1989 and the Fall of Communism in Different Countries

For me, studying this unit was very interesting because I had previous insight from my spring research paper, which involved the fall of communism in East Germany. In the East German Revolution, also referred to as the peaceful revolution, the church was the key factor in maintaining non-violent protests, and civil reaction on the part of the government and military. Reading into other countries involved in the fall of communism in Europe in 1989, I further understood the factors that made countries such as Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, be carried out in a peaceful fashion as well. Poland in particular had a peaceful revolution that was led by the church.

^Monday Demonstrations in East Germany- led by the church

In the Polish revolution, the government banned religion, causing the Catholic church to go underground. Then, when Polish-raised Pope John Paul II became pope in the mist of revolution, the people returned to their ties with the Catholic church. The church then published underground fliers, pamphlets, communication devices, etc., to spread word of revolution. They, like in East Germany, had a peaceful revolution that was spearheaded by the church.

^1989 Protesting in the streets of Poland

I personally believe that the churches had such a significant impact on the 1989 revolutions because they placed value on morality before politics. Because the churches placed value on morality, the government and the government's enforcing regime had trouble inflicting suffering or violence upon people who had no intention of anything but peaceful protesting. Thus, the churches almost carried out a sort of Satyagraha campaign. The difference between this the Satyagraha campaign that took place in India (in which violence ensued regardless of the peaceful campaign) was that the church had roots in the European countries that were too deep to be ignored or suppressed, whereas in India the Satyagraha campaign was established and led by one man (Gandhi). Thus being, I do not believe that any other institution could have carried out the peace that was made possible by the church in the Polish and East German Revolutions.

Do you agree that the reason the church could carry out peace was because it has been promoting peace for hundreds of years? Do you think that any other institutions, perhaps that were not as deeply rooted as the church, could have carried out the peaceful protest that the churches in Poland and East Germany carried out?