Challenging the Postwar Order (1960-1991)

Question 1

Second Vatican Council

Answer 1

1962-1965
a meeting of Catholic leaders that initiated a number of reforms, including the replacement of Latin with local languages in Church services, designed to democratize the church and renew its appeal.

Question 2

Wolf publishes “Divided Heaven”; Friedan publishes “The Feminine Mystique”

Answer 2

1963

Question 3

Civil Right Act in the USA

Voting Rights Act in the USA

Answer 3

1964 and 1965
prohibition of discrimination in public services and on the job.
guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote.

Question 4

Peak of US involvement in Vietnam War

Answer 4

1964-1973
while some argued that American involvement was caused by imperialism it had much clearer roots in the cold war policy of containment. while initially the support for involvement was strong at home but soon the antiwar movement increased criticism in US and Europe.

Question 5

Formation of NOW

Answer 5

1966

Friedan helped to establish the National Organization for Women to press for female rights.

Question 6

Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia; “May events” protest in France

Answer 6

1968
the Prague Spring took off under A. Dubcek. in fear of Czechoslovakia becoming neutral or taking NATO’s side, the Soviets invaded and pushed down the reform movement.
In France massive student protests coincided with a general strike which brought French economy to a standstill. in the end the New Left goals contradicted the workers goals and with government promises the workers returned to work.

Question 7

Founding of Greenpeace

Answer 7

1971

established by Canadian activists.

Question 8

OPEC oil embargo

Answer 8

1973
OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
in response to seeing the price of oil decline, OPEC formed a united front against Western oil companies. Arab members declared an oil embargo and raised oil prises (also in response to the west supporting Israel n the war).

Question 9

Helsinki accords

Answer 9

1975
the move toward detente reached a high point.
US, USSR, Canada, European nations met to sign the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Question 10

Thatcher becomes prime minister; founding of West German Green Party; Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Answer 10

1979
she was a member of the Conservative party and a convinced neoliberal.
soviet invasion in attempts to save an increasingly unpopular Marxist regime.

Question 11

Gorbachev named Soviet premier

Answer 11

1985

Question 12

USA and USSR sign arms reduction treaty

Answer 12

1987

Question 13

Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

Answer 13

1989

Question 14

Fall of communism in eastern Europe

Answer 14

1989-1991

Question 15

Dissolution of USSR

Answer 15

December 1991

Question 16

Charter 77 reform movement founded in Czechoslovakia

Answer 16

1977
a small group of citizens signed it, including the future president Havel in which they criticized the system. they were immediately repressed but kept working toward their goal.

Question 17

Polish Solidarity movement formed

Answer 17

1980
Wojtyla was elected pope in 1978. he returned to Poland in 1979 and drew in enormous crowds.
Walesa also played a big role. under him solidarity, an independent Polish trade union that worked for workers’ rights and political reform throughout the 1980s, was formed. it was a combination of strength and moderation.

Question 18

Solidarity outlawed by communist leaders

Answer 18

1981
Jaruzelski clamped down on the movement and shut it down. however, the movement survived underground as the government did not implement full-scale terror.

Question 19

Brezhnev dies

Answer 19

1982

Question 20

Gorbachev institutes perestroika and glasnost reforms

Answer 20

1985
he aimed to revitalize the Soviet system with fundamental reforms to not lose superpower status. he realized that improvement at home required better relations with the west.
perestroika was an economic restructuring and reform.
glasnost was a popular and more successful campaign for openness in government and the media.
democratization also occurred to an extent.

Question 21

Polish workers strike throughout the country

Answer 21

1988

Question 22

Solidarity legalized in Poland

Answer 22

April 1989

Question 23

Noncommunist prime minister elected in Poland

Answer 23

August 1989

Question 24

Berlin Wall opened

Answer 24

November 1989

Question 25

Velvet revolution ends communism in Czechoslovakia

Answer 25

November-December 1989
the term given to a relatively peaceful overthrow of communism in Czechoslovakia; the label came to signify the collapse of the East bloc in general in 1989-1990.

Question 26

communist dictator of Romania executed

Answer 26

December 1989

Question 27

communist party defeated in Soviet elections

Answer 27

February 1990

Question 28

Free election in Hungary

Answer 28

March 1990

Question 29

Yeltsin elected leader of Russian Soviet Republic

Answer 29

May 1990

Question 30

Reunification of Germany

Answer 30

October 1990

Question 31

Paris Accord; arms reduction across Europe

Answer 31

November 1990

Question 32

communist hardliners kidnap Gorbachev and try to overthrow soviet government

Answer 32

August 1991

Question 33

cold war tensions thaw

Answer 33

Italian government had socialist enter politics in 1963, Britain’s Labor Party took over in 1964 and West Germany got a new chancellor Brandt in 1969.
in France, while Gaulle resigned the centrist Gaullists remained in power until 1981 and in Spain, Portugal and Greece authoritarianism continued until the mid-1970s.
nevertheless, the general leftward trend eased the cold war tensions.
social democrats worked hard to ease tension on an international level but also by conducting domestic reforms.

Question 34

Ostpolitik

Answer 34

Chancellor W. Brandt’s new eastern policy; west Germany’s attempt in the 1970s to ease diplomatic tensions with east Germany, exemplifying the policies of detente.

Question 35

detente

Answer 35

the progressive relaxation of cold war tensions that emerged in the early 1970s.

Question 36

the affluent society

Answer 36

the living standards of workers and immigrants did not rise as fast as those of the middle classes and expanding economy did not always reach underdeveloped regions.
mass travel and tourism really took off in the 1960s. household appliances were commonplace in the 1960s. US-style self-service supermarkets in Europe changed the way food was produced, purchased and prepared.
critics complained about rising conformity, and Americanization of Europe.
moral authority of religion lost ground and family ties weakened.

Question 37

counterculture movement

Answer 37

the young generation criticized the comforts of the affluent society and challenged social and political status quo. they also opposed conformity and unequal distribution of wealth.
many counterculture movements drew inspiration from the American civil rights movement.
much of it revolved around lifestyle rebellion. sexual revolution was the most obvious example. drug use and rock music were other examples.

Question 38

new left

Answer 38

a 1960s countercultural movement that embraced updated forms of Marxism to challenge both Western capitalism and Soviet-style communism.

Question 39

1960s in the East bloc

Answer 39

economies lagged behind the western ones even with some reforms and relaxations of collectivization policies.
some cultural freedoms were granted very carefully and still the most vocal dissidents were harassed and/or forced to emigrate.
samizdat literature flourished in the 1960s, mostly in Poland and Russia.

Question 40

Brezhnev doctrine

Answer 40

created by L. Brezhnev that held that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene in any East bloc country when necessary to preserve communist rule.

Question 41

economic crisis and hardship

Answer 41

international monetary system collapsed. Nixon’s attempts to reverse the devaluation of the dollar had the opposite consequences and inflation accelerated worldwide.

Question 42

stagflation

Answer 42

term coined in the early 1980s to describe the combination of low growth of and high inflation that led to a worldwide recession.

Question 43

post-industrial society

Answer 43

a society that relies on high-tech and service-oriented jobs for economic growth rather than heavy industry and manufacturing jobs.

Question 44

neoliberalism

Answer 44

philosophy of the 1980s conservatives who argued for privatization of state-run industries and decreased government spending on social services.

Question 45

privatization

Answer 45

the sale of state-managed industries such as communication and transportation networks to private owners; a key aspect of broader neoliberal economic reforms meant to control government spending, increase private profits, and foster economic growth, which were implemented in western Europe in response to the economic crisis of the 1970s.

Question 46

challenges and victories for women

Answer 46

in the 1970s a diverse feminist movement spread thanks to changing patterns of motherhood and paid work, a rise in vocal feminist intellectuals, and a realization that banding together and cooperating will lead to more success.

Question 47

developed socialism

Answer 47

a term used by communist leaders to describe the socialist accomplishments of their societies, such as nationalized industry, collective agriculture, and extensive social welfare programs.