Česká pošta is a state enterprise whose history the company's official website traces back to the postal administration of Czechoslovakia, established at the turn of October and November 1918. Since then the organization of the post has changed several times according to political conditions. [1]
The First Republic
The creation of an independent state brought changes in the management of postal operations. On 13 November 1918 the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs became the basis of the Czechoslovak postal administration, and postal, telegraph, telephone and radio communication operations came under it. A separate department for fields that had previously belonged to the Austrian Ministry of Commerce was meant to emphasize their growing importance and to improve the quality of services. From the beginning the ministry also acted as an entrepreneur. The growing share of business activity led to the separation of the state enterprise Československá pošta, which was established on 1 January 1925 and operated under rules similar to those that applied in private firms. The reform soon produced favourable results, which were disrupted only by the global economic crisis. [1]
The Protectorate
The Munich Agreement, the cession of the border territories to Germany and the creation of the Second Republic had a serious effect on the development of the post. On 13 October 1938 the ministry's competence in Slovak matters passed to the Minister of Transport for Slovakia in Bratislava, and on 4 November 1938 the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs was merged with the Ministry of Railways into the Ministry of Transport. As of 1 January 1939, the enterprises Československé státní dráhy and Československá pošta were merged for the Czech and Moravian-Silesian Land into a single enterprise called Československé dráhy a pošty v zemích českých. After the occupation of the rest of the republic on 15 March 1939, the post was subordinated to German interests economically, politically and militarily. The postal agenda remained under the competence of the Protectorate Ministry of Transport until November 1942, when it passed to the newly established Ministry of Transport and Technology. [1]
After 1945
Toward the end of the war, a Ministry of Posts was created within the Košice government, which more or less continued the prewar Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. In Slovakia a board of commissioners for posts, poverenictvo pošt, was created at the same time, with no counterpart in the Czech lands. This arrangement lasted until 1960, when it was abolished as part of constitutional changes. Shortly after the liberation the state enterprise Československá pošta was also restored, but its existence was not long. [1]
February 1948 became a decisive milestone. On 1 July 1949 the state enterprise Československá pošta was nationalized, and a reorganization of the Ministry of Posts followed, which, according to the company's history, was only a temporary solution. [1]