The Cold War
(1947-1991)
The end of World War II brought forth the rise of Stalinism in Eastern Europe as the Soviet Union attempted to expand communist ideology to surrounding countries. The US, being fundamentally anti-communist, initiated a strategy called "containment," which was meant to prevent the spread of communism. The result was almost half a century of tension between the Eastern Bloc (a group of socialist states in Eastern Europe, East Asia, and South-East Asia, under the influence of the USSR), and the Western Bloc (a group of countries that aligned with the United States and its position on the Soviet Union)
In 1946 the the USSR's Minister of Culture Alexander Zhdanov launched a new restrictive campaign for censorship of all art forms. All films were required to demonstrate Communist heroism and patriotism without ambiguity of motive. These new regulations brought film production to a virtual standstill, and most of the films made during this time glorified Joseph Stalin. Georgian Mikhail Chiaurelli was a prominent director of the time whose films depict an intense devotion to Stalin.
The years between the death of Stalin in 1953 and the rise to power of Nikita Krushchev in 1958 were known widely as "the thaw," and were characterized by a relaxation of certain strict regulations imposed upon the Soviet people. Within the film industry, censorship was lightened, and production greatly increased. In 1956 Krushchev attacked Stalin's dictatorial policies, singling out the film industry as fostering his "cult of personality." The response was an influx in war cinema, viewing Stalinism in a different light. Mikhail Kalatozov's 1957 film The Cranes are Flying depicts the unheroic life on the home front where a woman cheats on her fiancé, a soldier, with his brother who works on the black market. Although this film does display patriotism, it was a great step in allowing freedom of thought back to soviet cinema.
A 1951 Soviet film directed by Mikheil Chiaureli glorifying the rise of Stalinism
A 1957 Soviet film Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
A 1958 anti-communist Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It is the final and most radical film in a trilogy of anti-communist works, all directed by Wajda (watch from 38:45-40:31)
Most countries in Eastern Europe followed the Soviet structure of film production, although censorship was not as strict, and films with anti-communist themes were common. Of these countries, Poland was the most resistant to the expansion of communism. In 1955 the Polish film industry established a new system that limited government control of film production. The most famous Polish director of the period was Andrzej Wajda. Wajda made three films with increasingly overt anti-communist messages (see A Generation and Kanal on the "Further watching" page).