Chapter 3 (A Hard and Bitter Peace)

Topic- The Communization of Eastern Europe

Read Chapter 2 of 20th Century World- Cold War P. 18-19 (Communization of Eastern Europe) P. 29 (Communization of Eastern Europe)

Formation of the Communist Bloc- 1944 to 1948

Averell Harriman believed Stalin was contemplating three options for postwar Soviet Policy
Postwar preservation of the Grand Alliance Turn eastern Europe into a buffer zone between the USSR and Germany Utilize the Communist parties of western Europe to subvert Western governments and prevent a return to their prewar animosity towards Moscow

Only the buffer zone seemed attainable

Stalins Three Real Objectives

Install governments friendly to the USSR and to Communism Create a buffer zone between the USSR and Germany
Precaution for third German-initiated war

Exploit eastern European economies for the economic reconstruction of the USSR

US and British Objectives

Enable eastern European countries to elect democratically any government they choose Open eastern European countries to free trade- helping them to modernize and helping the US to find markets for its manufactured goods

USSR vs. US / Britain

Each sets of goals were irreconcilable as they were diametrically opposed
Soviets feared western capitalism Western Europeans feared communism

Stalin on Communization of Eastern Europe

Stalin did not support rapid takeovers of eastern European countries because he stood to gain from the Western Allies including a $6 billion loan and a favorable reparations settlement Forcible communization of eastern Europe would provoke resistance and the Red Army would have to be utilized as a domestic police force Did not want direct Western intervention so he proceeded cautiously
Led to differing rates of speed in which eastern European nations were communized between 1945 and 1948

Poland
Soviet actions during the war caused Poles to replace their hatred of Germany to severe animosity towards Russia
Red Army captured 10,000 Polish military officers, murdered them, and buried them in mass graves Soviet reluctance to aid the Warsaw Uprising Red Army aids the development of the Lublin Government in 1944 Stalin disallowed any freely elected government in Poland Stalin believed he was owed this land through his previous agreement with Germany (Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact)

Poland
Stanislaw Mikolajczyk
Leader of the Polish Peasant Party Prime Minister of Polish London Government in exile since 1943

Two reasons for optimism

Peasant Party was extremely popular between the wars 1946- Communist Workers Party was losing members

Problems
The Red Army occupied Poland Stalins intimidation Mikolajczyks own ineptitude

Poland
Socialist Workers Party proposed referendum Mikolajczyk wanted peasants to support some issues and turn down others Resulted in the split of the Peasant Party and the referendum passed Polish Communists and Socialists combined with two smaller parties to create the Democratic Bloc Elections held in January 1947 (blatantly rigged) Democratic Bloc took 80% Mikolajczyk was dropped from the Polish cabinet and fled the country in October 1947

Poland
December 1948- Poland becomes one-party communist dictatorship Tories constantly reminded British Labour Party of reason for war in the first place (to liberate Poland from German control) and were completely outraged with the communist takeover of Poland Roosevelt misled Polish-Americans and Congress after Yalta concerning the true nature of the Polish situation
Portrayed Washington and Moscow as being on the same page on this issue

Stalin looked to his own interests and only intensified the animosity between the USSR and its former allies

Romania
Traditionally hostile towards Russia and fought with Germany after June 22, 1941 August 23, 1944- King Michael overthrew pro-Axis government of Marshal Ion Antonescu and declared war on Germany Stalin decorated the popular king and authorized underground communist activity 1944- fewer than 1,000 communists active in Romania (but a more powerful force than they appeared) Red Army occupies Romania by August 1944

Romania
Prime Minister Nicolae Radescu became irritated at communist-backed strikes, demonstrations, and confiscations of land He began to openly vilify Moscow-trained communist subversives in his country Stalin sent Vyshinsky to Bucharest and bullied King Michael into firing Radescu and accepting a National Democratic Front under Petru Groza Brits and US refused to recognize Groza government because Romania did not hold free elections

Romania
King Michael tried to take advantage of Western Allies nonrecognition of Groza to remove him from power, but failed and went into seclusion Democratic Front enjoyed free rein and held free elections as suggested by Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers Typically heavy-handed tactics allowed the Democratic Front to win Red Army was used to put down coalition opposition King Michael abdicated in 1947 and left the country Monarchy was abolished Romania was established as a peoples democracy Brits and US played no role in exchange for no Russian interference in Greece

Bulgaria
Allied with Germany during WWII, but Czarist Russia had liberated it from Turkish rule in 1876-1878 (Bulgarian Crisis) Red Army invaded Bulgaria in September 1944 Bulgaria called for armistice which was immediately given by the USSR who established the Fatherland Front
Anti-German resistance with strong communist element

Bulgaria
Communists controlled the police and local militia whom they used to purge the nation of at least 50,000 government officials and ran into opposition from Nikola Petkov
Leader of the non-communist Agrarian Union

Petkovs popularity rose by 1945 1946- Vyshinsky traveled to Sofia to get Petkov to cooperate with the communists
Petkov held out

Bulgaria
September 1946- nationwide plebiscite forced abdication of 7-year old Czar Simeon
Proclaimed Bulgaria a republic

Petkov was gaining support from Fatherland Front and Moscow was forced to make a decision
Allow for pro-Russian, anti-communist Petkov government or use the Red Army to demolish him

Stalin did not have to make this choice as the US signed a peace treaty with Bulgaria on February 10, 1947 which terminated the Allied Control Commission and took away any leverage Petkov might have had

Bulgaria
June 5, 1947- Petkov is arrested and hanged for conspiracy Bulgarian government became solidly pro-communist and were added to the Soviet Bloc

Hungary
Red Army expelled Germans early in 1945
Stalin was ambivalent towards this nation and not as aggressive about adding it to the Bloc

November 1945- open, free, and honest elections were held

Results were devastating for USSR Small-holders party wins (57%) (rural support) Communists only gained 17%

Communist leader Matyas Rakosi met with Stalin for plans to undermine Small-holders Party

Hungary
Communist plot had two advantages Agricultural minister Imre Nagy redistributed land Increased popularity of communism February 1947- US and Brits sign peace treaty to end Allied Control Commission Small-holders began to lose power through heavy-handed tactics of the communists August 1947- free elections held Small-holders were reduced to 15% Communists won with an unimpressive 22% Aided by the Red Army, unwillingness of Western intervention, deepening confrontation between US and Soviets in Germany

Hungary
1949- Communists knock out all opposition government parties and become a peoples democracy Nagy proved too liberal and Stalin had him purged in the early 1950s
Returned in 1956 as leader of a popular uprising against Soviet dominance

Hungary was added to the Soviet Bloc

Czechoslovakia
Czechs turned sour on Western friendliness after debacle of pre-WWII events
Allowed Hitlers partition of Czechoslovakia

Turned to USSR under President Edvard Benes, but wanted to remain Westernized Czechoslovakia became a bridge between East and West
Willing to do business with each

December 1943- Benes makes a treaty of alliance with the USSR

Czechoslovakia
May 1946- Free parliamentary elections gave 38% to communists Became the largest party in Czechoslovakia Communist Klement Gottwald worked to keep close economic ties with the West and abvoided intimidation or persecution of noncommunist parties 1947- US Marshall Plan throws a wrench into the workings of Czech East/West balance as Czech government applied for membership Stalin vehemently rejected this idea and proposed that Chzechs apply for Molotov Plan East/West ideologies clash

Czechoslovakia
Czech communists began typical heavyhandedness tactics to bully their way into power February 1948- non-communists resign cabinet and socialist democrats/communists gain control
Czechoslovakia becomes a single-party state

Not the usual Red Army-backed coup as in other countries

Gottwald gained power by legal means when noncommunists resigned the cabinet

Yugoslavia
March 1941- coup in Belgrade overthrew proGerman government Hitler deferred on Russia to show the Yugoslavs whos boss
Germany pulled out before the rebels were crushed Rebels go underground and continue to fight for the remainder of the year against Germans and Yugoslav partisans led by Josip Broz (aka Tito- communist)

Paritsans defeated the Germans with coalition army in October 1944

Yugoslavia
Red Army entered Yugoslavia simultaneously raping and pillaging Yugoslavians were left with very little respect for the Soviets Tito emerged with extreme popularity based on victory and a program that stood for unification (totally against ethnic fragmentation of the slavs) Tito was not popular in his home country of Croatia (pushed for their own independence) Tito quickly constructed an efficient, centralized administration

Yugoslavia
Relations with Moscow were strained as Tito almost started a post-war crisis over territorial claims in Italy Stalin threw in his support for Tito (not wholeheartedly) Tito sent aid to communist Greeks during their civil war Stalin was embarrassed as he tried to stay out of Greek affairs as it was a Western sphere of influence Tito began to talk about federation of Balkan States Stalin did not want a powerful communist rival in the South

Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia was taking a decidedly different path to socialism
Distinctly different from Soviet path Danger was that they may be economically superior to USSR Another danger to the USSR was that their success might lead to other eastern European nations taking a different path

Yugoslavia
Stalin believed that Tito had to be stopped and strikes in the spring of 1948
Removed all Soviet military and civilian advisors Orchestrated Yugoslavias expulsion from the Cominform Organized a trade boycott by all communist nations against Yugoslavia Called on loyal elements within Yugoslav communist party to overthrow Tito

Yugoslavia
US stepped in to pick up slack in the Yugoslavian economy during the boycott
US saw it as an opportunity to sway eastern Bloc nation to side with the West

1952- 1/3rd of Yugoslavias imports came from US as Tito kept working towards a separate Yugoslav path to socialism

Yugoslavia
Three reasons for the failure of Soviet actions in Yugoslavia
Wartime popularity of Tito and the partisans
Aided by the bad behavior of the Red Army

Widespread ethnic support for Tito from all Balkan States Stalins own restraint towards Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia
Other Reasons
No Red Army occupation of Yugoslavia gave Stalin less leverage there than any other eastern European nation US and Britains attentions were towards breaking the Berlin Blockade Caused Stalin to look towards Berlin as wellwhere the Cold War really starts!