The Berlin Wall fall
The end of the Cold War
The Brezhnev doctrine
The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy outlined in 1968 which called for the use of Warsaw Pact (but Russian-dominated) troops to intervene in any Eastern Bloc nation which was seen to compromise communist rule and Soviet domination. It could be doing this either by trying to leave the Soviet sphere of influence or even moderate its policies rather than stay in the small parameters allowed to them by Russia.
The Doctrine was seen clearly in the Soviet crushing of the Prague Spring movement in Czechoslovakia which caused it to be first outlined.
Gorbachev speaks to the United Nations on 7thDecember 1988
Force of the threat of force neither can nor should be instruments of foreign policy. The principle of the freedom of choice is mandatory. Refusal to recognize this principle will have serious consequences in world peace. To deny a nation the choice, regardless of any excuse, is to upset the unstable balance that had been achieved. Freedom of choice is a universal principle, it knows no exception.
1989: year of revolution
When it became clear that the Soviet Union was no longer ready to use force to control its empire, there was a rapid change. In May 1989, the Hungarian government opened frontier with Austria; there was now a gap in the Iron Curtain. In June, free elections were held in Poland. Solidarity won and in August led a new non-communist government. Gorbachev expressed support for a peaceful hand-over of power. The rolling back of communism in Eastern Europe had begun. Many young East German made their way to Hungary and passed through Austria into West Germany. This made a nonsense of the Berlin Wall.
In October 1989 Gorbachev visited East Germany for the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the State. Behind the scenes Gorbachev explained to East Germany leaders that he had no intention of using Russian force to stop reform. A month later, on 10thNovember, the Berlin Wall was torn down. The most famous symbol of the Cold War had been destroyed.
On 17thNovember, a series of massive anti-communist demonstration took place in Czechoslovakia. by early December the Czechoslovak communist government had collapsed.
On 21stDecember, a revolution began in Romania. The Romanian dictator, Ceaucescu, was executed on Christmas Day.
Throughout Eastern Europe there was no popular support for communism and, without the threat of Soviet tanks, communism fell apart.
from Tom McAleavy, Twentieth Century History, Cambridge University Press
“Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall”
Watch and listen to the Reagan’s speech in front of the Berlin Wall in 1987. Pay attention to these keywords to catch the main gist of presidential speech
- gate — freedom — prosperity — wellbeing — peace — Eastern/Western world
For most west Europeans now alive, the world has always ended at the East German border and the Wall; beyond lay darkness … the opening of the frontiers declares that the world has no edge any more. Europe is becoming once more round and whole.
The independent, November 1989
People power
A demonstrator pounds away at the Berlin Wall as East German border guards look on from above, 4 November 1989. The Wall was dismantled five days later.
Describe the content of this image, answering the questions:
· Where is this picture taken? When?
· What is the man in the foreground doing?
· Would this have been possible at an earlier date? Why?
· Who are the men watching from above? Why is significant that they are just watching?
· How would you summarise this scene: joyful? Sad? Powerful? Other words?
Reunification of Germany
With the Berlin Wall down, West Germany Chancellor Helmut Kohl proposed a speedy reunification of Germany. Germans in both countries embraced the idea enthusiastically.
Despite his idealism, Gorbachev was less enthusiastic. He expected that a new united Germany would be more friendly to the West than to the East. But after many months of hard negotiations, not all them friendly, Gorbachev accepted German reunification and even accepted that the new Germany could become a member of NATO. This was no small thing for Gorbachev to accept. Like all Russians, he lived with the memory that it was German aggression in the Second World War that had cost the lives of 20 million Soviet citizens.
On 3rdOctober 1990, Germany became a united country once again.
from Ben Walsh, Modern World History, Hodder education, p. 141