Chapter 30
Contemporary Europe
End of Dictatorship in Greece
• Army officers overthrow parliamentary
system and the monarchy in 1967
• Democracy restored in 1973
• Became member of European Community
in 1981
End of Dictatorship in Portugal
Salazar regime
• Opposition grew in colonies; Guinea, Angola
and Mozambique
• Portugal used violent force to maintain its empire
• Condemned by UN, African nations and
European nations
• Army seized power in 1974
• Promised civil rights for Portugal, self
determination for colonies
• Portugal joined European Community in 1986
End of Dictatorship in Spain
• Franco called Juan Carlos, grandson of Spain’s
last King, to take empty throne 1969
• Franco retired in 1973
• Juan Carlos increased freedom of speech,
encouraged democracy
• New Constitution in 1978
• Attempted military coup failed
• Became member of European Community in
1986
Western Europe
Energy Crises
• Oil producing (OPEC) nations banded together to raise
oil prices in 1973
• Europe relied on imported oil from Middle East
• Western Nations began to look for domestic sources of
energy
• Oil discoveries in North Sea mad Norway self sufficient,
and Britain nearly so
• Nuclear Power plants sprang up all over Europe,
especially France
• Greens protested Nuclear power, especially after
Chernobyl
Western Europe
Stagflation
• High cost of energy increased inflationary
pressure
• Inflation rates of 20-30% in Britain, Italy and
Portugal in 1975-76
• Undermined planning, savings and trade
• Stagflation-high inflation and stagnant economies
• Increased unemployment
• Competition from Japan
• Expensive social programs and little support for
higher taxes left governments little room to
maneuver
Great Britain
Post WWII
• Labour Party
• Cradle to grave social welfare programs
- Benefits for sick, unemployed, retired
- National Health Service (NHS)
• Nationalized Bank of England, the railroads,
electric, iron and steel industries
- Many of these industries were under gov’t
control during war
Great Britain
Post WWII
• Debt to U.S.
• Gold and currency reserves depleted
fighting the war
• Large military spending due to Cold War,
overseas commitments
• “Age of Austerity”
• Wartime rationing of butter and sugar
lasted until 1954
Great Britain
• Exhausted by slow pace of change
• Conservative won elections in 1951
• Continued nationalization, social programs
of Labour Party
• “Politics of Consensus”
Great Britain
Economic Decline
• Great Britain did not achieve the
“economic miracle” of postwar Germany
and Italy
• Reliance on older factories
• Lack of central economic planning
• Aggressive unions fought for higher wages
without increasing production
Great Britain
• Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) became first
female Prime Minster in 1979
• Break with “failed policies of the past”
Thatcherism:
• tight control of the money supply to reduce
inflation
• Sharp cuts in public spending
• Cut in taxes
• Reduce power of trade unions
• Selling off of many nationalized industries
Great Britain
Falkland War 1982
• War with Argentina over Falkland Islands
• Revived Thatcher's popularity
• Retired in 1990
Great Britain
• Labour Party returned to power in 1994
• Tony Blair elected
“New Labour”
• Moved party away from its socialist roots
• Did not renationalize economy
• Focused on improved Social Services, reforming
the House of Lords
• Regional power to Wales and Scotland
• resigned in 2007 after his support was reduced
over backing the U.S. in the Iraq War
France
• Charles De Gaulle dominated life in
postwar France
Fourth Republic
• Granted right to vote to women
• Series of colonial wars in Indochina and
Algeria
France
• Conflict in Algeria led to fear of a military coup
• Plebiscite held for new Constitution in 1958
Fifth Republic
• More powerful presidency, held by De Gualle
• Wanted to restore France’s presences on the world
stage
- Vetoed Britain's entry into Common Market in 1962
- Withdrew from NATO in 1966
- Refused to sign Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
- Developed hydrogen bomb in 1968
France
Economic Struggles
• 1945- 5 million men returned home from
Germany that needed jobs
• Transportation system in shambles
• Limited supplies of coal and food
France
Monnet Plan 1947
• CGP established, nonpolitical technocrats
to run economy
• Increased foreign investment and central
planning helped French economy grow
rapidly
France
• As France became more prosperous,
there was a sense they were losing their
unique way of life
• Resistance to “Americanization”
- Coca Cola banned in 1950
France
1968 Revolutions
• Students united with workers
• Demanded education reforms and wage
increases
• De Gaulle survived crises, resigned in
1969
France
• Members of De Gaulle’s party held power
until 1981
• Socialist Francois Mitterrand elected
• Social reforms and reducing
unemployment
• Did not radically socialize France
• Retired in 1995
France
Replaced by Gaullist Jacques Chirac
• Platform of healing social ills (racism and
labor strikes), tax cuts and job programs
• Social unrest and corruption
• Racial rioting
Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy elected in
2007
• Plan to control immigration and modernize
economy
Italy
Postwar
• Italian monarchy was associated with the fascist
• In 1946 a republic was established
“Economic Miracle”
• Role of the state
• Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (IRI)
created under Mussolini
• Controlled shipbuilding, airlines, metallurgy and
chemical industry
Italy
• Benefited from membership in common market
• Cheap labor from Southern Italy
“Southern Question”
• Reduce economic gap between north and south
• Land reform
• Investment, five year plans
• Significant economic gap remains
Italy
Problems
• Political terrorism
- “red brigade”
• Organized Crime
- Mafia
• Corruption
Germany
• Divided postwar
• Berlin Airlift 1949
• West Germany became a democracy,
East Germany ruled by Communist
dictatorship 1949
• West Germany joined NATO, East
Germany the Warsaw Pact
• Berlin Wall built in1961
West Germany
Politics
• Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
• Led by Chancellor Konrad Adenuer
1949-1963
• Gerhard Ritter, Minister of Economics,
became Chancellor after Adenuer’s
retirement
West Germany
“Economic Miracle”
• Influx of millions of Germans who had fled
from Poland Czechoslovakia and East
Germany
• Marshall Plan investment
• GNP grew from $23 billion in 1950 to $103
billion in 1964
• Increased wages and higher productivity
for workers
West Germany
• Willy Brandt charismatic leader of the Social
Democrats, became Chancellor in 1969
• First socialist leader since 1930
Ostpolitik
• Signed treaties with USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia
• Visited Poland, monument to those who died at Warsaw
Ghetto
• Recognized East Germany
• Won Nobel Peace Prize in 1972
• Resigned after a one of his aides was found to be an
East German spy
Germany
• Helmut Kohl (CDU) became prime minister in 1982
Reunification
• Germany reunited in 1990 after fall of Berlin wall
• West Germany unprepared
• Economic strains integrating East Germany into market
economy
• Weak east German currency exchanged one to one
basis with strong currency of West Germany
• West Germany invested heavily to modernize the
economy and infrastructure of East Germany
• After reunification, Germany faced high unemployment
Germany
• 1998, Social Democrat Gerhard Schroder
elected Prime Minister
• Faced high unemployment
• Dismantled many social programs
• Gained popularity for opposing U.S. war in
Iraq
Germany
• In 2005, conservative Angela Merkel
(CDU) became first female chancellor of
Germany
• Germany economy grew rapidly
• High approval ratings