Europe Since 1945: A Concise History PDF
Preview Europe Since 1945: A Concise History
THIRD EDITION e S i n c e 1 9 4 5 A Concise History J. Robert Wegs PALGRAVE MACMILLAN To Joyce and Alison Senior editor: Don Reisman Managing editor: Patricia Mansfield Project editor: Beverly Hinton Beers Editorial assistant: Rob Skiena Production supervisor: Alan Fischer Graphics: G & H Soho, Ltd. Photo researcher: lnge King Cover design: Doug Steel Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-63943 Copyright © 1991 by St. Martin's Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America. 54321 fedcba For information, write: St. Martin's Press, Inc. 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-00972-4 Published and distributed outside North America by: MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD. Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN 978-0-333-55100-4 ISBN 978-1-349-12349-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-12349-0 Preface Momentous changes have occurred in the Soviet Union and Eastern Eu rope since the second edition of Europe Since 1945: A Concise History; these changes have necessitated a major revamping of the third edition. An entire new chapter 13 concentrates on the reforms of Mikhail Gor bachev in the Soviet Union and their impact on Eastern Europe and the West. Morever, the book traces reforms throughout the former "Soviet bloc" to longer-term opposition to the Stalinist and Leninist economic and political systems within each country, not merely as a response to Gorbachev' s initiatives. Also of great significance since the second edition has been the retreat from nationalization and extensive welfare systems in the West, inspired to a large extent by British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Finally, an increasing number of historical monographs treating the postwar period have provided a wealth of detail and interpretation for this text that was ilot available when the first two editions were written. Although the third edition is no longer as concise as the earlier editions, it now has a richness of detail that many readers desired. This new edition is not then merely an updating; it is a major renovation of the original work. Europe Since 1945 is organized both chronologically and thematically. While chapters on politics provide the basic chronological structure, other chapters, primarily thematic, are located at points where comprehension of their arguments will enhance the understanding of the chapters that follow. For example, the first two chapters (on a bipolar world and on the Cold War and the Sovietization of Eastern Europe) are fundamental to an understanding of the third chapter (on European politics from 1945 to 1948). The chapters on politics are tied to the other chapters by an underlying socioeconomic theme that is viewed as the major determinant of political change or continuity. Developments in postwar Europe are seen as the culmination of a chain of events stretching back to the turn of the century. However, the enor mous impact of World War II is not overlooked in shaping the postwar world. For example, the Cold War confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States is explained as resulting in part from the growth of non-European power centers, beginning with the emergence of Japan and the United States in the late-nineteenth century, and from the iii iv Preface struggle between communism and capitalism that had been at work in domestic and international politics since 1917. The incorporation of Eu rope within a bipolar world after 1945 is, according to this interpretation, primarily the result of the attainment of superpower status by the United States and the USSR during this century. And coverage of the lessening of German power is important in order to understand the power vacuum created in Central Europe that could only be filled by the two superpow ers. The analysis of the end of European empire moves outside the Eu ropean-centered interpretive framework to explain the emergence of in dependent Third World countries in the postwar period as a three-stage revolutionary pattern stretching over nearly a century. When the impact of decolonization has an extensive domestic impact on a colonial power, as in the case of French Algeria, it is also dealt with in the chapters on domestic politics. In the chapters on economic and social developments, demographic and statistical data are interwoven with theories that have been advanced to explain postwar European society. Such phenomena as changing oc cupational structures, the spread of affluence, and the persistence of dis tinct social classes and governing elites are treated in depth. In dealing with these themes, special attention is given to the smaller European states, as they have often been forerunners in the development of the postwar welfare state. It is, for example, to Scandinavia that one must look in order to understand the impact of socioeconomic policies that have been pursued by most Western European states since World War II. Also examined is the effect of economic modernization and commun ism on Soviet and Eastern European societies. Throughout the study, conciseness is favored over excessive attention to detail in order to highlight significant patterns and theses. Much of the statistical material is incorporated in the many tables located throughout the book. Seven maps help students grasp the full significance of political and economic developments. An annotated list of selected readings at the end of each chapter guides students in research and further study. I wish to thank Professors Philip Cook, Louisiana Tech University; Laura Gellott, University of Wisconsin, Parkside; Loyd E. Lee, State University of New York, New Paltz; M. C. Rosenfeld, Southeastern Massachusetts University; Paul Scherer, Indiana University, South Bend; Irwin Wall, University of California, Riverside; and John Willertz, Sag inaw Valley State College, for their reading and helpful suggestions for the third edition. A special debt of gratitude is owed my student assistants at the University of Notre Dame, Craig Stillwell, John Quinn, and Carolyn Huber, for helping me track down recent works for possible inclusion in the Further Reading sections. Finally, I want to express my thanks to Don Reisman and Beverly Hinton Beers of St. Martin's Press for seeing Europe Since 1945 through to its final form. J. ROBERT WEGS Contents Preface m 1 A Bipolar World 1 The Emergence of the Superpowers 1 The Soviet Union at War's End 4 East-West Relations during World War II 5 Teheran, Yalta, and Potsdam 7 The Occupation of Germany 12 The Iron Curtain Descends 13 The Rift Widens 16 The Korean Conflict 22 The War Decade Ends 24 Further Reading 24 2 The Cold War and the Sovietization of Eastern Europe 29 Soviet Goals in Eastern Europe 30 Poland's Coalition Government 32 Romania's Coalition Government 35 Soviet Relations with Bulgaria 36 Hungary's Coalition Government 37 Czechoslovakia's Coalition Government 38 The Revolt of the First Secretaries 40 The People's Democracies 41 Soviet-Yugoslav Split 42 National Deviationism Ends 45 Further Reading 46 v vi Contents 3 From Left to Right: European Politics, 1945-1948 49 Great Britain: The Welfare State Begins 50 France: The Fourth Republic 53 Italy: A Policy of Muddling Through 59 Spain: An End to Ostracism 62 Portugal: Uninterrupted Peace 64 The Small Nations: Restoring Order 65 Greece: From Occupation to Civil War 65 Popularity of the Left 66 Further Reading 67 4 Economic Recovery in Western Europe 70 Characteristics of European Economic Recovery 70 Marshall Plan Stimulus to Recovery 71 Trade Stimulus to Recovery 72 Demographic Stimulus to Recovery 72 The New Capitalism 74 Industrial Concentration and Nationalization 76 Agricultural Developments 77 France: Economic Development 79 West Germany: Economic Development 81 Britain: Economic Decline? 82 Italy: Economic Development 84 Postwar Development Patterns 84 Further Reading 85 5 Western European Politics, 1948-1965 88 .Italian Political Affairs 89 West German Political Affairs 91 French Political Affairs 93 British Political Affairs 99 Nordic PolitiCal Affairs 101 Benelux Political Affairs 102 Austrian Political Affairs 103 Iberian Political Affairs 103 The Economy in Political Affairs 104 Further Reading 106 Contents vii 6 The End of European Empire 109 Stages on the Road to Independence 110 India's Independence Movement 111 China's Independence Movement 113 Indochina's Independence Movement 115 Indonesia's Independence Movement 118 Arab Independence Movements 119 Africa's Independence Movements 122 The Pattern of Nationalism 128 Further Reading 128 7 The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 1950s and 1960s: The New Course and Polycentrism 131 Postwar Society under Stalin 132 The Postwar Economy under Stalin 133 The Choice of Stalin's Successor 133 Khrushchev's Leadership 135 The Polish October 136 The Hungarian Revolution 138 Polycentrism 142 Khrushchev's Fall from Power 146 Further Reading 148 8 European Unity 150 The Beginnings of Unity 151 The Council of Europe 152 The European Coal and Steel Community 154 The European Defense Community 154 The European Economic Community 155 Further Reading 166 9 Postwar European Society: The Managed 168 Europe's Class Structure 170 Wages and Fringe Benefits 171 Status of Working Women 172 Status of Immigrant Laborers 175 viii Contents The Standard of Living 176 The Work Week and Vacation 179 The Voices of Labor 179 Social Leveling 181 Political Attitudes and Social Class 184 Labor Dissatisfactions 185 In Sum . . . 186 Further Reading 187 10 Postwar European Society: The Managers 190 The New Ruling Elite 190 Composition of the Elite 191 Women and Power 193 The New Managers 195 Education of the Ruling Elite 195 The Aristocracy 202 The Plutocrats 203 Housing and Life-style of the Ruling Class 205 The Technocrats 206 Further Reading 207 11 Economics and Society in the Communist World 210 The Soviet Economy 211 Khrushchev's Decentralization 211 Economic Policy of Kosygin and Brezhnev 212 East European Economic Modernization 214 Agricultural Problems 217 Eastern European Agriculture 219 Living Standards 220 Status 224 The Role of Women 224 Social Structure 226 Changes in Education 226 The Elite 228 The Beginnings of Pluralism 229 Further Reading 231 Contents ix 12 1968: Year of Crisis 234 Student Unrest in Italy and Germany 235 German Student Protests 236 Protest in France 237 Unrest in Czechoslovakia: The Prague Spring 244 Common Protest Themes 249 Further Reading 249 13 Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s: The Quest for Legitimacy as Ideology Fails 251 The Brezhnev Years, 1964-1982 252 The Gorbachev "Phenomenon" 254 Poland: Solidarity and Beyond 258 Hungary 262 East Germany: From Communist Orthodoxy to "Unification" 263 Czechoslovakia: From Winter to Spring Again 265 Bulgaria: The Dutiful Ally 268 Romania: The Collapse of the Last Stalinist Bastion 270 Yugoslavia: From Tito to Turmoil 272 Conclusion 274 Further Reading 276 14 Political and Economic Trends Since the 1960s in Western Europe 278 End of Authoritarian Government in Southern Europe 279 Europe's Foreign Policy Independence 285 European Problems: The End of Rapid Economic Growth 286 West German Political Transition 288 French Political Transition 293 Italian Political Transition 297 The Vatican 302 British Political Transition 303 Political Transition in the Smaller Nations 308 Further Reading 312
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