One can say without any doubt that the Czechoslovak Communistic Party (KSC - Komunistická Strana Ceskoslovenska) was Czechoslovakia's supreme ruling force. It influenced everything in Czechoslovakia from national institutions to social life.

When the party seized the power in the year of 1948 when the democratic politicians resigned in hope of a new election, its power has been supreme and unchallenged. They themselves called the Coup in February in 1948 the "Victorious February". The only organ or organization that managed to control the CPCz's policies was the CPSU the Communistic Party of the Soviet Union. According to the book "Czechoslovakia" by David W. Paul published by Westview Press in 1981, the Party thoroughly dominated the National Front, played the most important role in policymaking of all political levels and closely watched over the attitudes of the people and the society.

The Party included during its peak period in 1948 over 10% of the Czechoslovak citizens. But during the purges of the party in the 1950s, over 100 000 members were expelled. Everybody holding an official post was required to have a party membership, ranging from principals of elementary schools to medical doctors. If your record stated that you or someone in your family had been expelled from the Party or been denied a Party membership, you could not do anything - not even apply to university.

The ground level in the CPCz organization were the Party Cells, these were organized at workplaces and in small communities. Every cell elected a committee that later elected their own chairman. The chairman was responsible for the party-related work of the cell. Each level above the basic Party Cell had members elected from the levels below. Again at a new level a new committee was elected, the committee elects a bureau as executive organ and a secretariat whose main task was to keep records and administer membership policies. The secretariat had one more important task and it was to oversee the nomination of new candidates for leadership positions.

There were actually two different communist organisations in the country. During W W II, the Slovaks had created their own communist party. After the merge of the two countries into Czechoslovakia the communistic organizations worked closely together but the Slovaks insisted on keeping a separate organizations.

Schematic Picture of the organization of the CPCz: