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Chapter 26 Postwar Europe and North America, 1945-1968 |
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2 |
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The
creation of
NATO
fostered a
feeling
of safety
in Western Europe against the threat of
communist
expansion. The revival of
the
Western economies, including those in North America, and the
reestablishment of
normal
life made
this security permanent. At the same time, as
the European powers began to
grant
their overseas colonies independence, they increasingly concentrated on
their
own domestic affairs and on
building
up trade relations with other European countries.
The
German "Miracle" Germany
had suffered tremendously in the war. In May 1945 a war correspondent
surveyed the damage to Germany's capital:
"Nothing
is
left in Berlin. There are no homes, no shops, no transportation, no
government buildings ....
Berlin can now be regarded only as a
geographical
location heaped with mountainous mounds of
debris."
The
situation throughout much of the rest of Germany was similar. After
the war's end, millions of displaced persons, including homeless
refugees and survivors of the Nazi death camps, roamed Germany, as well
as much of the rest of Europe. Factories were in ruins; from those that
remained, Allied forces, especially the Soviets, seized equipment and
sent it back home. Farms had been overrun and livestock slaughtered or
driven off. The Soviets and the French hoped to keep the Germans weak
for a long time. However, by the time of the Berlin blockade, Western
governments had decided that the Soviets posed a greater threat than a
revived Germany. Like other European countries, Germany benefited enormously from the Marshall Plan. With this renewed economic stability, West Germans began digging out from the destruction left by the war and rebuilding their homes and businesses. West Germany's recovery was spectacularly successful, so much so that people often referred to the German "miracle." The country became one of the industrial giants of the world by the mid-1960s. Equally essential in Germany's rehabilitation was the establishment of a democratic government. The Christian Democrats provided stability. By the time Konrad Adenauer left the chancellorship in 1963, West Germany had developed into one of Europe's most stable democracies. New
Republics in France The
challenges France faced after the war were similar in certain respects
to those of Germany.
The fighting in 1940 and 1944 had ravaged many French cities and towns,
as well as much of France’s countryside. Like Germany, France
benefited from U.S. Marshall Plan aid. France's recovery was slower and
less spectacular than West Germany's but, inspired by economist Jean
Monnet, the French economy prospered and grew during the 1950s. France's
political course was rockier, however. The French people remained
deeply divided because of the split between those who had collaborated
with the Nazis during the war and those who had remained loyal to a free
France. In October 1945 French voters overwhelmingly rejected a
revival of the prewar Third Republic. Instead, they adopted a new
constitution and established the Fourth Republic
in
October 1946. The
new government faced a variety of difficulties. In addition to
continuing economic troubles, the active and well-organized French
Communist Party posed a major challenge. Perhaps more important were
troubles within France's colonial possessions. Nationalist revolt in
Indochina led to a bloody war-and ultimately to a French defeat in
1954. The most serious challenge of all, however, came in Algeria when
Algerian nationalists revolted against French rule in 1954. At first,
almost no one in France was prepared to contemplate the possibility of
Algerian independence. The country had been a department – an
integral part of the Republic of France with full representation in the
nation’s government – since the 19th century. Over a
million French citizens, known collectively as the pieds noirs,
lived and worked in the province. As the Algerian conflict grew more and
more bloody, however, many in France began to consider accepting
Algerian independence. Soon, the whole country began to divide over the
Algerian conflict, and violent protests broke out in many French cities.
With
France on the verge of civil war, in May 1958 the French assembly turned
to General Charles de Gaulle. A staunch nationalist, as well as
France’s greatest war hero, De Gaulle was seen as a savior by many,
particularly in the French Army, where it was assumed that he would act
decisively to suppress the rebels and save Algeria for France.
Ironically, however, after accepting power with the proviso that he be
given a free hand to settle the crisis any way he saw fit, De Gaulle
astonished everyone by granting independence to Algeria and, soon
thereafter, to the rest of France's colonial possessions. Meanwhile,
after voters approved a new constitution in September, de Gaulle became
president of the Fifth Republic. De Gaulle held the presidency for 11
years, finally bringing political stability to France. Postwar
Britain Although
Britain had not been occupied by enemy troops during the fighting, the
war had brought Britain to the brink of bankruptcy. It had also
accelerated a trend toward social reforms that had been brewing even
before the war. In July 1945 British voters rejected Churchill's
Conservatives and installed the Labour Party, with Clement Attlee as
prime minister. Attlee's
government took over important parts of Britain's economy. The
government quickly nationalized the coal, steel, and transport
industries. It established the basic elements of the welfare state-a
state in which government institutions provided social services
such as medical care, unemployment insurance, and retirement pensions
for all citizens. Although the Conservatives defeated the Labour Party
in 1951, the most important aspects of the welfare state survived and
became a basic part of postwar British life. Other Western democracies
soon followed Britain's lead, adopting many aspects of the welfare
state. Throughout
this period, the country continued to face economic hardships. In 1945
the British had to approach the United States for a $3.75 billion loan
to avoid complete bankruptcy. Wartime rationing restrictions remained in
force in Britain well into the 1950s. Britain
also began to experience turmoil in its colonial empire. The most
serious incident occurred in 1956, when the Egyptian government
nationalized the Suez Canal. An attempt by Great Britain and France to
intervene against Egypt resulted in complete failure and essentially
marked the end of Britain's
role as a major imperial power. Economic
Cooperation Early
steps toward European economic integration, such as reduction of
barriers to trade and investment, greatly helped Western Europe's
recovery. The Marshall Plan provided the first incentive toward economic
unity-the U.S. government tied aid to European passage of measures to
reduce tariffs and trade quotas. The Schuman Plan, named for French
foreign minister Robert Schuman, went into effect in 1952, creating the
European Coal and Steel Community. This organization of France, West
Germany, and several other Western European countries helped
reorganize the coal and steel industries. The Coal and Steel Community provided the basis for the European Economic Community (EEC), or Common Market. Established by the Treaties of Rome in March 1957, the EEC extended the free-trade principles of the Coal and Steel Community to other sectors of the economies of its members. Members included France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Supporters of the EEC reasoned that economic integration would reduce national economic rivalries and thus lessen the possibility of future wars. As the Treaties of Rome explained, the EEC was to encourage "the
harmonious
growth of economic activity in the [European Economic] Community as a
whole, regular and balanced expansion, augmented stability, a more rapidly rising standard of living, and closer
relations between the participating states."
The
United States and Canada In
North America the war had stimulated the U.S. and Canadian economies,
ending the Great Depression and restoring a large measure of prosperity.
The postwar period also brought other important changes. For the United
States, the most important change was a commitment to continued
involvement in world affairs. Another way in which North America continued its involvement in world affairs was through the NATO alliance. Canadian and U.S. troops, ships, and planes took part in regular military exercises in Europe and the Atlantic. For the United States, Canada served a special purpose in military defense. The United States and Canada jointly constructed the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, a string of radar stations across the far northern reaches of North America. The purpose of the DEW Line was to detect attacking Soviet bombers early enough to provide a military shield for North America. |