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Post war central and eastern Europe: essay planning

  • /
  • Paper 3/
  • Option 4: History of Europe/
  • 18: Post-war central and eastern Europe (1945-2000)/
  • Post war central and eastern Europe: essay planning

This page contains a variety of essay planning exercises and essay frames for this topic.

1. What were the methods used by the USSR to dominate central and eastern Europe? What was the extent of its control?

Task One: Review

In small groups review the material covered in this topic and copy out or print off and complete the grid below with dates, events, details and examples.

What were the methods used by the USSR to dominate central and eastern Europe?

Task Two: Essay planning

Get into pairs, and using the information you have gathered in your grid draft an essay plan for the following question:

“It was not popular support for local communist parties that led to Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe, it was the use of intimidation and force.” 

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Task Three: Essay planning

Using the information in your grid, and after reviewing the ATL pages, plan the following essay:

Analyse the nature and the extent of Soviet control over central and eastern Europe between 1945 and 1956

Click on the eye for hints:

Note that there are two parts to this question - nature and extent of Soviet control.

For nature consider:

  • direct Soviet structures which tied the states to the Soviet Union: Comecon and the Warsaw Pact
  • the threat of Soviet force - a reality for Hungary in 1956
  • the common features of central and eastern Europe - Stalin's legacy - which tied them to the Soviets: the fact that they were all police states, that the Communist Party was the only political party allowed - following salami tactics, media and elections were controlled
  • States were isolated from each other

For extent consider:

  • the fact that rebellions still took place - 1953 in East Germany and 1956 in Hungary
  • Tito's refusal to fall under the control of the Soviet Union and the implications of this

2. Support and cooperation, repression and protest (1945 - 1968)

Task One: Essay planning

In pairs, plan the following essay:

Compare and contrast the political protests in Hungary 1956 and Czechoslovakia 1968

This is a good essay to get you thinking about the characteristics of both uprisings. After you have planned out the answer, click on the eye for hints. Make sure that you can add evidence to each of the points below:

Comparisons:

  • both reform movements were initiated by loyal Communists who did not intend to open rebellion against the USSR·
  • both movements became more radical as events developed partly because of encouragement from Western influences·
  • both movements were crushed by Soviet armed force (in each case after being deceived by Soviet pretence of compromise)·
  • in each case, Nagy in Hungary and Dubcek in Czechoslovakia,could be accused of being naive and unrealistic.

Contrasts:

  • Dubcek and his colleagues thought they were deliberately and carefully avoiding the ‘mistakes’ made in Hungary in 1956
  • the Budapest Rising became overtly nationalistic and ‘separatist’ in a way the leaders of the Prague Spring were careful to avoid
  • in 1956 armed force was from the USSR alone; in 1968 it was a carefully coordinated joint action by Warsaw Pact forces, following a stated ‘Brezhnev Doctrine’
  • in 1956 many Hungarians genuinely believed the West would intervene; Dubcek knew in 1968 there was no chance of this
  • the 1956 rising became violent and revolutionary; the Prague Spring did not (this helps to explain why Nagy and allies were murdered, but the Czechoslovakia leaders in 1968 were not).

Now plan this essay:

Analyse the reasons for the failure of  political protest in eastern and central Europe 1945 to 1968

3. Repression and Revolution, 1968 to 1989

Task One

Essay planning

In pairs, have a go at planning this question:

To what extent was Western influence significant in causing the collapse of Communism in central and eastern Europe in the years 1968 to 1989?

To help you in planning this answer consider first how important each of the following were in causing unrest in central and eastern Europe, 1981 to 1989:

  • the impact of the Helsinki Accords
  • the role of Reagan and Thatcher - Second Cold War
  • the role of Pope Paul II
  • the role of Reagan and Thatcher in starting good relations with Gorbachev
  • impact of western media

Against these factors, you have a choice of other factors that you could discuss in causing unrest in these years:

  • the impact of economic stagnation
  • internal pressure for reform
  • Political movements: Solidarity in Poland, Neues Forum in GDR
  • Role of Gorbachev in ending Brezhnev Doctrine

3. Balkan conflicts in the 1990s

Refer to the final tasks on this page: 6. Balkan conflicts in the 1990s: Part 2 

Using your work and discussions in these tasks, in pairs draft essay plans for the following questions:

  1. ‘Resurgent nationalism was the key cause of the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s.’ Discuss
  2. To what extent were the policies and actions of Slobodan Milosevic responsible for the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s?
  3. Evaluate the long term and short term causes of the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s.
  4. Examine the consequences of the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s