Abstract

The Nazi and Communist regimes in Czechoslovakia greatly impacted book publishing and distribution. During these periods, censorship was state controlled in an official sphere of government and was part of the processes of canon formation of literature considered officially valuable. Government constraints produced lists of libri prohibiti. In the 1950s the government established an explicit censorship office, the Main Board for Publishing Control (HSTD). By the 1960s HSTD was replaced by the Office for Publishing and Information, which prescribed guidelines for members of the publishing institutions. The post-1968 era in Czechoslovakia was known as a "Biafra of the Spirit" because of the government's attempts at normalization of cultural and social processes. In the 1970s and 1980s the government enforced control over the scheme of literary institutions. This was a centrally prepared publishing plan that included such institutions as paper supply and printing companies, the Ministry of Culture, publishing houses, and central warehouses. While the plan was central, each institution was relatively autonomous. By the late 1980s, many books were published outside of the official sphere. On 17 November 1989 the Cold War ended in Czechoslovakia, but previous changes in literary institutions and the economy had already contributed to the breakdown.

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