AP World History POD #24 – Europe Clings to Relevance Revolutions of 1989
Class Discussion Questions McKay- “The Decline of Communism in Eastern Europe”, pp McKay- “The Revolutions of 1989”, pp
What events led to the break of Poland from the Soviet Bloc? Solidarity - Poland had historically been an unruly satellite / Communists failed to monopolize society/ No collectivization of the peasants / Roman Catholic Church remained strong / Poor management of economy Cardinal Karol Wojtyla - Archbishop of Cracow / Elected Pope in Died April 2005 (Pope John Paul II) / Returned to Poland in June 1979 preaching a message of love of Christ and country and the “inalienable rights of man” / A staunch anti-communist Lech Walesa - led the solidarity movement / August ,000 shipyard workers went on strike demanding the right to form free trade unions, freedom of speech, release of political prisoners and economic reforms / Gdansk Agreement- government gave in to demands after 18 days / Intellectuals and the Catholic Church joined the solidarity movement / Fearing a Soviet response under the Brezhnev Doctrine solidarity refused to use force to challenge the Communist monopoly of political power
What events led to the break of Poland from the Soviet Bloc? December Communist leader General Jaruzelski declared martial law Solidarity reemerged from the underground in the late 1980s and Lech Walesa was elected President 1988 / Solidarity reemerged / Labor unrest and popular refusal to cooperate with the military government brought the nation to the verge of economic collapse / June free elections / Lech Walesa and Solidarity joined with minor procommunist parties to form a new government
What made Mikhail Gorbachev different from previous Soviet leaders? reformer who rose through the party ranks to General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party he was too young to be familiar or associated with the Stalinist era his reforms brought political and cultural liberalization to the Soviet Union and permitted democracy and national self-determination in the eastern satellites believed in communism but realized the system was failing to keep up with the west- the Soviet Union’s status as a superpower was fading
What was perestroika and what effect did it have on the Soviet Union? Perestroika- “economic restructuring” he supported and easing of price controls, advocated independence for state enterprises and allowed the creation of profit seeking cooperatives to provide personal services for consumers Effect- the economy stalled in the transition and widespread consumer dissatisfaction posed a threat to Gorbachev’s leadership
What was glasnost and what effect did it have on the Soviet Union? Glasnost- “openness”- campaign to tell it like it is- censorship, party conformity was relaxed and open public discourse was allowed Effect- this reform went further than desired and bordered on free speech, free expression, and cultural revolution
What was democratization and what effect did it have on the Soviet Union? Democratization- to counter government corruption free elections were held in April 1989 Effect- the Communist Party remained in power, but a minority of critical independents were elected- a demand fro greater autonomy and national independence by ethnic minorities began (especially in the Baltic States)
What new foreign policy initiatives did Gorbachev enact? Foreign Affairs- he withdrew troops from Afghanistan and sought to ease east- west tensions Effect- he halted the arms race with the United States, he abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine and respected the choice of the people in Eastern Europe
How and why did the communist dominoes of Eastern Europe fall? Gorbachev reforms spiraled out of control A series of largely peaceful resolutions occurred in Eastern Europe The revolutions in Eastern Europe spread to the Soviet Union leading to its collapse
How did popular revolution take place in Hungary? Communist Party agreed to hold free elections in 1990 Opened the border with East Germany- “vacationers” began to arrive East Germany to Hungary to Austria to West Germany This did not gather the communists the hoped for support to win in the elections
How did popular revolution take place in Czechoslovakia? December Velvet Revolution (10 days) Popular demonstrations led by students / intellectuals The Communists were forced to share power and then resign The Czechoslovakia assembly elected the dissident playwright Vaclav Havel president
How did popular revolution take place in Romania? the ruthless dictator Nicolae Caeusescu responded to popular demonstrations with a police / military crackdown this forced people to embrace the classical armed revolution the people defeated the dictator- captured him and executed him and his wife
How did popular revolution take place in East Germany? with the opening of Hungary thousands poured into the west in November 1989 the Berlin Wall was open- the people celebrated by tearing down the wall they symbol of the Iron Curtain / Cold War was ripped down Communist leaders were removed and free elections were held The issue of East / West German unification would need to be addressed in the future