[BANNED BOOK ON THE 1968 INVASION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA] Sedm pražských dnů, 21.-27. Srpen 1968. Dokumentace. Studijní materiál – pouze pro vnitřní potřebu [Seven days in Prague, August 21 to 27, 1968. A documentation. Material for study purposes – for internal use].

[Czech Republic]: Historický ústav ČSAV, 1968. A4, loosely inserted mimeographed typescript text to rectos and versos, in black paper folder, as issued; [2], III, 464 pp. Very good. Item #P4603

Apparently a samizdat reproduction of the banned documentation of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, which put a sudden end to the Prague Spring, a period of political and cultural liberalization in the mid-1960s. The arrival of Russian troops on tanks on August 21, 1968 heralded the onset of the so-called Normalization period, presided over by Gustáv Husák, and ended the political and cultural liberalization in the mid to late 1960s. Nearly 150 Czech citizens were killed during the invasion, and many more wounded during protests. The response of the public was one of non-violent, but active resistance: soldiers were misdirected, street signs were removed, food and water were denied the occupants, and anti-Soviet posters and slogans appeared overnight.

Known as the "Black Book", this compilation was published semi-legally, and at considerable risk, only a month after the invasion. To defend themselves against repercussions, the publishers used the printed label “Studijní materiál – pouze pro vnitřní potřebu” (“Study materials – only for internal use”). Aside from detailed timelines of the memorable days, eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles, including translations from foreign press, and transcriptions of official Soviet and Czechoslovak documents, the original publication also contained dozens of photographs taken during the invasion, which are not included in this samizdat reproduction. The book was distributed in samizdat copies and quickly forwarded abroad: an English version, edited by Robert Littell, was published in 1969 with the title The Czech Black Book.

The reproduction consists of reproduced typescript, to rectos and versos, on A4-size leaves, in an unlabeled black card folder.

KVK, OCLC show a single samizdat copy (xeroxed typescript) at the British Library, and the destroyed first edition (1968) is held at Bern, IISG, Toronto, Ohio State, NYPL, the Swedish National Library and Centre de recherche sur l'histoire de l'Europe Centrale contemporaine (CRHECC).

Price: €450.00

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