Collapse of Communism: Key Events and Figures

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Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)

Treaty in 1991 that committed the U.S. and USSR to reduce long-range nuclear weapons by about one-third.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet leader that encouraged reforms and helped end the Cold War.

Solidarity (Solidarnosc)

1980s Polish labor movement that challenged the Communist regime and led to democratic reforms.

Erich Honecker

Longtime hardline leader of East Germany until 1989.

The Berlin Wall

Major Cold War barrier that fell on November 9, 1989.

George H. W. Bush

U.S. President who jointly hailed the Cold War's end with Gorbachev.

Candlelight marches with 100,000+ demonstrators

1989 event in Leipzig that symbolized peaceful protest in East Germany.

János Kádár

Hungarian leader who introduced reforms post-1956.

Imre Nagy

Leader of Hungary's 1956 uprising who was later executed.

Demolished part of the barbed-wire fence and opened the border to East Germans

Significant act Hungary took in 1989 regarding its border with Austria.

Multi-party democracy with market reforms

Political status of Hungary by late 1989.

1990 (October 3)

Year when East and West Germany formally reunified.

Helmut Kohl

Leader of West Germany during reunification.

Decayed economy with massive debt and scarcity of consumer goods

Economic state of East Germany before reunification.

The Berlin Wall

Symbol of Communist oppression torn down by citizens in Berlin.

The Politburo and Central Committee

Internal East German government body that collapsed during the 1989 revolution.

"Gentle" or peaceful revolution

Term used to describe East Germany's transition to democracy in 1989.

Repression, poor economy, and exposure to Western freedoms

Key motivations for East Germans to flee their country in 1989.

Berlin

City that became the symbolic and actual capital of reunited Germany.

Pledged inviolability of the German-Polish border

Border commitment Germany made during reunification.

Arrested and charged with corruption and embezzlement

What happened to former East German leaders like Honecker post-revolution.