The following essay questions are samples; the actual questions will be similar to these, but may not be identical.  Expect some subtle changes or twists and make sure to read them carefully on the day of the exam.

II. Wartime and Post-War Eastern Europe Essay. (ca. 30 points)

You will have to answer one question in this section; at least two choices will be offered. 

1. Slavenka Drakulić claims that communism failed because of its inability to provide for people’s material needs.  Václav Havel speaks of its “decayed moral environment” which, in part, was based on its assumption that people’s material needs were all that mattered.  Can these views be reconciled into one explanation for why communism collapsed?  If not, which explanation is better?

2. Examining the varied experiences of East European countries during the Second World War, Jan Gross concludes that, “there were indeed many different national roads to socialism.” (Gross, “War as Revolution,” 19).  Briefly describe the road(s) to socialism that three East European countries took between 1941 and 1950; in doing so, agree or disagree with Gross’ statement. 

3. Timothy Garton Ash writes, “At first hearing it may sound quaint, but one of the recurrent problems in describing Communist systems… is precisely to find an appropriate collective noun for the people and institutions who actually wielded power” (92).   What such noun would you offer to describe who wielded power under “state socialism” and why?  The following authors might help you answer this question: Gross, Kovaly, Djilas, Kundera, Swain and Swain, Mlynař and/or Havel.  Be sure to elaborate on the source of this group’s power in your answer.  [Note: the sources are suggestions.  I do not expect you to use all of them in your answer!]

III. Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe Essay.  (ca. 50 points)

You will have to answer one question in this section; at least two choices will be offered. 

These questions are designed to require you to put together the big picture 20^th century Eastern Europe.  In studying for them, you should consider similarities and differences among the countries we have studied, as well as the key events covered in the course.  Putting together a chart may be helpful.  Wherever the term “twentieth century” is used, take it to mean the period 1914-1989.

1. To what extent were the most significant events in Eastern Europe in the twentieth century caused by East Europeans themselves, rather than outside forces (e.g., the “West”, the Soviets, the Germans, the Chinese, etc.).  That is, did East Europeans control their own “fate”? 

2. Did the countries we have been studying this term have a common history in the 20th century, or did their differences outweigh their commonalities?  Put another way, is there an Eastern Europe, or is this a “Seinfeld” course (about nothing)?  

3. Did the fault lines of Eastern Europe, as described by Stokes, Kundera, or perhaps other authors in the course, retain their significance throughout the twentieth century?  If so, how?  If not, why not?  Naturally you need to demonstrate an understanding of the supposed fault lines to answer this question.

4. To paraphrase the Sesame Street song, “one of these lands is not like the others.”  Choose one East European country and argue for its distinctiveness as compared to all the others.  Your answer should demonstrate a firm grasp of that country’s history over the course of the 20th century and what it is that the other countries share.