how did the fall of communism in hungary contribute to turmoil in east germany
End of communism in Hungary (1989) In 1988, Communist Hungary also started making it easier for its own citizens to travel to the west, which led to May 1989’s removal of Hungary’s barbed wire fence with Austria. This caused East Germans, who were allowed only to travel to Communist countries, to go to Hungary and escape to West Germany through Austria, never to again return to communist East Germany. Putting foreign and communist relations at risk, Hungary’s Foreign Minister declared in September that it would not stop the thousands of East Germans fleeing to Austria.[5] This reflected Hungary’s general attitude towards the communist satellite setup: popular opinion was against communism, and Hungarians wanted independence. With Gorbachev’s new policy towards the satellites of not using military action in the satellite states, and general sovereignty within the confines of each individual country, popular public opinion was necessary.[6] And the possibility of a military regime was also out of the question. Imre Pozsgay told the Communist Party’s general secretary that “a Hungarian soldier ordered to shoot on his own people would either shoot his commander or go home to his mother.”[7]
Germany–Poland relations In 1918, Poland regained its place on the map. After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of its territories in West Prussia, East Upper Silesia and Danzig (Gdansk) and transferred them all to Poland. It was seen as a great injustice in the Weimar Republic, in part leading to the Nazi takeover of power in 1933. On 1 September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany, thus initiating World War II. The Third Reich established concentration camps in German-occupied Poland, the biggest located in Auschwitz. Poland suffered many casualties and huge damages during the war. After World War II, Germany lost its former eastern territories to Poland and the Soviet Union. In 1945-1950, a series of expulsions and fleeings happened, in which up to 16 million ethnic Germans were forced to leave their homes in Poland and resettle in post-war Germany. It was the largest forced movement of any population in history.