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| This is the communist government in disguise. It is not like a genuine coalition in which two parties come together to attempt to gain control over the government. A Monolithic regime is when the communists finally agree to join the other and form one large party. Hungary and Poland have Bogus coalitions and Czechoslovakia does not. There was a bogus coalition at play in Poland where the government in exile set up their own coalition with 16 out of 21 members being from the communist party. |
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| If you were charged with Titoism you were believeing in doing things that would better your country and seemed to be defiant towards Moscow and didn't care what Stalin proposed. One of Stalin's officials described Titoism as a disease that they had to get rid of it before the entire area was infected. Stalin got rid of Titoism by cleansing or purging these "guilty" government officials. Some of the more famous people to be charged with Titoism are Raijk, Kadar, Nagy, and Cardinal Mindzenty. Hungary had about 200,000 victims of this purging of which 3,000 were killed. In Czechoslovakia 550,000 were purged and 370,000 in Poland. |
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| This event occured at Warsaw University in 1968. Students in the theater department chose "four fathers eve" as their annual play production. The play is about a man who gets visited by a spirit that makes the man feel guilty for not participating in the November Insurrection. The play has anti-Russian remarks and the audience goes crazy when they are stated. On the third day of the play being shown the students are not allowed in the building to perform and a riot breaks out. Once the riot is put down, Moczar, the minister of the interior, uses the example of why Gomulka is unfit to rule. Shortly after Moczar begins a purge of University faculty. |
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| After the Hungarian revolution there were a lot of arrests, executions, and demotions. Kadar knew his party had no credibility and decided to launch a drastic program known as the "Big Erasure". This program allowed Hungarians that fled the country to return and be granted amnesty along with the ones that had been arrested. Before the movement, total loyalty to the government was necessary. Kadar flipped this and said that if you aren't openly against the government then support us, but if you are openly against us to not form underground resistance movements. |
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| The Action Program was the Czech government proposal to reform Czechoslovakia. This prgram proposed decentralization of the party and government. Slovak leaders like Dubcek wanted the Slovaks to be made equal partners in government. They campe up with a compromise that included one federal government, both sieds with a seprate parliament and cabinets to run internal affairs, and anthing including nation policy would be left up to the federal government. The main goal of this movement was to make the Slovaks feel like they had some control of their country. |
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| In 1968, staff members at the Klement Gottwald Military Academy began to discuss the need for an independent national defense strategy for Czechoslovakia outside of the commitments they had to the Warsaw pact. The idea of an independent military policy angered the Soviets and they launched a preemptive invasion to solve the problem. |
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| KOR stands for movement of defense workers. This movement started in response to the July days when many Polish officials were arrested. The movement attempted to raise funds for the best Western defense lawyers and help aid the families of those who had been arrested. It's leaders made sure they were well known and involved with the workers. This was the first time the intellectuals and workers came together in an organized fashion. |
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| Socialism with a Human Face |
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| In 1968, Dubcek becomes the head of the party in Czechoslovakia and the government announces "Socialism with a Human Face." This idea loosens censorship on the people of Czechoslovakia. It is now their own responsibility to watch what they say. This leads to many publications and public debates. Dubcek also encourages constructive criticism. This new plan doesn't sit well with the Soviets and they send in forces to occupy the country. |
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| Post Prague spring, there were two organized forms of resistance to the communist government, one of which was called Charter 77. This document was created by Czechoslovakian writers and intellectuals in order to recognize basic human rights. Those who signed this document pledged to report all violations of human and civil rights. Havel was the leader of this resistance group. |
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| There are three elements that a non-communism governments needs to have, the most important element being a civil society. There are three levels of society. Private society is the average population. Public society is the government. Civil society lies between the two. This society acts as a buffer between the two and consists of organizations that people can join to make people more comfortable and express a voice in government decisions. |
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| This was a meeting between Solidarity and the current Polish Government. The style of the table used for the meeting was the first disagreement. Solidarity did not want to sit at a square table with opposing groups on each side, they wanted to round table. Solidarity wanted a Roman Catholic Church, a voice in the economic situation, and a part in the government. They also propsed to bring the senate back that was once abolished. They then establish that there will be a vote. In the lower house the communists will represent 65% and the other 35% can be a person from any other party. Before the elections, Solidarity endures a rigorous campaign. They hire campaign experts from Great Britain and France. When it comes time to vote, Solidarity wins 99 of the 100 Senate seats and they get all 35% of the lower house positions, the other 65% are communist. During the opening processions the 65% of the communist leaders pledge their loyalty to Solidarity. They can now form their government. |
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Leader of the smallholders party which was primarily supported by peasants and landowners. Nagy leaves the country to discuss the Marshall plan despite Stalin urging
not to go. Nagy is only given an exit visa when he leaves, so he is not allowed to return. When he finally returns years later he gains popularity and becomes Prime Minister. He then pulls Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact which angers the Soviets. When the revolution breaks out in Budapest the Soviets come to suppress the revolution. Nagy backed the revolutionaries and when the soviet troops were sent in to suppress the revolution Nagy was arrested and put to death. |
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| The New Economic Mechanism (NEM) was a major economic reform initiated by the Kadar government in Hungary. Kadar invited all the intellectuals that fled the country during the revolution to return to assist with the reform. The plan was approved and funded by the Soviet Union. The people involved looked to see what goods Hungary was known for making and wanted to fix up and utilize old factories. They were going to export their goods and use the money for construction. The four main items Hungary exported to the west were lightbulbs, wine, salami, and horses. Kadar also used profit to buy western goods for Hungarian consumers. |
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| By 1993 the Czechs and Slovaks wanted their own separate states. These nations were dependent on each other and people opposed the idea because of their linked economies. Slovaks felt that the Czechs had oppressed them throughout history and they pushed for secession. The Czechs agreed and both Parliaments got together and held a referendum vote. The Slovak public actually voted to stay with the Czechs but the government overruled this and seceeded anyways. This was a smooth splint despite the name "Velvet Revolution." |
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