The Sovietization Of The Sovietization Of East Central Europe

In postwar Europe the opportunity to seize the nations of Eastern Central Europe was presented. Not necessarily by any fault of their own but because the great powers of Europe were not concerned with the sovereignty of the small nations of East Central Europe and allowed for their disregard. During this time of indifference the Soviet Union came in and asserted their power over the smaller nations in an attempt to Sovietize them. It is of vital importance that the reasons why, how, and to what extent East Central Europe was Sovietized are explored as a means to understand the history of East Central Europe. The countries of East Central Europe underwent such drastic political changes partially due to the end of World War II. Social scientists …show more content…
Sovietization of East Central Europe was partially allowed to occur due to the neglect of the Americans, who were less war torn than the ravaged nations of Europe. Had the United States focused on the happenings of the Soviet Union there could have been a chance that the countries of East Central Europe could have been spared of the Sovietization. However, the Americans were concerned about protecting their own borders against the perceived threat of Communism. Additionally, on the Soviet side, there was a need to show the world their power and might. Because of the many defeats the Soviets had faced before in World War I and the Finnish War, the Sovietization of East Central Europe was necessary as a power play to assert that the Soviet Union was just as powerful as the United States and Great Britain. Weakness due to years of war on the land of the Eastern Central Europeans left them weak to resistance with the desperate need for help however, the obvious neglect on the part of the Americans and the need for power on the part of the Soviets illustrated how the Cold War had a huge positive, at least in terms of ability, effect on the domination and Sovietization of the Eastern Central European countries. The actual process of Sovietization involved several factors to ensure total control of the people within Eastern Central Europe. Part of this process was the altering …show more content…
Where there was success at first, they could not keep control nor attain popular support from Western European nations. The ultimate goal of Sovietization was to eventually spread throughout the world through means of, “penetrating Western European…societies and subverting their governments through the instrumentality of their Communist parties,” (Rothschild, 62). The method that the Soviets used to spread this Communism, however, was much too harsh and was obviously controlled by Moscow and not the local governments. This immediately made the Western nations wary because they were so independent and were not prone to accepting another country so obviously controlling their political systems. Further, part of the Cold War was the United States trying to hold back the potential Communist wave, as exemplified through the panic caused by McCarthyism. The implementation of the Soviet Communism in East Central Europe was much too harsh and damaged the appeal of Communism to the rest of the world. As a result of this harsh implementation the people of East Central Europe held a deep hatred against the Soviets that then resulted in “national Communism” which resisted Soviet domination. Due to all these factors, the process of Sovietization ended up being unsuccessful because it began to crumble within a decade. The support that was once felt from the Soviets to the East Central Europeans was obviously diminished