History 20 - Activity Guide - Student Information Map: The End of Soviet Hegemony in Eastern Europe

This information is to accompany Activity Four of the Unit Four Curriculum Guide.

Student Information Sheet: The End of Soviet Hegemony in Eastern Europe

The new era of peaceful co-existence and democratization initiated by Gorbachev significantly influenced events in Eastern Europe.

Throughout the late 1980s, most of the nations of Eastern Europe, starting with Poland, replaced their communist governments.

The rapidity of the collapse of the communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe surprised the world:

In August 1989, one of the leaders of Solidarity became Prime Minister of Poland.
For the first time in forty years, a noncommunist party formed the government of an eastern European nation.
In October of that year, hard-line communist rulers of East Germany and Bulgaria were forced out of office.
In early December 1989, the first noncommunist government was formed in Czechoslovakia. Vaclav Havel, a former political prisoner of the communists, became president.
In March, 1990, the communists in Hungary suffered a crushing defeat in the first free, multiparty elections in more than forty years.

As communist regimes collapsed throughout Eastern Europe, Soviet troops continued their planned withdrawal from the region.

German Unification

Throughout the summer of 1989, thousands of East German migrated to the West.

This migration symbolized widespread disenchantment with the communist government and stagnant economic conditions.
The populace demanded access to the West and the East German government finally relented and the borders were opened.
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened.

Gorbachev indicated that the Soviet Union had no objection to reunification of East and West Germany.

By the summer of 1990, the two superpowers agreed that Germany would be reunited.
On October 3, 1990, East Germany and West Germany were officially reunited.

Romania

The communist regime of Romania's Nicolae Ceausecu resisted the movement towards democracy.

Considerable violence occurred, in late 1990, before that regime ended. Ceausecu and his wife were executed.

This information is to accompany Unit Four of the Curriculum Guide.

Student Information Map: Confederation of Independent States social picture