REE 301 Midterm #2 Review
. Describe the visual style of Nina Bunjevac's Fatherland. How does this visual aesthetic
contribute to the meaning of her autobiographical narrative? - ANS-very dark and
blocky, darkness conveys a haunting perspective, lack of memory about her father
. What was the "secret speech"? Give date, briefly explain significance. - ANS-1956.
Speech by Khrushchev speaking out against Stalin's regime, especially the purges and
secret police, was able to jump start the idea of the Khruschev Thaw. Drove a wedge
between Soviet and Sino communists
. Who was Heda Kovály? Provide 2 significant facts from her biography. - ANS-Czech
writer and translator who survived the ghetto and Auschwitz. She joined the communist
party, she advocated against fascism in europe, eager to participate in things such as
Prague Spring.
. Who was Lech Wałęsa? - ANS-First democratically elected president of Poland/leader
of the solidarity movement, resisting to communism paid off, became president of their
countries, non communist leader, supported Poland's entry into NATO
. Who was Todor Zhivkov? - ANS-Bulgarian de-facto communist leader, very close ties
with the USSR
Give the date of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. - ANS-August 1968
Give the year in which martial law was imposed in Poland. - ANS-1981
Give the year in which the Soviet Union ceased to exist. - ANS-1991
Give the year in which the war in Yugoslavia began. - ANS-1990
Give the year of the fall of the Berlin Wall. - ANS-1989
Give the year of the Hungarian Revolution - ANS-1956
Give the year when the construction of the Berlin Wall began - ANS-1961
How do you understand the statement "The trivial is political" from Slavenka Drakulić's
How We
, Survived Communism and Even Laughed? - ANS-every part of daily life is affected by
politics
i.e only one hair dye color, unable to obtain tampons and diapers
How does Kovály explain the attraction of Communism for people of her generation? -
ANS-strengthen the collective, getting away from fascism which caused them so much
harm.
How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed was written with a Western audience
in mind.
How does this affect the way Drakulić presents the stories of East European women? -
ANS-she made it more digestible for western audiences
How would you respond to the following claim: "Eastern Europeans are nostalgic for the
communist past because they were not ready for real freedom"? - ANS-for many it was
true because they had to undergo capitalist shock, which was having to worry about
unemployment for the first time, and to become individualistic instead of collective
thoughts, as well as abandoning an idealogy that was engrained in their life for so long.
Many did not really feel free.
In a short essay, discuss the three main explanations for the collapse of the Soviet
Union
advanced by historians and political scientists. Which of these explanations do you find
most
convincing? - ANS-the USSR was destined to fail as a SYSTEM
it was all Gorbachev's fault that the USSR failed
COMBINATION of the two
List the 8 countries comprising the socialist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe. -
ANS-Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania,
USSR
What are the main policies of the post-Stalinist New Order? - ANS-Destalinization,
peacefully coexist with the west, political decentralization, move away from
collectivization, consumer based economy, get rid of secret police
What does "commercial nostalgia" refer to? Provide examples. - ANS-recreating things
like communist style cafe's and people pay to either reexperience what it was like under
communism, or experience it for the first time
soviet clothing, soviet era cars, soviet architecture, museum of communism
. Describe the visual style of Nina Bunjevac's Fatherland. How does this visual aesthetic
contribute to the meaning of her autobiographical narrative? - ANS-very dark and
blocky, darkness conveys a haunting perspective, lack of memory about her father
. What was the "secret speech"? Give date, briefly explain significance. - ANS-1956.
Speech by Khrushchev speaking out against Stalin's regime, especially the purges and
secret police, was able to jump start the idea of the Khruschev Thaw. Drove a wedge
between Soviet and Sino communists
. Who was Heda Kovály? Provide 2 significant facts from her biography. - ANS-Czech
writer and translator who survived the ghetto and Auschwitz. She joined the communist
party, she advocated against fascism in europe, eager to participate in things such as
Prague Spring.
. Who was Lech Wałęsa? - ANS-First democratically elected president of Poland/leader
of the solidarity movement, resisting to communism paid off, became president of their
countries, non communist leader, supported Poland's entry into NATO
. Who was Todor Zhivkov? - ANS-Bulgarian de-facto communist leader, very close ties
with the USSR
Give the date of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. - ANS-August 1968
Give the year in which martial law was imposed in Poland. - ANS-1981
Give the year in which the Soviet Union ceased to exist. - ANS-1991
Give the year in which the war in Yugoslavia began. - ANS-1990
Give the year of the fall of the Berlin Wall. - ANS-1989
Give the year of the Hungarian Revolution - ANS-1956
Give the year when the construction of the Berlin Wall began - ANS-1961
How do you understand the statement "The trivial is political" from Slavenka Drakulić's
How We
, Survived Communism and Even Laughed? - ANS-every part of daily life is affected by
politics
i.e only one hair dye color, unable to obtain tampons and diapers
How does Kovály explain the attraction of Communism for people of her generation? -
ANS-strengthen the collective, getting away from fascism which caused them so much
harm.
How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed was written with a Western audience
in mind.
How does this affect the way Drakulić presents the stories of East European women? -
ANS-she made it more digestible for western audiences
How would you respond to the following claim: "Eastern Europeans are nostalgic for the
communist past because they were not ready for real freedom"? - ANS-for many it was
true because they had to undergo capitalist shock, which was having to worry about
unemployment for the first time, and to become individualistic instead of collective
thoughts, as well as abandoning an idealogy that was engrained in their life for so long.
Many did not really feel free.
In a short essay, discuss the three main explanations for the collapse of the Soviet
Union
advanced by historians and political scientists. Which of these explanations do you find
most
convincing? - ANS-the USSR was destined to fail as a SYSTEM
it was all Gorbachev's fault that the USSR failed
COMBINATION of the two
List the 8 countries comprising the socialist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe. -
ANS-Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania,
USSR
What are the main policies of the post-Stalinist New Order? - ANS-Destalinization,
peacefully coexist with the west, political decentralization, move away from
collectivization, consumer based economy, get rid of secret police
What does "commercial nostalgia" refer to? Provide examples. - ANS-recreating things
like communist style cafe's and people pay to either reexperience what it was like under
communism, or experience it for the first time
soviet clothing, soviet era cars, soviet architecture, museum of communism
