![coldwarmap[1].png](https://i.imgur.com/l3kbWoC.png "coldwarmap[1].png")
I'm taking a course about Europe during the Cold War next quarter, but have only studied it from the American perspective. What events, besides the building and destruction of the Berlin Wall, define Europe during the Cold War?
Also, any good books or material to get me into it?
McCarthy did nothing wrong
seriously
>>1042415
>define Europe during the Cold War?
Titos Yugoslavia and his break from Stalin
Francos reflective isolationism of Spain from the rest of Europe
The Troubles and the British recession.
De Gaulles France desperately trying to stay relevant post WWII.
As general topics at least.
>>1042415
Communist Europe:
Starvation of Holland 1944 (by the allies) & Indonesian independence
"Stop" order on the French Revolution
"Stop" order on the Italian Revolution
"Stop" order on the Greek Revolution
Defeat of French, Italian and Greek communist movements.
Czechoslovak coup
Rajk Trial (1949)
1949 purges (Anti-"titoist")
Anti-NATO campaign
Stalin's death
Berlin ultraleft riots (1953)
New Course in Hungary, Old Course in Poland
Polish revolution 1956
Hungarian revolution 1956
Czechoslovak movement for workers councils 1968
West German ultraleft including anarchists 1968-1980s
French revolution 1968
Italian revolution 1968-1982
CND / Anti-bases / Anti-bomb campaign 1950s-1990s
>>1042415
The Berlin blockade
The Trieste crisis
1948 split between Tito and Stalin (Informbiro)
formation of the European coal and steel community
1980 and 84 olympics
paneuropean picknick in 89
>>1042802
>>1043896
These are great to look into, and I'll add a few more
>The Suez Crisis
>France's split with NATO
>Finlandisation, Kekkoslovakia and the various overnight crises related to that
>The Sino-Soviet split (I know it's not specifically about Europe but it has repercussions there)
>Leftist student movements in the 60s-70s
>Decolonisation in general (again not specifically about Europe, but since the colonial metropoles were there, the global climate affected them too)
>>1042650
>The Troubles and the British recession.
I'm not sure how much this really plays into the Cold War specifically, since while the IRA can be seen as leftist, they weren't really supported by any of the Communist states, except with throw-away rhetoric.
>>1044377
The IRA were central to West of Suez / West of Aden in the UK's cold war posture in Europe. I mean it is a side light, but a side light central to the Franco-British empire
>>1044413
I think it was a different type of late-colonial posturing to say Suez or Malaya, since those places had a (seeming) threat of Communism or vaguer friendliness with the Soviets, whereas Ireland in general and Norn in particular was about something much older, namely the Protestant settlers and their place in the world.
>>1042415
A problem created by Western allies and their second appeasement. Basically one country that co-started WWII won against the other, conquered a bunch of other countries (which were fighting back in armed uprisings even long after WWII but not many people know about it).
The Berlin Wall is nothing but a symbol. In reality Cold War was defined by periods of tensions and detentes. And protests.
>Germany 1953
>Hungary 1956
>Poland 1956
>Czechoslovakia 1968
>Poland 1980s
>Romania 1989
And those are just the biggest ones.
Also the commie propaganda and their version of history. I got a couple boos from that era. Nothing I would cite as a reliable source.
Wasn't Lech Walesa communist plant or something? I remember reading about it some time ago.
>>1044447
You'll find that 1916 created the specificity of Protestant British in northern ireland by making the national liberation movement sectarian.
>>1044462
>I got a couple boos from that era. Nothing I would cite as a reliable source.
Try The Revolt Of The Mind: Thiomas Aczel, Tibor Meray
it is an acceptable primary source.
>>1044489
But how does this sectarian battle apply to the Cold War? The IRA weren't doing it for global communism, the Unionists weren't doing it for liberal capitalism.
>>1044462
How did Communists generally explain that far more force were used to put down Communist protests than Capitalist ones?
>>1044499
Significant portions of the IRA were doing it for a nationalist socialism, and the IRA was internally split over socialism. As opposed to the south, the IRA continued in a sectarianless vision of a united irish state.
The Orangeists became more and more trapped in a liberal-conservative capitalist routine, centred in Westminster.
The cold war wasn't between communism and capitalism, but between bolshevist state capitalism and western liberal capitalism.
>>1044504
Bolshevist inspired movements used the concept of "the popular" and "democratic" as a transhistorical category of struggle which meant that their historical "correctness" would be far more opposed by the bourgeoisie.
>>1044483
It's complicated. The Solidarity movement was of course incredibly large (10 million people in its prime). There were many leaders. All of them more educated than Wałęsa. Now of course he's always with a translator so you don't even realize how he sounds like. Like the worst perverted hick. Those translator are making a good job making him sound like an icon. Even as a physical worker he was shitty and lazy. He's known as the leader of the movement because he had the biggest mouth.
I'm from the same city as him and I've heard many stories that you can't find in any book. How he treated his wife or how he and his buddies were stealing camp-beds. He's not popular at all. And yes in the 70s he had contacts with the communist government, was a commie rat and denounced his co-workers for money. He kept it a secret throughout his career including his presidency in the 90s.
Solidarity had better people than him.
>>1044516
Sorry for using you as my personal Encyklopedia on Polish history, but what do you think about this guy? Was he good or not?
>>1044530
Which I suppose is just another effect of all non state run unions being banned, so people were pretty much forced to flock to the biggest and strongest one to not be squashed and issolated by the state.
>>1044509
>bolshevist state capitalism and western liberal capitalism.
Oh God, you're one of those 'my kind of communism hasn't been tried' guys, aren't you?
>>1044533
Unions have a tendency towards agglomeration when militant due to the solidaristic nature of the working class in militance. The real problem was that Poland's "communist" moment against the Soviet Union was in 1956 and aptly controlled by Gomulka.
>>1044538
Read Simon Pirani on how early the rot set in in the "Soviet" Union. p.s.: before the foundation.
>>1044524
He was the chaplain of the movement. Brutally murdered by the gov. Not much to talk about but the clergy was the last stand of Polish patriotism and integrity during those times. I know it wasn't the case in Czechoslovakia.
Of course there was also cardinal Wyszyński (distantly related to the infamous Soviet hanging judge) and John Paul II. Lots of books about him but I can't find a single one about his political activity. And this is the topic that interests me. How things looked in the west. Maybe I've read too many Forsyth novels but this seems very interesting.
heh
>>1042650
What did France do to try to stay relevant?
>>1047067
Through killing millions of Vietnamese and Algerians. Also nukes.
>>1047067
Kicking US military bases from French teritorry, leaving NATO and getting nuclear warheads, maintaining an healthy relationship with the USSR and basically playing the role of a neutral power in between of 2 superpowers (both geopolitically and geographically)
"trying to stay relevant" is an American buzzword that is thrown whenever a country doesn't side entirely with America, just so you know.
>>1047083
You mean 6000 Quintuplliard (which is basically 1000 trillon x 1000 gorillard) innocent Algerian child, utterly not bat-shit insane terrorists.
