Mírová propaganda v narativech studené války / Československá a španělská komunistická strana po únorovém pražském převratu (1948-1953)

This article examines how the concept of peace became a central instrument of propaganda within the communist world at the outset of the Cold War, focusing on its deployment by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Komunistick strana eskoslovenska, KS) after the 1948 communist coup, and by the Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España, PCE). Following the seizure of power in February 1948 - celebrated in official communist historiography as "Victorious February" (Vtzn nor) - the KS incorporated the language of peace into a broader strategy of legitimization that combined Marxist-Leninist ideology with narratives of national sovereignty and anti-imperialism. From this position, Czechoslovakia emerged as an important hub of the pro-Soviet peace campaign, formally launched in 1948 and later institutionalized as the World Peace Council. The article also analyses how the international communist movement, and the PCE in particular, interpreted and appropriated the Prague coup. For the Spanish communists, operating clandestinely under Franco's dictatorship, "Victorious February" served both as a symbolic reference and a practical resource, shaping their political discourse and reinforcing anti-imperialist narratives that linked U.S. support for Franco with the threat of a new world conflict. Through a wide array of initiatives, from peace-committee activism to transnational petition drives, both the KS and the PCE deployed peace propaganda to situate their struggles within a shared Cold War political culture. By examining the activities and discursive strategies of both communist parties between 1948 and 1953, the author shows how concepts such as peace, culture, and national sovereignty were mobilized to legitimize political projects in a polarized world.