On 20th August 1968, in the horrors of Operation Danube unfolded on the peoples of Czechoslovakia.

This Podcast is dedicated to all those to lost their lives in the 1968 Soviet led Warsaw Pact invasion. The Historian Prokop Tomek puts that figure at 137 but hopes and dreams of millions were crushed by the invasion.

Under the leadership of Alexander Dubček, the communist party in Czechoslovakia took a giant leap and started reforms that would attract the wrath of hardliners, both at home and in Moscow. But what were these reforms? Dubček and his entourage wanted to reform the party from within, they wanted to give socialism a human face.

Dubček captured the imagination of hungry democratic minds and even ended up of the cover of Time magazine.

He ushered a period of hope and the stifled populations could finally feel a breath of fresh air. The Prague Spring was born!

Sadly, the events in August 1968 brought the reforms to the grinding halt.

Czechoslovakia fought on and hard, in its own way, until the Berlin wall came crumbling down.

History, as we know it tends to glorify violence and death. We are guilty of not admiring the power of the powerless.

Music coursey: Wikicommons Music The Czech anthem, instrumental version. The Prague National Theatre Orchestra