HIB060b Sovietization of Central and Eastern Europe in 1944-1953

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Libor Svoboda, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Libor Svoboda, Ph.D.
Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 18. 9. 10:00–13:40 C33, Wed 2. 10. 10:00–13:40 C33, Wed 30. 10. 10:00–13:40 C33, Wed 13. 11. 10:00–13:40 C33, Wed 27. 11. 10:00–13:40 C33, Wed 11. 12. 10:00–13:40 C33
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 35 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 36/35, only registered: 5/35, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 2/35
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
  • History (programme FF, B-HI_) (2)
Course objectives
The course focuses on the history of Central and Eastern Europe from 1944-1953, when the region fell under the thumb of the USSR and communists came to power in each country and began to build Soviet-style regimes with Soviet support. The course will begin with an examination of the situation in the USSR and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe during World War II. Subsequent lectures will discuss social and political changes in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and the GDR between 1944 and 1953.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course the student will be able to:
identify and explain the main features of the post-war development of Central and South-Eastern Europe; describe the continuities with previous historiographical developments in Central and South-Eastern Europe; define the term "Sovietization" and characterize its features in individual countries.
Syllabus
  • 1. Explanation of the concept of Sovietization as the installation of Soviet-type regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. Geographical delineation, some states became directly part of the Soviet Union, others became part of the Soviet bloc.
  • 2. The situation in the USSR on the eve of World War II (Lenin's regime, Stalin's regime and the emergence of the Stalinist political system, the political situation in Europe and in the individual states of the region on the eve of World War II, Munich, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the beginning of the war.
  • 3. World War II - meaning and course, military and political situation in the USSR and in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Armija Krajowa, SNP, Dukla? Warsaw Uprising.
  • 4. The end of the war, Yalta Conference, ethnic cleansing in post-war Europe, Kielce, Collaborators.
  • 5. The first victims: Subcarpathian Russia, the Baltics, Belarus and Ukraine. The USSR in 1945-53.
  • 6. Poland 1944-47.
  • 7. Hungary - 1945 - 48, Bulgaria, Romania, Soviet occupation zone in Germany and Austria.
  • 8. International situation 1945 - 1948, Czechoslovakia - 1945 - 48.
  • 9. February 1948 coup d'état, birth of the Cold War.
  • 10. Political processes in the Soviet bloc countries.
  • 11. Central and Eastern Europe, 1948-1953. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Literature
  • KŘEN, Jan. Dvě století střední Evropy. Vydání druhé. Praha: Argo, 2019, 1109 stran. ISBN 9788025728482. info
  • JUDT, Tony. Poválečná Evropa : její historie od roku 1945. Translated by Dalibor Výborný. V českém jazyce vydání d. Praha: Prostor, 2017, xvi, 983. ISBN 9788072603688. info
  • APPLEBAUM, Anne. Železná opona : podrobení východní Evropy 1944-1956. Translated by Petruška Šustrová. Vyd. 1. Praha: BETA-Dobrovský, 2014, 510 s. ISBN 9788072912360. info
  • DURMAN, Karel. Popely ještě žhavé : velká politika 1938-1991. Praha: Karolinum, 2009, 559 s. ISBN 9788024615363. info
  • VYKOUKAL, Jiří, Bohuslav LITERA and Miroslav TEJCHMAN. Východ : vznik, vývoj a rozpad sovětského bloku 1944-1989. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2000, 860 s. ISBN 8085983826. info
  • KAPLAN, Karel. Československo v letech 1945-1948. 1. vydání. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1991, 153 stran. ISBN 8004256996. info
  • KAPLAN, Karel. Československo v letech 1948-1953. 1. vydání. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1991, 146 stran. ISBN 8004257003. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion
Assessment methods
credit
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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