Central/Eastern Europe

Newly published documents on the landmark worker-led uprising of June 1953 in East Germany show that the crisis was far more widespread and protracted than previously believed. The documents, obtained from the files of the former ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) of East Germany, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), as well as other former Soviet bloc and American archives, also prove that the scale of the crackdown was much larger than official sources had indicated.

Washington, D.C., April 5, 2001 – On April 5 Poland celebrates the twelfth anniversary of the signing of the Round Table Agreements -- a landmark power-sharing agreement negotiated by representatives of the Communist Polish government, leaders of the long-outlawed union Solidarity, and leaders of the Catholic Church that allowed for the first free elections in Eastern Europe in nearly 50 years.  To mark the anniversary, the National Security Archive is publishing a new electronic briefing book, featuring recently declassified Department of State documents detailing the U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Twelve years ago today in Warsaw members of Poland’s communist government, officials of the Catholic Church, and representatives of the Solidarity trade union signed the Round Table Agreements, a landmark power-sharing agreement that set the stage for Poland’s first free elections since World War II.  To mark the anniversary, the National Security Archive is publishing on the web a new electronic briefing book, “Solidarity’s Coming Victory:  Big or Too Big?,” featuring recently declassified Department of State documents detailing the U.S.