IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : History Of Modern Europe (Mid 18th to 20th Centuries)- GLIMPSE OF THE POST-WAR WORLD

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History Of Modern Europe Mid 18th to Mid 20th Centuries

GLIMPSE OF THE POST-WAR WORLD

Structure

32.0 Objectivcs
32.1 Introduction
32.2 Post-War Scenario
.32.1.1 Iln~nedli~te Priorities
32.2.1 Yugoslavia
32.3.3 Poland
32.2.4 Greece
32.2.5 The Two Ger~n;~nies
32.3 Econonlic Reconstruction in Post-War Europe
32.3.1 Kecovery and Boon : Econo~ny in Capitalist Europe
31.3.2 Economy in Smiulist Europe
32.4 Politics in Post-War Europe
32.4.1 The Capitalist Europe
32.4.2 The Stxiialist Europe
32.5 Let Us Sun1 Up
32.6 Answers to Check Your Progress Esercises

32.0 OBJECTIVES

This is the last Unit of the course. It explains to you the possibilities in the realm of politics
and economny that existed in Europe at the end of the War. After reading this Unit you will:

learn something about the immediate Post-war situation in Europe;
discover the naturc of economy and politics in the various European countries in the post-war period: and
understand the nature and extent of influence tliat forces outside Europe, like the USA esercised over European developments.

32.1 INTRODUCTION

In Units 30 and 3 1 of this Block, you nlust have learnt about two vital aspects of the world
wars. One, it is possible to interpret tlle two world wars as one long war that started around
1914, had a long period of truce in between and culminated in 1945 with decisive winners
and loser. Some of the unresolved aspects of the first war (or first phase of the war) were
7 resolved. decisively and concl~lsively in the second. Two, the war. may have been fought
primarily on European territory and had European countries as major participants (except, of
course, Japan and U.S.A.). But it was truly a global war because the major forces fighting
the war were aspiring for a domination of the total world, not just Europe. Previously, in
Block 7, you learnt about the triple ideological division of Europe into forces of liberal
democracy (represented by ~iitain and France in the main), fascism (represented nvainly by
Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini) and the socialist world (represented by the
USSR).' It was precisely these three forces which competed with each other for a total
domination of the earth. In the decisive phase of the war the forces of liberal democracy and
socialism got together to defeat and eliminate the third force, fascism.
This was the essence of the World War. The post-war period witnessed fierce competition
between the two remaining forces (liberal democracy and socialist) althougl~ withoiit a war.