Memory of anti-communist resistance in the Сzech Republic: institutions, policy, and policy, and public controversies

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2026.162.23

Abstract

Introduction: One of the most contested issues is the anti-communist resistance, known in Czech historiography as the “third resistance movement.” The complexity of this phenomenon stems both from the theoretical ambiguity of the concept of “resistance” within historical scholarship and from its polarized perception in Czech society, as the resistance of 1948–1989 was directed against fellow citizens rather than foreign occupiers. Examining the process through which the anti-communist resistance was formally recognized in the Czech Republic makes it possible to trace how legal mechanisms, memory institutions, civic initiatives, and political elites interact in shaping a new national narrative. More broadly, the Czech case offers an important point of reference for other post-totalitarian states undergoing reassessment of authoritarian regimes and the formation of a pluralistic memory culture.

Aim and objectives: The aim of the study is to analyse the development, content, and institutionalization of the concept of the third resistance movement within the politics of historical memory in Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic between 1989 and 2011, with special attention to the interplay of historical, political, and discursive dimensions. To achieve this aim, the article addresses the following tasks: outlining the historical and terminological context; analysing the evolution of approaches to the concept of resistance; characterizing the legislative break with the communist past; examining public discourse and civic initiatives of 1989–1993; identifying the political prerequisites for the creation of ÚSTR and ABS; and analysing parliamentary debates on Act No. 262/2011 Sb.

Methods: The study employs a combination of historical, discursive, and institutional analysis. The source base includes legislative acts of Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic (1989–2011), parliamentary transcripts, political party documents, materials of civic organizations (KPVČ, KAN, ISKP), and independent media publications. Discourse analysis is applied to reconstruct rhetorical strategies used to legitimize or contest the third resistance in parliamentary debates.

Results: The research demonstrates that the formation of the concept of the third resistance movement resulted from several interrelated processes: the revision of scholarly approaches to resistance; public demand for decommunization and the reassessment of the communist narrative; human rights activities of those persecuted between 1948 and 1989; and the gradual transfer of the topic from civic activism into the domain of political decision-making. Political prisoners, student organizations, and dissident intellectuals played a key role in shaping the discourse of the 1990s, interacting with emerging legal mechanisms of decommunization and the first attempts to codify anti-communist resistance. The establishment of ÚSTR and ABS provided the archival and analytical infrastructure necessary for the political dissemination and subsequent legal consolidation of the concept.

Conclusions: Analysis of the parliamentary readings of Act No. 262/2011 Sb. and the rhetoric of its supporters and opponents shows that, despite the formal legal recognition of the third resistance movement, its interpretation remains deeply contested. Debates over the boundaries of resistance, the moral and legal qualification of violent acts, and the alleged politicization of historical memory indicate the absence of a broad societal consensus on the anti-communist resistance in the Czech Republic.