Western Society and Eastern Europe in the Decades of the Cold War – Flashcards
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What was the role of the Soviet Union after WWII?
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they had an empire in Eastern Europe, and were a leading part of the cold war.
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What was the position of Western Europe after WWII?
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they recovered but were never totally dominant again.
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What was a significant change the US saw after WWII?
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they were no longer isolationist and became involved internationally.
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How did Western Europe transform?
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they turned to a service based economy with more roles for women. European nations also sought to defeat the intense nationalism and come together.
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What were some goals of the Cold War?
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space exploration and sports.
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Why was recovery Western Europe hard?
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infrastructure destroyed - no houses and no way to transport food due to downed rail lines and bridges. Changing boundaries and forced labor caused many refugees to be on the run. The cold war and the colonial struggle didn't help either.
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Why did the Europeans lose their colonies?
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the colonies were only maintainable with high cost because of the new nationalist movements formed during the war.
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What were the exceptions to the general pattern of colonies?
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Kenya, Vietnam, and Algeria. Algeria was important because it was a very old holding and had a large European minority.
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What kinds of connections were maintained with the colonies?
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maintained cultural relations and helped admistrate and use military force. Also economy was important as the West continues to economically exploit Africa.
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What was a symbol of Europes role in world affairs?
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the fact that when they tried to take the Suez canal from nationalists, they were shut down by the US and USSR.
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What was the Eastern Bloc?
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Eastern Europe controlled by the USSR. Soviet troops were garrisoned in many countires, communist governments were supported, USSR had eastern Germany.
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How do the US and Britain respond to the Eastern bloc?
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Churchill famously talks of the iron curtain, but had no power. US takes more active stance. It refuses loans to Eastern Europe, gives money to regimes in Iran, Turkey, Greece, to avoid communism. They try to bolster Western Europe with the Marshall Plan.
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Where was the focal point of the cold war?
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Germany. The US wants to build a successful Germany to combat communism. They try to introduce a new currency to stabilize Germany. The USSR gets mad and cuts off Berlin, the US responds with an airlift.
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What was the NATO?
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it was designed to group Most of Western Europe and Canada into a defenisive alliance.
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What was the Warsaw pact?
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the response to the NATO where the Soviets developed their own alliance system among its eatern European satellites.
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What were US wishes in Western Europe?
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rearm Western Germany, and have larger military budgets for France and Britain.
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Why did the US's wishes most of the time get answered?
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the US could hold rebuilding money, it had troops there, and it protected them with the nuclear umbrella.
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How did the Soviets intervene in the West?
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sent money to forment communist movements.
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How does the cold war kind of calm down in Europe by the 1950s?
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centers of conflict moved to Middle East and East Asia. France pulls out of NATO because of Anglo-U.S . dominance of the organization, and Germany starts negotiating with the eastern bloc to try to reopen trade.
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What is a clear contrast between US and Western Europe?
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US military power increases while Europe devalues its military.
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What three things were most improved in Western Europe after WWII?
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democratic system, the lessening of nation-state rivalries, and rapid industrial growth that reduced many gender and social problems.
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What was a key change in governmental systems after WWII in Western Europe?
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because fascism proved a failure, democracy became widely supported, and communists started working with a democratic system.
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What became the focus of governments in this time?
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the governments became welfare states.
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What happened to Germany during the Cold War era?
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a new West Germany was set up when the 3 zones were combined. To prevent the demise that was the Weimar republics, extremist political movements were outlawed.
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What was an important change in parliamentary democracies at this time?
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universal suffrage, including female.
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Did the governments change mucb in Europe after the initial transition phase?
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no, the only government that had a change in constitution was France. Spain and Portugal even democratized following the death of strongmen. this was the most universal the West had become in all of history.
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Christian Democrats
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Powerful center to center-right political parties that evolved in the late 1940s in Europe from former Catholic parties of the pre-WWII period. Christian parties gained increasing support in the postwar era, winning elections in par because of their participation in wartime resistance. A vital component of postwar politics, these groups shifted from their decades-old emphasis on advocating church interests to welcoming non-Catholics among their ranks and focusing on democracy, anti-communism, and social reform.
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What caused the shift toward a welfare state?
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the shift leftward in the political spectrum caused by the emergence of new political parties such as the labour party in Britain, or the Christian democrats in France and Italy. The government of the United States also followed this current by adding to Roosevelts new deal, while not adopting it wholesale.
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What were some of the welfare programs?
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unemployment insurance, medical care (huge in Great Britain) family assistance (money for more children), and public housing.
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What was council housing?
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public housing in Britain to mix classes.
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How did welfare states fundamentally change society while still preventing a wholesale revolution?
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citizens were spared the worst expenses and had a cushion, health improved, and the government became more involved.
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What were negative effects of the welfare state?
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It was very costly. huge bureaucracies had to be maintained, with highly skilled workers such as technocrats. this was the highest government function once military spending went down.
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How did governments gain a more active role in economy?
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they created economic plans and decided where money would go from state banks. They helped agriculture by consolidating lands and cooperatives to imrove marketing and purchasing procedures.
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What kinds of demonstrations took place in the 1960s?
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fight against materialism, and the seeking of further justice and more idealistic goals. Americans were against the war in Vietnam.
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How were the student demonstrations fixed?
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in France it was so dangerous it almost caused a revolution, but more rights, reforms, civil rights legislation, and police repression stopped it.
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What movements came after the student demonstrations?
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feminism and the green movement.
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When economic growth slowed and the West saw a recession, what happened governmentally?
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new parties pformed like the British conservative and the US Republican, that reduced the costs and coverage of the welfare state. They didn't fully dismantle it but reduced its impact.
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What was the beginning of the journey to diplomatic unity in Europe?
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the push for harmony by the Christian democrats and the desire to solve the French German Hatred.
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How does the US help spur the creation of the Common Market?
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they encourage Europe to reconsider tarrifs, but France remembers how tariffs did not work and start discussing tying up with Germany.
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What was the goal of linking with Germany economically?
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the Germans won't fight if their economy depends on people around them.
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What was the European Economic Community?
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the Common Market, or European Union.
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What was the European Union?
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an organization to reduce tariffs for interstate trade and make a uniform trade policy for outside Europe. A court system was established in Belgium to solve disputes, while an economic fund would encourage growth for places in the dumps. A single currency was produced and gradually almost all of Europe joined, even British.
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what were some things that led to economic expansion and the availability for a mass consumer society?
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the welfare state gave more purchasing power, technocrats became efficient (especially in agriculture) and expensive things were now being produced in factories.European GNP surpasses US.
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What was responsible for the increase in economy?
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technological change.
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How did the workforce change?
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less industrial jobs and more service jobs. Unemployment dropped. the demand for low skilled workers comes from immigrants.
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What happened when per capita disposable income increased?
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household appliances, tvs, and cars became normal. Shopping malls and huge efficient stores replace the traditional specialty shops. Advertisement was huge in US but not in Europe because most of it was state owned. People sought vacation areas.
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What were some negatives of economic expansion?
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When demand outstrips production inflation happened, and immigrants had to live on subsistence wages. there was economic inequality as an income gap increased, especially in the US.
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Why was there less domestic innovation than foreign?
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the crisis of WWII was less severe there.
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What was Canada's interaction with the US?
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it integrated with the US, and the US invested in Canadian resources. However, it started taking measures to limit this as nationalism grew. in 1988 they signed a free trade agreement that ended this.
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What was the problem with Quebec?
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it wanted regional autonomy. A new constitution gave more power to the provinces to help calm this.
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What were the roles of Australia and New Zealand after WWII?
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they moved away from Britain and toward the US militarily. They supported the Korean and Vietnam wars, although mainly for anti communist purposes.
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What happened to Australia and New Zealand when Britain joined the UN?
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they became more oriented around the pacific. They started experiencing immigration from them, and Japan invested a ton with them as one of their raw material suppliers.
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Why did the United States step up to superpower position in world politics and how did they go about doing it?
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Britain couldn't do it, and the USSR was expanding and forcing communism on subjugated peoples. The Truman doctrine swore that America would protect people from communism. The Marshal plan was designed to bolster capitalist countries against communists.
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What were domestic changes that coincided with foreign policy?
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the red scare of the 1950s and the Defense Department and CIA to be prepared.
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What was the containment policy?
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alliances with various Middle Eastern and Asian nations, and Western Europe, and New Zealand and Australia hold communism back. They dupported regimes that didn't support communists. They attempted to keep Vietnam and Korea from going communist but the people called it out.
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How did Ronald Reagan change things again?
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he wanted to reemphasize weapons, military, and interventionism. The US became involved with the fighting of terrorist groups in the Middle East and Grenada. Some resented the US but couldn't oppose or side with anyone else so they sided with the US.
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What was society like in West Europe and the United States?
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workers, although still propertyless, could buy things. Social mobility was possible through education. unskilled labor went to immigrants and peasants became commercial.
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What kinds of tensions still existed in Western Society after the War?
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the middle class had considerably more leisure than other workers and crime rates went up. There were race and immigrant riots.
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What caused family relations to change?
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leisure time along with the telephone and automobile that allowed contacts with extended family. the importance of parents declined and peers became more important.
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What role did women take in the working world?
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service jobs, entry into the workforce in order to pay for stuff, and the desire for self worth.
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How did women gain in education?
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they started joining colleges although they stayed away from science and math.
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How did women change sexually?
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they could regulate birth through contraceptives, abortion was legalized in some places. Sex was not linked to procreation, rather pleasure.
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How were kids seen in society?
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they were put in daycares. Family satisfaction sometimes only involved man and wife, not children. Divorce rates didn't help children as some women became impoverished trying to provide.
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What was new feminism?
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the demand for literal equality, no specific domain. NO gender roles.
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What was the brain drain?
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scientists attracted to the US so they left their land for the better facilities and salaries. Same with art as new York took paris.
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What kind of science was being researched?
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human genone, DNA, Nuclear research, and space research.
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What was art doing at this point in history in the West?
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public accepts modern style, abstract painting becomes popular, art films from Europe are awesome.
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How does social science advance in the West?
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America leads in economics, social history expands - history from the eys of ordinary people.
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How did US culture and Western culture compare?
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the US had the most influence, Coca-Cola-nization, and its tv was huge in Europe. British dominate music though, with the Beattles,
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How did new Western culture start to stray from conventional culture?
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new punk styles and things designed to go against the flow. Sex was common, sex shops opened.
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How was the Soviet Union defined as a superpower?
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it focused on heavy industry, set up its own empire in pacific islands, eastern Europe, participated in the cold war, had nuclear weapons, participated in communist regimes in Vietnam korea china, intervened in middle east, latin America, Africa, allied with Cuba, and developed alliances.
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How did the Soviet Union get its empire in Eastern Europe?
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the small nations had been devastated by the war and couldn't put up much resistance as Soviet forces closed in. Parties that weren't communist were crushed and forced out.
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What were the only exceptions to the Soviet takeover?
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Greece, which allied itself with the West, Albania, whose Stalinist regime disagreed with post stalin leaders, and Yugoslavia, where a communist regime claimed neutrality.
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What was characteristic of nations in Eastern Europe under Soviet control?
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the soviet sponsored regimes attacked rivals like the catholic church. collectivization, propaganda, education, industrialization through five year plans, and a soviet trading zone, along with the warsaw pact.
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Berlin Wall
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erected in Berlin because of mass exodus to west germany
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What happened when Stalinism relaxed in the 1950s?
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new more liberal communist leaders emerged, in Poland and Hungary, and Poland was allowed more freedom and the catholic church became the symbol. But in Hungary the regime was brutally crushed.
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How did Soviet control over Eastern Europe loosen?
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given freer economic oppurtunities and grew a lot, contacts with west expanded
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How were the limits of experimentation become clear in eastern Europe?
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the curshing of the regimes in Czechoslovakia and the takeover of the state by the Polish army in response to the labor movement called solidarity.
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What were the clear effects of the Soviet Union on eastern European countries?
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abolition of the aristocracy, remaking of the peasant masses through collectivization , new mass education, and industrial urban growth.
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How did the cold war affect the communist regime in Russia?
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made it stronger as people became nationalistic as well as shunning the West. They became aware through propaganda of the evil of the west and they thought a strong government was a good thing in the face of the US.
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How did the Communist Party operate?
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it was "omnipresent" and very important. They allowed people to rise up from below but the acceptance rate was so low because they only wanted the best.
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How was the new soviet Russia different from the tsars before it?
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focused on industrialization , reached out to the people for loyalty, and more culturally focused.
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How were the Soviets anti religion?
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no church services under 18, schools preached religion as superstition, and anti-Semitism still strong. A large muslim minority were allowed freedom, but for the most part only the elderly were interested in church.
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How was science viewed in the Soviet Union?
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science was highly respected, research heavily funded, direction was determined by the state, they didn't want theoretical, focused on weapons and aerospace.
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How was art viewed in the Soviet Union?
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attack western styles and focus on classical. Standards must be met to show value, like in ballet. Some popular culture like jazz and rock bands penetrated though. Literature walked the line as it was closely monitored by the government and discuseed patriotism and the Russian soul.
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What was a general fear the government had about culture?
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the fear of pollution of the great Russian culture by the west.
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What were two huge aspects of the economy in Eastern Europe and how it affects the people?
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the lack of consumer goods due to the emphasis on heavy industrial goods, and the environmental damage caused by the industrialization.
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How was agriculture inefficient in Eastern Europe?
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no money for new equipment, bad weather, and lack of incentive. larger number of farmers than usual in an industrialized society.
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How was Eastern Europe similar to Western Europe?
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work cycles mirrored, entertainment in sports, urban areas divided by class though wealth difference not as great in ussr, birth rate drops, education became more common.
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How was family life in the Soviet Union?
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child rearing was important and more discipline was used than in the west to show emphasis on authority, women worked and performed heavy tasks and had a larger role in the field of medicine. Soviets bolsterd the champion role of women.
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What was the destalinization?
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he system held together but under people like nikita kruschev who shamed stalin for treatment of political opponents, narrow views of Marxism, and the poor preparation for world war II, it changed a little, though not much.
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HOw did kruschev fall?
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he promised to open land in Siberia for farming but didn't and he offended supporters of stalin.
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How did Kruschev push the limits of the Cold War?
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missile sites in Cuba
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What were foreign policy problems the Soviets had?
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frustration with China, relation with Egypt, muslims want more control, Afghanistan invation failed.
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What were some weaknesses in the Soviet Union?
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their agriculture sucked andthey had to import from US, increased rates of alcoholism, workers have no incentive, youth gets annoyed with desire for western culture, pressure from Reagan and misplaced priorities from within.
