4.1 & 4.2 - B
The ideology of fascism, with roots in the pre–World War I era, gained popularity in an environment of postwar bitterness, the rise of communism, uncertain transitions to democracy, and economic instability
Fascist dictatorships used modern technology and propaganda that rejected democratic institutions, promoted charismatic leaders, and glorified war and nationalism to lure the disillusioned.
Mussolini and Hitler rose to power by exploiting postwar bitterness and economic instability, using terror and manipulating the fledgling and unpopular democracies in their countries.
Franco’s alliance with Italian and German fascists in the Spanish Civil War — in which the Western democracies did not intervene — represented a testing ground for World War II and resulted in authoritarian rule in Spain from 1936 to the mid-1970s.
American and British industrial, scientific, and technological power and the all-out military commitment of the USSR contributed critically to the Allied victories.
After failures to establish functioning democracies, authoritarian dictatorships took power in Central and Eastern Europe during the interwar period.
Authoritarian dictatorships in Central and Eastern Europe:
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In the interwar period, fascism, extreme nationalism, racist ideologies, and the failure of appeasement resulted in the catastrophe of World War II, presenting a grave challenge to European civilization.
French and British fears of another war, American isolationism, and deep distrust between Western democratic, capitalist nations and the communist Soviet Union allowed fascist states to rearm and expand their territory.
Examples of states' expansion allowed by European powers:
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Germany’s Blitzkrieg warfare in Europe, combined with Japan’s attacks in Asia and the Pacific, brought the Axis powers early victories.
Fueled by racism and anti-Semitism, German Nazism sought to establish a “new racial order” in Europe, which culminated with the Holocaust.
As World War II ended, a Cold War between the liberal democratic West and the communist East began, lasting nearly half a century.
Despite efforts to maintain international cooperation through the newly created United Nations, deep-seated tensions between the USSR and the West led to the division of Europe, which was referred to in the West as the “Iron Curtain.”
The Cold War played out on a global stage and involved propaganda campaigns; covert actions; limited “hot wars” in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean; and an arms race, with the threat of a nuclear war.
Examples of "hot wars" outside of Europe in which the US and the USSR supported opposite sides:
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The United States exerted a strong military, political, and economic influence in Western Europe, leading to the creation of world monetary and trade systems and geopolitical alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
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Eastern European nations were defined by their relationship with the Soviet Union, which oscillated between repression and limited reform, until Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies led to the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Soviet Union.
Stalin’s economic modernization of the Soviet Union came at a high price, including the liquidation of the kulaks, famine in the Ukraine, purges of political rivals, unequal burdens placed on women, and the establishment of an oppressive political system.
Examples of the Soviet Union's oppressive political system:
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Countries east of the “Iron Curtain” came under the military, political, and economic domination of the Soviet Union within the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and the Warsaw Pact.
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Central and Eastern European nations within the Soviet bloc followed an economic model based on central planning, extensive social welfare, and specialized production among bloc members.
After 1956, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization policies failed to meet their economic goals within the Soviet Union and prompted revolts in Eastern Europe.
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Eastern European nations were defined by their relationship with the Soviet Union, which oscillated between repression and limited reform, until Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies led to the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Soviet Union.
Following a long period of economic stagnation, Mikhail Gorbachev’s internal reforms of perestroika and glasnost, designed to make the Soviet system more flexible, failed to stave off the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of its hegemonic control over Eastern and Central European satellites.
The collapse of the USSR in 1991 ended the Cold War, and led to the establishment of capitalist economies throughout Eastern Europe.
Germany was reunited, the Czechs and the Slovaks parted, Yugoslavia dissolved, and the European Union was enlarged through admission of former Eastern-bloc countries.
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The rise of new nationalisms in Central and Eastern Europe brought peaceful revolution in most countries, but resulted in war and genocide in the Balkans and instability in some former Soviet republics.
The process of decolonization occurred over the course of the century with varying degrees of cooperation, interference, or resistance from European imperialist states.
At the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson’s principle of national self-determination raised expectations in the non-European world for freedom from colonial domination, expectations that led to international instability.
The League of Nations distributed former German and Ottoman possessions to France and Great Britain through the mandate system, thereby altering the imperial balance of power, and creating a strategic interest in the Middle East and its oil.
Examples of mandate territories:
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Despite indigenous nationalist movements, independence for many African and Asian territories was delayed until the mid- and even late 20th century by the imperial powers’ reluctance to relinquish control, threats of interference from other nations, unstable economic and political systems, and Cold War strategic alignments.
Examples of indigenous nationalist movements:
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Postwar economic growth supported an increase in welfare benefits; however, subsequent economic stagnation led to criticism and limitation of the welfare state.
Marshall Plan funds from the United States financed an extensive reconstruction of industry and infrastructure and stimulated an extended period of growth in Western and Central Europe, often referred to as an “economic miracle,” which increased the economic and cultural importance of consumerism.
The expansion of cradle-to-grave social welfare programs in the aftermath of World War II, accompanied by high taxes, became a contentious domestic political issue as the budgets of European nations came under pressure in the late 20th century.
In response to the destructive impact of two world wars, European nations began to set aside nationalism in favor of economic and political integration, forming a series of transnational unions that grew in size and scope over the second half of the 20th century.
As the economic alliance known as the European Coal and Steel Community, envisioned as a means to spur postwar economic recovery, developed into the European Economic Community (EEC or Common Market) and the European Union (EU), Europe experienced increasing economic and political integration and efforts to establish a shared European identity.
One of the major continuing challenges to countries in the EU is balancing national sovereignty with the responsibilities of membership in an economic and political union.
Examples of challenges to national sovereignty within the EU:
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Nationalist and separatist movements, along with ethnic conflict and ethnic cleansing, periodically disrupted the post–World War II peace.
Examples of nationalist violence:
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Separatist Movements:
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Examples of ethnic cleansing:
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