1948 - Communists take power in Czechoslovakia

Under pressure from the Czechoslovakian Communist Party, President Eduard Benes allows
a communist-dominated government to be organized. Although the Soviet Union did not
physically intervene (as it would in 1968), Western observers decried the virtually bloodless
communist coup as an example of Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe.

The political scene in Czechoslovakia following World War II was complex, to say the least.
Eduard Benes was head of the London-based Czech government-in-exile during the war, and
returned to his native land in 1945 to take control of a new national government following
the Soviet withdrawal in July of that year. National elections in 1946 resulted in significant
representation for leftist and communist parties in the new constituent assembly. Benes
formed a coalition with these parties in his administration.

Although Czechoslovakia was not formally within the Soviet Union, American officials
were concerned with the Soviet communist influence in the nation. They were particularly
upset when Benes’ government strongly opposed any plans for the political rehabilitation
and possible rearmament of Germany (the U.S. was beginning to view a rearmed Germany
as a good line of defense against Soviet incursions into western Europe). In response, the
United States terminated a large loan to Czechoslovakia. Moderate and conservative parties
in Czechoslovakia were outraged, and declared that the U.S. action was driving their nation
into the hands of the communists. Indeed, the communists made huge electoral gains in the
nation, particularly as the national economy was not doing well at the time.

When moderate elements in the Czech government raised the possibility of the nation’s
participation in the U.S. Marshall Plan (a massive economic recovery program designed to
help war torn European countries rebuild), the communists organized strikes and protests,
and began clamping down on opposition parties. Benes tried desperately to hold his nation
together, but by February 1948 the communists had forced the other coalition parties out of
the government. On February 25, Benes gave in to communist demands and handed his
cabinet over to the party. Rigged elections were held in May to validate the communist
victory. Benes then resigned and his former foreign minister Jan Masaryk died under very
suspicious circumstances. Czechoslovakia became a single-party state.
The response from the West was quick but hardly decisive. Both the United and Great
Britain denounced the communist seizure of power in Czechoslovakia, but neither took any
direct action. Perhaps having put too much faith in Czechoslovakia’s democratic traditions,
or possibly fearful of a Soviet reaction, neither nation offered anything beyond verbal
support to the Benes government. The Communist Party, with support and aid from the
Soviet Union, dominated Czechoslovakian politics until the so-called “Velvet Revolution”
of 1989 brought a non-communist government to power.

Reference:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/communists-take-power-in-czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia, Prague. Feburary 25th 1948. Huge crowds gather during the
Communist takeover

The 1948 Czechoslovak coup was

an event late that February in which
the Communist Party of
Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing,
assumed undisputed control over the
government of Czechoslovakia,
marking the onset of four decades of
communist rule in the country.
 Bulgaria - The Communist Seizure of Power 

Although the new government after the war was a coalition, Bulgaria was inevitably to come
under Soviet domination. The Soviet army was to stay until 1947 and the Soviets obtained the
permanent chairmanship of the Allied Control Commission in the country. (In fact, this had
been suggested by the British, who wanted to avoid Soviet interference in Greece). Since
Soviet dominance was obvious, it was not surprising that communist party membership grew
from 15,000 in October 1944 to 250,000 a year later, and to 460,000 by 1948. 

From the beginning, the communist-dominated Fatherland Front worked to establish

complete communist power. It immediately organized local government committees, using
them to attack and dismantle the old administration. At the same time, priests were deprived
of influence and teachers were replaced on a massive scale; also, school curricula were
revised and many prewar books were burned. (The Nazis had also burned books in Germany
when they came to power). Trade unions were taken over. People's Courts were set up, which
really were "Kangaroo" courts. Their victims numbered at least 30,000 and perhaps as many
as 100,000. There was a bloodbath with the killing of former administrators and army
officers. All former ministers and royal advisers were "tried" and 100 were shot in February
1945. With the removal of right and center politicians, the only opposition to the communists
was on the left of the political spectrum.

The leader of the Bulgarian Radical Agrarian Party, Dr. G. M. Dimitrov sought refuge in the
British Embassy in late May 1945. Next, he was sheltered in the U.S. Embassy as he was in
danger of being assassinated by the communists.

M. Dimitrov's successor as party leader, Nikola Petkov, asked the Bulgarian Prime Minister
to delay national elections, but was forced to resign from the the government. At this point,
the U.S. government stated that it would establish diplomatic relations only with a truly
representative provisional government (August 18, 1945). This led to the postponement of the
elections. 

However, U.S. government accepted a compromise deal from Stalin - the inclusion of two
representatives of non-communist groups in the Bulgarian government. In both cases, U.S.
compromise was due to other priorities. Moscow was demanding a more active role in the
control of occupied Japan, and the United States did not want the Soviets to have more to say
there than Washington had in Bulgaria. We should also note that the U.S. Government at this
time was divided between the advocates of compromise and firmness toward the USSR.

The Bulgarian elections took place in October 1946, in an atmosphere of terror. Communist
groups murdered numerous people and tried to frighten many Bulgarians into staying away
from the election because the communists were not certain they could win the election.
Nevertheless, the opposition parties won 101 out of 465 seats in the Legislature. The
Communist party, loyal to Stalin, now had complete control of Bulgaria.
Nikola Petkov, the former leader of a the Radical Agrarian Party was promptly arrested on
the following day. He was tried in August, condemned to death, and executed on September
23rd. Nevertheless, the U.S. Government formally accepted the election results on October 1st

Reference: http://acienciala.faculty.ku.edu/communistnationssince1917/ch6.html

.
Georgi Dimitrov

Bulgaria after World War Two

Bulgarian citizens welcome soldiers of the Red Army shortly after liberation, 1945

Poland – Soviet Expansion

Mikolajczyk and three other ministers from the former Polish Government in London became
members of the new Polish government, formed in Moscow in late June 1945 and recognized
by the Western powers in July 1945. However, Polish communist security forces, aided by
the Soviet secret police hunted down the remaining members of the Underground Army that
had fought against the Germans during the war. In some parts of the country, there was a
state of civil war until 1948, while in a few isolated areas, armed resistance survived until
1952. 

The Polish people worked willingly to rebuild their destroyed cities, especially Warsaw. At
first, the press enjoyed relative freedom, though there could be no criticism of the Soviet
Union.

At the same time, however, the non-communist parties, i.e. the Polish Socialist Party and
Mikolajczyk's Peasant Party were increasingly harassed and restricted. This process was
facilitated by the fact that, from the outset, the key ministries of the Interior (Police),
Information (Propaganda), Agriculture (Land Reform), Western Territories (settlement of
Poles from former eastern Poland and central Poland in the territories gained from Germany
in the West), and the Armed Forces, were in communist hands. 

From the outset, the communists worked to split the socialist and peasant parties into right
and left, and fuse their left splinters with their own party. The same strategy was used in
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and other satellites. The Hungarians called this "the salami
method," i.e. like slicing off bits of salami. 

The huge membership of Mikolajczyk's Peasant Party worried the communists, but they
found unexpected help in U.S. policy. It seems that Mikolajczyk was doomed when U.S.
Secretary of State James F. Byrnes' made a fateful speech at Stuttgart on September 6, 1946.
Byrnes indicated that the U.S. did not view Poland's new western frontier, the Oder-Neisse
Line, as final. Apparently, Stalin read the speech to mean that the U.S. and Great Britain were
courting the Germans and had lost interest in Poland. He seems to have decided at this time
that the Polish communists should get rid of Mikolajczyk and destroy his Peasant Party. 

As terror against the Peasant Party increased, Mikolajczyk found the British and Americans
deaf to his appeals that they at least protest to Moscow. Thus, the Polish Workers'
Party, ie. PPR (This was the main communist party), could avoid holding free elections. First,
it organized a Referendum in June 1946. The population was encouraged to "vote three times
yes," on the following issues: land reform, the new western frontier, and a one chamber
legislature (this means that a political party would only have to control one chamber of
parliament instead of two in order to control the country). Mikolajczyk and his party made it
clear that a "no" vote on the third issue would represent opposition to the communists. The
referendum was preceded by a wave of terror, directed specifically at the Peasant Party.
About l00 local leaders and some 100,000 members were in jail when the voting took place.
Even so, as Polish communists were to admit years later, the vast majority of the people
voted "no" on the one chamber legislature, thus indicating support for Mikolajczyk. But the
PPR workers simply faked the results to say "yes" on all three issues, and thus show a
"popular mandate" for the PPR. As the former communist minister, Jerzy Morawski, said
some forty years later, the PPR refused to allow a "mere ballot" to stand in the way of its
program to build a socialist Poland. After the referendum, terror increased. Also, as
mentioned above, Byrnes' Stuttgart speech of September 6, 1946, showed U.S. lack of
interest in Poland. The rigged Polish elections, finally held in January 1947, duly returned a
majority for the PPR. Mikolajczyk, whose life was threatened, decided to flee in October that
year and found refuge in the United States.

In December 1948, after a bitter internal struggle, the PPR was transformed into the United
Polish Workers' Party, which included those members of the socialist and peasant parties,
who opted - or were forced - to join. By that time, the First Secretary of the PPR, Wladyslaw
Gomulka, was out of power. He was forced to resign on charges of "nationalist deviation,"
for he had opposed some Soviet ‘suggestions’ in relation to various policies. He was
imprisoned, and then put under house arrest. Thus, by December 1948, communist power in
Poland was complete. 

Anti-communist resistance in Poland, 1946

The People's Referendum of 1946, also known as the "Three Times Yes" referendum.
 Hungary – Soviet Expansion
In early 1945 the Hungarian government was were replaced by a coalition government, in
which the communists shared power with three other parties: the Independent Smallholders'
Party, representing the better-off farmers; the Social Democratic Party, representing the
workers; and the National Peasant Party, representing the middle and poor peasants. 

It is worth noting that Hungary was the only country on the "inner rim" of East Central
Europe, which experienced really free elections. These were held in November 1945, after the
Communist-sponsored land reform had distributed land to the peasants. The communists
secured only 17% of the vote. Even in the next elections, held in August 1947, when the
communists printed fake ballot papers for themselves, they won only 22% of the vote. 

Why did Stalin allow so much freedom in Hungary? It seems the Hungarian communists
believed land reform had made them so popular that they were bound to win the elections.
We also know that the Hungarian communists, led by the veteran of the "Hungarian Soviet
Republic" of 1919, Matyas Rakosi (1892-1971), who had returned from the USSR, were told
by Stalin that they had to slow down the transformation of Hungary to a communist state.
This was so because he wanted Hungary to serve as an example of democracy in order to
balance the repression of the communists in Poland. According to a Hungarian communist,
Stalin actually told the Hungarian communists that going slow in their country was a "trade-
off" for communist violence in Poland. What is more, they were told they would have to wait
"ten or fifteen years" before introducing "socialism" in their country.

At the same time, however, the USSR drained Hungary of her resources both by extremely
large "reparations". The USSR used this method to take over German and western foreign
assets. The British and U.S. representatives on the Allied Control Commission protested, but
were ignored by the Soviets.

Communist leaders then proceeded to "split" the non-communist parties, persuading and/or
coercing their weaker members to join the communists or work for them inside their old
parties. (The term, "salami method," is attributed to, Matyas Rakosi). Even so - as mentioned
earlier - in the elections of August 1947 the communists won only 22% of the vote despite
the terror and mass ballot falsification by the communists. The large anti-communist vote did
not, however, reflect opposition to land reform, carried out in 1945. It expressed opposition to
communism as well as to the Soviet occupation and economic exploitation of Hungary.
However, the opposition won only a hollow victory, for its leaders were either arrested or
forced to leave the country. In 1948, Hungary was transformed into a "socialist" republic on
the same model as the other East European states under Soviet domination.
 Hungary - Keyword List

Coalition government – This is when multiple political parties in a country agree to join
together to form a government.

Peasants – These are usually the poorest people in a country. They are usually farmers, low
skilled workers etc.
Allied Control Commission - After the war had finished, this was a commission made up of
the 3 allied powers, USA, USSR and Britain. The commission had the power to run the
country until the allied powers withdrew their soldiers.

Salami method – This was the name given to Stalin’s tactic of taking over Eastern Europe. It
refers to his idea to only take over Eastern European countries bit by bit. One small piece at a
time until after a few years’ communists will gain total control in a country.

Bulgaria - Keyword List

Allied Control Commission – After the war had finished, this was a commission made up of
the 3 allied powers, USA, USSR and Britain. The commission had the power to run the
country until the allied powers withdrew their soldiers.

Fatherland Front – This was the main pro-communist party. In the country.

"Kangaroo" courts – These were very common in communist countries supported by the
USSR. A ‘Kangaroo’ court is when the government accuses someone of committing crimes
and then produces false information to make it look like the person is guilty. The government
will also control the judges to make sure they judge the person to be guilty of their ‘crimes’.

Radical Agrarian Party – This political party believed in democracy and tried to fight against
communism in their country.