Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was a Central European country founded on October 28, 1918, upon declaring independence from Austria-Hungary. Its existence was interrupted between 1939 and 1945, when Slovakia became independent and the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was established. Re-established after World War II, it became part of the Eastern Bloc from 1948 to 1989, with a planned economy and membership in Comecon and the Warsaw Pact. The Prague Spring liberalization in 1968 was ended by a Soviet-led invasion. In 1989, the Velvet Revolution peacefully deposed its communist government. Czechoslovakia dissolved on December 31, 1992, splitting into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.