{{

CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 13, SECT 1SECT 1

A NEW ERA FOR EUROPE A NEW ERA FOR EUROPE AND THE EUROPEAN AND THE EUROPEAN

UNIONUNION

{{

A Changing Europe (cont.)

- Toward the end of the century, working conditions in Europe began to improve.

- Inequalities among social classes and substandard working conditions for the poor led to the rise of communism–a philosophy that called for economic equality in which the workers would control the means of production.

{{

• Several European monarchies collapsed following World War I, and new countries emerged.

• Unresolved political problems from World War I, plus the rise to power of Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Germany, led to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

• Conflict and Division Two world wars in the 1900s drastically changed Europe.

A Changing Europe (cont.)

EUROPE BEFORE WW I EUROPE AFTER WW I

{{

• World War II left Europe ruined and divided.

• Eastern Europe came under Soviet Communist control, but western Europe backed democracy and received support from the United States.

• A divided Germany became a “hot point” of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.

• More than 6 million Jews and others died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust.

A Changing Europe (cont.)

{{

• The Cold War in Europe During the Cold War, the western European democracies were more economically productive than the eastern European communist countries.

• Philosophical difference between communism and democracy.

A Changing Europe (cont.)

Germany was divided into 4 Zones and Berlin was Germany was divided into 4 Zones and Berlin was divided the same way (located inside the Soviet Zone)divided the same way (located inside the Soviet Zone)

{{• The Berlin Wall –a symbol of the Cold

War–came down in 1990, and Germany was reunified.

• Throughout much of eastern Europe during the 1990s, free elections installed democratic leaders who encouraged the rise of market economies.

• A New Era for Europe After years of popular unrest, the Soviet-backed communist governments of eastern Europe collapsed in 1989.

A Changing Europe (cont.)

{{

• The European Union (EU) became the organization promoting this goal.

• There are currently 27 member countries in the European Union.

• In western Europe, steps were taken toward economic and political unity.

A Changing Europe (cont.)

• The largest increase in membership occurred in 2004 when 10 countries officially joined.

{{

Changing Economies• Today Europe is one of the world’s major

manufacturing and trading regions. • The European Union, which unites

much of western Europe into one trading community, enjoys a greater volume of trade than any single country in the world.

{{

Changing Economies (cont.)

• The European Union The European Union was formed in the 1990s in an effort to make Europe’s economies competitive with those of the rest of the world.

• Member countries agreed to eliminate restrictions on trade and travel among themselves.

• The European Union also paved the way for a common European currency, the euro; a central bank; and a common foreign policy.

{{

• Member countries have worked to boost trade and to improve economic productivity.

• They also have tried to control government spending for social welfare programs–a move many Europeans oppose.

Changing Economies (cont.)

{{

• Eastern Europe Since communism’s fall in 1989, eastern European countries have been moving from command economies to market economies.

• Loans and investments from foreign countries have helped them in their efforts, but many workers have lost the social “safety net”–free health care, child care, lifetime jobs, and other social benefits–provided by the communist system.

Changing Economies (cont.)