statehood

Abstract

Czechoslovak statehood took shape gradually from the middle of the 19th century onwards, progressing from the thoughts of František Palacký and František Ladislav Rieger during the course of the Great War to take the specific form of a new state. It originated both on the battlefields, where the legions fought for a new independent state, and, first and foremost, in the diplomatic efforts of the foreign resistance movement of our leading politicians and future statesmen. It was Masaryk’s idea of a Czechoslovak state that came to fruition in October 1918. Masaryk pursued the creation of a liberal democratic state along the lines of the Swiss model, though with two ethnic nations, in which all citizens would have equal standing regardless of their nationality, race or religion.