Habersack, Sabine - Puşcaş, Vasile - Ciubotă, Viorel (szerk.): Democraţia in Europa centrală şi de Sud-Est - Aspiraţie şi realitate (Secolele XIX-XX) (Satu Mare, 2001)
Stepan Vidnyansky: Central-Eastern Europe int he Period Between Two World Wars: Between Democracy and Dictatorship
And the tragedy of the Second World war helped them to finally accept themselves as Austrian nation. Post-war devastation, economical crisis, hunger and unemployment significantly intensified social activity and internal political struggle in the countries of Central-Eastern Europe. In some of them (Austria, Hungary) was conducted democratical revolutions, in others (Bulgaria, Poland) took place a great rebellions of working class and vast masses. Worsening of social-economical situation caused the activization of left-radical powers, which were instigated by Russian bolshevics. In Hungary and Slovakia in 1919 there were proclaimed soviet republics, after Russian’s example. Leaders of these countries tried to establish revolution power in the form of proletarian dictatorship. But these republics were destroyed without strong support. For the young countries of Central-Eastern Europe, development of constitutional processes and adopting of new constitutions, that showed political realities, were typical. So, in February of 1920, the constitution have been passed in Czechoslovakia, in March, 1921 - in Poland, in June 1921 have been passed Vidovdan’s constitution in Kingdom of Serbs, Chroats and Slovens, in 1923 - in Romania. Almost all constitutions of that time proclamed formal equality of citizens, independently of their birth, language and religion, gave them democratical freedoms that coarsely broke. In the political life of countries, parties started to play a great role more and more. They had the most important social base, they demanded to carry out agrarian reforms, limitation of big landownership and allotment of countrymen by land. These questions decided in different ways: for example, solving of agrarian questions in Czechoslovakia and KSCS took place not so difficult as in other countries, because it carried out at the expense of German and Hungarian landownership. In particular, country parties in countries of Central-Eastern Europe in the period between wars there were the bearers of ideas, connected with searching of an other alternative, “the third way” of social development, which would give a sense of stability, order. And in the same time, it could calm down “class fights” and “wild capitalism” simultaneously. This alternative model was different in different countries. But in general, it had conservative and traditional character. Together with social and political problems, there were the national problems, that appeared on historical, territorial, economical, cultural and religious basis. In Yugoslavia, for example, antagonism was typical for the relations between Serbs and Chroats, in Romania, in particular in Transylvania, between Hungarians and Romanians. In Romania and also Between democracy and dictatorship 147
