Your task for this assignment is to select 1 country from Western Europe and 1 from Eastern Europe and examine its efforts to either (1) rebuild itself following WWII and at the same time resist radical changes, namely a Communist takeover or (2) struggle to live under Soviet Communist dominance and behind the Iron Curtain.
Look at the years from 1945-1965 and research the Political, Economic, Social, Cultural, Intellectual and/or Religious aspects for each nation. You must include at least 3 of the 5 aspects mentioned in your response. Your overall synopsis should end with the status of the country by 1965 but can be expanded into the later 60s if necessary, but no further.
You can use your textbooks for research, but you should be looking at additional resources for help. If you come across any credible websites, videos or images, please include the link at the end of your blog.
Your responses should ranges from 2 paragraphs - 1 page (No more!!). A thesis statement (underlined) is required and should be proven with facts throughout the post. All posts are due by 11:59pm April 10th.
Western European Nations/Regions are as follows:
1)England
2)France
3)West Germany
4)Italy
5)Belgium/Netherlands
Eastern European Nations/Regions are as follows:
1)Poland
2)East Germany
3)Yugoslavia (The Balkans)
4)Hungary
5)Czechoslovakia
I call Great Britain and Hungary
ReplyDeleteI want to write about West and East Germany. Do not write about them. Fair warning!.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of World War 2 Italy was economically weak and without any strong leadership, but over time Italy was able to recover as they strengthened their government as well as their economy. Since the fascist regime had fallen Italy returned to its monarchy but when a referendum was called the people voted for the country to become a republic. As was common in many recovering European nations at the time there was fear of a communist takeover, however due to the numbers of Christian democrats the communists were defeated in the election and Alcide De Gasperi was made the prime minister of Italy. Over time the communists would continue to be removed from the political side of Italy and were eventually expelled
ReplyDeleteDuring this period of time Italy began its massive recover known as the “Economic Miracle”. Through the Marshall Plan Italy was given millions of dollars in order to help stabilize their weak economy. This money would be used to further industrialize the rest of Italy, this in addition to the large available working force allowed Italy to finally stabilize their economy. This industrialization of Northern Italy caused massive amounts of people from Southern Italy to emigrate in order to find jobs. This also forced Italy to focus on its infrastructure as it improved its transportation and built highways. During this period new communities were formed as people continued to emigrate, the “Economic Miracle” had truly changed Italy.
After World War 2 communists did assume power in Yugoslavia, however they refused to be controlled by the Soviet Union as they established their own independent socialist republic. Tito was the most powerful man in Yugoslavia, and was determined to keep his power; he wouldn’t lose Yugoslavia to the Soviets. In order to maintain his power Tito gave each republic its own government system, each with their own prime minister; however all of these rulers still reported to Tito. Being that Yugoslavia was so ethnically diverse this was the most efficient way to rule it. If Tito had attempted to treat the entire area as one it would have actually weakened the nation as a whole.
I call France and Poland!
ReplyDeleteFrance and Poland, post WWII
ReplyDeleteWestern and Eastern Europe were both experiencing similar situations after the end of World War I, Eastern Europe just more severely than the West. Economic reconstruction, social upheaval, and increasing Communist trends took their tolls on the Western country of France and the Eastern nation of Poland, but France was able to revive while Poland was cast behind the Iron Curtain, mainly due to location, situation, and experience.
During the war, Charles De Gaulle in France worked as a Nazi occupation opposition leader. Following the war, he established a provisional government. However, when the Fourth Republic, a return to the weak parliamentary system, was declared, De Gaulle retired from politics and initiated the French Popular Movement instead, which in 1958 achieved its goal of a stronger presidency. This was simply because France was on the brink of another civil war if the Fourth Republic didn’t make changes, so it looked to De Gaulle. De Gaulle revived France and kept it out of the reach of the Iron Curtain, simply by rewriting the constitution and giving the president much more power. Although not big enough as a country, De Gaulle helped boost the French economy by first investing in the nuclear arms race between the US and Russia. All economic decisions after that were centralized, resulting in a 5.5 increase of the French gross nation product. By the time De Gaulle had left office, France was a leading producer in cars and armaments. However, these improvements and nationalizations led to government deficit, which increased the cost of living by 45%, leading to more protests, strikes, and social upheavals. Although the upheavals were solved, the people faith in the government plummeted. However, political and economic aspects of post-WWII France remained strong, relieving it from threats of growing Communist parties. Their experience with strong democratic parties and governments, on top of their location far away from Russia also aided it in resisting Communist influence.
Poland has a much simpler post-WWII story than France. After Stalin’s death, many Eastern European countries began seeking changes to their governments. However, Khrushchev made it clear that especially Poland and Hungary would remain satellites and dependent on Russia. After Khrushchev denounced Stalin in 1956, it upset the workers in Poland which caused them to protest, resulting in a disrupted Polish economy. The result of these protests was the election of Wladyslaw Gomulka. This economic and social factor played back into politics, when Gomulka reasoned that Poland should be allowed to decide its own Socialist fate. A compromise was struck – if Poland stayed loyal to the Warsaw Pact, Russia would allow Poland to follow its own Socialist path. Because of their location so close to Mother Russia, on top of their experience solely with weak or Socialist government, and current weak situation, Poland became a perfect candidate to fall behind the Iron Curtain.
Hungary and Great Britain
ReplyDeleteEuropean nations experienced different conditions after WWI. Eastern Europe was shrouded by the Iron Curtain and Russia’s sphere of influence while Western Europe faced severe economic setbacks and major reforms. As Great Britain began the process of recovery from WWII through the creation of a welfare state, Hungary underwent a failed revolt against Soviet Union control and subsequent return to communism (thesis).
Although the nations of Eastern Europe had been liberated from Nazi control, they were by no means truly “liberated” as Stalinist Russia ensured that they remained in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. Once Khrushchev came to power, he boldly denounced Stalin and his policies and began the risky process of de-Stalinization. This denouncement resulted not only in turmoil in Russia’s communist system, but also in Eastern Europe, namely Poland and Hungary. After witnessing protests against Soviet control and reforms in Poland, Hungary was galvanized to act similarly. After forcefully removing a Stalinist leader, the people chose Imry Nagy as the new leader. The people were resentful of Soviet Union control as well as communism itself. For decades, Hungary had been governed by groups and principles that were not Hungarian. Communism was not a part of the Hungarian peoples’ beliefs and was therefore resented on a fundamental basis. Hungary had suffered through not only Nazi control, but also the Holocaust and severe economic depression. Even after the war, Hungary was still dominated by another outside force (Soviet Union) and subject to terror by the secret police. All of these factors aided in creating an atmosphere in Hungary that favored revolt. With the election of Nagy, Hungary was declared to be a free nation in 1956. Along with this declaration came the promise of free election, a move that indicated the eventual creation of a democratic state. Despite Khrushchev’s efforts to stray away from previous Stalinist policies, he could not tolerate Hungary’s independence. As a country in Russia’s sphere of influences, Khrushchev was compelled to restore order. Consequently, he sent in troops to stop the unrest and soon after, Communist influence was reestablished. To ensure continued Soviet control, Janos Kadar was enlisted as leader. He aided the Soviets in ending the revolt, but also preserved some of Nagy’s previous economic reforms.
As a western nation, Great Britain was free from the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence; however, communism did exist in the western world and became rather popular in the years immediately following the war. England suffered monumental economic problems, even more so than the rest of Europe. These economic problems may have helped with the popularity of leftist parties, particularly the Labor Party, instead of traditional conservative parties led by Winston Churchill. People felt a need for reform, just as the Hungarians desired reforms and freedom from Soviet control. The Labor Party advocated for social welfare and this proved to be attractive to the people of England, where there was a lack of consumer goods and suitable housing. During the war, the production of consumer goods had been sacrificed for war materials and millions of homes had been destroyed. The welfare state was accomplished through both political and social means. The nationalization of systems such as banking, transportation, and industry helped in establishing this new welfare state. Additionally, the National Insurance Act, which created social security and nationalized medical insurance, and the National Health Service Act were enacted in 1946. In this way, socialized medicine, or rather health services for all citizens provided by the government, was introduced for the first time in Great Britain. There were some drawbacks to the new welfare state, however. Although helpful to the people, it was costly for the government and forced Great Britain to relinquish their colonial claims out of economic necessity. This welfare state was not completely effective, as worsening economic conditions resulted in the return of the conservatives to power. As British industry and investment declined, so did its position as a world power.
Deletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z38jxnb
Germany was originally separated into four zones occupied by United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France. However in 1948, in response to the development of the German Communist Party formed under Walter Ulbricht, U.S, Great Britain, and France began merging their three zones politically and economically. Finally in 1949, Germany was officially split into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The difference in the supervising force behind West Germany and East Germany influenced the development of political, social, and economic norms in the two parts of Germany.
ReplyDeleteThe start of the Cold War represented the divergence of social experience for West and East Germany for the first time since 1871. As the Cold War hostile sentiments peaked, the Soviet Union imposed the development of an “East German national identity.” Thus, the Germans were no longer supposed to share the same experiences, values, and the allegiance to the same land, but rather felt divided from the ideological differences between Soviet Union and the United States. The communist leaders of East Germany sought to build the newly formed state on the combination of traditional German values of hard work and respect for authority and the qualities of a model socialist citizen, which is a combination of a sense of obligation to collective society and a strong morale to achieve the socialist goals. However, being a Stalin-style state, East Germany forbid Free speech and opinions against the regime and did not tolerate the existence of artistic and intellectual programs. On the other hand, their western counterpart experienced a different turn on politics. Compared to East Germany, West Germany became a surprisingly stable western democracy. The democratic leaders developed a policy that required a 5% vote for a political party to be represented in the Bundestag. This policy prevented small extremist parties from gaining representation too easily. Politics did not played as big of a part in the lives of West Germany habitants as it did the foreign affairs. The Korean War raised suspicions of a communist takeover and encouraged West Germany to rearm and join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which mentioned that if any of the allies were attacked, the other powers would provide mutual assistance.
In terms of economics, the resurrection of West German economy was hailed as an “economic miracle.” Under the guidance of the minister of finance, Ludwig Erhard, West Germany witnessed a period of rapid economic growth. Erhard pursued a policy of free markets, a new currency, low taxes, and elimination of control. The Marshall Plan also provided money to rebuild its industries. By 1955, the West German gross national product exceeded that of prewar Germany. Also, the real wages doubled and unemployment rates were lowered from the 8% in 1950 to 0.4% in 1965. In 1951, West Germany joined the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which helped to establish foreign markets among the Western nations without the interference of high tariffs. On the other hand, East Germany became a largely agrarian society with a planned economy. The Soviet-style state resulted in an economy where the decision of production, the prices, and the distribution of resources were left for government to decide. This led to a higher unemployment rate, more homeless people, and many infrastructures to remain in rubbles.
There were also considerable social differences between the two neighboring state. Even though the purchasing power of both states was comparable, the problem lays in the availability of the goods and services. Contrary to popular belief, East Germany did not lack the basic products, such as milk and bread. What were more readily available to West Germany compared to East Germany were luxury goods, such as coffee and automobiles. Public services, such as transportation and communication, were also available to East Germans, but at a lower quality than those offered to West Germans. The two states also differed in their treatment of women. West Germany discouraged women to work outside the house. In doing so, West Germany hoped to differentiate itself from its east counterpart, who encouraged women to work. In addition, the Communist government also provided help in the form of day-care facilities, family subsidies, and maternity benefits for women to raise their family.
DeleteAs the Cold War continued, the rift between West and East Germany only deepened. The Berlin Wall became one of the most powerful and iconic symbols of the Cold War and does not fail to separate the people from the two states even after its destruction in 1989.
http://econc10.bu.edu/economic_systems/Country_comparisons/East_West_Germany.htm
Belgium/Netherlands & Czechoslovakia
ReplyDeleteAfter WWII, Belgium had suffered greatly as a result of the Nazis. When invaded, Belgium was unable to defeat Germany, and ended up being forced to surrender. This allowed for Germany to seize power over Belgium. Overall, many Belgians dealt with the situation by fleeing to the United Kingdom, where another government and military on the allied side were formed. The inability of Belgium to fight the Germans was a direct result of the poverty faced due to the First World War. This financial insecurity allowed for Germany to completely take over Belgium without much of a fight.
Like Belgium, the Germans seized Czechoslovakia during WWII. Afterward, Czechoslovakia was part of the Warsaw Pact, which was run by the communists. Czechoslovakia became a communist state, with a very strict, planned economy. Because of the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, many Czechs faced persecution in concentration camps, and many were subject to “Germanization.” Hitler’s main goal was to achieve total domination of the Aryan Race. Therefore, those who did not fit his goal were persecuted, due to their race, religion, or any illnesses that could prevent the Aryan race from taking power. This time period after the Second World War was a very oppressive time for the Czechs, as they had memories of independence, and were now subject to Communism, and eventually Socialism.