Chapters 22 26 Cold War The cold war was a period of intense hostility and rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1989. There was no actual war between the two superpowers, however. This was mostly due to the mutually assured destruction they faced from nuclear weapons. Each side could annihilate the other. After World War II the United States decided it had to maintain peace in Europe and kept its troops there (unlike after World War I). At the same time, Stalin began imposing communist dictatorships on the Eastern European countries occupied by Soviet troops. As the United States felt it had fought the war to free countries from Nazi occupation, Soviet behavior aroused much opposition and hostility. The Eastern European states (East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria) became Soviet satellites. Their communist governments almost always followed every Soviet directive, and they allowed Soviet troops to remain on their soil. An "Iron Curtain" fell across Europe, dividing East from West. There was almost no travel or trade between each side, and hostile armies faced each other across the divide. 1
In Western Europe countries were democratic and capitalistic. President Harry Truman committed the United States to a policy of containment, pledging to prevent the spread of communism. The United States helped the Western European countries rebuild after the war and restore their economic prosperity through the Marshall Plan (1947). It was felt that increasing hope and prosperity would reduce the appeal of political extremists and ensure democratic stability. Even former enemy states were included. Disagreements over the economic and political future of Germany were a major cause of the cold war. By 1948 the Soviets blockaded West Berlin, which was surrounded by the Soviet occupation zone, in order to force the Western powers to withdraw. Instead, the Western powers resupplied West Berlin by air through the Berlin Airlift. In 1949 two separate German states were created since the two sides were not going to agree on a peace treaty or the nature of a unified Germany. In the West was the democratic, capitalist Federal Republic of Germany, and in the East was the German Democratic Republic, a Soviet satellite. Berlin also remained divided. 2
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Fearing Soviet expansionism, the United States also committed itself to defend Western Europe militarily through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (1949). NATO members promised to defend each other in case of an armed attack. U.S. troops remained in Western Europe to make this commitment credible, and NATO forces were placed under a single military command. The USSR created a counterpart to NATO, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955. The only time Warsaw Pact armies saw action was when they crushed popular rebellions against communism in several member states. Yugoslavia was a unique case in cold war Europe. There, local communist resistance fighters seized power after the Nazi surrender. Tito became a communist dictator, but he had not been put in power by Stalin, and Yugoslavia was never a Soviet satellite. Stalin died in 1953. The new General Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev, allowed for a slight relaxation in repression and cold war tensions. Most of the gulags were closed. He allowed Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918 2008) to publish a novel denouncing the gulags. In 1956 he gave the "secret speech" which criticized Stalin's cult of personality, the show trials, and the gulags and which began "de Stalinization" in the USSR. 5
There was also a limited willingness to cooperate with the West. There were several summit meetings with Western leaders. Also, the Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955. The four occupying powers agreed to withdraw from their zones in Austria and in Vienna, and Austrian sovereignty was restored. Austria was democratic, but was required to remain neutral. Communism never enjoyed much popular support or legitimacy in the Eastern European satellites. In 1956 Imre Nagy, Hungary's leader, declared that Hungary would be neutral and democratic as part of an anti Soviet rebellion. The USSR responded with an invasion by the Warsaw Pact. Nagy was executed. In 1961 the Berlin Wall was built. The communist leaders of East Germany were embarrassed by the huge numbers of East Germans fleeing their "workers' paradise" to West Berlin, so a wall was built around West Berlin, preventing anyone from escaping the East. This would become the most potent symbol of Europe's cold war divisions. In Czechoslovakia in 1968 a party leader once again challenged communist rule and Soviet domination, and once again Warsaw Pact forces invaded to crush this liberal experiment. Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary from 1964 to 1982, formulated the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene militarily in any communist state in order to uphold communist rule. 6
In the 1970s there was a period of detente (a relaxation of tensions) between East and West. There were various summit meetings between Soviet and U.S. leaders, and several arms control treaties were signed. West Germany pursued Ostpolitik, a policy of seeking improved relations with the Soviet bloc in the hopes of improving conditions there. As part of Ostpolitik East and West Germany agreed to recognize each other diplomatically, and travel conditions were eased for West Berliners. West Germany also agreed to recognize Europe's postwar borders. The high point of detente was the Helsinki Conference (1975), where all the leaders of Europe, the United States, and Canada met and agreed to accept the borders of Europe and to respect human rights. Western Europe Western European countries, with the exceptions of Greece, Portugal, and Spain, remained democratic after World War II. Politics were much more moderate and there was much less extremism compared to the interwar period. There was much greater economic prosperity than ever before. West Germany became Europe's largest industrial economy. There were typically two parties alternating in power, a social democratic one (which was no longer Marxist or revolutionary) and a Christian democratic one (more conservative, but still concerned with social welfare). Only Italy had a strong communist party, but it was never in the government. All Western European governments created very generous social welfare systems and offered benefits to workers from the cradle to the grave. There was also generous government support for culture and 7
European economic integration A movement arose after World War II to integrate Europe's economies in order to make war impossible. The centerpiece of this effort was to reconcile France and Germany, which had been enemies since 1870. Those who participated gave up some of their sovereignty over their economies in order to reinforce their mutual dependence. The European Coal and Steel Community was established in 1951 by France, Italy, West Germany, and the Benelux countries. The member states gave up their sovereignty over these two vital industrial goods to this unique supranational institution. The European Economic Community was established by the Treaty of Rome (1958) by the same six countries. They gave up their sovereignty over every economic sector to this new supranational institution. The EEC established free trade among the member states, as well as a customs union, meaning it had a common external trade policy. 8
The EEC established an administration divided into three branches: the European Commission (Brussels), the European Parliament (Strasbourg), and the European Court of Justice (Luxembourg). It expanded to include Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland (1973), Greece (1981), Portugal, Spain (1986), Austria, Finland, and Sweden (1995). Once the cold war ended the EEC decided to deepen its level of integration and expand eastward. The earlier European Communities became the European Union (EU) in 1993, with a single economy, common citizenship, free movement of people, and no border controls (with some exceptions). Any European citizen can live, work, and vote in any EU member state. A European Central Bank was also established and a common currency, the euro, was introduced in 2002, replacing national currencies. Currently, 19 out of 28 EU member states use the euro. Once the former communist states completed their transition to democracy and capitalism, they also began joining the EU. The EU served as a good example of peaceful relations, democratic government, and economic prosperity, so membership became an incentive for former dictatorships to reform their economies and respect democracy. Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined in 2004, Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007, and Croatia joined in 2013. 9
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Decolonization Growing nationalism in the colonies and European weakness after World War II led to decolonization. Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands let their colonies become independent, usually peacefully, between the 1940s and 1960s. Portugal was more reluctant and faced armed resistance in its colonies until its transition to democracy in the 1970s, when it also granted them independence. The two most important colonial wars were against French rule in Vietnam and Algeria. France, having lost to Germany during World War II, was reluctant to give up its colonies, as it felt they ensured its continuing status as a great power. In Vietnam, nationalist resistance was led by communists, and so the war there became a cold war issue. The French were nonetheless defeated and Vietnam became independent in 1954 as two states, one communist and one not. France wanted to keep Algeria because large numbers of French settlers lived there. It was administered as part of France, not as a colony. The nationalist rebellion there became a very polarizing issue in France, and it led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic in 1958. Charles de Gaulle was called back to power under the Fifth Republic, which gave the president much stronger powers. He became its first president, and negotiated Algeria's independence in 1962. 17
The last time Britain and France acted like imperialist powers and used force against nationalist defiance was in 1956 when the Suez Canal was confiscated by Egypt.They invaded along with Israel to recapture it, but the United States and the USSR forced them to withdraw. End of the Cold War The Soviet Union was always less productive economically and less advanced technologically than the United States, so it became increasingly difficult for the Soviets to keep up in the arms race. As totalitarian dictatorships, communist regimes also lacked legitimacy and popularity. 1978 John Paul II was elected pope. He was Polish, and his first visit to Poland as pope inspired resistance to communism. 1979 The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Afghan guerrillas resisted Soviet occupation, with U.S. help, becoming the first successful resistance movement against communism. The war became increasingly unsustainable and unaffordable for the Soviets. Detente was dead. 1980 Polish shipyard workers, led by Lech Walesa, went on strike demanding an independent union. The state acquiesced and recognized Solidarity. 1981 A Soviet invasion of Poland was imminent. To forestall it, the Polish military led a coup, banned Solidarity, and imprisoned its leaders. 18
1982 1985 The long illness and death of Brezhnev was followed by the brief rule of two more geriatric leaders. At the same time, President Ronald Reagan (1981 1989) was much more anti communist rhetorically and greatly built up the military. A new generation of nuclear missiles was deployed in Europe, putting a lot of pressure on the Soviets. Reagan was matched in Europe by Britain's Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1979 1990), who was hostile to the Soviets, unions, and the welfare state, and championed the free market. March 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary. He belonged to a much younger generation. He realized the Soviet situation was untenable, and he needed to relax cold war tensions and reduce spending on the arms race in order to reform Soviet society and the economy. Gorbachev's reforms: Glasnost (openness) meant the USSR began to allow open discussion of social and economic problems. Perestroika (restructuring) meant reforming the economy by moving away from central planning and allowing small private businesses and greater autonomy to local managers. Gorbachev held several summit meetings with Reagan and improved Soviet American relations. For the first time during the cold war, the Soviets and Americans agreed to eliminate existing weapons. The INF Treaty (1987) eliminated each side's nuclear missiles from Europe. 19
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Gorbachev also wanted to cut back costly Soviet commitments to its satellites. He renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine, allowing each country to go its own way. In the summer of 1989 Poland negotiated with Solidarity and a noncommunist government was formed. A similar government was formed in Hungary. Once communist parties gave up their monopoly on power, civil liberties began to be respected, free elections were held, and freedom to travel was restored. Walesa was elected President of Poland. November 9, 1989 The East German government announced it would no longer guard the Berlin Wall, and a flood of East Germans breached it and the wall fell. November 1989 The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. Communism fell peacefully after massive demonstrations. Dissident playwright Vaclav Havel became president. By December, communist rule also fell in Bulgaria and Romania. Only Romania experienced violence, and its dictator was executed. Everywhere else this transition to democracy was entirely peaceful. Gorbachev allowed East and West Germany to unify. Germany would remain part of NATO, and U.S. troops would remain there while all Soviet troops would withdraw. Germany kept the alliance, constitution, and capitalist economy of the West after West Germany absorbed East Germany on October 3, 1990. 21
Greater openness within the USSR allowed Soviet minorities to express their desire for independence. The president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, saw this as an opportunity to assert his own power at the expense of Soviet centralized rule. Greater openness and exposure to the West also exposed the illegitimacy of the system and led to increasing demands for freedom, opportunities to travel, and more consumer goods. August 1991 Stalinist elements in the party and secret police attempted a coup against Gorbachev. Yeltsin mobilized his followers in Moscow and succeeded in reversing the coup. Yeltsin and the leaders of the other Soviet republics then decided they wanted sovereignty and Gorbachev was too weak to stop them. The three Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) which had been independent until 1940 declared independence first. December 1991 The USSR was dissolved and replaced by 15 independent republics. The Warsaw Pact was dissolved with the collapse of communism. Eventually NATO expanded eastward to include all of the former communist states. NATO currently has 28 member states. 22
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Yugoslavia Tito, Yugoslavia's communist dictator, died in 1980. As communism began to falter in Eastern Europe, nationalism grew among Yugoslavia's ethnic groups. On one side were Catholic Croats and Slovenes, who had once lived in Austria Hungary. On the other were Orthodox Serbs who had once lived in the Ottoman Empire who insisted on retaining a greater Serbia. 1991 Slovenia and Croatia declared independence. Serbia's leader, Slobodan Milosevic, a crude and authoritarian nationalist, responded with a war against Croatia (1991 1992), hoping to retain those areas with a mixed population. 1992 1995 War in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After Bosnia declared independence Serbs rebelled against the Muslim majority and engaged in ethnic cleansing of Muslims. There were many massacres of civilians. NATO intervened in 1995, bombing Serbian positions. Croatia then launched an offensive and kicked the Serbs out of the areas they occupied in Croatia. The warring sides then signed the Dayton Accords, which still govern Bosnia. European peacekeepers were deployed and Bosnia was divided into two republics, one for Serbs and one for Muslims and Croats, with a weak central government. Macedonia had already declared independence in 1992, so only Serbia and Montenegro were left in Yugoslavia. 26
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Kosovo was part of Serbia, but it is largely inhabited by ethnic Albanians. They rebelled against Serbian rule after Milosevic revoked their autonomy. Serbia responded with massacres and ethnic cleansing. NATO intervened in 1999. Serbia was bombed for over a month until it surrendered control over Kosovo. Kosovo was placed under NATO protection. Milosevic was overthrown in 2000 and put on trial for genocide. Serbia became a democracy. Montenegro declared independence in 2006. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia has yet to recognize it. 28
With decolonization and postwar economic recovery, millions of immigrants migrated to Europe from the former colonies of Asia and Africa. Europe had little experience with immigration, and there were often difficulties integrating them into society. Europe now has a sizable Muslim population. The rise of radical Islamism has led to terrorism. Beginning in the 1960s there was a radical change in the role of women, as feminism took hold and women entered the workforce and demanded equal rights. The use of contraception became widespread, divorce became easier to obtain, and abortion became legal in much of Europe. Europe's leading feminist was Simone de Beauvoir. Environmentalism arose as a major social movement in the 1960s, and many European countries have important Green Parties. Existentialism is the philosophy that holds that humans are totally responsible for their acts and that this responsibility causes dread and anguish. They questioned the primacy of reason and death and anxiety provided their themes. The leading existentialist was Jean Paul Sartre. The Second Vatican Council (1962 65), called by Pope John XXIII, enacted significant reforms in the Catholic Church, recognizing religious freedom, improving relations with Jews, giving more power to bishops and the laity, allowing the mass to be celebrated in the vernacular, and promoting ecumenism (a movement toward greater unity among the Christian churches). 29