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Europe Divided 1945–89. 1945 Yalta Conference; ‘big 3’ agree on post-war government of occupied Germany and Eastern Europe. Monotheistic religions in Europe. Divisions in Europe; Cold War 1945-91.
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1945 Yalta Conference; ‘big 3’ agree on post-war government of occupied Germany and Eastern Europe
Divisions in Europe;Cold War 1945-91 • East / West competition, tension, conflict emerges from post-war conferences. East/West ideological binaries solidified: • Capitalism, democratically-elected gov., rule of law, market economy vs. • Communism (socialism), one-party state, planned economy;
Cold War Time-line: • 1945 Yalta • 1946 Iron Curtain • 1947 Marshall Plan • 1947 Berlin Airlift • 1956 Budapest; Khrushchev’s secret speech • 1957 Sputnik • 1961 Berlin Wall • 1968 Prague Spring • 1969 Salt Talks • 1983 Star Wars • 1985 Gorbachev • 1987 INF • 1989 Berlin Wall falls • 1990 Reunification of Germany • 1991 Soviet Union Collapses Sigmar Polke: Watch Tower with Geese (1987-88)
Totalitarianism (Columbia Encyclopedia) • modern autocratic government; • state aims to control not only economics and politics, but all facets of society and daily life – attitudes, values, beliefs; • citizen’s duty to the state is paramount; • goal of state: to build perfect society. • Ideologically driven: Communist regimes of Soviet Union and China sought fulfilment of humankind through establishment of a classless society; German National Socialism driven by belief in superiority of so-called Aryan race.
Characteristics of Totalitarianism • a single party as mobilizer; dictator; • support of system by voting compulsory; • party monopoly on (government, police, military), communications, economy and education; • dissent suppressed; secret police. • Past autocracies have always attempted to control their subjects, but modern technology provides means of pervasive control in totalitarianism; • Causes?: chaos after World War I enabled establishment of totalitarian regimes in Europe (Russia, Italy, Germany); modern weapons and communications enabled consolidation of power and control.
Dr Lawrence Britt’s Characteristics of Fascism (= Bush admin.; = 20th cent. Totalitarian states) • Nationalism (e.g. overt displays of flag); • Disdain for human rights (arbitrary arrest); • Enemies as scapegoats, ‘us vs. them’ mentality; • Cult of the military; • Controlled mass media; • Obsession with national security; • Religion and gov. are one, language of religion used; • Labour power suppressed; • Disdain for the arts, liberal expression; • Obsession with crime and punishment, police power is paramount; • Cronyism and corruption; • Fraudulent elections with the complicacy of the judiciary.
Boris Yeltsin: “Let’s not talk about Communism; it’s just an idea, an experiment.” Marxism – Leninism / Socialism / Communism: • A theory of social evolution – “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” the ultimate, inexorable end; demise of capitalism and worldwide revolution its aim (Krushev’s “We’ll bury you”) • “Being Defines Conscientiousness” – an attempt to change human nature by creating new social conditions; • Single ‘enlightened’ party: Communist; single ‘correct’ philosophy: Dialectical Materialism; • Single official art form: Socialist Realism
Life under totalitarianism • “You have only to show a whip to a beaten dog.” (Solzhenitsyn); threat of repression sufficient to force compliance; • Many toed the line, not for ideological conviction, but to make career, avoid problems; • Police state – society of “whisperers” (Orlando Figes); “the walls have ears”; • citizens of totalitarian state have acute sense of private and public face, life, conversation (fosters closeness with those you can trust);
E. German writer Martin Ahrends cautioned GDR citizens what they would “lose” • “Freedom of the East” – their conditioning advantages them over West…. • endows them with “ascetic virtues” and “new forms of freedom … • from obsessions with work, tyrannical structuring of time; • from colonization of consciousness by marketing industry; • freedom to let things take their course, to dream and remain as a child (?) (Cook)
Cold War Culture: Literature: • spy novels of John Le Carre, Ian Fleming, Frederick Forsythe; • apocalyptic novels: Nevil Shute’s On the Beach • Eastern dissident writers: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; Milan Kundera, Vaclav Havel (Czech); Christa Wolf, Stefan Heym (E. Germ.), Czeslaw Milosz (Polish, 1980 Nobel Prize);
Dystopian (anti-utopia) Literary Tradition • Evgeny Zamyatin, WE • Aldous Huxley, Brave New World • George Orwell, 1984. • Futuristic dystopian film Blade Runner, Matrix • Post-totalitarianism in lit and film – Lives of Others; Good Bye Lenin.