Genocide – from the crime to the legal rule

Th e history of the middle and eastern Europe in the 20th cent. is often perceived through the several revolutionary changes, namely transformations. Th e fi rst of them was the dismantling of the 19th-century empires, i.e. the Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian, and German ones, after the Treaty of Versailles. Th e second one was the failure of Hitler`s project of establishing the 3rd Reich empire after 1945. Th e third transformation was imposing on the countries of eastern and middle Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) the Soviet order, i.e. the communist dictatorship and elimination of the free market rules, right after the overthrowing of the Nazi occupation. Th e fourth transformation took place in 1989 when the societies of the above mentioned countries decided to take advantage of the weakening of the authorities in the USSR. It was then that manifestations of the millions resulted in overthrowing of the communist rulers, which resulted in the fi rst actual elections of the legislative after the outbreak of the WWII. New authorities basing on the mandate of their voters initiated the establishing of democratic system and reintroduction of the free market that had been destroyed by the communists. Genocide – from the crime to the legal rule CONFRONTATION AND COOPERATION