„Zlatý poklad” Fondu republiky z roku 1968
The „goldentreasure“ of the 1968 fund of the republic

Summary/Abstract: In the course of the Prague Spring of 1968, some state enterprises came up with an idea of a national collection to the so-called Fund of the Republic. The collection was intended to support the effort of economic reformers to improve Czechoslovakia’s economic situation. The idea met with a broad response across all strata of society, without anybody drawing too much attention to the fact that it was the ruling regime that had brought the economy to ruins. At the turn of July and August 1968, a collection of money and gold was launched, together with voluntary working shifts. Those who could not contribute money, gold or work, offered, e.g. their own blood for medical purposes. Soon the slogan Every Citizen to Contribute at Least 1 Gram of Gold to the Golden Treasure of the Republic spread all over the country. Family jewels, pieces of noble metals spared after dental surgeries, or their equivalent in the form of money or things were being sent to the Czechoslovak State Bank or other authorized institutions. More than 190 million Czechoslovak crowns and 61kg of gold were collected before the start of the occupation. However, the collection did not end up with the occupation, only its sources started to dry out. In spite of this, over 278 million crowns and more than 86kg of gold were raised before July 1969. It was generally believed that the „treasure“ had been captured by Soviet occupiers, but in reality the collection stayed in the Czechoslovak State Bank until the revolution of November 1989.

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