21st August 1968: Echoes in Australia

On the night from the 20th to the 21st of August 1968, Warsaw Pact troops crossed the Czechoslovakian border and occupied the former Czechoslovakian Republic. This date marked the end of the brief period of liberalisation known as the "Prague Spring" and saw the beginning of the long, crushing period of communism known as "Normalisation". The events of 1968 led to a mass emigration of Czechs and Slovaks, many ending up in distant Australia. The occupation of Czechoslovakia on 21st of August 1968 shook the world and even stirred up protests and solidarity in the land down under, from government representatives and politicians, to students and the wider public.