The Czech lands became the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia under direct Nazi rule, while Slovakia ostensibly became independent.

At the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia was included in the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union.

Postwar Czechoslovakia was organized according to a program worked out by the KSČ (whose leaders were in exile in Moscow), and Edvard Beneš, representing the government-in-exile in London—these being the two most important groups seeking the reconstitution of the country.

This coalition was established as the "National Front" in April 1945, when a Czechoslovak government came into being in the city of Košice, recently liberated by Soviet troops.

The National Front was dominated by the socialist parties: KSČ (which held key ministerial offices), KSS and ČSSD.

The Communists viewed the National Front as a permanent entity, while the remaining parties considered it a temporary coalition until normal conditions would arise in Czechoslovakia.

Non-KSČ candidates were represented, but seats were allocated in accordance with a set quota that guaranteed a large Communist majority.