Ebook: Eastern Europe

My interest in Eastern Europe was first aroused many years ago by the lectures of Harriet Wanklyn (Mrs. J. A. Steers) at Cambridge University and was several years later sharpened by association with colleagues in the Institute of East European Studies at Indiana University. The concept of Eastern Europe was changed radically, between these two dates by the events of the Second World War and its aftermath. Previously it had been the ‘Eastern Marchlands’ of Europe; afterwards, it became the territory of the People’s Democra¬ cies. It is in this latter sense that Eastern Europe is defined in this book. Only in this way can one justify the inclusion of the German Democratic Republic, and the exclusion of Greece, to whose civilisa¬ tion much of Eastern Europe owes far more than it does to the Germans.
This book was begun under the shadow of Stalin; it was completed at a time when the unity of the bloc had become an illusion, and some of its members were consciously and openly departing from Marxist- Leninist orthodoxy. The intervening years were a period ofrevolution¬ ary change and rapid economic growth. This growth is continuing, so that the qualitative and quantitative discussions of these changes contained in the following pages may date quite rapidly. Fortunately all the countries discussed publish statistical yearbooks, some ofwhich are of a high quality, as well as a considerable literature on the field of geography, both academic and popular.
The author has been able to travel extensively in the area from 1956 onwards, and has visited most parts of seven out of the eight countries. Only Albania has eluded him, and he has so far been obliged to content himself with a Pisgah-view of the promised land from hilltops in Greece and Yugoslavia.
All photographs used were taken by the author in the course of these travels, with the exception only of *. All maps were drawn by him but he gratefully acknowledges the help of John M. Hollings¬ worth and Brian C. Goodey in printing the lettering on them.
East European place-names have presented a problem. The prac¬ tice was adopted of using the forms of these names that were current locally, with the exception only of a few names, such as Warsaw and Danube, which are too well-established to be avoided. This has necessarily led to the use of two or even three forms, according to the context, for a single feature. The Polish Odra and Czech Labe, for example, become the East German Oder and Elbe respectively, while the Drim changes to the Drin as it crosses the boundary from Yugoslavia to Albania. Alternative forms are in the more important cases given in the text, and a fuller list of variant forms of place- names is given in the appendix.
He is greatly indebted to many friends both within and outside of Eastern Europe who have helped him on his travels and given him the benefit of their knowledge and experience. In particular he would like to mention: Doctors Kostrowicki, Koszinski, Kuklinski, Leszczicki and Dziewonski of the Instytut Geografii, Polish Academy of Science; Professor George W. Hoffman of the University of Texas, Professor Robert N. Taaffe of the University of Wisconsin, and his friends and colleagues, past and present, of Indiana University especially Professors Vaclav L. Benes, Lowell C. Bennion, Gretchen Buehler, Barbara Jelavich, Charles Jelavich, James Scott, Denis Sinor, and Barbara Zakrzewska. He would also like to acknowledge the help of many of his students, especially Hristo Hristov and Bela Ovary, and of Professor Stanley Beaver who edited this book, and of his wife who accompanied him on many arduous journeys in Eastern Europe.