The Post-War Period

1. The Post-War Period Cold War & Recovery and Renewal in Europe

2. Aftermath of the War: Emergence of the Cold War • Teheran Conference (November 1943) • Held in November 1943 • First of the major conferences between the Big Three - Roosevelt, Churchill, & Stalin - to decide the future course of the war • Two major decisions were made at the conference • Agreement on a American-British invasion of the continent through France - consequences • Agreement to a partition of post-war Germany • Although Roosevelt came out of the conference pleased with his accords with Stalin, Churchill had considerable misgivings

3. Yalta and Roosevelt’s Ideal of Self-Determination • This was the second, and more influential conference held by the Big Three; February 1945 • The Western Allies were now faced with the reality of the Red Army controlling Eastern Europe and the consequences of that fact • Conflict between Stalin/spheres of influence and Roosevelt/ideal of self-determination • Creation of the United Nations • Reaffirmation of the unconditional surrender of Germany and its partition into four zones of occupation • Compromised established in regard to Poland

4. Potsdam and Growing Mistrust • By the next conference between the Allies at Potsdam in July 1945, relations between the West and the Soviets were beginning to deteriorate rapidly • Their common goal had been the defeat of Nazi Germany – once that was gone, the differences that had existed again resurfaced • Soviet Concerns • American Concerns • Potsdam Conference and the conflicting goals of the Americans and Soviets

5. Churchill’s "Iron Curtain" Speech • By 1946, mutual distrust cast a pall over Europe; with the war over, the conflicting ideologies again reappeared as both the Americans and the Soviets saw each other as a threat • In March 1946, Winston Churchill speaking at a college commencement in Missouri stated that an “iron curtain” had “descended across the continent” dividing Europe into two armed and hostile camps • A new Cold War was about to engulf Europe

6. Development of the Cold War:Confrontation of the Superpowers • Differing Historical Perspectives • Who started the Cold War? • There is no definitive answer to that question, but the rivalry between the Americans and the Soviets was based upon their historical perspectives • Disagreement over Eastern Europe • The initial disagreement was over free elections in Eastern Europe • The US and Great Britain had championed self-determination and democratic freedom for the liberated states of Eastern Europe • Stalin had other ideas, and since it was the Red Army that had liberated Eastern Europe, pro-Soviet governments were installed, satisfying Stalin’s demand for a security buffer

7. Development of the Cold War:Confrontation of the Superpowers • Greece, Turkey, and the Truman Doctrine • Western Europe and the Marshall Plan • This was followed by the announcement of the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan • By providing $13 billion to Europe for economic recovery, it was hoped this aid would help prevent the spread of communism • However, it was open to all the states of Europe, but the Soviets refused the aid

8. Development of the Cold War:Berlin and the Airlift • The fate of Germany also became a source of heated contention between East & West • Soviet actions in their occupation zone • Meanwhile, the British, Americans, and French gradually began to merge their zones and create a West German federal government • In response to the West’s actions, the Soviets blockaded West Berlin • The blockade soon proved to be a failure as the Western powers organized the Berlin Airlift • Results of the Berlin Airlift

9. Development of the Cold War:Confrontation of the Superpowers • NATO and the Warsaw Pact • Korean Conflict • Relations between East and West was further deteriorated with the outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula in June 1950 • With the apparent blessings of Stalin, the North invaded in June 1950, and seeing this as another example of Communist aggression gained the support of the new UN and intervened • After American forces had pushed the North back across the 38th parallel, Communist China intervened and a stalemate ensued for the next two years when an armistice was finally signed in 1953

10. End of European Colonies • One of the major results of the Second World War was the ending of European dominance in world affairs • The nationalistic movements initiated by World War I were greatly accelerated • Moreover, the Japanese had humiliated the West by overrunning their colonial empires, showing that the West could be beaten • Lastly, due to their exhaustion from war, European states could no longer support these huge colonial empires • Between 1947-1962, a process of decolonization would result in the independence of nearly every colony

11. End of European Colonies Africa: Struggle for Independence • After WWII, Europeans reluctantly recognized that their colonial rule in Africa had to come to an end; however, they had never prepared the Africans for self-rule • Throughout most of Africa, the colonies were granted their independence • As the fifties and sixties progressed, the rest of Africa except for parts of southern Africa and the Portuguese possessions gained their independence

12. End of European Colonies Conflict in the Middle East • In the Middle East, the end of war in 1945 brought the creation of new states, including Jordan, Syria and Lebanon; differences among the Arab states emerged, but they were unified about one issue: Palestine • The creation of Israel in 1948 and the displacement of the Arab Palestinians created turmoil and three wars in the Middle East, where even today there is still animosity between the Jews and the Arabs

13. Asia: Nationalism and Communism • In 1947, British India was divided between Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan and in the process created considerable animosity between the two countries • The British also granted independence to Ceylon & Burma; the Dutch gave up the Dutch East Indies which became the nation of Indonesia • The French and Indochina • China • The Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong finally defeated the Nationalist government of Chaing Kai-shek • Chaing and his supporters fled to Taiwan while Mao established control over all of mainland China • The result was a second Communist power to the Soviet Union and a major player in the politics of Asia

14. Recovery and Renewal in Europe • In 1942, it appeared that Europe would be engulfed in a new dark age as Nazism seemed to challenge the very existence of Europe civilization • However, Europeans made an amazing recovery and within a few years of the defeat of the Axis powers, economic revival brought renewed growth to European society • Still, major differences did exist between Western and Eastern Europe and those who feared that Europe would suffer from the loss of their colonies soon discovered Europe could adapt to decolonization

15. The Soviet Union:From Stalin to Khrushchev • Economic Recovery • WWII had devastated the Soviet Union and to rebuild it, Stalin resorted to a new Five Year plan based upon the acquisition of development capital from Soviet labor • The results were a resounding success for in 1947, production had reached prewar levels and three years later it had surpassed them by 40% • Khrushchev and Destabilization • After WWII and into the early 50’s, Stalin was still the undisputed ruler of Soviet Russia, but he was becoming more and more paranoid and power hungry • A new collective leadership led until Nikita Khrushchev emerged as the chief Soviet policymaker • Khrushchev’s Tenure: Mixed Success and Failure

16. Eastern Europe: Behind the Iron Curtain • As nearly all of Eastern Europe had been liberated by the Red Army, these states fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and after 1945 experience similar political developments, i.e., the establishment of Communist style governments • Tito and Yugoslavia • Stalinized States in Eastern Europe • Khrushchev’s Denunciation of Stalin and its effect upon Eastern Europe • With the death of Stalin in 1953, many of the East European states began to pursue a new, nationalistically oriented course as the Soviet Union and its new ruler interfered less in their internal affairs • Poland • Hungary (November 1956) • Revolt in Czechoslovakia and the “Prague Spring” (1968)

17. Western Europe’s Revival of Democracy and the Economy • The states of Western Europe also faced similar problems in the post-war period • But they were able to rebuild their economies with the help of the Marshall Plan and essentially re-create their democratic institutions while keeping the Communists at bay

18. Western Europe’s Revival of Democracy and the Economy • France and Charles DeGaulle • Algerian Crisis and Fall of the Fourth Republic • DeGaulle and the Fifth Republic • West Germany • Konrad Adenauer and Rearmament • Ludwig Erhard and Economic Recovery • Denazification • Great Britain and the Welfare State • Clement Atlee and Economic Nationalization • Suez Crisis and Britain’s Loss of Superpower Status

19. Unity in Western Europe: Experiments in Cooperation • The destructiveness of WWII made many Europeans to realize that there was some need for European unity • They had already achieved this militarily with NATO • However, national feelings were still to power to give up political sovereignty, so Europeans sought economic unity

20. Unity in Western Europe: Common Market • This unity found its first expression in 1951, as France, West Germany, the Benelux countries, and Italy formed the European Coal & Steel Community • Its purpose was to create a common market for coal and steel products among the six nations by eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers

21. Unity in Western Europe: Common Market • That same year, these six nations signed the Rome Treaty which created the European Economic Community, better known as the Common Market • The ECC eliminated customs barriers for the 6 members and created a large free-trade area protected from the rest of the world by a common external tariff • The ECC also encouraged cooperation and standardization in many aspects of the 6 members economies • By the 1960’s, the ECC had become an important trading bloc and created the basis for political unity in the form of the European Union in the 1990’s