Eastern European Revolts against the Soviet occupation - which ones do you remember in your lifetime?

[Rumpelstil]

Eastern European Revolts against the Soviet occupation - which ones do you remember in your lifetime?

This poll is a "must" for me personally - as today is the 17th of June.
This date still means something in Germany, as it stands for the Uprising in East Germany - or "Volks-Aufstand in Ost-Deutschland".

 

[Rumpelstil]

I can remember them all - with the exception of 1953 in East Germany.
I was still too young then, but I have read a lot about later

 

[Rumpelstil]

For a long time the 17th of June then was a public holiday in West Germany

 

[Gatsby]

I vaguely remember the dissolution of the USSR. But I was very young so I didn't understand it beyond "The border lines on my toy globe are wrong now."

 

[Rumpelstil]

1953 in East Germany:

The 1953 East German worker uprising was the first in a series of violent uprisings that would periodically rock the Soviet Eastern European empire. Workers in the German Democratic Republic (DDR) began protesting working conditions conditions (June 17, 1953). Factory managers imposed unreasonable production set by DDR authorities quotas on (June 17). he uprising began as a demonstration against those quotas, but quickly spread to over 400 cities, towns, and villages throughout the DDR. The resulting riots threatened the very existence of the Communist East German regime.

More:

The Cold War -- Eastern European revolts

histclo.com

 

[Rumpelstil]

I vaguely remember the dissolution of the USSR. But I was very young so I didn't understand it beyond "The border lines on my toy globe are wrong now."

That is also something!

 

[Rumpelstil]

1956 in Hungary

The Hungarian Revolution was a spontaneous nationwide revolt in reaction to the Stalinist brutalities of Mátyás Rákosi who ran Hungary as brutally as Stalin had the Soviet Union. The Hungarian Revolution ocurred in the midst of Nikita Khruschev's de-Stalinization program. Hungarians began to expect changes in their country. Rákosi was one of the brutal dictators that Stalin had imposed on the people of Eastern Europe. The Revolution broke out October 23, 1956. Students in Budapest bravely staged a demonstration which attracted others as they marched through the central city to the national Parliament. A delegation of the students went into the Radio Building in an effort to broadcast their demands. They were detailed by authorities which could have meant a long prison term. The demonstrators outside demanded their release. The State Security Police (ÁVH) answered by firing on the demonstrators. The demonstrators moved back, but news rapidly spread throughout the city and soon the city erupted in widespead protests and violence. And the disorders appeared in other cities as well. Anti-goverment groups organized militias and attacked the ÁVH as well as Soviet troops. AVH prisons were opened and Communist officials were jailed. Some officials and AVH men were executed. Quickly organized councils seized control of municicipal giverments all over Hungary. A provisional government disbanded the ÁVH, announced a decesion to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact, and committed to quickly holding free elections.

The Cold War -- Eastern European revolts

histclo.com

These times I can remember very intensely - though I was only ten years old.
Everybody talked about it then.
And from then on my interest in politics has started.

 

[Rumpelstil]

Pál Maléter

Pál Maléter (4 September 1917 – 16 June 1958) was the military leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Maléter was born to Hungarian parents in Eperjes, a city in Sáros County, in the northern part of Historical Hungary, today Prešov, Slovakia. He studied medicine at the Charles University, Prague, before moving to Budapest in 1938, going to the military academy there. He fought on the Eastern Front of World War II for the Axis, until captured by the Red Army. He became a communist, trained in sabotage, fought against the Germans in Transylvania and was sent back to Hungary, where he was noted for his courage and daring. In 1945 he joined the Hungarian Communist Party.

In 1956 he was a Colonel and served with the General Staff in Budapest when during the Hungarian Uprising he was sent to relieve a unit at the Kilian barracks with some tanks and a company of officer cadets. However, only Maléter's tank arrived at the barracks, and with the permission of his superiors, he agreed to a cease-fire with the insurgent groups in the area. Later (the exact time of this is disputed) he switched to the insurgents' side, helping them to defend the Kilian Barracks against Soviet troops. He was the most prominent member of the Hungarian military to change sides, allying himself with the insurgents, rather than with Ernő Gerő's communist government.

More:

Pál Maléter - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I was only 10 years old, but i can still remember the name Pál Maléter from those days.

 

[Rumpelstil]

Now 3 of 3 remember Poland

 

[Rumpelstil]

John Paul II's first visit to Poland that brought the collapse of communism​

St. John Paul II first visited Poland between June 2-10 in 1979. It was an historic moment as the country was ruled by the oppressive regime of the Soviet Union.

The Polish Ambassador to the Holy See, Janusz Kotański, fondly remembers Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland.

He recalls the hope this pope brought to the many people who despairingly believed the Soviet Union would last forever.

40 years ago, John Paul II's first visit to Poland that brought the collapse of communism | ROME REPORTS

It is 40 years since St. John Paul II first visited Poland between June 2-10 in 1979. It was an historic moment as the country was ruled by the oppressive regime...

www.romereports.com

 

[Infinite Chaos]

Now 3 of 3 remember Poland

The murder and dumping into a river of the priest Jerzy Popiełuszko in the 70's and the protests in Poland that began in Gdansc with Solidarnosc are things I clearly remember.

Polish priest, martyr and hero: Remembering Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko

When Communist officials kidnapped and killed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, they likely did not intend to help create a Polish hero, martyr and future saint for the Catholic Church.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

I'm not religious - gave that up in the early 70's as a kid but that murder was talked about in my household.

 

[Rumpelstil]

The murder and dumping into a river of the priest Jerzy Popiełuszko in the 70's and the protests in Poland that began in Gdansc with Solidarnosc are things I clearly remember.

Yes - that was a terrible thing!