1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état
1948 coup in Czechoslovakia
In late February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia through a coup d'état. It marked the beginning of four decades of the party's rule in the country.
The KSČ enjoyed a period of popularity following the reestablishment of pre-war Czechoslovakia. After a successful performance during the 1946 parliamentary election, party leader Klement Gottwald became prime minister of a coalition government at the behest of President Edvard Beneš. By summer 1947, however, the KSČ's popularity had significantly dwindled, and the party was expected to be soundly defeated in the May 1948 elections. This, along with the electoral failures of the French and Italian communist parties, prompted Joseph Stalin to harden his approach and order Gottwald to seize power.
On 21 February 1948, twelve non-Communist ministers resigned in protest. They objected to Gottwald's refusal to stop packing the police with Communists, and believed that Gottwald would give way. Instead, he threatened a general strike unless Beneš appointed a Communist-dominated government. Armed Communist militia and police took over Prague and mass demonstrations were mounted.
“1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état” enters the record as 1948 coup in Czechoslovakia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Czechoslovak, coup and d'état can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Czechoslovak, coup and d'état provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1137957. The Library of Congress control number is sh85035318. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1948, 1946 and 1947.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état primary sources, 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état archive and Czechoslovak research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.