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CHAPTER 28
COLD WAR AND A NEW WESTERN WORLD,
1945-1973
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Introduction; civilization in ruins, problems in Europe, end of European supremacy,
I. Development of the Cold War
A. Confrontation of the Superpowers; US and USSR as heirs of European rivalries,
1. Disagreement Over Eastern Europe; self-determinations v. buffer states
2. The Truman Doctrine; Greek civil war, economic aid
3. The Marshall Plan; Economic Recovery program, exclusion of the USSR, Soviet view
of the Marshall plan
4. The American Policy of Containment; George Keenan
5. Contention Over Germany; denazification, occupation of Germany, Soviet removal of
factories, Merging of western zones, West German Federal government, Blockade, Berlin airlift, division
of Germany
6. New Military Alliances; atomic bomb, mutual deterrence, NATO, COMECON,
Warsaw Pact
B. Globalization of the Cold War: Communism in China
1. The Korean War; Northern Korean invasion of South Korea, US and the United
Nations, 38 parallel
2. Escalation of the Cold War; massive retaliation, CENTO, SEATO, rapprochement
3. Another Berlin Crisis: Sputnik, Khrushchev, West Berlin (That quote cracks me up)
Kennedy, The Berlin Wall
4. The Cuban Missile Crisis; Castro, Turkey, effects
5. The Vietnam War; Ho Chi Minh, Diem, escalation of the war, domino effect, anti-war
movements, European criticism, rift between USSR and China, detente
II. Europe and the World (see reading questions)
A. Africa: The Struggle for Independence
B. Conflict in The Middle East
1. The Question of Palestine
2. Nasser and Pan-Arabism
3. The Arab-Israeli Dispute
C. Asia: Nationalism and Communism
1. China under Communism
D. Decolonization and Cold War Rivalries
III. Recovery and Renewal in Europe
A. The Soviet Union: From Stalin to Khrushchev; hard work in the USSR, success
1. Stalin’s Policies; Heavy industry v. personal consumption / consumer goods,
repression, anti-intellectualism, terror
2. Khrushchev’s Rule; reversal of Stalinist policies, destalinization, uprising in Hungary,
economic failures, problems with Khrushchev
B. Eastern Europe: Behind the Iron Curtain; communist states
1. Albania and Yugoslavia; communist resistance movements, Tito, Yugoslavian
independence, Stalinization, Soviet exploitation of Eastern Europe
2. Upheaval in Eastern Europe; Poland’s own Socialist path, Anti-communist feelings in
Hungary, Nagy’s declaration, Invasion of Budapest, Kadar, Czechoslovakia’s writers rebellion, Prague
Spring, invasion of Czechoslovakia
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C. Western Europe: The Revival of Democracy and the Economy (See reading questions)
1. France: The Domination of de Gaulle
2. West Germany: A Reconceived Nation
3. Great Britain: The Welfare State
4. Italy: Weak Coalition Government
D. Western Europe: The Move toward Unity
IV. The United States and Canada: A New Era
A. American Politics and Society in the 1950s
B. Decade of Upheaval: America in the 1960s
1. Civil Rights Movement
2. Antiwar Protests
C. The Development of Canada
V. Postwar Society and Culture in the Western World
A. The Structure of European Society
1. A Society of Consumers
2. Mass Leisure
B. Creation of the Welfare State
1. Gender Issues in the Welfare State
C. Women in the Postwar Western World
1. Women in the Workforce
2. The Feminist Movement: The Search for Liberation
D. The Permissive Society
E. Education and Student Revolt
F. Postwar Art and Literature
1. Art; Dubuffet and Art Brut, Primacy of the United States, Abstract expressionism,
Jackson Pollock, Pop Art, the Independent group, Andy Warhol,
2. Literature; Theater of the Absurd, Beckett, Grass
G. The Philosophical Dilemma: Existentialism, Sartre, Camus, absurdity, the primacy of humans
and responsibility ethics of action,
1. The Revival of Religion, new interpretations, Vatican II
H. The Explosion of Popular Culture
1. Culture as a Consumer Commodity
2. The Americanization of the World; film, national cinema, television, music
VI. Conclusion
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THE PRIMARY SOURCES (BOXED
DOCUMENTS)
1. “The Truman Doctrine”: What attitudes or themes about America and Russia does Truman express in
this section? What, in essence, is the “Truman Doctrine”? How did Truman justify his request for aid?
How might a Russian react to these statements? Does Truman himself bear some responsibility for
beginning or aggravating the Cold War? If so, how? (page 816)
2. “The Cuban Missile Crisis From Khrushchev’s Perspective”: What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
How does Khrushchev's account differ from America's version? From his perspective, can it be argued
that he was correct in his claim? What did each side “lose” and what did each side “win” in the Cuban
Missile Crisis? Was the resolution of the crisis an obvious highpoint in Khrushchev’s career in 1962 or
was it merely a later rationalization? (page 820)
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3. “Franz Fanon and the Wretched of the Earth”: What does this document tell you about the some of the
fundamental characteristics of European colonial regimes? Is the boy’s explanation for killing his
schoolmate convincing? Why or why not? What broader forces, perhaps unleashed or liberated by World
War Two, could possibly have contributed to the uprisings and crimes the colonized committed against
the colonizers in the post-war world? (page 823)
4. “Khrushchev Denounces Stalin”: According to Khrushchev, what were Stalin’s crimes? How did the
history of the Russian Communist Party and the development of the Soviet totalitarian state enable Stalin
to commit these crimes against Russians? What purposes, political and historical, do you think
Khrushchev intended his denunciation of Stalin to serve? Was Khrushchev speaking only to Soviet
Communist Party members or was he also addressing his remarks to a wider audience? If so, who and
where? (page 829)
5. “Soviet Repression in Eastern Europe: Hungary, 1956”: Based on this selection, what was Soviet
policy in the 1950s toward its Eastern European satellite states? How did the Soviets justify intervening
in Hungary in 1956? Compare this policy to Soviet policy in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s. What
accounts for the difference? What impact did this change of policy have on Eastern Europe in the late
1980s? (page 833)
6. “The Voice of the Women’s Liberation Movement”: What factors or values do you think inform
Simone de Beauvoir’s implicit call for a new history of women? Has history usually been the history of
men? If so, why? What does she mean when she refers to “the Other”? Why is the author outraged by the
neglect of women in the historical consciousness or comprehension of westerners? How does de
Beauvoir employ and capitalize on the psychological and sociological discoveries characteristic of
Western Civilization between 1850 and 1950? (page 841)
7. “’The Times They Are A-Changin’’. The Music of Youthful Protest”: In your opinion, what is this
song about? Who are its protagonists and antagonists? What do the lyrics tell you about the roles of
popular culture and popular entertainment in American and Western Civilization after 1945? Are Dylan’s
lyrics still relevant today or do they seem dated? Why or why not? (page 842)
8. “1968: The Year of Student Revolts”: Based on these excerpts, what do you believe to be the key
problems, concerns, or causes which motivated the student protestors of this era? To what extent do the
protests of the 1960's and 1970's follow historic patterns of popular protest with which you may now be
familiar? To what extent do the protests of the 60's and 70's break with the traditions of mass urban and
popular protest you have seen develop over the periods covered in this text? Did the student revolts
resolve any of the issues raised, or are their complaints still relevant today? (page 843)
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The Cold War began in the aftermath of World War II. The United States and the Soviet Union
had different philosophies and conflicting ambitions and fears. The West saw the pro-Soviet regimes in
Eastern Europe as the result of Soviet aggression; the Soviets said they were a defensive buffer. The
Truman Doctrine promised to aid nations threatened by communism, and the Marshall Plan, which
provided $13 billion to rebuild Europe, was rejected by the Soviets. Germany and Berlin were divided
into zones. When the Americans, British, and French unified their zones, the Soviets blocked access to
Berlin, leading to a year-long Berlin Air Lift. A western German Federal Republic and an eastern
German Democratic Republic were established.
In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created as a defensive alliance
against Soviet aggression, one of a series of military alliances. North Korea invaded South Korea in
1950, and the West claimed it was instigated by the Soviets. The Cold War spread to space, with the
Soviet space satellite, Sputnik I. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961, a major Cold War symbol. The 1962
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Cuban Missile Crisis almost led to nuclear holocaust until the Soviets backed down. In Vietnam, the
United States feared a communist victory would result in the fall of all of Asia, like a row of dominoes.
The communists achieved victory in 1975, but the dominos did not fall. Tension between the Soviet
Union and Communist China improved Chinese and American relations, and detente occurred between
the Soviets and America.
By the end of the 1960s, most of Africa had achieved independence. In the Middle East, Israel
was founded in 1948 amidst war with the Arab states; the 1967 Six Day War brought the Palestinian West
Bank under Israeli control. The Philippines became independent, and British India, with its Hindu
majority and Muslim minority, was partitioned into Pakistan and India, but at the cost of a million dead.
In China, Mao Zedong’s Communists forced Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalists to Taiwan. Mao’s Great
Leap Forward failed in its attempt to surpass the West industrially, and in 1966, his Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution sought to eliminate all vestiges of the past, often through violence. Soviet emphasis
on heavy industry left little for consumers, and when their satellite states pursued independent paths the
Soviets cracked down.
The Western European economy boomed. Charles de Gaulle’s Fifth Republic saw France leave
NATO and develop an atomic bomb. The Federal Republic of Germany experienced an “economic
miracle,” as did Italy in spite of its many coalition governments. Britain’s Labour Party created a welfare
state, but unrealistic union demands and a lack of business investment slowed the economy. European
integration began with the 1951 European Coal and Steel Community, the 1957 establishment of the
European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community (EEC), or Common
Market. The New Deal continued to guide the United States domestic policy, the economy boomed, but
Cold War fears led to a “Red Scare.” The 1960s was a time of upheaval, with the civil rights movement,
race riots, and the Vietnam anti-war movement. Canadian events often mirrored those in the United
States.
A new society, with its own challenges, resulted from economic growth and new technologies.
White-collar workers increased, and installment plan buying fueled a consumer society. The welfare state
provided pensions and health care. Birth control led to smaller families, and more women joined the
work force. A significant feminist or women’s liberation movement emerged. Greater sexual freedom
and recreational drug use were part of the new “permissive society.” Complaints about authoritarian
administrators and irrelevant educational curricula, compounded by opposition to the Vietnam War, led to
numerous student revolts. In the arts, Pop Art achieved notoriety and Samuel Becket’s Waiting for Godot
exemplified the Theater of the Absurd. The impact of two world wars and the breakdown of traditional
values led to the philosophy of existentialism, which reflected the meaningless of modern society: the
world is absurd, there is no God, and man stands alone. The decades also experienced an explosion of
popular culture, much of it American in origin.
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