The unraveling of the Soviet Block began in ____________.?

Question

A. Poland
B. Romania
C. Hungary

Answer 1

The question could be referring to either Poland and the Solidarity movement, or to Hungary and either the 1956 revolution, or the decision in 1989 to allow East German vacationers to exit the country into Austria, which began a chain reaction that resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall, the overthrow and death of Ceaucescu in Romania, and the end of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union.

There's a nice personal account of the fall of the Wall, plus a timeline of events leading up to it, here:

http://www.andreas.com/berlin.html

Answer 2

I suspect the answer being looked for is Poland, due to Lech Walesa and his movement. But, Hungary attempted a revolt in 1956 which was bloodily put down. This exposed the fiction that the Soviets had maintained that the Warsaw Pact nations were voluntarily aligned with the USSR.

Answer 3

Probably Hungary, as the 1956 uprising emphasised that Eastern Europe was under Soviet domination rather than being a group of unquestioning allies.

The Solidarity movement of Lech Walesa saw that Soviet involvement in Afghanistan was it's achilles heel and could be exploited to gain freedom from the Soviet yoke.

Answer 4

"In early August 1980, the wave of strikes led to founding of the independent trade union "Solidarity" (Polish Solidarność) by electrician Lech Wałęsa. The growing strength of the opposition led government of Wojciech Jaruzelski to declare martial law in December 1981. However, with the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, increasing pressure from the West, and continuing unrest, the Communists were forced to negotiate with their opponents. The 1988 Round Table Talks led to Solidarity's participation in the elections of 1989; its candidates' striking victory sparked off a succession of peaceful transitions from Communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe."

"History of Poland (1945-1989)" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_%281945-1989%29