AP European History Chapter 18

the renaissance

the Cold War stemmed from worldviews created during this era

virtu

your individual beliefs are part of your destiny; you control your destiny

Atlantic Charter (1941)

World War II alliance agreement between the United States and Britain before US had entered the war; included a clause that recognized the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they live; indicated sympathy for decolonization; free market/trade

- foundation of UN + "Big Three"

"Big Three"

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin

Yalta Conference (1945)

Big Three meet about postwar Europe, UN and Japan

- FDR and Churchill encourage Stalin to do free elections in the areas he controls

Sphere of Influence vs. Self-Determination

crux of the Cold War

Potsdam Conference (1945)

Divided Germany into 4 military regions each controlled by the US, France, Great Britain, and the USSR after World War II. Berlin was also divided in the same manner.

- Oppenheimer's nuclear bomb tests have just succeeded, Truman threatens Stalin with this in demanding free elections

Nuremberg Trials

A series of court proceedings held in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II, in which Nazi leaders were tried for aggression, violations of the rules of war, and crimes against humanity.

Bretton Woods Agreement (1944)

44 Allied nations meet in New Hampshire, establish a new international monetary system to prevent the economic crisis that had led to the Great Depression

- USD as the global reserve currency + convertible into gold

- IMF, GATT and World Bank established

IMF (International Monetary Fund)

monitors exchange rates and lends reserve currencies to struggling nations

GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)

international agreement first signed in 1947 aimed at lowering trade barriers

World Bank

an international bank that offers low-interest loans, advice, and information to developing nations

- provided financial assistance to post-war reconstruction

Greek civil war (1946)

results from US supporting Greek anti-communist forces with the Bretton Woods Agreement terms, communist forces defeated

- one of the first stages in the Cold War

Chinese Civil War (1946-1949)

exacerbated by the US' aid to nationalist, anti-communist leader Chiang Kai-Shek

- Nationalist govt.'s economic mismanagement leads to defeat by Mao Zedong and China's exclusion from the Bretton Woods agreement

Chiang Kai-Shek

Nationalist Chinese leader

Mao Zedong

Chinese communist leader

"Iron Curtain" Speech

Given by the former Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, in Missouri, in which he talks about the dangers of communism engulfing Europe.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

A policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey + any country threatened by communist expansion with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere

- inspired by the ideas of George F. Kennan

George F. Kennan

an American advisor, diplomat, political scientist, and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. He later wrote standard histories of the relations between Russia and the Western powers.

containment

American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world

Marshall Plan (1948-1951)

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe

- ultimately offered $13B (150B today) in aid

- aimed for containment, creating strong European markets for US goods, and fostering european financial cooperation

- provided recipient countries with essential resources

- participating nations must work together to determine needs/distribute aid

European Coal and Steel Community

international organization to control and integrate all European coal and steel production. Consisted of West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. Number 1 goal to be so close together economically that war against them impossible. "The six".

- designed to prevent war between France and Germany

- lead to the Treaty of Rome

Treaty of Rome (1957)

The founding document of the European Economic Community (EEC) or Common Market, now subsumed by the European Union

- broader common market eliminating trade barriers/customs duties among member states

European Economic Community (EEC)

broader common market eliminating trade barriers/customs duties among member states

Communist Information Bureau (Cominform)

a Soviet-dominated organization of Communist parties founded in September 1947 to coordinate actions between Communist parties under Soviet direction

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON)

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

- USSR creates dependency + uneven development

Berlin Airlift, 1948

Joint effort by the US and Britian to fly food and supplies into W Berlin after the Soviet blocked off all ground routes into the city

Federal Republic of Germany

Eventual name of postwar West Germany, following Berlin Airlift; created by the merging of the zones of occupation held by France, Britain, and the United States.

German Democratic Republic

In response to the formation of a united West Germany following the Berlin Airlift, the Soviets created this territory, also known as East Germany

Mutual Assured Destruction

idea that both sides would face certain destruction in a nuclear war

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a group of 28 countries that has agreed to protect each other in case of attack; founded in 1949

- represented the Western Bloc in the Cold War

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to NATO

- represented the Eastern Bloc in the Cold War

Korean War

The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea, while the Chinese Communist government helped North Korea

Great Leap Forward

Started by Mao Zedong, combined collective farms into People's Communes in an attempt to rapidly industrialize, failed because there was no incentive to work harder, ended after 2 years

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

northern half of Korea dominated by USSR after Word War II; formed a communist dictatorship under Kim Il-Sung; attacked South Korea to begin the Korean War.

Republic of Korea

southern half of Korea occupied by the United States after World War II; developed parliamentary institutions under authoritarian rulers; underwent major industrial and economic growth after the 1950s.

38th parallel

Dividing line between North and South Korea

Kim Il-Sung

Communist leader of North Korea; his attack on South Korea in 1950 started the Korean War. He remained in power until 1994.

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

defensive alliance aimed at preventing the spread of communism in Southeast Asia

- only 3 Asian member states

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese (Ho Chi Minh) and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam

Viet Kong

Communist guerrilla force that functioned as North Vietnam's army in the Vietnam War.

Fall of Saigon

Marked the end of the Vietnam War in April, 1975 when North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam, forcing all Americans left to flee in disarray as the capitol was taken

hydrogen bombs

thermonuclear weapon developed by both US and USSR during the Cold War

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 crisis that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba

- USSR agreed to take missiles out of Cuba if US did notinvade Cuba

Sputnik

kicked off the Space Race; launched by Soviets

Apollo 11

1st successful moon mission by the US in 1969

1956 Hungarian Revolution

spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian people's republic and its soviet imposed policies. First major threat to soviet control since the USSR's forces drove out the Nazis at the end of the cold war.

1968 Prague Spring

Attempt by Czechoslovakia's Communists led by Alexander Dubcek to provide "Socialism with a Human Face" in which free speech and a free press would exist, the country would be opened to the West, with economic reforms promised as well.

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

Nikita Khruschev (1894-1971)

denounced Stalin in his "Secret speech" + his "cult of personality"

- destalinization

- introduced foreign policy of "peaceful coexistence"

Secret Speech of 1956

speech by Nikita Khruschev that denounces Stalin's policies and purges

destalinization

Nikita Khruschev's principle of purging the country of Stalin's memory

cult of personality

Promotion of the image of an authoritarian leader not merely as a political figure but as someone who embodies the spirit of the nation and possesses endowments of wisdom and strength far beyond those of the average individual.

peaceful coexistence

foreign policy promoted by Khruschev promoting cultural/economic competition with capitalist states, not military

McMahon-Hussein Letters (1915-1916)

Correspondence between British and Arab leaders indicating that Britain would support an Arab state

Sykes-Picot Agreement (1915-1916)

The 1916 secret agreement between Britain and France that divided up the Arab lands of Lebanon, Syria, southern Turkey, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq.

mandate system

The plan to allow Britain and France to administer former Ottoman territories, put into place after the end of the First World War

Balfour Declaration (1917)

British promise of support for the establishment of Jewish settlement in Palestine.

First Arab-Israeli War (1949)

five Arab countries invade Israel immediately after declaring its independence; Israel defends + pushed UN's partitioned boundaries

Colonel Gamal Nasser

An Egyptian military officer who led a coup in 1954 and seized power. He became the leader of the Pan-Arab movement. He freed Egypt of all colonial influences and emerged as the leader of the Arab world

- nationalized the Suez Canal

- Aswan Dam

Aswan Dam

It was built in 1956 to control the flooding of the Nile River. The dam gives Egyptian farmers a more dependable source of water for their crops. It also gives Egypt electrical power.

- gave Egypt independency/self-determination

Pan-Arab Nationalism

forms in Palestine against potential Jewish state

Nationalization of the Suez Canal (1956)

caused by the fact that Egypt is still controlled by the British due to the Suez Canal; this action causes Egypt to control oil/shipping

- results in Anglo-French-Israeli alliance but US determines Egypt the victor

Anglo-French-Israeli Alliance

created to counter Egypt's nationalization of the Suez Canal

Space Race

A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union.

Operation Paperclip (1945-1959)

The program set up by the American government during the end of World War II to obtain technological information and recruit scientists from Germany including those who had worked with the Nazi Party.

Launch of Sputnik (1957)

the world's first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union; was a monumental event that ushered in the space age and sparked the Space Race with the United States

R-7 Semyorka

the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile

U-2 Incident (1960)

the downing of a U.S. spy plane and capture of its pilot by the Soviet Union in 1960

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West; falls in 1989, marking the end of the Cold War

Thirteen Days

The period at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis during which there seemed to be the greatest threat of nuclear war.

Cuban Communist Revolution

the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista's regime by the 26th of July Movement and the establishment of a new Cuban government led by Fidel Castro in 1959

Bay of Pigs (Oct. 16-28, 1962)

An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

removal of warheads, nuclear hotline

outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis

nuclear hotline

a direct communication link established in 1963 between the United States and the Soviet Union to facilitate immediate dialogue and prevent misunderstandings that could lead to nuclear war (prompted by the Cuban Missile Crisis)

Decolonization

The collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence.

Self-Determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Woodrow Wilson

sparked the idea of self determination in his 14 points post-WWI

Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022)

Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. His liberalization effort improved relations with the West, but he lost power after his reforms led to the collapse of Communist governments in eastern Europe.

Perestroika

A policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev that involved restructuring of the social and economic status quo in communist Russia towards a market based economy and society

Glasnost

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

Democratization

the process of creating a government elected by the people; done by Mikhail Gorbachev through allowing free elections in the Soviet Bloc (ex. Poland)

Afghanistan

country from which Soviet troops withdrew, thereby leading to a power vacuum that allowed the mujahideen to oust the Soviet-backed government, but their internal conflicts and the rise of the Taliban led to a new civil war and the Taliban's eventual seizure of power in 1996

Mujahideen

guerrilla fighters in Islamic countries, especially those who are fighting against non-Muslim forces.

Taliban

A fundamentalist Muslim movement whose militia took control of much of Afghanistan from early 1995, following Afghanistan's break away from the USSR.

Helmut Kohl (1930-2017)

Christian Democrat chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 who cut taxes and government spending, policies that led to increased unemployment but economic growth; he also presided over the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany

Velvet Revolution

A peaceful protest by the Czech people that led to the smooth end of communism in Czechoslovakia.

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

French existentialist most famous for his statement that "existence precedes essence"-i.e., first we exist and then our decisions and choices shape our character or essence.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)

Existentialist and feminist who has written on the psychology and social position of women

- argued that women are still being treated as second class citizens

- if the identity of Europe/ theories on existence will be thought on, women need to be considered

- The Second Sex (1949)

The Second Sex (1949)

written by Simone de Beauvior, teacher, novelist, and writer; challenged marriage, the basic unit of modern society; theorized that marriage held women back because of male-dominated societies; recognized females as the "Other" and as second-class citizens