Archives Unbound:
British and European History
 
Archives Unbound: British and European History

This collection provides opportunities for an interdisciplinary examination of historical events in the United Kingdom and Europe. Included are US classified country reports, newspapers, pamphlets, propaganda, and many other primary sources that give insight on specific regional changes during and after the war.

Eastern Europe

Czechoslovakia Crisis, 1968: The State Department’s Crisis Files - The Czechoslovakia Crisis of 1968 was a watershed moment in world politics. The Soviet-led invasion was one of the more significant events in the decades long Cold War between the East and West. The occupation was the beginning of the end for the Czechoslovak reform movement known as the “Prague Spring.” The reform movement had been brewing for years, fed by economic problems as well as growing demands from Communist intellectuals for more freedom and pluralism within a socialist system. But it really gathered steam at the beginning of 1968, when the Communist Party's Central Committee replaced its hard-line First Secretary Antonin Novotny with the moderate reformer Alexander Dubcek, who eventually sided more and more clearly with the forces for change. The documents in The Czechoslovakia Crisis, 1968: The State Department’s Crisis Files were collected and collated from a variety of State Department sources and represent an administrative history of the crisis. This collection includes almost a day-by-day record of the events, including the U.S. and the West’s response to the Soviet occupation and dismantling of the liberal reforms.

Czechoslovakia from Liberation to Communist State, 1945-63: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files - During World War II, Czechoslovakia disappeared from the map of Europe. The re-emergence of Czechoslovakia as a sovereign state was not only the result of Allied policies but also an indication of the strength of the Czechoslovak idea. But Czechoslovakia now found itself within the Soviet sphere of influence—a fact that had to be considered in any postwar reconstruction.

East Germany from Stalinization to the New Economic Policy, 1950-1963 - Originally microfilmed as Records of the U.S. Department of State Relating to the Internal Affairs of East Germany, this digital collection provides an in-depth look into the creation of the East German state, living conditions, and its people. Documents included in this collection are predominantly instructions to and dispatches from U.S. diplomatic, and consular personnel regarding political, military, economic, social, industrial, and other internal conditions, and events in East Germany.

George H. W. Bush and Foreign Affairs: Bosnia and the Situation in the Former Yugoslavia - The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina came about as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia. In Yugoslavia the national Communist party, officially called Alliance or League of Communists of Yugoslavia, was losing its ideological potency, while nationalist and separatist ideologies were on the rise in the late 1980s. Crisis erupted with the weakening of the Communist system at the end of the Cold War. This was particularly noticeable in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to a lesser extent in Slovenia and Republic of Macedonia. Throughout 1991 international and national political maneuvering failed to prevent Bosnia from slipping into civil war. This collection consists of comprehensive materials related to the former Yugoslavia, particularly Bosnia, and U.S. presidential decision-making. Documents constitute the complete FOIA request listed as 1998-0102-FL: Records on Bosnia and the Former Yugoslavia.

Hungary: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1945-1963 - Hungary from the end of the Second World War to 1963 is the focus of this collection. Covered here is the critical period of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 against the Soviet-backed government, and one of the most dramatic events of the Cold War, the flow of tens of thousands of refugees out of Hungary is tracked in many records. The documents are sourced from the Central Files of the General Records of the Department of State. The records are under the jurisdiction of the Legislative and Diplomatic Branch of the Civil Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

Poland: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1945-1963 - These documents illuminate Poland's internal affairs and include dispatches, instructions, and diplomatic correspondence dealing with topics such as political affairs and government; public order and safety; military affairs; social matters (including history and culture); economic conditions (including immigration and emigration); industry and agriculture; communications and transportation; and navigation. Because of the broad scope of these records, they both supplement and complement the coverage offered by the Department of State's own Foreign Relations of the United States series.

Romania: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1945-1963 - Romania in the postwar Stalinist era is the subject of this archive. The Red Army swept into Romania in 1944, and in the late 1940s and 1950s the Romanian Communist Party imposed a totalitarian regime. An elaborate security system manned by the secret police and supported by a repressive prison network, enforced obedience to the party. Documents include excerpts from “International Developments of Naval Interest,” 6 February 1948, by the Office of Naval Intelligence: “Confiscation of private property in an attempt to destroy the capitalist class, heretofore limited to Rumanian businessmen, is now being extended to foreigners. One method employed by the Rumanian Government is to accuse foreign owners of ‘economic sabotage.’ …Another method being employed to seize foreign businesses is to tax them out of existence.” The documents here are sourced from the Central Files of the General Records of the Department of State. The records are under the jurisdiction of the Legislative and Diplomatic Branch of the Civil Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

Socialism and National Unity in Yugoslavia, 1945-63: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files - Lacking a tradition of political compromise that might forge a national consensus, Yugoslavia remained divided as World War II ended. More than three years of Nazi occupation yielded bloody fighting among three Yugoslav factions as well as with the invaders. Two results of that war had impact on the postwar condition of Yugoslavia. The first was a vivid new set of memories to kindle hostility between Serbs and Croats, the majority of whom had fought on opposite sides in the occupation years; the second was the emergence of the unifying war hero Tito, who became dictator of a nonaligned communist federation. After declaring independence from the Soviet alliance in 1948, Tito also modified Yugoslavia's Stalinist command economy by giving local worker groups limited control in a self-management system. Although ultimately dominated by the party, this system brought substantial economic growth and made Yugoslavia a model for the nonaligned world.