Alexandra Tieanu
Between East and West: Poland, 1980-1981
Issue: Issue No. 13 (2010)
Language: English
Subject(s): History
Page Range: 105-132
No. of Pages: 28
Keywords: crisis, intervention, repression, Solidarity, the Soviet Union, the United States
Summary/Abstract: The Second World War geopolitically divided the European continent into a democratic and free Western Europe and an oppressed and ideologically controlled Eastern Europe. The events of 1980-1981 have positioned Poland between East and West, considering the unfolding of the events (not a free protest, but not an immediate violent repression either), the emergence of an organized civil society based on the alliance between intellectuals, workers, and the church (far from the meaning of Western Europe, but unlike the homogenous, controlled society of Eastern Socialism), or the outcome (not a democratic regime, but not a Communist one-party system either).
Open access on CEEOL: NO
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Shared Culture, Peace and Bridging: Western Influences on the Dissident Idea of Central Europe in the Communist States during the 1980s
Issue: Issue No. 20 (2013)
Language: English
Subject(s): History
Page Range: 215-232
No. of Pages: 18
Keywords: 1980s, Central Europe, Communist regimes, culture, dissidence, peace, Western influences
Summary/Abstract: The debate on the idea of Central Europe that emerged within the dissident intellectual circles from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland has been vastly discussed from a historical, political, sociological, or economical perspective. This paper suggests and analysis on how different themes used by intellectuals from the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria have penetrated the Central European dissident ideas and have contributed to the appearance of a specific manner of thought. We argue here that the ideas of Central Europe emerging from West-Germany and Austria have been extremely influential on the dissident intellectuals from the Communist states and have given them an efficient tool to challenge the official political system. We will focus our study on specific themes that derive from literary, biographic, or essayistic works that are relevant to our discussion, as well as secondary literature on this subject.
Open access on CEEOL: NO
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