Studentské spolky na brněnské univerzitě v letech 1968–1969. Příspěvek k vybraným otázkám
Student associations at Brno University in 1968–1969. A contribution on selected issues

Summary/Abstract: This study focuses on the process of democratization and the subsequent onset of “normalization” at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (Masaryk University) in 1968– 1969. It focuses on the student associations which originated at the University in the spring of 1968 in the context of the collapse of the Czechoslovak Union of Youth. The development and operation of student associations are dealt with in the context of renewal of the original name of the University, renewal of the Faculty of Law, and the rehabilitation of the students and teachers excluded for political reasons after 1948. The discussion about these issues was only made possible after removing pressure caused by the political situation in Czechoslovakia, and student associations were among the first to participate in this initiation. The occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968 was followed by a gradual turnover. After the unsuccessful nationwide student strike in November 1968 and Jan Palach’s death, the student associations at the University backed off. The subsequent “consolidation” measures in 1969 had a significant impact on the rehabilitation process and adjusted the character of the renewed Faculty of Law according to the needs of the regime. Another consequence was the abolition of student associations. The study examines how students and members of student associations were punished for their previous activity and how these events were evaluated from the perspective of “normalization”.

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