Korbel was appointed as Czechoslovakian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, and the family moved to Belgrade. Yugoslavia was governed by the Communist Party, and Korbel was concerned his daughter would be exposed to Marxism in a Yugoslav school. She was taught privately by a governess and later sent to the Prealpina Institut pour Jeunes Filles finishing school in Chexbres, on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. She learned to speak French while in Switzerland and changed her name from "Marie Jana" to "Madeleine". The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia took over the government in 1948, with support from the Soviet Union.