Was Stalinism Uniformly Applied across Central and East Europe in The Post-war Period - Essay Example

Was Stalinism uniformly applied across Central and East Europe in the post-war period? 1.0. Introduction In Central and East Europe, the concept of communism has blatantly been indicated to be inconsistently applied. With the coming in of Stalin in the political arena, Stalin’s legacy has created a lot of controversies over the Soviet era war phase (Nove, 1989). Analysts and researchers argue that Stalin was completely dissatisfied with the kind of leadership in Eastern Europe, while on the other hand, the kind of conflicts revolving around the politics of the region taking a new shape. It is in this case that Stalin took up the measures of exerting control in the region. This essay shall focus on whether Stalinism was uniformly applied across East and Central Europe in the post-war period. Focus shall be shed on Poland and Hungary as case studies of scrutinizing the application of Stalinism in the countries. 2.0. Body 2.1. Stalinism in Poland The climax of Stalinism in Poland took shape in the 1950 and 1953. According to the study conducted by Coutouvidis & Reynolds (1985) at this time, Poland witnessed unvarying conquest and obligations to deal with the ideals of the Soviet communist policies. In this country, Stalin’s rule took the form of causing disorder in the society. In addition, the country was subjected to continuous forms of revulsions that saw the members of the public being deprived of various forms of rights and privileges. In reality, it is defensible to argue that the country was slowly being turned to capitulation under a dictatorial regime under the leadership of the Polish United Workers Party. With the country enjoying a dominance of the Polish United Workers Party, the laypeople had nothing much to say, but to heed to the demands of the party. Nonetheless, it is important to comprehend that the country also had other parties, though these parties did not have any voice, and were merely ceremonial. Studies point out that these parties also worked for the benefit of the Polish United Workers Party. In the research conducted by De Weydenthal (1979), the kind of leadership in Poland relied on the hands of a few people. Through these individuals, it became a lot easier to administer dictatorial rule on the populace in the country. At this time, it is also evident that Stalin applied the use of private forces that boosted the ability of the communists to administer their ruling in the country. Additionally, through the use of the militia groups in the country, the communists were able to attract a huge number of persons into the ideology, since a lot of people in Poland did not have a soft spot for the party. Polonsky & Drukier (1980) emphasize that a lot of crimes were committed in Stalin’s era in Poland, and all of them were well covered up by Stalin’s people. In fact the number of brutal deaths that were recorded during Stalin’s reign recorded an escalating trend, though all of them were all covered up by the people working behind Stalin. A lot of people were taken through psychological torture as well as physical, yet the officers remained innocent under the Stalin’s directions. In the case of Poland, Stalinism took the shape of destroying all the people that were against the rule as well as upcoming individuals who had the ability of overthrowing the entire system. The rates of murder went high at all levels of the society including the members of the church who were opponents of the law by Stalin. The concepts of the Soviet Union were taught to the society, even to the children of low status and the minors in the society. The country closed all the contacts from the West or any other diplomatic relations and shifted the attention to USSR. With the demise of Stalin, the whole situation changed and the country regained its earlier status. The populace had more enjoyed democracy that had completely been banded by Stalin. This explains that in this country, the kind of pressure applied on the country was too harsh and attempted to silence all persons that were anti-Stalin. 2.2. Stalinism in Hungary In the case of Hungary, the case was a little bit different as compared to that of Poland. Bohri (2005) indicates that Stalin aimed at conducting a slow but sure approach whilst dealing with the conquest of country. Stalin aimed at using the Hungarian Communist Party (HCP) to administer control over the country. He directed the leaders of the party to collaborate with other parties. Since this party had enjoyed long periods of support and follow up, Stalin found it easier to handle the entire situation. With time, Stalin had managed to administer control to Hungarian Communist Party (HCP) who were opposed to the gradual approach; thus, convinced the stern leader to administer total control on the populace. The entire system also instilled fear and suspicion among the populace in Hungary. The constant suspicion led to the country live with the fear that violence might strike any time from the level of the government to the ordinary citizens. Stalin was also wary of the leaders of the country at that time especially Rakosi and his people. This move saw constant check of the country’s operations so as to find a leeway to strike in the country. Stalin managed to apply his policies in Hungary by first removing the then president, Zoltan. His successor was a member of the Hungarian Workers’ Party (HWP) that believed both in communist and socialist ideologies. From his leadership, Szakasits was much more directed to the communist side. His ruling recorded fewer meetings by the government, a factor that can be argued to mean that the country operated under the operation of the leaders. The communists had clearly taken over the entire country’s ruling. The membership of the Hungarian Workers’ Party (HWP) to the parliament saw a reduction of members by 47 members to attend parliamentary seating. With these reorganizations in the leadership positions, even on the county level, Stalin had managed to bisect the country in such a way that his rule would be easily imposed on the Hungarians. County elections came to a halt until in 1950. As time went by, Stalin had managed to instill fear and terminate a lot of people who were not on his side, though he faced a lot of rebellion from the Hungarians. He was finally able to exert his control on Hungary in all levels of the society, till the break of the revolution in 1956 3.0. Conclusion From the discussion, it is evident to argue that Stalinism approach took different shapes in various countries. In Poland, it was easy to apply the Stalin’s ideologies, since he was able to manipulate the leadership of a few people; thus, gain an upper hand among the masses. In the case of Hungary, Stalin forces had to apply a chronological divide and rule approach. It proved quite tasking to lure people into grasping his ideologies especially Rakosi. This leads to the interpretation of the fact that Stalinism was applied differently in the countries of Europe (Rothschild & Wingfield, 2008). This depended on the response of the various countries. The ones who were not willing to embrace the ideologies, Stalin’s forces applied fear and suspicion. All in all, in one way or another Stalin was able to control the countries. After the demise, Stokes (1996) and Swain & Swain (2009) indicate that countries undertook measures of total restructuring of the country’s policies. References Bohri, L., 2005. Hungary in the Cold War, 1945-56, Budapest: CEU Press. Coutouvidis, J., & Reynolds, J., 1985. Poland 1939-47. London: Leicester University Press.  De Weydenthal, J., 1979. Poland: Communism Adrift. Washington DC: Sage.  Nove, A., 1989. ‘Stalin’s Heirs and Legacy’, Stalinism and After. London: Allan & Unwin. Polonsky, A., & Drukier, B., 1980. The Beginnings of Communist Rule in Poland. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Rothschild, J., & Wingfield, N., 2008. Return to Diversity: A Political History of East Central Europe since World War II. Oxford: OUP. Stokes, G., 1996. From Stalinism to Pluralism: A Documentary History of Eastern Europe since 1945. Oxford: OUP. Swain, G., &Swain, N., 2009. Eastern Europe since 1945. London: Palgrave. Read More