AP European History - Unit 9: Cold War and Contemporary Europe Overview

Rebuilding Europe (Post-1945)

United States Involvement: Unlike the aftermath of World War I, the U.S. takes a more active and sustained role in rebuilding Europe.
Marshall Plan: Economic aid package providing grants to European nations, leading to rapid economic recovery.
- Aimed to discourage Western European nations from embracing communism.
United Nations: Established to provide a forum for international cooperation.
Division of Europe: Emergence of a divided Europe with Eastern Europe dominated by the Soviet Union and Western Europe aligned with the United States.

Iron Curtain: Winston Churchill's description of the boundary separating Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe from Western Europe.
Definition: Absence of direct continental war in Europe but characterized by:
- Massive military buildup on both sides (U.S. and Soviet Union).
- Arms race, especially in nuclear weapons.
- Covert actions by agencies like the CIA.
- Propaganda campaigns.
NATO vs. Warsaw Pact:
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization): A mutual defense pact between the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe against Soviet aggression. An attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
- Warsaw Pact: The Soviet Union's response, including Eastern Bloc countries (e.g., Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania).
Eastern Bloc: Nations dominated by the Soviet Union, serving as a buffer zone for Soviet security.

Destalinization:
- Nikita Khrushchev succeeded Stalin and initiated destalinization.
- Secret speech denouncing Stalin's cult of personality (not made public).
- Dismantling of the gulags, reducing the system of terror.
Resistance in the Eastern Bloc:
- Hungarian Revolt and Prague Spring (attempts at liberalization).
- Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet intervention in any socialist country attempting to move towards capitalism, to preserve communism.

Endurance of Nationalism: Continued presence of nationalism after World War II.
Separatist Movements:
- IRA (Catholics in Northern Ireland) fighting against British control.
- Uprising in Chechnya (predominantly Muslim region in Russia) seeking independence.
Ethnic Cleansing:
- Conflict in former Yugoslavia among Serbs, Bosnians, and Croatians.
- Ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims.

Expansion in Western Democracies: Development of welfare state policies providing social services.
Examples:
- British National Health Service (NHS) created by the Labor government after World War II.
- The Netherlands: mandatory health insurance.
Funding: Financed by higher taxes compared to pre-war levels and the United States.

Mikhail Gorbachev's Reforms:
- Glasnost (Openness): Aimed to create a more transparent government.
  - Example: Making the government budget accessible to the public.
- Perestroika (Restructuring): Restructuring the system to introduce elements of liberalism in order to save communism.
Gorbachev's Intention: To save the communist system through openness and restructuring, not to fully liberalize.
Consequences:
- The reforms led to open criticism of the government.
- Collapse of communism.
Renunciation of the Brezhnev Doctrine: Gorbachev abandoned the policy of Soviet intervention in the Eastern Bloc.
Key Events:
- 1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany.
- 1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of communism.

Focus: Shift from suffrage (first-wave feminism) to broader social and economic equality.
Simone de Beauvoir: Author of "The Second Sex," which explores the concept of women being seen as "other" in Western society and advocates for redefining womanhood.
Changes: New family models, increased divorce rates, and prevalence of birth control.
- Birth control allowed women to control family size and participate in the workplace.
Female Political Leaders:
- Margaret Thatcher elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979.

Definition: A collection of ideas associated with Margaret Thatcher.
Elements:
- Social conservatism and traditional values.
- Euro-skepticism.
- Anti-union sentiments.
- Neoliberalism: Moving state-controlled industries back into private hands.
  *Economic liberalism, social conservatism, Euro-skepticism= collection of ideas known as Thatcherism.

Post-World War II: Shift in focus towards self-determination for colonized peoples.
Contrast with Post-World War I: After WWI, Woodrow Wilson promoted national self-determination within Europe, but not in colonies.
Decolonization Process:
- Happened peacefully in India.
- Resisted by the French in Indochina (Vietnam) and Algeria.

Formation of the European Union (EU):
- Shared economy and currency (the euro).
- Free movement of people.
- European Parliament with the power to make laws for all member states.
Challenges to Integration:
- Enduring nationalism and cultural diversity.
- Rise of Euro-skepticism: Greater emphasis on national self-determination and sovereignty.
- Examples: Brexit, National Front (National Rally) in France.

Challenges:
- Increased migration from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
- Questions about integration, national identity, and cultural preservation.
- European governments grappling with current migration crisis.

Existentialism:
- Popularized by Jean-Paul Sartre.
- Emphasis on subjectivity and individual responsibility to create one's own values and life.
- Less focus on objective truth.
Continuity of Christianity:
- Varying levels of religiosity across Europe (e.g., Italy and Ireland vs. France and Czech Republic).
Reforms in the Catholic Church:
- Vatican II: Mass in vernacular, priest facing the congregation.
Continuities in the Catholic Church:
- Condemnation of birth control.
- All-male priesthood.
- Mandatory clerical celibacy.