Post-War Europe
- What were the human, socio-economic and political consequences of the Second
World War for Europe? All in the photocopies and the essay
- What was the geo-political situation in Europe by 1949?
- How and why was Europe divided between 1945 and 1949?
- How did communist governments come to power in central and eastern Europe?
End of the war
After signing the German Instrument of Surrender on 7th of May 1945, the Germans signed
the surrender of the Third Reich in Berlin on 8th of May 1945 to the Allied powers. Vicory
over Japan was a lot more difficult, but after two atomic bombs (Hiroshima and Nagasaki),
the soviet invasion of Manchuria and Korea, the Emperor was forced to surrender and the
acts were signed in early September 1945. The liberation of France began, which was
followed by a period of wild purging (the Èpuration lègale). Courts prosecuted Nazi
collaborators. In Germany, denazification began.
Consequences of the war
Human consequences:
World War II was the deadliest of all wars. The losses were unevenly distributed across
Europe. There is no comparison between the losses in the East and in the West. This explains
the disparity in the reactions to Germany (anti-German sentiment was strong in the East).
World War II no longer distinguished between non-conflict zones and frontlines, which
caused a large number of civilian deaths.
Millions of Europeans had been forced to leave their homes because of changed in national
frontiers.
Socio-economic consequences:
The damage of the war was significant in Central and Eastern Europe and in Japan. Industrial
production fell. The end of hostilities did not alleviate the enormous hardships of daily life.
The two new major economic powers were now the USA and the USSR. The conflict
accelerated the process of economic decline that began with WWI and continued the
economic crisis of the 1930s.
Political consequences:
The Allies decided on a new territorial division among themselves. Territorially, the USSR
was the winner, as it gained most of the territories in Eastern Europe. Civil Wars (for
example in Greece) and Cold War.
Soviet expansion
Salami technique:
- Communist parties resist German troops and the Red Army drives them west and
occupies Eastern Europe
- Communist leaders prepared to take orders from Moscow
, - Coalition governments are set up
- Backed by Moscow, Communists gradually force non-Communists out of power,
through intimidation, vote rigging, show trials, murders
Using this technique Stalin managed to take over most of Eastern Europe.
An iron curtain has descended across the Continent (Churchill, Fulton speech)
Germany
Germany was divided into four zones controlled by USSR, USA, France and Britain.
How did the attitudes change?
Morgenthau plan (1944), Germany to be divided into two zones, with its main centres of
mining and industry to be internationalised or annexed by neighbouring nations. Churchill
and Roosevelt wanted it to be primarily agricultural.
Divisions in Europe
East and West.
Britain was indifferent about Europe.
Spain was a fascist dictatorship.
Yugoslavia, under Tito, was a Communist state excluded from the Communist bloc.
In Greece a civil war broke out between the Communists and first the British then the
Americans.
Cold War
- Who was involved at the start of the Cold War?
- What was the ideology behind the Cold War?
- What were the levels of conflict?
- How and why did the Cold War change between phases of crisis and relaxation?
- What influence did the logic of the Cold War have on regional conflicts?
- What caused the fall of the USSR?
- What were the consequences of the end of the Cold War for the political world order?
In many ways, Britain and America were natural enemies of the Soviet Union. So, it is in
fact easy to answer: 'Why did the USA-USSR alliance begin to break down in 1945?' As
soon as the common threats of Hitler and Japan were removed, it was inevitable that the allies
would fall out.
During the war, there had been growing tensions:
-For a long time, Stalin refused to join the United Nations;
, -Stalin was angry that Britain and America kept delaying D-Day, believing it was a plot to
allow Germany to weaken the Soviet Union;
-Stalin and Churchill clashed over how much control Stalin would have over the countries of
eastern Europe.
However, the 'Big Three' - especially President Roosevelt - knew that they had to stay allied
until the end of the war, so they managed to patch up these differences. As soon as it was
clear that the war was coming to an end, however, more and more cracks appeared in the
alliance until it finally split apart altogether and the allies of the war became enemies.
1. Ideologies
- The Soviet Union was a Communist country, which was ruled by a dictator and put
the needs of the state ahead of personal human rights.
- The USA was a capitalist democracy which valued freedom and feared Communism.
It was not just that the two ideologies were conflicting - they were militant and expansionist.
They both believed that the alternative ideology was a threat to their own way of life, and that
the only way for the world to be happy was for their particular ideology to take over the
world. This mixture of ideological fear and aggression meant that in both America and
Russia, their beliefs invaded and affected their foreign policies.
2. Aims
- Stalin wanted huge reparations from Germany, and a ‘buffer’ of friendly states to
protect the USSR from being invaded again.
- Britain and the USA wanted to protect democracy, and help Germany to recover.
They were worried that large areas of eastern Europe were falling under Soviet
control.
This meant that the 'Big Three' found it difficult to get agreement at the Conferences which
outlined the principles of the post-war peace.
3. Resentments about history
- The Soviet Union could not forget that in 1918 Britain and the USA had tried to
destroy the Russian Revolution.
- Britain and the USA could not forget that Stalin had signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with
Germany in 1939.
4. Events:
Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)
Held during the war, on the surface, the Yalta conference seemed successful. The Allies
agreed a Protocol of Proceedings to:
- divide Germany into four ‘zones’, which Britain, France, the USA and the USSR
would occupy after the war.
- bring Nazi war-criminals to trial.
- set up a Polish Provisional Government of National Unity 'pledged to the holding of
free and unfettered elections as soon as possible'.
- help the freed peoples of Europe set up democratic and self-governing countries by
helping them to (a) maintain law and order; (b) carry out emergency relief measures;
- What were the human, socio-economic and political consequences of the Second
World War for Europe? All in the photocopies and the essay
- What was the geo-political situation in Europe by 1949?
- How and why was Europe divided between 1945 and 1949?
- How did communist governments come to power in central and eastern Europe?
End of the war
After signing the German Instrument of Surrender on 7th of May 1945, the Germans signed
the surrender of the Third Reich in Berlin on 8th of May 1945 to the Allied powers. Vicory
over Japan was a lot more difficult, but after two atomic bombs (Hiroshima and Nagasaki),
the soviet invasion of Manchuria and Korea, the Emperor was forced to surrender and the
acts were signed in early September 1945. The liberation of France began, which was
followed by a period of wild purging (the Èpuration lègale). Courts prosecuted Nazi
collaborators. In Germany, denazification began.
Consequences of the war
Human consequences:
World War II was the deadliest of all wars. The losses were unevenly distributed across
Europe. There is no comparison between the losses in the East and in the West. This explains
the disparity in the reactions to Germany (anti-German sentiment was strong in the East).
World War II no longer distinguished between non-conflict zones and frontlines, which
caused a large number of civilian deaths.
Millions of Europeans had been forced to leave their homes because of changed in national
frontiers.
Socio-economic consequences:
The damage of the war was significant in Central and Eastern Europe and in Japan. Industrial
production fell. The end of hostilities did not alleviate the enormous hardships of daily life.
The two new major economic powers were now the USA and the USSR. The conflict
accelerated the process of economic decline that began with WWI and continued the
economic crisis of the 1930s.
Political consequences:
The Allies decided on a new territorial division among themselves. Territorially, the USSR
was the winner, as it gained most of the territories in Eastern Europe. Civil Wars (for
example in Greece) and Cold War.
Soviet expansion
Salami technique:
- Communist parties resist German troops and the Red Army drives them west and
occupies Eastern Europe
- Communist leaders prepared to take orders from Moscow
, - Coalition governments are set up
- Backed by Moscow, Communists gradually force non-Communists out of power,
through intimidation, vote rigging, show trials, murders
Using this technique Stalin managed to take over most of Eastern Europe.
An iron curtain has descended across the Continent (Churchill, Fulton speech)
Germany
Germany was divided into four zones controlled by USSR, USA, France and Britain.
How did the attitudes change?
Morgenthau plan (1944), Germany to be divided into two zones, with its main centres of
mining and industry to be internationalised or annexed by neighbouring nations. Churchill
and Roosevelt wanted it to be primarily agricultural.
Divisions in Europe
East and West.
Britain was indifferent about Europe.
Spain was a fascist dictatorship.
Yugoslavia, under Tito, was a Communist state excluded from the Communist bloc.
In Greece a civil war broke out between the Communists and first the British then the
Americans.
Cold War
- Who was involved at the start of the Cold War?
- What was the ideology behind the Cold War?
- What were the levels of conflict?
- How and why did the Cold War change between phases of crisis and relaxation?
- What influence did the logic of the Cold War have on regional conflicts?
- What caused the fall of the USSR?
- What were the consequences of the end of the Cold War for the political world order?
In many ways, Britain and America were natural enemies of the Soviet Union. So, it is in
fact easy to answer: 'Why did the USA-USSR alliance begin to break down in 1945?' As
soon as the common threats of Hitler and Japan were removed, it was inevitable that the allies
would fall out.
During the war, there had been growing tensions:
-For a long time, Stalin refused to join the United Nations;
, -Stalin was angry that Britain and America kept delaying D-Day, believing it was a plot to
allow Germany to weaken the Soviet Union;
-Stalin and Churchill clashed over how much control Stalin would have over the countries of
eastern Europe.
However, the 'Big Three' - especially President Roosevelt - knew that they had to stay allied
until the end of the war, so they managed to patch up these differences. As soon as it was
clear that the war was coming to an end, however, more and more cracks appeared in the
alliance until it finally split apart altogether and the allies of the war became enemies.
1. Ideologies
- The Soviet Union was a Communist country, which was ruled by a dictator and put
the needs of the state ahead of personal human rights.
- The USA was a capitalist democracy which valued freedom and feared Communism.
It was not just that the two ideologies were conflicting - they were militant and expansionist.
They both believed that the alternative ideology was a threat to their own way of life, and that
the only way for the world to be happy was for their particular ideology to take over the
world. This mixture of ideological fear and aggression meant that in both America and
Russia, their beliefs invaded and affected their foreign policies.
2. Aims
- Stalin wanted huge reparations from Germany, and a ‘buffer’ of friendly states to
protect the USSR from being invaded again.
- Britain and the USA wanted to protect democracy, and help Germany to recover.
They were worried that large areas of eastern Europe were falling under Soviet
control.
This meant that the 'Big Three' found it difficult to get agreement at the Conferences which
outlined the principles of the post-war peace.
3. Resentments about history
- The Soviet Union could not forget that in 1918 Britain and the USA had tried to
destroy the Russian Revolution.
- Britain and the USA could not forget that Stalin had signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with
Germany in 1939.
4. Events:
Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)
Held during the war, on the surface, the Yalta conference seemed successful. The Allies
agreed a Protocol of Proceedings to:
- divide Germany into four ‘zones’, which Britain, France, the USA and the USSR
would occupy after the war.
- bring Nazi war-criminals to trial.
- set up a Polish Provisional Government of National Unity 'pledged to the holding of
free and unfettered elections as soon as possible'.
- help the freed peoples of Europe set up democratic and self-governing countries by
helping them to (a) maintain law and order; (b) carry out emergency relief measures;
