Velvet Revolution

Poland held liberalized elections in June 1989, which resulted in the first non-communist premier in the eastern bloc. Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the new leader, flew immediately to Moscow to discuss the task before him with Mikhail S. Gorbachev. On October 18, 1989 reformist leaders in Hungry dumped communist dogmas and transformed their Communist Party into a Western Style Socialist Party. The nations legislature declared Hungry a Republic committed to both bourgeois democracy and democratic socialism. In East Germany Egon Krenz took over from the disgraced Erich Honecker on October 18, 1989 following extensive demonstrations and the flight of tens of thousands to West Germany. On November 9, 1989 Krenz’s government authorized free travel making the Berlin Wall obsolete. However, these revolutionary changes in the above-mentioned countries, did not occur as singular events. They were the result of a domino affect triggered by all the former satellites of the once mighty Soviet Union. In fact, for example, the East German movement started outside the country, with the opening of the border between Austria and Hungry that gave the East Germans and escape route. This showed no matter where the rot set in, the Communist system collapsed very quickly. And Czechoslovakia was no exception to the rule. In the space of just a few weeks in November 1989, the Communist system in Czechoslovakia was brought to its knees. Massive protests on the streets of Prague – often several hundred thousand strong – forced the resignation of the hard-line Communist Party in what became known as “the velvet revolution.” The attack on November 17, 1989 that seemingly hastened the fall of the government was the offshoot of a peaceful student march marking the 50th anniversary of the slaying of a Czechoslovakian student, Jan Opietal, by the Nazis. White helmeted riot police attacked the students after they swerved from the government approved route for the demonstration

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