From Repression to Freedom: Czech-Canadians Recall Fleeing 1968 Communist Invasion

After the ‘Prague Spring’ movement prompted a Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, Canada resettled thousands of refugees

Czechoslovakians carry their national flag past a burning tank in Prague during the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Central Intelligence Agency/Public Domain

Josef Jurkovic’s memories of the night 50 years ago when military tanks rolled into his hometown are as clear as the Bohemian crystal for which his native country—Czechoslovakia at the time but now the Czech Republic—is world-famous.

Now 69 and a proud Canadian living in Ottawa, Jurkovic’s face betrays no emotion as he recalls the details of events on Aug. 21, 1968, when tanks and soldiers from the Warsaw Pact countries entered Hradec Kralov, about 80 km north of Prague.