Collapse of the Eastern Bloc
Stories of revolution.
Tear Down This Wall
TASK 1: Watch the famous R. Reagan speech at
the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, June 12, 1987.
•
•
•
•
How did he evaluate Gorbachev’s policies?
What symbolic gesture did he suggest?
What suggestion to ensure peace did he make?
How did he explain Soviet willingness to reenter
negotiations?
to the video
Problems of the Bloc
‘…the communist party leaderships refused to admit
that the working class lived in more squalid
conditions, breathing in more damaged air and
drinking more toxic water, than western working
classes…the communist record on health, education,
housing and a range of other social services has been
atrocious…’
GLENNY, Misha. BBC correspondent in Eastern Europe, 1985
TASK 2: How does this quote explain the growing
rebeliousnes and unrest in Eastern Europe. Compare
with Animal Farm.
to the
worksheet
Navigation
Click on your chosen country to continue.
Poland
East
Germany
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Bulgaria
Romania
TASK 3: In which country did the process begin?
Why were the communist leaders uneasy about
glasnost and perestroika.
The End
Poland
REVISION TASK: When did the Poles last protest against
the system? What was its outcome?
TASK 1: Watch the video. How different was the
situation in Poland to the other communist countries?
Which steps were taken to dismantle the regime?
to the video
TASK 2: Find out background information about the
leaders.
to Walesa
profile
to Mazoviecky
profile
NEXT
Poland Outline
• economic hardship, rising prices, strikes, unrest
• Feb 1989 the government and opposition talks
• April 1989 reforms:
– Solidarity allowed to become a political party
– 35% of seats open to election, Senate free elections
• June 1989 election Solidarity 92 out of 100
Senators
• Tadeusz Mazoviecky prime minister, mixed gov.
• Dec 1990 free elections, Lech Walesa president
BACK
Hungary
REVISION TASK: When did the Hungarians last protest
against the system? What was its outcome?
• living standards declining, poor management
• 1985 decentralization – company councils, elected
works managers
• 1988 Kadar called off, progressives in lead
• 1989 May dismantling of border fence began
• 1989 Sep border with Austria opened
• March 1990 free elections
to the video Pan-European
picnic Aug 1989
BACK
East Germany - Refugees
REVISION TASK: When did the East Germans last
protest against the system? What was its outcome?
Waves of Emigration:
• through West German embassies Berlin, Warsaw,
Budapest
• Aug 1989 Pan-European Picnic, Hungary, Szopron
• Aug-Nov 1989 Prague West German Embassy –
special trains to FRG – about 20,000 refugees
to the Prague
FRG embassy
video
to the train
Prague - FRG
video
NEXT
The Wall Comes Down
• Oct 7, 1989 40th anniversary of GDR celebration in
Leipzig turned into an anti-communist revolt
• E. Honecker replaced by Egon Krenz, demonstrations
continue
to the report
Nov 9
• Nov 9, 1989 The Wall Opened
Watch the video. What led to the fall of the wall?
to the video
explanation
• May 1990 free elections
• Oct 3, 1990 Germany formally reunited
BACK
Czechoslovakia
REVISION TASK: When did the Czechs last protest
against the system? What was its outcome?
• Nov 17, 1989 student demonstration brutally
suppressed by the police
• Student strike, mass demonstrations
• Nov 27, general strike
• Dec 10, new government - Marian Čalfa
• Dec 29 Václav Havel elected president
• June 1990 free elections
BACK
Bulgaria
• Todor Zhivkov in power since 1954
• Refused all reforms, pressure from Gorbachev
• Dec 1989 the Politburo led by the progressive
communists removed Zhivkov
• June 1990 free elections held
• Bulgarian Socialist Party (former communist
party) won a comfortable majority
BACK
Romania
TASK: Watch the video. Why were the events in
Romania so dramatic?
to the video
explanation
• Nicolae Ceaucescu leader since 1965
• Dec 17, Timisoara demonstration brutally
suppressed (more than 70 killed)
• Dec 21 Bucharest revolution, fights, Ceausescu
killed
• May 1990 presidential election – Ion Iliescu
BACK