Video: 'The Velvet Revolution and Breakup of Czechoslovakia - History Matters (Short Animated Documentary)'

(Friday, January 1, 1993, midnight Central European Time) — Against the wishes of many of its 15 million citizens, Czechoslovakia today split into two countries: Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

A multi-ethnic nation born at the end of World War I in the glow of pan-Slavic brotherhood, Czechoslovakia survived dismemberment by the Nazis and more than four decades of Communist rule only to fall apart after just three years of democracy.

Czechoslovakia’s breakup, though peacefully accomplished, adds new potential trouble spots to a Central Europe already convulsed by nationalism. While the Czech Republic’s 10.3 million people are almost entirely composed of Czechs, Slovakia’s population of 5.2 million includes nearly 600,000 ethnic Hungarians who already feel anxieties about the new Government.

The split became effective at midnight and was cheered in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, by bonfires and joyous speeches in the main square.

“Two states have been established,” Vladimir Meciar, Prime Minister of Slovakia, said on Thursday. “Living together in one state is over. Living together in two states continues.”

There was no similar ceremony or celebration in Prague, which was for 74 years the federal capital.

The Czechoslovak flag, which the Czech Republic has adopted as its own, remained atop Government buildings as the clocks tolled midnight. Czechoslovakia’s federal television, which became Czech Television at midnight, marked the occasion by playing the Czechoslovak national anthem, which has verses in both the Czech and Slovak languages, one last time.

Shortly after midnight, it played the anthem of the new Czech Republic, which has only the Czech verses.