Download The Economic and Political Reconstruction of Europe

The Economic and
Political
Reconstruction of
Europe
22.110-111
The Problem
 Ruined industry
 Disrupted infrastructure
 Economic/political collapse of the colonial
system
 Fear of communism, yet a reluctance to
depend on the U.S.
The Answer: The Marshall
Plan
 The U.S., with its industrial/economic
strength, would give financial aid to
rebuild Europe.
 Coordinated by the Office for European
Economic Cooperation in Paris
The Result
 Unprecedented economic growth for over
25 years
 Greater economic cooperation between
West European states
 Biggest improvement: West Germany
 Least improvement: Great Britain
 Increased immigration to met labor
demands
The Growth of the Welfare
State
 In spite of the success of post-war
capitalism, governments continued the
trend of nationalizing key industries and
increasing social welfare programs.
 It was accepted policy of both left and the
right in each nation that the government
must be involved in the economy to
assure that another Great Depression did
not occur.
A Political Survey of
Western Europe
 Common elements in all countries
included:
 Social legislation
 Nationalizing of industries
 Economic planning involving industry, government,
and labor
 Pragmatic as opposed to ideological politics:
Eurocommunism
 A broadening of suffrage
 A loss of colonial holdings
 “proportional representation” in new democracies
(West Germany, Italy)
Great Britain
 Labour Party (“leftish”) becomes an equal
competitor with the Conservative Party
 Nationalization
 Britain, at it’s zenith in the late 1800’s,
was now in a relative state of decline.
 Northern Ireland: “The Troubles”
France
 The Fourth Republic much like the Third in
structure: National Assembly had the power
 The problem of collaboration
 Communists (left), Socialists (not quite as left),
and the Popular Republican Movement
(Catholic progressive, centrist) were the major
parties until the Communists were expelled in
1947.
Jean Monnet
France
 Colonial problems in Indochina, Algeria
(Algerian War 1954-1962)
 Charles De Gaulle and the Fifth Republic
 Greater executive power
 Stabilized the country
West Germany
 A federal republic with a parliamentary style
government.
 Christian Democrats (moderate) and Social
Democrats (left) were the main parties with the
former ruling form 1949-1969, the latter from
1969-1982.
 Social Democrats, while abandoning Soviet
communism, extend the olive branch to the
USSR and East Germany
West Germany

Willy Brandt
Konrad Adenauer
Italy
 Abolishment of the Savoy monarchy
 Parliamentary democracy
 Christian Democrats (moderate) and the
Communist Party (left) emerged as the
two main parties. Communists were
excluded from the cabinet, though they
moderated in the 1960’s.
 Socialists become a force in the 1960’s.
Alcide De Gasperi