ABSTRACT
The communist domination of eastern Europe was not accomplished overnight. The commissars did not simply move in as soon as the Gauleiters had packed their bags and left; the takeovers were complex processes varying in form and timing from country to country. In a classic examination of these processes Hugh Seton Watson discerned three stages: a general coalition of left-wing, anti-fascist forces; a bogus coalition in which the communists neutralised those in other parties who were not willing to accept communist supremacy; and finally, complete communist domination, frequently exercised in a new party formed by the fusion of communist and other leftist groups. During the first and second stages the communists established enormous influence through social organisations under their control, such as trade unions, women’s and youth associations, professional bodies, and Soviet friendship societies, all of which were usually grouped in a ‘national’ or ‘popular’ front which was directed by the communists or their lackeys. As one young communist was told in eastern Germany: ‘Its got to look democratic, but we must have everything in our control.’1
