Student protests in 1968: Comparison of Czechoslovakia and West Germany

The thesis is based on comparison of the student protest movement of 1968 in Czechoslovakia and West Germany. The main aim of the thesis is to compare the same and different elements of two student movements with emphasis on students' demands, the way and means of their revolts and the different ideological approaches of the two movements which led to their mutual misunderstanding. The author describes movements in both countries preceding historical events which lead to the protests. The thesis also deals with student protests in other countries in the context of events in West Germany and Czechoslovakia. It then compares the course, demands and the way of student protests in both countries. The main difference between student movements in Czechoslovakia and West Germany was the way of revolt. While Czechoslovak students chose the official way to change the establishment, the protest movement in Germany was rather anti-systemic. Students in both states also came out of different conditions while students in the CSSR protested against a material shortage, resistance in Germany was based on criticism of material surplus. In both countries, however, the same phenomenon of generational conflict occurred. Both movements responded to the international events and protest movements in other countries...