Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Robbery by Decree
Having robbed the people of their freedom, Czechoslovakia's Communists last week got on with the job of robbing them of their money. The operation was neatly done—in three stages. First, Radio Prague boomed: "All state loans after 1945 and securities issued after 1945 are declared worthless." This meant that workers forced to put their savings into the Czech version of "E" bonds now hold worthless paper, a total of about $1,152,000,000.
The second stage was to raise prices. This is the way it was done: the money was revalued at the rate of five old crowns for one new; henceforth, a...
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