Photo of the Masin brothers, California, 1980s
In the first of a series of posts, Recording Voices & Documenting Memories
is showcasing the work of history students at Utah State University who used NCSML oral histories to write research papers for their Eastern Europe Since 1500
class. Topics covered ranged from gender studies to dissent and activism in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War era.For her paper, Tess Murray chose the theme of
Resistance Against Communism in Czechoslovakia:In this essay I will argue that all acts of resistance against the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia were effective to a degree. I will first discuss how the communists were able to seize power in Czechoslovakia. I will then examine what I believe to be the definition of resistance. I will then explore the effectiveness of the extraordinary acts of resistance performed by ordinary men such as Josef Masin, Radek Masin, and Karel Ruml.
When thinking of a seizure of power, people tend to think of it in terms of either a violent revolution or a foreign government imposing itself on the locals. In places such as Poland, the Red Army was in fact needed to enforce communism. This was not the case in Czechoslovakia. The Communist Party in Czechoslovakia came to power through their own efforts. The Communist party was one of the most organized political parties at the time and it had plenty of training and resources at its disposal. They were able to undermine any non-communist party. They did this by rewarding communist sympathizers within the other parties. Communism was also extremely popular because it was seen as a system that was the antithesis of the Nazi establishment. Communism became even more popular as it promoted the displacement of anyone seen as a Nazi collaborator. By 1947 communists had gained thirty-eight percent of the vote in Czechoslovakia. The vote reached roughly fifty percent when including the vote of social democrats. Many of the people in Czechoslovakia believed in the ideology of communism so deeply that they were willing to overlook its failures and inconsistencies. This is shown by a statement made by the Czechoslovakian communist supporter Rudolf Margolius. He said, “I cannot give up my conviction that my ideal is essentially sound and good, just as I cannot explain why it has failed---as it apparently has.” Communism did not come to power in Czechoslovakia by force, it was chosen by the people.
With every system there is going to be some form of resistance regardless of how popular it is. But what exactly defines effective resistance? I believe the words of Vaclav Havel describe resistance very well, “...individuals who were willing to live within the truth, even when things were at their worst.” This is the core of every form of resistance. Men and women are resisting when they are willing to realize the lie they are living in and call it what it really is. The mere act of being aware of the facade makes it crumble. By taking any action against a defective system it can be exposed as a fake. This leads to the system being further examined which in turn causes it to become more vulnerable to further resistance. In the case of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, any action that caused people to question the validity of the regime was effective resistance. While a single act on its own may have not brought about the downfall of communism, it was by little actions that the seeds of further resistance were sown. Essentially, effective resistance is anything that reveals a broken system for what it really is.
Josef Masin, Germany, 1964
A man who effectively resisted communism in Czechoslovakia was Josef Masin. He became a part of an underground resistance group at a young age. When stating why he did it he said, “We fought, we wanted to fight for something, for Czechoslovakia.” Josef helped obtain weapons that would assist them in leaving the country. He also helped his group steal 850,000 crowns. They disguised themselves in militia uniforms and car jacked a van that was carrying money from a factory that made tractor parts. They used this money to fund further acts of resistance. He successfully escaped from Czechoslovakia with four other men to Berlin, causing an extensive man hunt to occur. No matter how many times he was imprisoned or tortured he would still continue to look for little ways in which he could resist a regime that he did not agree with. While his actions within the group did not bring down communism itself it exposed the cracks in its foundation.
Radek Masin, circa 1960
Radek Masin also resisted against communism in Czechoslovakia. He was continually planning ways to sabotage the communist regime. He tried to get in the army to attack it from within. When that did not work he planned to make it to the west and receive training there. While in the midst of a plan to leave the country he was caught. This led to his arrest and eventual conviction in a farcical trial. He was imprisoned for over two years and forced to work in a uranium mine. Even while working in the camp as a prisoner he was plotting ways to steal explosives to use in resistance activities. He tried to get information by borrowing books on explosives from the prison library. He also participated in other acts of resistance such as burning large amounts of straw. He felt this was a triumph not only because they destroyed so much, but because of the psychological impact it had. While this was never reported by the press, this little act caused quite a stir as it got passed through the grapevine. The effect of this action was that it caused people to start talking. And when people start talking they start to question. He knew that it was the little stuff that worked. He himself said, “We did not have any grandiose plans, you know, like ‘Oh we are going to overthrow the regime.’ That was quite obvious that you cannot do it. You just have to do whatever you can do. Even if it is small stuff.” These little actions were effective because they put the people collaborating with the regime on edge. It was also effective because it started conversations that needed to be had about what was really happening within the Communist regime.
Karel Ruml, 1949
Another man that helped resist communism was Karel Ruml. He had come to a disturbing conclusion about communism. After seeing prisoners in a work camp he said, “It sort of dawned on me then, that in a communist society people who were not healthy and capable of physical labor for the state were not expected to live very long.” A small way in which Karel resisted was by delivering mail that contained microfilm to certain locations. He also sent and received coded messages via the phone or postcards. Karel also resisted by participating in an act later named by the western press as “the freedom train”. During this act his job was to protect the hand brake on a train. He was to fend off any person who tried to stop the train. They were able to hurtle this train and its passengers safely into Germany. There were students on the train that made the choice to not go back to Czechoslovakia. His act of resistance enabled them to have this choice. This act of resistance was effective because it was highly publicized. It gave people back in Czechoslovakia an example to follow. It may have made people who were blinded by the ideology of communism stop a moment and ponder what communism was leading people to do.
Effective resistance makes people examine the world around them. Every act that was performed by these men promoted people living in a lie to do just that. By making people begin to probe the limits of their world, it can be argued that those small acts of resistance were successful. All that is necessary for change to begin to happen is an honest conversation. When actions or words lead to this type of conversation they most certainly should be deemed effective. No these acts of resistance in and of themselves did not bring about the fall of communism. But they were most certainly a catalyst. This ultimately means that any single act or any single person can create an environment in which great and often seemingly impossible things can occur. Small measures may seem insignificant to some but just look at the impact these men had. The point being, if a person wants change, the first thing they must do is be candid with themselves about the world around them. This will allow them to begin living in truth. Change will surely follow.
