Abstract
Modern nations generally attach great importance to the teaching of history in their schools, for such instruction often serves as means to perpetuate and transmit the ideals and values inherent in their political forms of government. History is also frequently employed to justify government's action and to sanction its present conduct. Of all contemporary forms of government, communism-with view of itself as a science of society-has probably made the greatest use of history to serve political ends. The broad panorama of human history invariably is interpreted within MarxistLeninist framework which emphasizes the economic aspect of human life as the one great current in man's social and cultural development through the ages. This view applies from Hegelian philosophy the elements of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, in terms of changing economic conditions, to describe society as predeterministic evolutionary succession of social orders, each one supposedly representing higher stage of human relationships: primitive life, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and finally communism. Because of the importance of this interpretation of history to the communist state, the teaching of the subject in two communist nations has been selected for detailed analysis. In particular, the study seeks to determine what similarities and differences, if any, exist in content, interpretations, and procedures as result of the policies of each respective government. In order to limit the number of extraneous factors in the analysis, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria have been selected for the study. These are two Balkan, Slavic, Communist nations with adjoining boundaries and with many ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and historical similarities. The important variable lies in the fact that Yugoslavia is an independent communist country, whose leadership is not com itted to any particular power-block or alliance; while on the other hand, Bulgaria maint ins close political, social, and military ties with the Soviet Union and also holds membership in Comecon, the East European organization for trade and economic development.
Published Version
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