Combines European recovery after WWII and the rise of Communists in Russia & China.

1. 1945-2000

2.  60 million deaths (military & civilian)
 Millions of refugees
 Soviet Union
 China
 Eastern Europe
 Japan (Hiroshima & Nagasaki)
 New mentality about civilians as “casualties of war”
 Shifting of “western” power to the United States and
“eastern” power to the Soviet Union
 De-colonization of Africa, India & SE Asia
 A commitment to internationalism

5.  No more isolationism
 Commitment to the United Nations
 Housed in New York City
 Forum for resolving international disputes
 Has political rights
 Active in creating the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund (IMF) to prevent world depression
and stimulate economic growth globally

7.  After 2 horrendous wars, Europe bounced back as a
prosperous region by 1970. Why?
3. An industrial society is a resilient society.
4. Nationalism was set aside in favor of international
economic cooperation
5. The United States was not touched physically by the
wars, and it was far away from communist countries
1. Oh…and the US had…

10.  $12 billion “gift” from the US (the Marshall Plan)
 Help rebuild war-torn Western Europe
 Prevent a depression
 Keep Europeans buying American goods
 Prevent Europeans from seeing communism as a viable
option
 Encourage European Economic Cooperation (common
trade policies, reduced tariffs, easier travel)
 1957 – the EEC is created (Common Market)
 1994 – EEC is renamed “European Union – EU”
 2002 – 12 member nations adopt the Euro

12.  Americans wanted Europe to feel protected from
another German resurgence and the spreading of
communism:
 1949 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
 USA commits to using its nuclear arsenal, if necessary,
to protect members of this alliance
 Ensures that West Germany is a capitalist ally
 1955 – Warsaw Pact allies communist countries with
each other

14.  US military occupies Japan from 1945-1952
 Unbelievable economic growth (10% per year)
 $2 billion in American aid
 US bought materials & supplies from Japan to fight
the Korean War (1950-1953)
 A democratic constitution is forced on Japan
 They aren’t allowed to have a self-sufficient military
 Therefore they have more $ to invest in production of
goods

16. 1921-1991

17.  1970s – 1/3 of the world’s population lived in a
communist-run country
 Soviet Union
 China
 North Korea
 Vietnam
 Laos & Cambodia
 Cuba
 Afghanistan
 But…it was supposed to be a global revolution!

18.  Karl Marx = Father of Communism
 1848 – “The Communist Manifesto”
 A response to industrial wealth & exploitation of workers
 Calls for violent overthrow of existing society
 Workers overtake factories & government
 All wealth & power is distributed equally within society
 No private ownership of land, goods, etc
 “Classless Society” will emerge
 This revolution has no nation…it spreads worldwide.

20.  Serfdom ends in 1861
 Free peasantry is a miserable life
 Tsars fear industrialization
 Nicholas II begins industrializing in 1890s
 Loses war to Japan in 1905
 People are ignored; Nicholas does what he wants
 Makes alliance with Britain & France
 Fights WWI – more losses than anyone
 Workers and soldiers abandon the tsar
 Communists gain support (Bolsheviks)

21.  Vladimir Lenin admires Marxist socialism
(communism)
 Supports “soviets” of workers to resist the tsar and
then the provisional government
 Bolsheviks claim power in 1917
 Lenin signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany to
get Russia out of WWI
 Bolshevik Red Army fights a civil war against non-
communists until 1921
 Support comes from workers and farmers
 Lenin is victorious – renames Russia (Soviet Union or
USSR)

23.  Qing Dynasty fell in 1911
 New Republic was elite and urban while the
population was mostly rural poor
 1921 – very small Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is
founded to help the small working class
 By 1927, Mao Zedong became the leader of the CCP
 Very charismatic & a natural leader
 Began seeking support of the rural peasants
 Promises to redistribute land, lower taxes & educate
 Civil War erupts between Nationalists & Communists

26.  Aggressively fights against Japanese imperialism
 Fights against the Japanese in WWII
 Nationalists were more concerned with defeating the
communists than defeating the Japanese!
 1949 – Communists claim full victory
 Nationalist government flees to Taiwan
 US will only recognize the Taiwanese group as the
legitimate government!

28.  Modernization and industrialization
 Rejection and hatred of capitalism
 Class and gender equality!
 Collectivization of agriculture & industry
 Cultural values of selflessness
 Creating a single-party system
 Total control over every aspect of citizens’ lives
 “Totalitarianism”
 Lots of propaganda
 Secret police
 Outlawing of religion!

29. China
 Political equality  Freedom of marriage
 Abortions legal  Easy divorce
 Divorce legal  Attack on Confucian
 Women in factories principles of marriage
 Maternity leave  End of child marriage
 Men hated this!  Property rights
 Stalin repeals most of it  Women in factories
 Men hated this!

31. China
 Communism started in  Communism started in
the cities the fields
 Redistributed land
 Redistributed land
 Confucian peasants had
 Russian peasants did this
to be convinced to attack
automatically social superiors
 Many landlords killed  Many landlords killed
 Violent collectivization  Peaceful collectivization
of agriculture of agriculture

33. China
 Unprecedented economic  Unprecedented economic
growth 1930s growth 1950s
 Stalin’s 5 Year Plans  Massive forced labor in
 Massive, forced labor in factories
factories  Technology improved
 Technology improved  Rural areas exploited
 Rural areas exploited  Urban elites emerge
 Corruption and elitism  Mao tries a backlash
continues throughout the against elitism (Great Leap
time of the USSR Forward)