THE WESTERN RENAISSANCEEastview High School – AP European HistoryMcKay, et. al, 8th ed. – Ch30 section 1

Essential Questions

How and why, in spite of the Cold War, did western Europe recover so successfully from the ravages of war and Nazism?

The Postwar Challenge

The war left Europe physically devastated and in a state of economic and moral crisis.

Food rationing was necessary.

Russia’s border had been pushed west, as was Poland’s; thus, many Germans were forced to resettle in a greatly reduced Germany.

The Allies treated Germany harshly.

Political, Social, & Economic reforms

A. New leaders and new parties, especially the Catholic Christian Democrats, emerged in Italy, France, and Germany and provided effective leadership and needed reforms.

B. In many countries, such as Britain, France, and Italy, socialists and communists emerged from the war with considerable power and a strong desire for social reform.

C. The Marshall Plan aided in economic recovery and led to the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC); military protection was provided through NATO.

Economic Miracles

A. Led by West Germany, a European economic miracle was underway by 1963.

B. American aid helped get the process off to a fast start.

C. European nations coordinated the distribution of American aid, so barriers to European trade and cooperation were quickly dropped.

D. A free-market economy with a social welfare network brought rapid growth to Germany.

E. Flexible planning and a mixed state and private economy brought rapid growth to France.

F. A skilled labor pool, new markets for consumer products, and the Common Market stimulated economic development in Western Europe.

Toward European Unity

A. Democratic republics were re-established in France, West Germany, and Italy.

B. The Christian Democrats were committed to a unified Europe, but economic unity proved to be more realistic than political unity.

C. The six-nation Coal and Steel Community marked the beginning of a movement toward European unity and led to further technical and economic cooperation.

D. The Treaty of Rome (1957) created the European Economic Community (EEC, or Common Market), whose immediate goal was to create a free-trade area by reducing tariffs.

E. However, regenerated hopes for political union in Europe were frustrated by a resurgence of nationalism in the 1960s

1. De Gaulle, a romantic nationalist, wanted France to lead the Common Market.

2. He withdrew from NATO and vetoed British attempts to join the Common Market.

Decolonization

A. Nationalism brought demands for political self-determination in colonial areas after the First World War.

B. The Second World War reduced European power and destroyed the Western sense of moral superiority.

C. Nationalism in India and China

D. Gandhi led the Indian nationalist movement, and India won limited self-government in 1937.

E. Britain granted independence after the Second World War by creating a Hindu state of India and a Muslim state of Pakistan.

F. After a bitter civil war, the Communists forced the Nationalists out of China to the island of Taiwan in 1949.

G. Mao Zedong began building a communist society along Soviet lines, with collectivization of the peasants and five-year plans concentrating on heavy industry.

H. The French were defeated in Indochina by Ho Chi Minh, and Vietnam was divided into two zones pending unification on the basis of free elections.

Arab Nationalism & African Independence

A. Arab nationalism challenged imperial power and the new Jewish nation.

B. A Jewish state was created out of part of British-controlled Palestine (1948) and was attacked by the Arab countries, who were defeated.

C. Palestinian refugees refused to accept defeat and vowed to continue fighting to destroy the Jewish state of Israel.

D. Successful nationalist revolution took place in Egypt (1952), and the new leader, Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal.

E. Arab nationalists in Algeria fought for and won independence from France in 1962.

F. In most of the rest of Africa, independence was achieved without war, although many new African countries remained dependent on France and the Common Market.

G. Overall, western European countries actually increased their economic and cultural ties with their former African colonies in the 1960s and 1970s—“neo-colonialism.”

Questions for your review

1. After WW2, why does the Soviet Union return to the totalitarianism of the 1930s?

2. Who is Ludwig Erhard and why does he emphasize free-market capitalism in West Germany?

3. What are the factors which led to European economic rebirth (Western Renaissance)? (4)

4. Which act/treaty creates the European Economic Community? What are the consequences of this act/treaty?

5. What is the ultimate goal of Robert Schuman’s for the Coal and Steel Community?

6. What factors led to the “leveling” of European society? (4)7. Jews in Palestine proclaimed the state of Israel when the

British withdrew from Palestine in 1948. What are the immediate consequences?

8. French decolonization in sub-Saharan Africa enhanced economic and cultural ties with former colonies…how?