Nineteen-sixty-eight has become a political myth that won’t go away. The debate on its interpretation continues and continues. The year marks a historical break, comparable to the beginning of the cold war or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Making this connection may seem to be an exaggeration at first glance, but the cultural and political upheavals that resulted from “1968” have been truly revolutionary.

It is true that the protest movement of that year did not lead to a dramatic overturn of the political order like the French or Russian revolutions. The extent of violence and counter-violence of 1968 is not comparable to the excesses of past wars and civil wars. It was the Prague Spring—an event that is often ignored when we speak of 1968—that came closest to being the revolutionary overthrow of a regime. A peaceful revolution began in Czechoslovakia, and it shook “really-existing socialism” to its foundations. The revolution was destroyed by the tanks of the Warsaw Pact. The tragic gravity...

» Want to continue? Login below:

top  |  print  |  email