The power of freedom: Central and Eastern Europe after 1945

Mart Laar?s book ?The Power of Freedom? offers an unprecedentedly compact overview of the history of Central and Eastern Europe since 1945. The author covers topics ranging from Red Terror and anti-commumist resistance in Eastern Europe to reasoning why communism fails and freedom works, all delivered by a historian who lived on the isolated side of the Iron Curtain. Additionally, Mart Laar?s role at the epicentre of economic reforms as Estonia?s Prime Minister provides a basis for particularly insightful analyses on post-communist reforms and European integration.

"The Power of Freedom" describes a gripping journey through the history of Central and Eastern Europe, mapping the anticommunist resistance and the changes of 1989. It offers a detailed analysis of alternative models of post-communist transition and successful integration of Central and Eastern European countries into the Euro–Atlantic structures. It is a book about courage and solidarity. It is also a book about freedom and democracy winning over fear and oppression.

Author - 6 Acknowledgments - 7 Foreword - 8 On the other side of the curtain - 13 The old New Europe - 13 Between Two Evils - Central and Eastern Europe during the Second World War - 22 Back to the shadow: the Communist takeover and the Red Terror - 33 Usual Communism - 49 East and West - 59 Toward Freedom! The Fight against Communist Domination - 69 The Fight Begins: the Start of the Cold War - 69 The forgotten war: armed resistance to Communism 1944-1956 - 73 East Germany - 83 The Lost Opportunity: 1956 - 87 Prague, 1968 - 100 Turning the tide: a Polish pope and Solidarity - 107 Winning the Cold War - 116 A new start: the singing - 123 1989: Revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe - 128 The fall of the Soviet Empire - 142 The new start - 151 The heavy heritage of - 151 Out of the Red fog: political developments in Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of - 159 Just do it: economic and political reforms in transition countries during the 1990s - 168 The Vilnius express: the former Communists return to - 179 In from the cold: the results of the reforms at the end of the millennium - 184 First lessons - 194 Europes historic unification - 207 First steps back to the Europe - 207 The crucial Copenhagen - 208 Applications for accession and different paces in - 210 Negotiations and the decision in favour of Big Bang enlargement - 212 The People say yes - 213 The end of a divided Europe - 215 NATO becomes the central axis of - 216 Western allies and Russia - 217 NATOs Baltic dilemma - 219 Breakthrough and NATO enlargement - 222 The Freedom works: Central and Eastern Europe during the new millennium - 225 Politics as usual - political developments in Central and Eastern - 225 The Economic development in Central and Eastern Europe during the new millennium - 233 Results of 20 years of freedom - 240 Freedom still works new challenges for a new Europe - 248 Conclusion - 251