People living in Czechoslovakia during the 1960's experienced many problems that affected their lives in various ways. For example, in 1962-63 poor planning on the part of the Soviet Union caused living standards, food, and supplies to decline. Although reforms were put in place such as decentralization of the economic system, these reforms only enticed the Czechoslovaks to want more reforms. By the late 1960's, there were open challenges to the one-party state, which was …showed first 75 words of 1750 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1750 total… one cared what Prague was going through (pg. 68). Finally, Kundera showed that the West seemed unaware of what was really going on in the Soviet dominated East. Perhaps they were interested in the first few days of the invasion but as time went on, they became less and less interested. The West commended the Czechoslovaks for standing up against the monstrous Soviet Union however; they did not dare offer any help in their struggle