The dismantling of the Eastern bloc

• 1. June 1989 in Poland: the Solidarity trade union was legalised. It won a landslide victory in the Polish elections that took place
• 2. September 1989 in East Germany: huge numbers of people from East Germany left for the West via Hungary. On one day alone (September 11) over 125000 crossed the border
• 3. October 1989 in East Germany: the East German government announced that the border crossings between East and West would be opened. Thousands of East Berliners forced their way through and citizens from both sides start to physically dismantle the Berlin Wall. East and West Germany are formally reunited in 1990
• 4. May 1989 in Hungary: the government took down the fences along the border with Austria. It promised a new democratic government and free elections were held in October
• 5. November 1989 in Czechoslovakia: the 'Velvet Revolution' overthrew the communist government as the anti-communist Vaclav Havel was elected president
• 6. December 1989 in Romania: large scale public demonstrations take place against the communist government and the dictator Ceausescu is overthrown and executed
• 7. December 1989 in Bulgaria: the communist leader Peter Mladenov resigns live on national television and free elections are held in 1990
• 8. December 1990 in Yugoslavia: Slovenia voted to become independent in a free referendum. Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina all voted to become independent. Kosovo and Macedonia declared independence in mid 1990s. Yugoslavia no longer existed
• 9. Communism in the satellite states was at an end. The Eastern bloc no longer existed