Communist regimes have almost without exception repudiated the dominant traditions of their countries' history and claimed to have established brand-new patterns of politics and society. At the same time they have sought to depict communism as a projection of the "revolutionary" and "progressive" elements of their national heritage and to incorporate these in the mythology of the new order. In most cases, as, for instance, Soviet Russia, the past thus rejected was autocratic and reactionary, and only selected radical traditions were regarded as the forerunners of communism. In Czechoslovakia, however, the dominant tradition was democratic, deeply rooted in the feelings of the people, and regarded positively by most Czechs and by many Slovaks. The communists, therefore, had to renounce the advanced and progressive features of the past, such as the legacy of Masaryk, since these were integral elements of the dominant tradition. In another respect, also, Czechoslovakia seemed to stand in stark contrast to other communist countries. The regimes have usually, willy-nilly, been affected and influenced, often unconsciously, by their own historical backgrounds, including those elements which were condemned. For a decade or more, Czechoslovak communism seemed to have been successful in erasing the dominant national traditions and to have escaped even their indirect influence. In the sixties, however, the forces of the past began once more to make themselves felt.
National Traditions and the Communists
The strongest traditions with which the Czechoslovak communists had to grapple were those that had evolved during the twenty years of the First Republic between the two World Wars. Created largely as a re
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