Stalinization

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Under Stalinization (sometimes Sovietization or Bolshevisation ) is the subjugation of Eastern Europe and other states under the rule first of Josef Stalin from 1946 to 1953 - at the beginning of the Cold War - understood with the related changes in the social order. The restructuring of the communist parties in Western Europe during this phase is also sometimes referred to as such.

procedure

Instruments of rule in the process of the Stalinization of Eastern Europe were the Soviet occupation army, secret services and propaganda, the final trigger of the process was the Berlin crisis . Before that (from 1945) the beginnings of democratic structures and political parties had developed in some of the Soviet-occupied states. These were then mainly smashed by terrorism. brought into line and replaced by communist puppet governments of Stalin. In addition, the surveillance state was set up and forced collectivizations of the economy carried out.

terminology

The term “Bolshevization” for the above processes was used during the Cold War, for example. B. used by the Bernese National Socialism expert Walther Hofer . Hofer was also an active anti-communist politician. From a political point of view, his terminology was incorrect: the synchronization of the Eastern European satellite states was carried out more stringently than the previous socialization of Tsarist Russia by the Bolsheviks . For example, the individual freedoms in the private sector - from the 1960s onwards - were part of the pre-Stalinist Soviet system under goulash communism in Hungary from the very beginning . And the bloc parties of the GDR were largely accessories , in fact they were in line with the SED, so to speak.

See also

literature