Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956

In her expoistion of how East Europe became Stalininst puppet states following the end of the Second World War and exploration of why East Europeans didn't resist more openly against the imposition of a Stalinist system, Applebaum provides a richly detailed, exhaustively researched and strong indictment of a critical period in European history. The only criticism I have of what is otherwise a magnificent book is its scope: the "Eastern Europe" examined here is limited to East Germany, Poland and Hungary, with only passing reference to Czechoslovakia; Romania and Bulgaria are virtually ignored. Her attention to the areas she does discuss is excellent; it is disappointing, therefore that these other nations are not given equal consideration.The first section, "False Dawn" discusses the way in which the communists gained a toe-hold in Hungary, Poland and East Germany by exploiting the psychological shock of both the war and Nazi occupation while the Soviets simultaneously played up their roles as liberators. The massive displacement and movement of populations (what Applebaum calls "Ethnic Cleansing") further added to the disequilbrium experienced by the populations of East Europe. As Applebaum writes, "With time it became apparent that this particularly powerful combination of emotions - fear, shame, anger, silence - helped lay the psychological groundwork for the imposition of a new regime." This was exploited by the Moscow-trained native communists (Beirut, Rakosi, Ulbricht) who, along with their Soviet masters used the police forces to intimidate, kill or discredit any source of resistance while Soviet-modeled systems were gradually put in place: youth groups, state control of the media, a command (state-run) economy. Much of what is detailed here is not new - Hammond's (Anatomy of Communist Takeovers was the first to show this pattern.The second half of the book "High Stalinism" is what warrants five stars. Here Applebaum shows how the secret police in East Europe were recruited and trained by the NKVD, how a gradual system of intimidation and observation of the populace was put in place, and how a direct mimicking of Soviet internal and external policies were put into place. What I found particularly compelling was Applebaum's evaluation of East Europe in the late 40s and early 50s and her answer to the question "why didn't East Europe resist more? Why were so many apolitical, allowing this system to exist?" The answer, of course is complex but in short, she argues it is a function of (1) the devastation of the war, (2) simple exhaustion by the populace, (3) the appeal of the language of the liberators (reconstruction did take place, and a society was being remade), (4) the systematic destruction of all alternative sources of authority, and (6) the fact that given all the above, most people simply wanted to get on with their lives. As she writes in the conclusion, "(Stalinism) excelled at creating large groups of people who disliked the regime and knew the propoganda was false, but who nevertheless flet compelled by circumstances to go along with it."It is a remarkable history not only for its detail (I have only touched on the broader points made here), but also for its exhaustive bibliography - any student of the period (or reader who wants to know more about a specific time, place or event during this time) has a rich and wide variety of sources for further reading. While the first half of the book covers well-trod ground, Applebaum does address some aspects of the immeadiate post-war occupation that is not often discussed: the mass rapes of German women in the Soviet occupation zone, the active and brutal hunt for any non-communist partisans in Poland, the great demographic shift of Germans, Ukrainians, Poles and Magyars, the mismantleing of industry (what remained of it) and its shipment east. I highly recommend this book.

This is a deeply insightful work that provides great detail and illumination on the subjects it covers. A minor fault is that it really only covers East Germany, Poland and Hungary and a little bit of notice is given to Czechoslovakia. The rest of Eastern Europe is really totally ignored. There are very few mentions of Bulgaria and Romania and less than a handful of Albania. However, it covers its subject in great depth without any outdated anticommunist hysteria.I would give the book five stars but I refuse to on the grounds that the Kindle edition, though better than many that I have purchased, is not well done. This may reflect the generally awful editorial work that is done in publishing today, but it is very visible when the text has been scanned and OCR'ed and then not proofread ("tbat" is not a word that is any spellchecker and would have been noticed if the text had merely been read.). I don't think that eBooks will ever totally replace the printed book but that will become even larger if they are held to higher editorial standards.

This well-researched book brings many aspects of this oppressive period including violence, ethnic cleansing, politics, and economy, control of youth, radio, and arts, which makes it a very interesting read.The book concentrates on three countries: Poland, East Germany, and Hungary, “because they were so very different.”It is worth noting that the author starts with explanation of the term “totalitarian,” which was the idea of “total control” and nowadays it is “applied to so many people and institutions that it can sometimes seem meaningless.” And the difference between Soviet Union and the countries occupied by Soviet Union, which still in present time some people have trouble distinguishing, for example Poland was occupied by Soviet Union; it was not part of Soviet Union.What happened before WWII? “In 1939, after the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and agreed to divide Poland, Romania, Finland, and the Baltic States into Soviet and German spheres of influence. On September 1, Hitler invaded Poland from the west. On September 17, Stalin invaded Poland from the east.”What happened after WWII? April 1945, the liberation day across the capitals of those three countries is described as quiet or silent. The next day the Red Army arrived in Poland and a new chapter of history had started. “In Poland, Hungary, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria, the Red Army’s arrival is rarely remembered as a pure liberation. Instead, it is remembered as the brutal beginning of a new occupation.”The regime of Soviet Union, including its ethnic cleansing turned out to be pretty extensive and violent. It was all done on purpose as they knew that “disoriented and displaced, the refugees were easier to manipulate and control than they might have been otherwise.”Also it has to be mentioned that the Soviet Union soldiers did good for millions of Jews freeing them from concentration camps. Their arrival “made it possible for Poles in the western part of Poland to speak Polish after years of being forbidden to do so in public.” At the same time, “the Red Army left extraordinary devastation in its wake.” The Soviet soldiers were overwhelmed by what seemed to them as richness. “More horrific, and ultimately of deeper political significance, were violent attacks on civilian. (…) Women of all ages were subject to gang rapes and sometimes murdered afterwards.”“In Hungary they seemed unsure of how, exactly, a fascist might be identified. As a result, the first arrests were often arbitrary. Men were stopped on the streets, told they would be taken away to do a little work. They would then disappear deep into the Soviet Union and not return for many years.”In regards to economy, “the Bolshevik Revolution’s first slogan had been ‘Peace, Land, and Bread!’ From the moment they arrived, Red Army troops vigorously tried to enforce the same policy, confiscating land from richer owners and redistributing it to poorer peasants. But in Eastern Europe, this simple formula did not have the impact that Soviet officers expected or that their communist colleagues hoped.”“Land reform was greeted with even greater suspicion in Poland, where collectivization carried particularly negative connotations. In the eastern part of the country, many people had family and friends across the border in Soviet Ukraine, whose peasants had experienced first land reform, then collectivization, then famine. So strong was their fear of this scenario that many Polish peasants opposed partial land redistribution – even knowing they might personally benefit...”In Hungary, “many peasants thanked the communists for their new land. But many were made uneasy by the receipt of someone else’s property,” particularly as the clergy were often preaching against it.”As nationalization progressed, the shortages worsened. Shortages and imbalances lasted for about four decades, 1947-1987.Already in 1950, during the communism, the private sector proved to be more profitable, popular and efficient than state run business. But Soviet Union’s response was, “more control, not less, was what the communist parties of the region believed would stop the strikes, fix the shortages, and raise living standards to the level of the West.”During the era of High Stalinism, 1948-1953, religion was being suppressed. “Many children were expelled from school for refusing to publicly renounce religion – estimates vary from 300 to 3,000 – and far more were expelled from universities. (…) The closure of monasteries followed soon after.”Oppression of teachers, arrests in some cases and raids were designed to punish the entire institution if “ideologically correct atmosphere” was not maintained.Another debilitating aspect of economy was “socialist competitions” – competing to finish given quota quickly, but this never made the economy more productive as quality was ignored.“The second part of this book describes techniques: a new wave of arrests; the expansion of labor camps, much tighter control over the media, intellectuals, and the arts.” It included control of artistic production. “Private galleries had disappeared almost entirely, along with the rest of the private sector.” On the other hand, Wanda Talakowska, polish art teacher, designer, curator was inspired by folk art created by peasants and favored by Communists. She saw an opportunity to inspire and create new designs in folk art. She saw an opportunity, where others saw none. Unfortunately, the Poles saw her as a Communist collaborator.As Warsaw was being rebuilt after the war, the Soviet Union tried to make it as Moscow with wide streets, but this is not how Warsaw was built originally. Warsaw with narrow cobbled streets - this is how people remembered it and this is how they wanted it to be rebuilt. It wasn’t an easy process, but to keep people quiet and to avoid riots, little by little the Soviets allowed the rebuilt of Old Town as it used to be. And personally, I am grateful to those who fought for it, as a lover of art and architecture I am a great admirer of Old Towns and folk arts, which make every culture so much richer.

A autora informa que o livro demorou 6 anos para ser escrito e tal fato pode ser observado pelas minúcias observadas no texto. Muitíssimo bem escrito e ao mesmo tempo informativo, o livro nos leva às loucuras impostas pelos comunistas aos países que ficaram sob o julgo dos soviéticos. Felizmente não vivemos um sistema onde o estado quer controlar cada aspecto da vida dos cidadãos.

I enjoy reading this ladies books. She tells things as they happened with eye witness accounts. Anyone who believes the world is being to hard on Russia 🇷🇺 just read this account of history coming from people who lived it. I think we should all inform ourselves about world affairs being as we are all part of the world. History is repeating itself now in the Ukraine 🇺🇦. Just devastating to read these things happening in our time. Very well done, lots of first hand accounts and many reference points to study for your self. Would recommend this to everyone who is truly interested in what happened and what is happening now in Europe. Read and be informed from reliable sources. Again just my humble opinion. Enjoy and reflect.

This book shows you how it really happened at the time of Cold War. Really good as I bought for my friend.

País por país, se describe con detalle cómo lo que en su momento era un partido minoritario se inflitró en las distintas asociaciones, instituciones, medios de comunicación, combinando persuasión y coacción, para terminar dominando los países de Europa del Este durante décadas.

This book is timeless . It was about Eastern Europe after WWII . But it is relevant now more than ever. Totalitarianism will never die. Liberty is never permanently won . Each generation must fight for their own freedom.