The Magic Lantern is a collection of essays by esteemed writer and historian Timothy Garton Ash. The essays recount the fall of the communists in Eastern Europe.
In the book, Ash gives firsthand accounts of the beginning of democracy in the previous communists’ states which included Poland, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia. These states became members of the communist regime after the Second World War. However, in the 1980s civil wars broke out in most of these states which shook the control of the Soviet Union over these states. In the year 1989, a successful democratic election was held in Poland which led to a major shift in power. The achievement of democracy in the country became the footing for democracy in the other states.
Ash was present on the day of the election and gives an account of how the first Democratic Party experienced hardship during its first years. According to the author, most of the party’s support came from the working-class citizens in the country. After the election, the leaders were forced underground by those who sought to maintain martial law.
However, the prominence of the labor union grew exponentially occupying over one-third of the nation’s population. The Catholic Church and the United States also joined the fight in support of the new political party. According to Ash, the United States government offered financial support to the group totaling up to ten million dollars over the course of twelve years.
Shortly after witnessing the election in Poland, Ash traveled to Hungary to record another key dismantling of the communist regime. Ash arrived in Budapest in time to witness the memorial of the Hungary reformist and leader, Imre Nagy. The memorial was attended by over two hundred thousand people who believed in Nagy’s fight to abolish the Soviet rule over the nation. Despite being a communist, Nagy led a revolution that became the first significant blow to the Soviet Rule in the country.
To silence his growing support, leaders of the communist party orders his arrest and execution. However, Nagy’s death became a battle cry for his supporters who continued fighting for his beliefs. According to Ash, the funeral and memorial played a key role in furthering the formation of a new regime in the country.
Ash then traveled to Prague, Czechoslovakia where a series of peaceful demonstrations were being held in the city aimed at shifting the country’s leadership. Unlike other European nations, the dismantling of the Communist rule took less time in Czechoslovakia. However, this was made possible by the growing support for democracy all over Europe.
