A sad anniversary of the 1968 Soviet occupation of former Czechoslovakia that spurred our two-generation immigration saga as portrayed in Greenwich Meridian Memoir.

Photos except for the feature map are a courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic.

Feature photo of old borders of Czechoslovakia

The country separated into Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 in what is often called the Velvet Divorce. There was no referendum, only a parliamentary vote in each republic. However, the opinion polls at the time showed that most citizens preferred to keep the federation. Negotiations between Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar in 1992 led to the decision to split.