Cold War Contemporary Europe, 1914-present

Containment

The name of a U.S. foreign policy designed to contain or block the spread of Soviet policy. Inspired by George F. Kennan, containment was expressed in the Truman Doctrine and implemented in the Marshall Plan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance.

Cold War

A prolonged period of economic and political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Led to the division of Europe, which was referred to in the West as the Iron Curtain. This period began with the announcement of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Marshall Plan

Massive program of economic aid from the United States that financed an extensive reconstruction of industry and infrastructure and stimulated an extended period of growth in Western and Central Europe.

Decolonization

The process by which colonies gained their independence from imperial European powers after World War II.

De-Stalinization

The policy of liberalization of the Stalinist system in the Soviet Union. As carried out by Nikita Khrushchev, this policy meant denouncing Joseph Stalin’s cult of personality, producing more consumer goods, allowing greater cultural freedom, and pursuing peaceful coexistence with the West.

Brezhnev Doctrine

Assertion that the Soviet Union and its allies had the right to intervene in socialist country whenever they saw the need. This justified the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Détente

The relaxation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, introduced by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon. Examples of this include the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), expanded trade with the Soviet Union, and President Nixon’s trips to China and Russia.

Solidarity

A Polish labor union founded in 1980 by Lech Walesa and Anna Walentynowicz. It contested Communist Party programs and eventually ousted the party from the Polish government.

Glasnost

Policy initiated by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s. This policy resulted in a new openness of speech, reduced censorship, and thus greater criticism of Communist Party policies.

Perestroika

An economic policy initiated by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s. Meaning “restructuring,” this policy called for less government regulation and greater efficiency in manufacturing and agriculture.

Welfare State

A social system in which the state assumes primary responsibility for the welfare of its citizens in matters of health care, education, employment, and social security. Germany was the first European country to develop a state social welfare system.

Guest Workers

Foreign workers working temporarily in European countries.

Big Science

The unprecedented combination of theoretical science and complex engineering under government sponsorship.

Globalization

The trend by which people and nations have become more interdependent. The term is often used to refer to the development of a global economy and culture.

European Union

Evolved from the Common Market and the European Community. Formed in 1994 under the terms of the Maastricht Treaty, its members have long political ties through the European parliament as well as long-standing common economic, legal, and business mechanisms.