Review

General Books

This collection of essays is an ambitious project, and is ultimately successful. The book attempts to provide an overview of events in Eastern Europe from 1939 to the mid-1990s. The collection is divided into three parts. Part One: Historical Background consists of a brief essay by Gale Stokes outlining, briefly but with elegance and precision, the millennium or so before the chronological start of the collection. Stokes delineates the three fault lines—Western Christendom vs. Eastern Orthodoxy, Ottoman vs. European influences, and the socioeconomic divide between Western and Eastern Europe—that contribute to the complicated arrangements in Eastern Europe. Part Two: Countries provides a summary of events in each of the nations comprising Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, GDR (East Germany), Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania). Although three of the nations no longer exist, Ramet argues—correctly in this reviewer's opinion—that the classification is valid because the states existed for most of the time under consideration and their break-ups could be considered within the framework of discussion. Each national essay opens with brief remarks about the effects of Nazism and foreign occupation during World War II, but the bulk of each essay is devoted to the Cold War and its aftermath. The essays in the second part generally provide a solid chronological narrative focusing on political and economic developments, and various cultural pressures, both religious and secular. The essays are uniformly lucid, although Brigitte Schulz's essay on the GDR assumes a familiarity with political science models that might not hold true for an undergraduate history class. Part Three: Policy Spheres addresses thematic issues, women's and gender roles, religion and politics, film, marketization, security, and democracy and tolerance. As one would anticipate, not all eight nations are dealt with evenly, nor should they necessarily be given equal space. The emphasis tends to be on Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, with Romania and Bulgaria playing a lesser role. The GDR is even less apparent and Albania almost disappears altogether. The lack of discussion of the GDR is often attributed to its unique situation, virtual absorption by the Federal Republic of Germany.	1
The framework of the collection lends itself to classroom use. Six central themes—party politics and elite factionalism, economics and economic policy, religion, nationalism, gender relations and women's equality, and culture and cultural policy—recur throughout the essays and could serve as a useful organizing principle for a course on the topic. The chapters provide a solid skeletal framework to allow instructors to lecture and provide primary sources directed at particular strengths or interests. Even though various experts are bound to disagree with various interpretations, the essays also offer an interpretive framework which lend themselves well to comparison with each other as well as a starting point for scholarly disagreement.	2
The collection is not without its flaws. As a whole, the former GDR is not handled adequately, and one could argue that anti-Semitism as a political and cultural force is not adequately emphasized. Certainly fans of Eastern European cinema may object to certain omissions (e.g. The Last Stop and Diamonds in the Night). One can also note the virtual absence of sympathy for any of the defunct communist regimes. Such an unequivocal tone makes the occasional waves of nostalgia among the peoples of Eastern Europe impossible to understand. Communism may have offered fewer choices, but it also offered greater security to a public that occasionally feels helpless in the sea of political and economic forces that have accompanied the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Nevertheless, these are relatively minor objections for a collection that merits praise. It is ideal for undergraduate use and provides a view of the forests for graduate students who spend so much time among select trees. The danger for this book, which is apparent in some of the contributions, lies in the ever-changing nature of the topic. The fluidity of the situation in all of the countries of Eastern Europe is such that the essays do not draw final resolutions, but are wisely open-ended. This book is as good as any currently on the market; there are not many that cover this timeframe and such a broad geographic area.	3
Southern Connecticut State University   Troy Paddock

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