Unit 9 - Cold War & Contemporary Europe

Marshall Plan

A 1947 American plan to revive war-torn economies of Europe

- offered $13 billion in aid to western and Southern Europe

- supported belief that restoring economic stability would prevent communism from growing

- supported construction projects and revival of industry

- aid was offered to the USSR but they declined

Satellite nations

Countries that fell under Soviet influence in the postwar era

- included Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and East Germany

European Economic Community (Common Market)

An organization promoting economic unity in Europe, formed in 1957

- joined France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Italy

- enabled free trade between those nations

United Nations (UN)

an organization of nations formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

- Roosevelt and Churchill hoped the new organization would prevent disputes between nations

Self-determination

the right of people to choose their own form of government

- US and Britain supported free elections for the nations of Eastern Europe that the Soviets had liberated from the Nazis

- Stalin insisted those nations remain under his control

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West

- represents the sharp divide between the two spheres of influence

Truman Doctrine

US President Harry Truman's 1947 policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology

- designed to support "domino theory" that the "fall" of one nation to communism would cause neighboring nations to fall

Nuclear Arms Race

Cold War competition between U.S. and Soviet Union to develop the most advanced nuclear weapons

- the idea of mutually assured destruction ensured that neither side would use their weapons against the other

- caused tension across the world

Covert actions

a military operation that is carried out secretly and often outside of official channels

- organizations like the KGB (Soviet), MI6 (Britain), and CIA (US) were some agencies involved in spying

Korean War

The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea.

- United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea

- China and USSR supported North Korea

- example of a Cold War proxy ("hot") war

Vietnam War

The conflict between communist armies of North Vietnam (supported by China and USSR) and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam (supported by US)

- example of Cold War proxy ("hot") war

Non-Aligned Movement

The group of nations that didn't side with either the US or the USSR during the Cold War

- examples include India, Yugoslavia, and Indonesia

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

1949 alliance of nations that agreed to band together in the event of war and to support and protect each nation involved

- 10 nations of western Europe along with the US and Canada were the original nations

World Bank and International Monetary Fund

international organizations that were created following the Bretton Woods conference in 1944

- seek to reduce poverty around the world, provide financial advice and aid, and provide loans and technical assistance to developing countries

- as of 2021, over 180 countries are a part of the IMF

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

a 1948 agreement that established an international forum for negotiating a reduction of trade restrictions

- enabled easier trade between member nations

- led to a stark decrease in tariff rates, which led to lower prices for consumers

World Trade Organization (WTO)

a global institution to promote international trade and to settle international trade disputes that replaced GATT in 1995

- today, it has 164 member nations and controls 96% of world trade

- some believe that it creates a "global government" that interferes with the rights of individual countries

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON)

An economic alliance created in 1949 to coordinate the economic affairs of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries

- created in response to USSR's rejection of the Marshall Plan

- other communist nations like Cuba and Vietnam would also join

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance between the Soviet Union and its satellite nations in response to the creation of NATO

- Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania joined

- USSR dominated and forced the satellites to send a certain number of soldiers each year to be controlled by the USSR

Soviet bloc

General term for the nations of Eastern Europe that were closely bound to the USSR, which controlled all aspects of life in the region

Planned economies

economic systems directed by government agencies

- USSR Communist party controlled economies of all Soviet-bloc countries

- determined what was produced, how much was produced, and where it would be sold

- little emphasis on consumer goods (leading to shortages of clothing, medicine, etc) and heavy emphasis on industry

Berlin Wall

A fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, Germany, built in 1961 to prevent East German citizens from escaping to the West after waves of skilled workers and professionals previously fled

- topped with barbed wire and monitored by armed guards

- symbolized repression and Soviet control

- demolished in 1989, which symbolized the end of the Cold War

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of USSR from 1956-1964 following the death of Stalin

- led de-Stalinization efforts to ease restrictions and control over Soviet citizens, particularly when it came to political restrictions and economic policies

- tried to give more autonomy to Eastern European satellites but it ended up leading to more revolts

De-Stalinization

Khrushchev's policy of ridding the Soviet Union of Stalin's memory and influence after his death

- less censorship

- releasing political prisoners

- allowed certain people to change jobs

- decreased power of secret police

- agreed to give satellite governments in Eastern Europe more autonomy, but anger over lingering restrictions led to revolts

Prague Spring

In 1968, Czechoslovakia (Soviet satellite) began to reform and ease censorship

- government promised civil liberties, democratic political reforms, and a more independent political system

- The Soviet Union invaded the country to defend communism and put down the short-lived period of freedom

Glasnost

"openness"

- policy of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev after 1989 which called for more openness with the nations of West, and a relaxing of restraints on Soviet citizenry

Perestroika

"restructuring"

- policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev after 1989 that involved restructuring of the society and economy in communist Russia towards a market based economy and society

The Troubles in Ireland

Began in 1968 and lasted 30 years

- escalation of conflict in Northern Ireland against British rule and discrimination of Irish Catholics by Protestants

- Irish Republican Army (IRA) began violent campaign to free Northern Ireland from British rule and unite it with Ireland

Yugoslavia

This country was created after WWI, uniting ethnicities that spoke similar Slavic languages

- Fell under the control of powerful dictator Josip Tito after WWII that lasted until 1980

- communist country

- member of the Non-Aligned Movement (did not follow Soviet doctrine)

- dissolved in the 1990s following the independence of several nations

Kosovo

region of Yugoslavia that was targeted by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the late 1990s

- Milosevic attempted ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslims in the area

welfare state

A government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation

- used by British government after WWII

cradle-to-grave system

type of welfare state that provides protections and services for citizens at every stage of life from birth to death

Margaret Thatcher

First female Prime Minister of Britain and strong conservative who came to power in the 1980s

- pledged to limit social welfare, restrict union power, and end inflation

- "Thatcherism" - cut spending which helped economy but caused unemployment

Detente

the policy of easing hostility or strained relations, especially between the US and USSR during the 1970s

Leonid Brezhnev

Seized power from Nikita Khrushchev and became leader of the Soviet Communist party in 1964.

- supporter of using military force against protestors, particularly in the pro-democracy Prague Spring

- continued enforcing development of industry, which led to economic decline and stagnation

Mikhail Gorbachev

Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991.

- recognized need to change Soviet society and improve standard of living

- used perestroika to add capitalist elements to the economy

- used glasnost to change the political system and encourage discourse

- improved relations with the West, but his reforms led to an increase in violent protests and ultimately the collapse of the USSR

Boris Yeltsin

Became the first democratically elected leader of Russia in 1991, which led to the collapse of the USSR

Solidarity Movement

Polish labor movement in the 1970s led by Lech Walesa

- used peaceful civil resistance for workers' rights and social change against the communist government

- one of the first movements in a Soviet satellite nation to challenge the communist government

- led the government holding free elections in 1988 for the first time in an Eastern European nation since 1948, and Lech Walesa was elected president in 1990

Second Wave Feminism

Revival of woman's rights movement in the 1960s with a different agenda than earlier women's suffrage movements

- demanded equal rights for women in employment and education, women's right to control their own bodies, and the end of patriarchal domination.

- response to postwar ideal of domesticated housewife

Simone de Beauvoir

French author of "The Second Sex", written in 1949

- wrote that the feminine myth limited women's intellectual and professional opportunities

- believed women should be political active

- believed that all individuals, regardless of gender, should be given the same opportunities

birth control pill

Oral contraceptive that became available throughout the US and much of Europe in the 1960s

- gave women greater control over their fertility and helped families plan when to have children

- opposed by the Catholic Church

Decolonization

The collapse of European colonial empires

- between 1947 and 1962, almost all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence

- caused by increased nationalist movements following the world wars

- many European countries were so weakened by WWII that they could no longer control their vast empires

- independent former colonies still relied on Europe for financial aid, technology, and job opportunities

Mandate system

The plan to allow Britain and France to administer former Ottoman and German colonies following World War I

- especially important in the Middle East, where Britain controlled mandates like Iraq and Palestine and France controlled mandates like Syria and Lebanon

- European nations especially wanted control in the region because of the vast amounts of oil

Maastricht Treaty

Treaty created in 1991 that established the basis for the European Union and the euro

- set financial criteria and cultural standards for potential member states to join the proposed union

- set 1999 as the start date for the establishment of the EU

- Euro currency didn't go into circulation until 2002

European Union (EU)

An economic association established in 1957 under the name EEC (Common Market) and rebranded in the 1990s by including new areas of focus like security and environmental affairs

- includes 27 member countries

- allows free movement of goods, services, money, and people between the member countries

Brexit

Term for the 2016 British decision to leave the EU

- Britain officially left in 2020

Nuclear Proliferation

the spread of nuclear weapons

- became a concern during the Cold War

- as of 2021, 9 countries had nuclear weapons: Russia, the US, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea

- threat of nuclear war remains

Surrealism

An artistic movement developed in the 1920s that displayed vivid dream worlds, fantastic unreal images, and the unconscious mind

- developed out of Dadaism

- influenced by psychological theories of Freud

- famous Surrealist: Salvador Dali