Important
The superpowers
After the Second World War, the superpowers emerged. They were called superpowers because they were so powerful that they overtook the other world powers, such as Great Britain, France and Germany, without eliminating them completely.
Superpowers are states that have a huge potential to influence or threaten other states through military intervention. They also exert their influence or hegemony through economic, diplomatic and ideological interventions all over the world.
R. Calduch,
Relaciones,
Ediciones Ciencias Sociales
(Translated)
At the end of the Second World War, the struggle against Nazism, fascism and Japanese militarism ended. The two superpowers took a series of actions that were aimed at asserting their global influence, particularly in Europe.
The KGB versus the CIA
The KGB, which stands for the Committee for State Security in Russian, was the Soviet state security agency that monitored dissident movements that might threaten communist regimes around the world. It existed between 1954 and 1991.
The CIA, which stands for Central Intelligence Agency, was the United States national security agency created by Truman in 1947.
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The two Blocs  The various measures adopted by the superpowers led to the creation of two blocs. They were politically, ideologically, economically and militarily opposed to one another. The Western Bloc was led by the United States. It included the democratic states of Western Europe, America, Oceania and some parts of Asia, such as Japan. The Eastern Bloc was led by the USSR and initially included only the Eastern European communist regimes. Later on, Latin American countries, such as Cuba and Nicaragua, African countries, such as Angola and Ethiopia, and Asian countries, such as North Korea and Vietnam, also joined. The border between the Eastern and Western-Bloc countries in Europe became known as the 'Iron Curtain' after Winston Churchill used the term in a 1946 speech.
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The witch hunt
The anti-communist witch hunt in the United States was led by Senator McCarthy, and so it is often referred to as McCarthyism. McCarthy targeted not only people working for the government, but also actors and directors working in the Hollywood film industry.
The Western Bloc
Between 1945 and 1974 domestic politics in the United States continued to be characterised by the two-party system: the Democrats (Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson) and the Republicans (Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon). In the immediate post-war years, domestic anti-communism was an important force and there were witch-hunts' aimed at identifying communist spies. Subsequently domestic anti-communism subsided. In addition, immigration was limited in order to prevent the entry of communists to the United States.
In Western Europe, the democratic system was strengthened (except for in Spain and Portugal), with some of these countries remaining monarchies and others becoming republics. These countries had constitutions that guaranteed pluralism (the existence of political parties reflecting different ideologies), as well as citizens' rights and freedoms (such as freedom of association, of the press and of conscience).
The Eastern Bloc
The USSR maintained its totalitarian communist regime, which had been introduced by Stalin. After Stalin's death, his successor Nikita Khrushchev (1953–1964) introduced reforms to end Stalinism, such as the abolition of the tribunals, or troikas, which had dealt with dissidents, and changing the members of the Central Committee. However, Khrushchev was removed and replaced by a new leader, the more conservative Leonid Brezhnev (1964–1982).
In Eastern Europe Stalin imposed non-democratic communist regimes, although these called themselves people's democracies. They were one-party states, with the Communist party representing the people. After Stalin's death, the Eastern-Bloc countries introduced some reforms, such as relaxing state control over the press and releasing political prisoners. However, these reforms were insufficient for the opposition, leading to uprisings in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968) that were suppressed by the Red Army.
In Yugoslavia, Tito (Josip Broz) established a Communist one-party state but remained outside the Eastern Bloc.
Revolts in the Eastern Bloc
In 1956, Hungary attempted to leave the Warsaw Pact and introduce free elections. The USSR responded to this threat by sending the Red Army to occupy the country and the uprising was suppressed.
In 1968, the communist regime in Czechoslovakia introduced reforms known as the Prague Spring, including allowing multiple political parties. In response the Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia and halted the transition to democratic socialism.
The Western Bloc
The United States continued to be the world's leading economic power. Between 1945 and 1973, the Western European economy experienced significant and continuous economic growth.
The Eastern Bloc
The USSR became the world's second economic power. Its leaders maintained the centrally planned economy in order to promote industrial growth. They continued to use Five-Year Plans, but the results were disappointing. Agricultural growth, which was necessary to finance industry, was limited and productivity continued to be low. On the other hand, heavy industry (such as steel), armaments and aerospace increased their production at the expense of reducing investment in consumer goods industries.
The Eastern European communist regimes introduced measures to transform their market economies into centrally planned economies controlled by the state.
The Western Bloc
Although there continued to be economic inequality in the Western Bloc, after 1950, economic growth led to an improvement in living standards. This could be seen in:
The Eastern Bloc
Society was supposed to be equal because under communism classes no longer existed. It had the following characteristics:
The role of women in the two blocs
During the 1960s, Western-Bloc women's access to the workplace was facilitated by the introduction of household appliances, which allowed women to have more time to work outside the home. From the 1970s onwards, the feminist movement achieved legal reforms to guarantee equality between men and women at work. However, legal recognition did not translate into real economic equality between the sexes.
In Eastern-Bloc countries, women had the same educational opportunities as men. They were able to study technical subjects such as aerospace engineering and this training meant that they were able to enter the same professions as men.
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THE WELFARE STATE AND ITS LIMITATIONS THE WELFARE STATE The welfare state was based on principles of equality of opportunity and the redistribution of wealth. Its objective was to reduce economic and social inequality among citizens. The state intervened in the economy and used income from taxes paid by citizens and businesses to finance public services such as hospitals, schools, public transport and sports facilities. These services were open to all members of society. Education became one of the most important tools used to achieve equal opportunities. Free education from nursery school to university improved human capital and led to the creation of a well-educated society, as well as to a reduction in social inequality. PROTEST MOVEMENTS IN THE WESTERN BLOC Many protest movements emerged in the Western Bloc during the 1960s, which provided evidence of Western society's limitations. In the United States, the civil-rights leader Martin Luther King protested about and fought against the racial segregation of the African-American population in public places (public transport, schools and restaurants). In 1964 the government passed the Civil Rights Act, which made segregation illegal. The hippy movement also emerged in the United States. Hippies rejected consumerism and were opposed to war. They advocated respect for the environment and global peace. Hippies created their own aesthetic (long hair and informal dress) and their own lifestyle (they rejected marriage and private property). In France, a student movement began in May 1968 which protested against the consumer society. The students were subsequently joined by the trade unions, and together these two groups held numerous protests, as well as the largest general strike the Western world had ever seen, involving more than 9 million people. The French government suppressed the protests, but in the end it was forced to call early elections.
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Activity 1
Remember
Activity 2
Understand
Activity 3
Complete the table about the two blocs after the Second World War.
Activity 4
Look at the world map below.
Activity 5
Apply
Activity 6
Analyse
Activity 7
Find out if NATO and the Warsaw Pact still exist. What has changed in terms of their member countries and why?
Activity 8
Understand
Activity 9
Listen and answer the questions about the Prague Spring.
Activity 10
What were the consequences of the planned economy for the Eastern-Bloc countries?
Activity 11
Read The witch hunt and Revolts in the Eastern Bloc.
Activity 12
Create
Activity 13
Remember
Activity 14
Understand
Activity 15
• What is the connection between the improvement in standards of living and consumerism?
Activity 16
Analyse
Activity 17
Evaluate
Activity 18
Was the growth of the middle class in Western-Bloc countries beneficial for society? Why (not)?
