13-2 Eastern Europe

Poland

• 1980 – Lech Walesa organizes a workers union, Solidarity

– Supported by the church and the workers

• 1988 – after years of demonstrations and growing support for Solidarity, the government holds free elections; communism ends

• 1990 – Walesa becomes the president

• Problems: it was hard switching from communism to a free market economy

Czechoslovakia

• After Gorbachev takes over, the reformers took the opportunity to push for changes

• 1988-1989 – mass demonstrations

• December 1989 – communist gov’t collapses, Vaclav Havel becomes president, country becomes democratic

• Problem: 2 different ethnic groups – Czechs and Slavs

• Solution: they peacefully split the country into 2: Czech Republic and Slovakia

Romania

• Communist leader = Nicolae Ceausecu

– Harsh ruler, used secret police to remove problems

– People were miserable: lack of food, rationing, entire villages destroyed

• Dec 1989 – secret police murdered thousands of peaceful demonstrators

– The army protests this horror

• Ceausecu and his wife were arrested and executed

• New government was set up

Germany

• Erich Honecker – leader of East Germany

– Harsh leader; used secret police to keep order

• 1989 – demonstrations broke out and the government opens the border between east and west

– People on both sides begin tearing down the wall

• 1990 – first free elections in E Germany led to unification with the west

• 10/3/90 – Reunification of Germany

Yugoslavia

• 1980’s – government consisted of representatives from each of the 8 republics/provinces (Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo)

• They all wanted independence, but the leader of the republic of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, didn’t want to let them

– Why? Most of Yugo was serbian, and all of the other republics had serbian minorities, so he wanted to keep all the serbs together in one state

• 1991 – Slovenia & Croatia declare independence, and Milosevic attack Croatia, and the serbs within Croatia helped them

• 1992 – Serbs attack Bosnia-H

– Serbs start killing or getting rid of all Muslims in Bosnia

• 1995 – Bosnian and Croatian forces fight back, with help from the US

• Serbs are forced to sign an peace treaty

– Bosnia is split, NATO troops are sent to monitor

Kosovo

• A province in Yugoslavia, given autonomy (they are allowed to have their own government)

– The people were Albanians who kept their own language and culture

• 1989 – Milosevic takes away autonomy

• Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is formed to fight Serbian rule in Kosovo

• Serbians retaliate by massacring the Albanians

• 1999 – Albanians finally regain autonomy

• 2000 – Milosevic is kicked out of power and put on trial for crimes against humanity

• 2002 – Yugoslavia becomes Serbia and Montenegro