Central and Eastern Europe, 1944–1993

Abstract

In this wide-ranging account, Ivan Berend traces the post-war fortunes of the countries lying between Germany and the former Soviet Union. Professor Berend draws both on his academic expertise and personal involvement in many of the events which he describes to produce a synthesis of a huge array of materials. His study stretches beyond the confines of economic history to provide insights into the complex interplay of ideological, social and political forces in the 'Eastern Bloc' countries over the last fifty years of revolutionary change. In particular Berend's analysis of totalitarianism, the development of nationalism, and the personalities at the centre of political life in eastern Europe offers an alternative perspective on the economies of the state-socialist regimes at the periphery of the western industrialised world.

Changing hegemonies and new external pressures: South East European railway networks in transition

“…The removal of the Iron Curtain in 1989 was the culmination of a variety of factors which had been in play in this area since the death of Stalin in 1953. These have been extensively surveyed elsewhere (Berend, 1996;Mason, 1996;Stokes, 1993) and will not be repeated here since the present concern is the repercussions of these changes and not their causation.…”

Leap into Modernity – Political Economy of Growth on the Periphery, 1943–1980

“…Kornai estimates, for example, that in Hungary in the years 1973-1983, despite two oil crises and a clear slowdown, the authorities were unable to alter the country's investment structure, giving preference to heavy industry and machine production (though differences existed between countries: while Hungary allocated 35 percent of investment to industry, in Bulgaria and Romania this percentage reached 45-49 percent). 708 Kornai started out as a journalist writing articles about the Hungarian economy under Stalinism in the propaganda press (there was, of course, no other kind). Years later he recalled:…”

Transforming the Soviet Sphere of Influence? U.S.-Soviet Détente and Eastern Europe, 1969-1976

“…Second, with the exception of Romania, this consolidation of the sovereignty of the existing Warsaw Pact regimes played into Moscow's goal of stabilizing its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe; it did not contribute to a drifting away from Moscow. 49 Third, with the exception of Romania, the communist regimes of Eastern Europe realized that the ultimate guarantee of their continued existence-that is, the sovereignty of their communist states-depended on Moscow's willingness to use force to keep them in power. For example, Polish Communist leader Wojciech Jaruzelski would play on the Brezhnev Doctrine in 1981 in justifying the establishment of martial law in Poland; a failure to maintain Communist control, he implied to the Polish public, would lead to a Soviet invasion.…”