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In the year 1989, something unexpected happened. It was 17th November and people were marching through the streets of Prague, remembering a student demonstration against Nazis that took place in November 1939. A quiet event soon turned into an open anti-communist demonstration. The police intervened and many people, mostly students, were wounded. The movement was spreading over the whole country. It continued for another week, during which people demanded justice and democracy – and exactly this was given to them. Normalization president Gustav Husak was forced to resign and the Czech Communist Party was suddenly open to discussion. But more than 750 000 people in the streets of Prague had enough of discussing.
Two political groups, OF (Civic Forum) led by Václav Havel and Slovak VPN (Public Against Violence) victoriously entered the government and became the leading parties. Václav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia in December 1989. The Velvet Revolution is one of the most important events in the world’s history – it followed the trend of dealing with communism, but it overthrew the regime peacefully. To understand the Velvet Revolution is to understand Czech mentality.