Civilians suffered far more greatly than durring WWI. Bombing of cities, starvation, genocide. 7 million civilians in the USSR compared to 11 million soldiers. Total of 18 million noncombatant Europeans killed.
Food was very scarce, hardly more than durring the war.
Inflation fears.
Displaced Persons (DPs) more than 11 million, including 12 million Germans forced out of what was now Poland
THE WORK OF RECONSTRUCTION
The depression having been very important in the starting of the war, the new governments had to insure a social welfare system which would prevent such hardships in the future.
New Leaders and Parties
Old leadership either out (Churchill, death of Roosevelt) or in jail for helping the Nazis
Only two resistance leaders came to power: De Gaulle and Marshal Tito (Josip Broz, Yugoslavia)
Communist and Socialists strengthened
Christian Democrats--the next big movement--wanted to reconcile non-pure-capitalism with the church, also wanted internationalism paritally to stop the soviet threat--not class bound, got lots of votes, especially in Germany where the USSR had the primarialy protestant areas--dominated politics
The cooperative resistance paved the way for a broad cooperative left.
Resergence of communist parties--but no real revolutions (except Yugoslavia and Albania)
Stalin stopped active revolutions and the Communists in the West worked with the governemtns.
Economic Recovery
Fresh start, newest equipment, cheap labor, rising birth rate. Good signs for an economic recovery--first visible in 1953
Marshall plan: from 1947 to 1954 put $12billion into Western Europe through teh Organization for European Economic Cooperation--Europeans turned each dollar into six
July 1944--Bretton Woods Agreement--free international trade, fixed curency exchange rates (via IMF)--not USSR
Americans had a lot of clout in Europe--purchasing subsidiaries, devaluing the pound, franc, lira
THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT IN BRITIAN, 1945-1951
Clement Attlee replaced Churchill in July 1945
British citizens demanded the governemtn have some intervention in the economy to prevent the 10+% unemployment of the inter war years and to gaurentee citizens health, housing, education, and a job.
The Beveridge Report: "Full Employment"
The state generate enough purchasing power to keep everyone employed all the time.
Full employment first, then devaluation, currency control, or what ever was needed for the international market
Socialize demand, not production
20% of industry nationalized--not a big deal given what it had been like under the Conservative war system
The Welfare State
National Health Service
Strived to make it a right of EVERY citizen, not just the poor, to get public services
Taxes went up fourfold between 1938 and 1949
Economic Maladjustment
Economy changing as textiles, coal, shipping, and finance moved elsewhere or became less important
Had lost much of its overseas colonies
Had to import much food, fule, and raw materials
Severe rationing still--needed to produce a lot and consume little
Military costs at keeping India and Middle East
Free trade of the pound devalued it and made imports much more expensive
THE FRENCH FOURTH REPUBLIC
French voted to create a new republic: must be effecient, free, and provide social welfare.
The Search for Leadership
De Gaulle stuck to his Free France all along, even when no one belived in him--had a hard time getting the allies to accept him as the embodiement of France
Put his own officials in French towns to prevent the Americans or Marquis from taking over--went to an organization with the same basic structure
Fourth Republic--de Gaulle quit in Jan 1946 because there was too much bickering--produced a very simmilar constitution where there wasn’t enough executive power
Three parties: Communists, Socialists, MRP (French Christian Democrats)--Three way coalition until 1947--many times of crisis when france had no government until a new one was formed--weak executive (weaker than in the third republic)
Nationalization and planning
Even before the Fourth Republic’s Consitution, many nationalizations, though no more after 1946 until 1981
Extended social services further--down to the loval village
Gov. economic planning--Commissariat du Plan, Jean Monnet--First Plan 1947-1952 GNP up 14% over *1938* levels.
Secure welfare state, state planning became stronger
POST WAR ITALY
Devestated physically, stripped of its colonies.
The Contest for Political Power
North--communist revolutionaries wanted revolution, South--pre-fascist politicians wanted parlimentary monarchy
Moscow withdraws support for the Communists (Committees of Liberation) and the Allies support the parlimentarians--no communist revolution
June 1946 Elections--Christian Democrats 200, Socialists, 100, Communists 100--new constitution: vote for women, dismissal of the royal house on 54% public vote--republic
Very large communist party (largest non-Soviet controlled one) went into oposition with the cold war--let Alcide De Gasperi take the only (ever) absolute majority for the Christian Democrats in April 1948--PM till 1953
Reconstruction
Used marshall plan aid to stabalize inflation--at 1/50th the prewar value. 40% of most people’s income came from social welfare, but wages were above 1938 levels middle class savings destroyed.
Most large industries maintained close ties to the government or the IRI (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction--state holding company)
Major land crunch--state (De Gasperi) distributes land to some people
THE TWO GERMANIES
Utter devistation and barbaric life in Germany
Separate Statehood
Vicious cycle away from unification and towards seperatism.
May 1949--Federal Republic of Germany, Oct 1949--German Democratic Republic
East Germany--no majority for the Communists in the first election--but, they had 20 Russian divisions and the party apparatus to work with--Walter Ulbricht (spent the war in Moscow) was party secretary from 1945-1971
West Germany--Cristian democrats take over because the communists went to East Germany (p. 536)--Konrad Adenauer, 1949, party still in power till 1969
The West German "Miracle"
Less than 10 years became the most powerful economy in Europe
20 June 1948--Switch to the Deutschmark--Germans started doing buisness again, black market dissappeared
Social market economy--capitalism with a social conscience
Initially low wages (but social benefits) for the betterment of the country as a whole
Cheap labor, no military investment or colonial wars, Korean war helped with demand for German machinery
Significant market planning and controls
East: huge war reparations, many of the skilled easterners escaped to the west
RECONSTRUCTION AND THE ORTHODOXY IN THE SOVIET UNION
Stalin went back to the 1930s plan of just squeezing the people harder--made them work more and have less to build up--also used the unwilling help of Eastern Europe