Western Society and Eastern
Europe in the Decades of the
Cold War
Decolonization
Decolonization decreased west’s power
Overall, decolonization went smoothly
but Kenya, Vietnam and Algeria were
exceptions
Europe still intervened in their colonies
Despite the loss of colonies, neither
economic growth nor political stability
weakened significantly
Resurgence of Western Europe
Spread of liberal democracy
Universal suffrage
Development of the welfare state- medical
care, housing, and the development of a
large, expensive bureaucracy to deal with
that state with government planning
Rise of student protests
Development of the European Union and later
the Euro
Economic growth surged
The Cold War: 1945-1992
1945-1947 conflict took shape
Boundaries- “iron curtain” - Churchill
Marshall Plan- loan program to rebuild economies
was a spit in the face to Soviets
Germany the focal point of war at the beginning
1946 unified West Germany, 1947 stable currency
created
1948 airlift to Berlin
1949- NATO and the Warsaw Pact
1949 Soviets had developed nuclear capability
Spilled over into conflicts in other parts of the world
Influence of the U.S.
U.S. after 1945 had to serve as the world’s defender of
democratic and capitalist values
Truman doctrine- support for people resisting aggression
Communist frenzy at home – McCarthy Era
Korean War and increased military spending
Eisenhower- containment policy of the USSR
U.S. intervention in Central America against suspected
communist takeovers
Cuban missile crisis- JFK- 1962 policy of vigilance
Vietnam- expensive war- more bombs dropped than in 20th
century- 1965 -1973 cease fire
Reagan and arms race helped bring down USSR which couldn’t
keep up
After cold war U.S. emerged as only superpower
Culture and Society in the West
Increased prosperity for all groups and
increased social mobility
Change in family structure as women entered
the workforce
Feminist movement demanded more rights
for women
Slow shift to the U.S. for producing new
inventions and breakthroughs (partly due to
large immigration of intellectuals)
Coca-cola-ization of the world- spread of U.S.
culture
Soviets in Eastern Europe
Opposition to Soviet rule crushed (except in
Greece, Albania, and Yugoslavia (Tito) )
Propaganda, collectivization, industrialization
(new 5-year plans)
Berlin wall built
Soviet army crushed uprisings in E.Germany,
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland
Solidarity movement in Poland
Soviet Culture and Economy
Stalinist system eased in the 1950s but
Communist party control still tight
Sciences strongly promoted (military use)
Lagged in consumer goods because of focus
on heavy industry, which led to complaints
about consumer products and long lines
Environmental damage from industry
Problems in agricultural sector
De-Stalinization
Nikita Krushchev emerged after Stalin and
eased some policies and tried to cooperate
with the west
Space race and “sputnik”- Soviet Union led
the race until the 1960s
Relations with Communist China and other
nations turned sour
Gorbachev and “perestroika”
1989 the fall of the wall