Teaching

Long Teaching Module: Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990

Laura Thompson

Overview

It is well known that the East European Communist governments were unable to provide their citizens with a standard of living comparable to that of the West. This fact is often held up by scholars as an important underlying cause of the widespread discontent with Communism that swept through the region in the late 1980s.

This long teaching module includes an informational essay, objectives, activities, discussion questions, essay prompts, and guidance for including the eight primary sources.

Essay

When those living east of the “Iron Curtain” had to stand in line for hours to purchase low-quality food or consumer products, when their apartment buildings were often grim and sometimes poorly heated, and when Western television broadcasts showed Americans and West Europeans driving expensive cars and wearing expensive clothes, it seemed only natural to observers in the West that the upsurge of popular discontent in 1989 had at least some basis in the economic failings of the Communist regimes. After all, who wouldn’t be unhappy or even angry living in economic circumstances like those in Poland or Bulgaria?

But to view the economic situation in Eastern Europe through this prism is to impose a particular viewpoint on people whose motivations may well have been quite different. First of all, it assumes that people in Eastern Europe were very unhappy with the economic system under which they lived. It also assumes that this unhappiness led to revolt. As Padraic Kenney argues in his interview for this project, it doesn’t make sense that, after having endured decades in an inefficient economic system, people would suddenly throw down their newspaper and say “That’s it. I can’t stand in line for stringy chicken one more time! I’m going out into the streets to demonstrate against Communism!” Thus, the economic problems of the Communist states played a role in the events of 1989, but were probably not the most important factor for most people who helped bring down the regimes.

If we are going to make sense of the role that economic factors made in the events of 1989, it is essential that we take a broader view of just what the economic situation actually was.

When we think about what went wrong with the economies of the East Europe states in the late 1980s, the first thing to consider is the larger historical context. Prior to the Second World War the region that encompassed Communist Eastern Europe was largely on the periphery of European economic development, with only the most Western regions (East Germany, the Czech portion of Czechoslovakia, and portions of Western Poland and Northern Yugoslavia) reaching anything like the level of modern economic development experienced in countries such as France or Britain. The rest of the region was largely underdeveloped, with most employment tied to inefficient forms of agricultural production.

The Second World War devastated much of the region, both in terms of population losses and in terms of the destruction of infrastructure (roads, buildings, rail lines, and industry). The Communist regimes that took power after the war were very successful first in rebuilding the economic infrastructure that had been destroyed during the war and then bringing about a rapid transformation of the local economies from their dependence on agriculture to economies based in heavy industry. In fact, from 1950-1973, the countries of Communist Eastern Europe had the highest rate of economic growth of any world region, including Western Europe and the North America.

After 1973 those significant successes began to fade and by the early 1980s governments across the region were struggling unsuccessfully to stave off the recession that had hit the non-Communist economies. In addition to the world recession of the early 1980s, three significant issues specific to Eastern Europe made it that much more difficult for the Communist regimes to improve or even maintain their economic situation. First, the economies of all of these countries were centrally planned, which meant that government ministries strictly controlled the allocation of resources—money, raw materials, employees, and so on. This system limited the ability of the managers of individual enterprises to respond quickly to opportunities presented by changing economic conditions. Instead, they continued to produce whatever the Communist government's economic plan called for, regardless of whether or not there was any demand for their products. The result was oversupplies of some goods and undersupplies of others—in other words, significant amounts of time and money were wasted on products no one wanted, while consumers and businesses couldn’t get much of what they (em>did want.

The second issue, which appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was that the economies of Eastern Europe had maximized their ability to supply one another with the raw materials, goods, technologies, and services that they needed to sustain economic growth. This meant that East European states had to turn to the world market in order to acquire these essential components of future economic growth. Taking part in the world market, something the Communist regimes had largely (but not completely) resisted for decades, meant they had to be able to manufacture goods that countries outside of the Communist bloc would actually want to buy. If such goods could not be manufactured, the East European governments would have to borrow money on international capital markets to pay for their economic growth. Eventually such loans had to be repaid and repaid only in currencies convertible on the world financial markets. Central planners in these states therefore had to either find ways to sell products that would generate earnings in hard currencies like the Dollar or the Deutschmark, or they had to raise prices on goods and services at home, which often led to discontent among the population.

The third issue that made it difficult for the East European Communist governments to respond to the world wide economic slow-down of the 1980s was the fact that all of their economies were firmly tied to the Soviet economy, both through trade and the joint ownership of enterprises. The East European states were especially dependent on the Soviet Union for oil and natural gas, both of which they purchased from Moscow at below market rates. In exchange, much of their industrial production went to the Soviet Union at below market prices. When President Ronald Reagan launched his military build-up in the early 1980s, Soviet military and economic planners attempted to keep pace, forcing their East European allies to do the same. For example, one of the largest tank factories in the Soviet empire was in eastern Slovekia; a large drain on production and resources yet whose product was sent almost entirely to the Soviet Union. The communist Czechoslovakian government experienced large difficulties meting its own requirements that the diversion on these resources to military production only made worse. These tangled economic pressures were intensified after Gorbachev's policy of perestroika began to introduce some elements of a market economy into the Soviet model. Perestroika called for more local decision-making in the economic sphere along with more sensitivity to consumer demands: both of these pressures called into question the kind of arrangement typified by the large Slovekian tank factory.

One of the essential bargains between the Communist governments and their peoples was that basic goods and services would remain affordable to all. These goods and services might be scarce or even unavailable, but when available, they would be affordable. The economic problems of the 1980s put significant pressure on price controls, sometimes forcing the Communist governments to raise prices suddenly and significantly. For instance, it was a sudden increase in the price of food in Poland that helped set off the first round of strikes that resulted in the creation of the independent trade union Solidarity in 1980.

On the other hand, it must be kept in mind that the East European Communist regimes were able to provide many social goods, even if at standards below those in the West. For instance, homelessness was largely unknown in Communist Eastern Europe at a time when it was becoming endemic in the United States. Infant mortality rates dropped by more than one-third in most of the region between 1970 and 1989, while that same figure dropped by only 19 percent in the United States, albeit at a level well below that in Eastern Europe. These two examples do not mean that the Communist regimes were more successful at providing social goods than were the capitalist economies of the West. Rather, they are meant to indicate that the economic picture in Communist Eastern Europe was not universally bad. At the same time, the decisions of central planners regarding what would and would not be produced had direct consequences for individual citizens, often requiring them to make choices about things like family size, career, and location of residence based on what the government believed was best for the country.

One area where the economies of Communist Eastern Europe were universally bad was the environment. Prior to the mid-1980s these governments paid little or no attention to the environmental consequences of industrial production. The result was a level of industrial pollution and environmental degradation that is almost unimaginable today. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union in April 1986 led to a sudden and surprising upsurge in environmental activism across the region. Many of these environmental protests began to take on an overtly political character as the years passed and some of the main opposition movements in Eastern Europe in 1989 emerged from the environmental movement.

Another factor to keep in mind when we think about the economic situation in Eastern Europe in 1989 is that there were often substantial differences in economic conditions within particular countries. For instance, by 1988 macroeconomic indicators in the Czech and Slovak halves of Czechoslovakia were essentially the same, but this finding obscures the fact that in the Czech portion of the state most workers were employed in smaller, more nimble enterprises, while in the Slovak portion of the state, most workers were employed in huge and inefficient enterprises employing many thousands, if not tens of thousands of workers. For example, in Yugoslavia, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the northern republic of Slovenia was more than double that of the southern republic of Serbia and more than five times that of the southern republic of Macedonia. When the Communist regimes fell and these states began to transition to a capitalist economic system, these regional differences played an important role in the break-up of each country.

When you examine the primary sources that are included here, ask yourself what these sources reveal about the economic situation in the region in 1989 and how you can make explicit connections between the evidence in the sources and the events on the ground in 1989. Remember that economic realities often imposed important limitations on what governments could and could not do in the face of political problems. Finally, remember that just because people are dissatisfied with their economic situation, they do not automatically want to change the form of government they live under.

Primary Sources

GDP in Eastern Europe: 1980-1989

Annotation
The recession of the early 1980s caused significant disruptions in the economies of all European states, whether Communist (above the double line) or non-Communist. The data in this table show how even in West Germany, from 1980 to 1985 gross national product per capita decline across Europe. However, by 1986 the recession in Western Europe had largely ended, much of Eastern Europe was much slower to recover from the effects of the recession or, as in the case of Poland, their economic situation improved slightly in mid-decade and then slid again toward the end of the decade. The data here also indicate the economic disparities between Western and Eastern Europe. Greece and Portugal were included because like Hungary, Czechoslovakia, or Bulgaria, they were smaller countries. A comparison of their GNP per capita and those in the smaller East European countries indicates the growing economic disparity between East and West. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) is included here to demonstrate how much stronger the West German economy was than those just to the East. When you compare the economic situations in Eastern an Western Europe, what factors do you think were most important in leading to these differences? This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

Infant Mortality: Eastern Europe: 1970-1989

Annotation
One of the most important indicators of a societies transition to what economists often call “modern industrial society” is a decline in infant mortality rates. As you might imagine, declines in infant mortality rates are also very important to individual citizens, because it means that their children are much more likely to live to adulthood. This rate reflects the number of children who die before age one out of each 1,000 live births. The data in this table paint a conflicting picture—as socioeconomic data often do. On the one hand the data indicate the degree to which the regimes of Communist Eastern Europe were able to make substantial progress in reducing infant mortality in their countries between 1970 and 1989. On the other hand the data also demonstrate that while in some cases the Communist regimes were able to reduce the rate of infant mortality more rapidly than was the case in the United States, the actual number of infant deaths per thousand in several of these countries—especially Romania and Yugoslavia—was significantly higher than it was in the United States. What factors do you think would cause a decline in infant mortality rates and why do you think the rates were so different across Eastern Europe? This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

Fertility and Abortion in Czechoslovakia, 1950-2005

Annotation
This graph shows two trends in the Czech population (first in Czechoslovakia and after 1993 in the Czech Republic)—changes in fertility rates (births per women aged 15-49) and the abortion rate in this same population. This fairly simple graph offers a number of insights into the experiences of Czech women both during and after Communism. For instance, we see births per woman declining from a high of more than 2.75 to a low of around 1.2, followed by a slight increase in the last few years. We also see a slow but steady rise in the number of abortions per woman from the legalization of abortion in Czechoslovakia in the mid-1950s until 1989, when there is a sudden and rapid drop in both the number of births per woman and the number of induced abortions. Unlike several countries in the Communist bloc, the number of abortions per woman in Czechoslovakia did not exceed the number of births, but the two lines were approaching one another by the late 1980s. What would explain the drop in births and the increase in abortions in the 1980s? And what would explain the rapid drop in both immediately after 1989? In the case of the latter question, one important answer was that Czech women suddenly had access to reliable condoms and the birth control pill, both of which made it possible for them to regulate their fertility to a much greater degree. When women can control their fertility they typically have fewer children and almost always have fewer abortions (because there are fewer unplanned pregnancies). This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

Macroeconomic Indicators in Czechoslovakia 1970-1990

Annotation
One of the many ways historians, economists, and other social scientists measure the health of a state’s economy is by examining changes in macroeconomic indicators over time. This chart shows changes in four of those measures—the gross domestic product (GDP), the rate of personal consumption, the gross rate of investment by the state in the economy, and the wages of workers—in Czechoslovakia between 1970 and 1990. The first set of data are the official numbers reported by the Communist stat and the second set are data published after the fall of Communism and are therefore much more accurate portrayals of what was happening in the Czechoslovak economy in the last two decades of Communist rule. On the one hand, the difference between the official and revised statistics gives you a sense for how the government in Prague was trying to cover up underlying problems in the Czechoslovak economy. On the other hand, however, even in the official statistics, the severe slow down of the 1980s appears. When workers’ wages do not change at all in a decade and the other macroeconomic indicators given here all fall precipitously, there is something very wrong with the economy. The revised data do not change that conclusion. They merely provide more accurate evidence of what was really happening. When you consider these data, think about what they mean in light of official propaganda that stressed how well the Czechoslovak economy was performing, not only on its own terms, but in relation to the economies of the West European states. The average citizen was surely aware that his or her wages did not change for a decade and that the economy was not performing as well as it had in previous years. Faced with this contradiction between the rosy picture found in official pronouncements and the reality of everyday life, how might citizens react? This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

GDP in Yugoslavia: 1980-1989

Annotation
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Yugoslavia: 1980 vs. 1989 (All figures in 1972 US Dollars) This table shows two developments in the former Yugoslavia. The first is the decline in the Yugoslav economy during the 1980s. Much of the world experienced an economic recession in the early 1980s, but in Western Europe, North America, and especially Asia (including Communist China) economic conditions had improved substantially by the end of the decade. By comparison, economic conditions in Eastern Europe continued to worsen as the decade neared its end. This table shows not only how the Yugoslavia suffered a drop in GDP per capita of more than five percent during the decade, but how unevenly this drop was experienced within the state. Yugoslavia was a federation of six republics and two „autonomous regions“ (Kosovo and Vojvodina were ruled by the Serbian government but had a high degree of local autonomy). One glance at this table shows how significantly different the economies of the various republics and regions were. Slovenia had a GDP per capita that was like any that might be found in the smaller economies of Western Europe, while the Kosovo province of Serbia was perhaps the most economically backward in all of Europe. How might the decline in Yugoslavia’s economic fortunes and the economic disparities within Yugoslavia have contributed to the breakup of the state in 1991-1992? This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

Is Poland Lost?

Annotation
These brief excerpts from a longer report by the environmental organization Greenpeace highlight the ecological collapse that was taking place all across Eastern Europe by the early 1980s. As extreme as the Polish case sounds, it was unfortunately typical rather than exceptional. All across the region, life expectancies were dropping rapidly, especially for men who were exposed to industrial pollution at work, and the incidence of developmental disabilities and leukemia among children was rising rapidly. The report also highlights two other important points about what was happening in the region at this time. The economic model that had been adopted—a focus on heavy industry and manufacturing at the expense of environmental concerns—meant that a solution was almost impossible to foresee. If more than 30 percent of Poland’s population lived in “disaster areas” that should be evacuated, how could the government that controlled all aspects of economic life cope with such a problem? It would be impossible to relocate 11 million people. And it would be impossible to suddenly shut down all the polluting industry, thereby throwing millions out of work. The regime had truly painted itself into a corner. The other thing to notice in this report is that Polish newspapers, all of which were controlled by the government, were reporting on the unfolding disaster. What does this tell you about the government’s approach to the problem? What solutions might the government have pursued in the face of such a calamity? This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

Price Increases in Eastern Europe with Special Regard to Hungary

Annotation
One of the most significant differences between the functioning of the East European Communist economies and the mixed-market economies of the West was the way in which prices for goods and services were determined. In a mixed-market economy, prices are determined by a combination of government regulation (especially taxes) and consumer demand. In the Communist states, central government authorities set the prices of all goods and services. This “Background Report” by Radio Free Europe provides a concise summary of how prices played a political role in Eastern Europe and how difficult it was for the regimes to maintain prices at levels the average citizen could afford. Keeping prices in line with wages in a command economy was essential, because wages were also set by the state and if prices were allowed to float freely as they do in a mixed-market economy, citizens might find themselves unable to afford basic items such as food, energy, and housing. Health care was not an issue in the East European states, because it was provided free to all citizens. When you read the excerpts from the full report reproduced here, ask yourself how those in charge of the Communist economy could balance wages and prices in a way that would keep the population happy. This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

The Trabant

Annotation
For many in the West the Trabant automobile was one of the symbols of the economic differences between Eastern and Western Europe. When the Hungarian government opened its borders in the late summer of 1989, tens of thousands of East German citizens streamed westward, many of them driving or riding in “Trabis” as they were known. While Westerners scoffed at the cars, both because of the Duroplast (plastic) bodies and the smoky, weak engines, for the East German regime, the Trabant was a symbol of modernism and socialist efficiency. From the perspective of those managing the East German economy, the use of plastic material, which in the 1950s was a very modern idea, symbolized the forward-thinking nature of Communist planning. Moreover, the use of Duroplast meant that the government could use its steel production for things other than the manufacture of personal transportation. Ironically, given how many Trabi jokes there were in the 1990s, automobile manufacturers today are using more and more plastic material in cars, both because it is less expensive than steel, and because it does not rust. Also, from the perspective of the central planners in charge of the economy, an automobile was a means of transportation, not an extension of one’s personality, and so the many luxury features found in Western cars were completely unnecessary—functionality was what mattered. While the Trabant was intended to be a symbol of the efficiency and forward thinking nature of Communist economic planning, the reality was that East Germans typically had to wait as long as two years, if not longer, to purchase a Trabant because the government was unable to produce the cars fast enough to keep up with demand. Trabants have made a comeback of sorts today, both as collector’s items, but also as a concept—small, light, inexpensive, fuel efficient automobiles are very popular items more almost 20 years since the last Trabi rolled off the assembly line—something that must seem ironic to those responsible for creating, building, and maintaining the Trabant in the first place. This source is a part of the Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990 teaching module.

Lesson Plan

Time Estimated

Four to five 90 minute class periods and a DBQ

Materials

1) Class set of the primary sources:

Document 1- Overall Gross Domestic Product per capita in selected countries, 1980-1989

Document 2- Infant Mortality Rates in selected countries

Document 3- Fertility and Abortion Rates in Czechoslovakia

Document 4-“Is Poland Lost?”

Document 5- Czechoslovakia Macroeconomic Indicators

Document 6-“Radio Free Europe”

Document 7- Trabant photo

Document 8- Yugoslavia GNP by region

[note: to access these materials, go to the primary source link to the left or primary sources]

2) Students will need to read any World History and European History textbook which contains a solid section on the Eastern and Western Europe during and after the Cold War.

Objectives:

Background:

The Eastern European countries that will be used in this lesson as case studies will be Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia.

The Western European countries that will be used in this lesson as case studies will be Greece, Portugal and Western Germany.

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify the factors affecting a country’s infant mortality rate and a country’s life expectancy rate

2. Analyze how a country’s political and economic systems (communist, capitalistic or a combination/mixture) can affect a country’s GNP and infant mortality rates

3. Compare and contrast the differing infant mortality rates and GNPs between Western and Eastern European economies between 1970 up until the fall of communism

4. Predict how the fall of communism may affect GNP and infant mortality rates in both Eastern European countries, Western European countries and the USA

Preparation

In the students’ World or European History survey textbook prior to the start of the lesson, students will read the chapter or chapters which contain the basic political and economic background history of Eastern and Western European countries during the Cold War with a special emphasis on the 1970’s to the late 1980’s.

Day One: Economic and Political Surveys of Eastern Bloc Countries

1) Share the photo of the Trabant with class without the car’s explanation which accompanies the source. Ask the students what they think of the car. Would this be their idea of their ideal car? Would they be okay with it if it was given to them at a very cheap price? What are their expectations for their first car? Would this be it? Where and when do they think this car was made? Then share with the students the background information given in the source. Show a couple of BMW models from West Germany at this time. Ask the same questions.

2) Ask the students the following questions as an overview for the next 3-4 block periods. Assign each group one of the introductory questions. Tie these questions into the class discussion of the Trabant car.

What did the countries on both sides of the political fence promise to offer to their citizens? (Day One)

How did the East promote they would deliver the lifestyle of communism? How did the West project it would offer a better way of life for its citizens? (Day One)

What would be the factors, records, statistics would you would want to analyze to see how well the competing political and economic systems were actually doing? (Day Two)

What type of sources would you want to look at? When looking at official government documents from both the Eastern bloc and Western countries what would you be careful to analyze? Why? (Day Two)

What factors do you think will be the most important in leading to the differences between economic and political stability in the East and the West? (Day Three)

Will all the Eastern bloc countries’ statistics be the same? Why or why not? What could lead to these differences in growth patterns? (Day Three)

How about the Western countries? What could possibly account for the differing rates of economic growth in the West? (Day Three)

3) From the information in their textbooks students will complete a comparison chart between Eastern and Western European countries based on political, economic, and social differences. The countries to be analyzed for this activity will be Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Portugal, West Germany and Greece. Student groups will be matched as an expert group for both one Eastern and one Western European nation. The following pairings are suggested.

Eastern Group.

Group 1 Hungary (Radio Free Europe)

Group 2 Czechoslovakia (Czech Macroeconomic Indicators)


Group 3 Poland. (“Is Poland Lost?”)

Group 4 Yugoslavia. (Yugoslavia GNP by region)

Western Group.

Group 1 Portugal

Group 2 West Germany

Group 3 Greece.

Group 4 West Germany.

4) After the students have shared their chart information on the differences between the East and the West, each group will be assigned to read the next work day the primary source article which corresponds to their country. Each Eastern European country will have two groups researching and analyzing documents pertaining to that particular country.

Day Two: Research and Data Collection

1) Reinforce the two guiding questions which will be the focus of Day Two:

What would be the factors, records, statistics would you would want to analyze to see how well the competing political and economic systems were actually doing?

What type of sources would you want to look at? When looking at official government documents from both the Eastern bloc and Western countries what would you be careful to analyze? Why?

2) All of the student groups will analyze Document #2 Infant Mortality Rates. Students will be asked what factors will contribute to a lower infant mortality rate and student will be asked to compose a list of those factors. Next as a class students will analyze the data in the chart, and each group will pay close attention to their selected Eastern European country.

3) After analyzing the differences between the Eastern and Western infant mortality rates, students will then analyze the Document #1-Overall GDP in selected countries. Students will use APPARTS for their analysis, and the students will analyze data for their paired Eastern and Western European countries. A definition of how GNP differs from GDP will be explained before students start working. Students will be asked how any political and economic data from their textbooks may explain the information in the chart.

As this activity will take place at the end of the year, students will be quite familiar with analyzing documents. They will be using APPARTS.

A-Author: Who created the source? What do you know about the author? What is the author’s point of view?

P-Place and Time: Where and when was the source produced? How might this affect the meaning of the source?

P-Prior Knowledge: Beyond information about the author and the context of its creation, what do you know that would help you further understand the primary source? For example, do you recognize any symbols and recall what they represent?

A-Audience: For whom was the source created and how might this affect the reliability of the source?

R-Reason: Why was the source produced at the time it was produced?

T-The Main Idea: What point is the source trying to convey?

S-Significance: Why is this source important? What inferences can you draw from this document? Ask yourself, “So what?” in relation to the question asked.

4) Students will then read in class and APPARTS the document which comes from country of expertise. Students will also be asked how the source would add to their analysis of their country’s GNP and/or infant mortality/life expectancy rates. [note: see above list, Day Two, for Eastern Country's respective document]

Day Three: Comparisons Between the East and the West

1) Review the focus questions with the students for this day’s lessons.

What factors do you think will be the most important in leading to the differences between economic and political stability in the East and the West?

Will all the Eastern bloc countries’ statistics be the same? Why or why not? What could lead to these differences in growth patterns?

How about the Western countries? What could possibly account for the differing rates of economic growth in the West?

2) Students will share their data from the articles read the previous day. Each group will report how the article and data may explain their Eastern European country’s economic growth, infant mortality/life expectancy rates and GNP. Then students will share any insights about their Western country’s same data and compare.

3) Students will be asked to research at the school’s library two more sources that might contribute to understanding the infant mortality rate, life expectancy and/or GDP of their Eastern European country and their Western European country. They will be asked to make fifteen copies of each resource. Students may want to find documents about the infant mortality rates for Greece, West Germany and Portugal; these statistics are not found in Document #2.

Day Four

1) Students will distribute a copy of their new sources to each group. Students will be asked to APPART three to four new documents.

2) As a group, the students will use 6-7 sources to create a DBQ question about the economic growth rates of the Eastern European countries. They will have the eight sources used during the lesson and four new sources from their classmates to choose from for the assignment. Students will be asked to compose the question, create an acceptable thesis and explain groupings the documents could be placed.

3) As closure for the lesson unit, the class will predict which Eastern and Western European countries will be the most successful economically and politically after the fall of communism. Students will also be asked to predict how these countries will compare to the United States.

Laura Thompson

Tesoro High School

Santa Margarita, California

Document Based Question

Using the primary sources in this module, answerONE of the following prompts:

1. Some historians argue that economics can explain any change that has occurred in history. Economic historians of 1989 argue that this is especially true in the crises that sparked the fall of communism in eastern Europe. Using these sources, analyze whether economic factors best explains the collapse of communist rule in 1989.

2. The Trabant is often used to symbolize the “quality” of life under communist rule during the Cold War period, before the establishment of democracies in those countries. Discuss the accuracy and relative merits of the Trabant as a symbol for the economic health of communist rule leading up to 1989?

Credits

About the Author

Mills Kelly is Associate Director of the Center for History and New Media and an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his doctorate from George Washington University. He is the author of Without Remorse: Czech National Socialism in Late-Habsburg Austria and is the principal investigator or co-director of three National Endowment for the Humanities exemplary education projects that provide digital resources to students and teachers of world and European history. In 2005 he received the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award, the state’s highest honor for faculty excellence, and was the first recipient of this award in the category “Teaching with Technology.”.

About the Lesson Plan Author

Laura Thompson teaches AP European History and AP Art History in the Capistrano Unified School District. She attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a history major and then went on to earn her Masters in History at Cal State Fullerton in Early Modern European History and 19th Century American History. She has received two Fulbright Awards to study in Japan and Latin America and was awarded two National Endowment for the Humanities grants for studies including: the Industrial Revolution in England and the Miracles of 1989, the Fall of Communism.

This teaching module was originally developed for the Making the History of 1989 project.

How to Cite This Source

"Long Teaching Module: Economies in Transition in Eastern Europe, 1970-1990," in World History Commons, https://worldhistorycommons.org/long-teaching-module-economies-transition-eastern-europe-1970-1990 [accessed December 2, 2024]

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