[[First Czechoslovak Republic|First]] (1918–1938), [[Second Czechoslovak Republic|Second]] (1938–1939) and Post-War Czechoslovak Republic (1945–1960)
Three variants of the coat of arms of Czechoslovakia were adopted in 1920 along with the
Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920. After the creation of the
Second Czechoslovak Republic in 1938 all versions legally remained official, although state power and the government chiefly used the middle version, to emphasize the new autonomous federal regime and abandonment of the concept of
Czechoslovakism. The middle arms were effectively put out of use when Germany occupied Bohemia and Moravia and an independent Slovakia were established. When Czechoslovakia was re-established in 1945 at the end of the Second World War, all three versions were re-established, but the lesser coat of arms became the primarily used version. The middle version was not used afterwards. The smaller arms were in essence the arms of
Bohemia (
Čechy) superimposed with the arms of
Slovakia (
Slovensko). The Slovak arms should not be seen as a
Herzschild but as a shield carried by the Bohemian lion in the larger motif . It is thus not to be seen as an
inescutcheon taking up the honorary heart position in the arms. As can be seen in the image, it is also not placed in the visual centre of the arms . The middle arms on the other hand, had one shield in the heart position, the arms of Bohemia. The main shield also held the arms of Slovakia,
Carpathian Ruthenia,
Moravia, and
Silesia. The greater arms consisted of the same fields as in the middle arms completed with three more arms: the arms of the region of
Těšín Silesia and the historical duchies of
Opava and
Ratibor. The greater arms also had two lions as
supporters and the national motto. In the region of Slovakia the motto was changed to the Slovak version:
Pravda víťazí. in all other regions including Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia and Subcarpathian Rus' the Czech version was used. ==
Occupied Czechoslovakia (1938–1945) ==