AllMovie

This French documentary about Czechoslovakia covers the period following World War II, beginning with the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, up to 1970.The narration and historical commentary is by Nanterre University professor Kostas Papaioannou. The famous "defenestration of Prague" is one of the many events discussed. The son of Masaryk, the founder of Czechoslovakia, was forced to make concessions transforming Czechoslovakia into a communist state and in retaliation, was thrown out of the window of a government building in Prague. The joy of liberation from the Germans was swiftly followed by the miseries of Soviet occupation and later Soviet domination. This documentary abounds in wry visual ironies, including its final shot of General Dubcek.