history of europe after 1945

Question 1

Atlantic Charter

Answer 1

= proclaimed liberal policy and order for a world of free and self-determined people, enjoyment of all States of access, on equal terms to trade and raw materials of the world, establishment of wider and permanent system of peace and security

Question 2

Dumbarton Oaks Conference

Answer 2

1944, agreement of draft of United Nations, but some controversial points (eg. voting in SC) remained open

Question 3

Conference of Bretton Woods

Answer 3

1944, stabilisation of currencies by fixing the dollar as a reserve currency and establishing the IMF and World Bank

Question 4

Yalta Conference

Answer 4

1945 February, defining respective spheres of influence and occupation zones of Germany and ‘Declaration on Liberated Europe’

Question 5

Hallstein Doctrine

Answer 5

countries could only have diplomatic relations with FDR or GDR

Question 6

Council of Europe

Answer 6

→ 1950: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
→ Austria joins the Council of Europe in 1956 and adopts the ECHR in 1958 (recognized as constitutional law since 1964)

Question 7

OEEC

Answer 7

Founded in 1948 to help administer the Marshall Plan and promote economic cooperation among European countries, later evolving into the OECD.

Question 8

COMECON

Answer 8

Established in 1949 by the Soviet Union to coordinate economic cooperation and trade among socialist states in response to the Marshall Plan.

Question 9

European Defence Community

Answer 9

The European Defence Community (EDC) was a proposed military alliance designed to create a unified European army, integrating the armed forces of France, West Germany, Italy, and the Benelux countries under a single command. The goal was to strengthen Western European security during the Cold War while avoiding the rearmament of West Germany as an independent military power, which many feared could lead to renewed conflicts.

However, the EDC failed to come into existence because France refused to ratify the treaty in 1954. French politicians were deeply divided—many feared losing national sovereignty over their military, while others were reluctant to allow German rearmament, even within a controlled framework. As a result, the EDC collapsed, and instead, West Germany was rearmed through NATO in 1955 under more traditional national military structures.

Question 10

European Political Community

Answer 10

The European Political Community (EPC) was a proposed supranational political organization meant to complement the European Defence Community (EDC) by creating a federal European structure with common political institutions, including a bicameral parliament, an executive council, and a court of justice. It was designed to provide democratic oversight and political unity to the EDC, moving Europe toward deeper integration.

However, the EPC never came to life because the EDC itself failed in 1954, when the French National Assembly refused to ratify the treaty. Since the EPC was directly tied to the EDC, its collapse meant there was no further push to establish a European political federation at that time. Instead, European integration continued in a more economic direction, eventually leading to the formation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957 with the Treaty of Rome.

Question 11

Paris Agreements of 1954

Answer 11

→ Sovereignty for FRG (with little exceptions), end of occupation
→ Integration of Bundeswehr into the NATO

Question 12

Warsaw Pact

Answer 12

A military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies as a counterbalance to NATO.

Question 13

Prague Spring

Answer 13

• Communist Party of CSR ) strives for reforms: „socialist market economy“ instead of planned economy
• 1968: New First Secretary, Alexander Dubček wants „communism with a humane face“
• Warsaw Pact Troops (USSR, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria) invade ČSR, Dubček imprisoned and deposed

Question 14

Brežnev Doctrine

Answer 14

any threat to “socialist rule” in any state of the East Bloc is a threat to all of them, and therefore, it justifies the intervention of fellow socialist states.

Question 15

Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE)

Answer 15

The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) was a series of diplomatic negotiations between Western and Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War, aimed at improving relations, reducing tensions, and promoting security and cooperation in Europe.

It was launched in 1973 and culminated in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, where 35 countries—including the USA, USSR, and most European states—agreed on principles such as respect for national sovereignty, inviolability of borders, human rights, and economic cooperation.

Although not legally binding, the CSCE played a crucial role in easing Cold War tensions and later evolved into the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 1995, continuing its mission of promoting security and human rights.

Question 16

German Reunification

Answer 16

• Accession treaty under CDU Chancellor Helmut Kohl: On 3 October 1990, the GDR joins the FRG and unification of Berlin
• Legal existence of FRG remains unchanged; Grundgesetz as a constitution of the united Germany; membership in NATO and European Communities unchanged
• West German laws (e.g. BGB) are extended to 5 new federal states and East Berlin

Question 17

“2+4-Treaty”

Answer 17

• FRG and GDR conclude treaty with the USSR, USA, UK and France
• Allies renounce all remaining rights, Germany is fully sovereign
• Now also formal renunciation of countries beyond the Oder-Neisse line
• No nuclear weapons, limitation of conventional weapons

Question 18

Dayton Agreement (1995)

Answer 18

dividing Bosnia into Bosniak-Croat and Serb part while preserving state unity, compliance was monitored by NATO (IFOR, SFOR), since 2004 by EU (EUFOR)

Question 19

Schuman-Plan

Answer 19

1952: Treaty on the European Coal and Steel Community
Common market for the production, trade and consumption of coal and steel

Question 20

Messina Conference 1955

Answer 20

→ six members of ECSC agreed on a Common Market and an Atomic Energy Community
→ which came into existence based on the Spaak Report with the Rome Treaties (1957)

Question 21

European Communities

Answer 21

• European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
• European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC)
• European Economic Community (EEC)

→ From the beginning, the three communities share Parliament and Court of Justice
→ From 1967 on, they share also Commission and Council

Question 22

Merger Treaty of 1965

Answer 22

→ other institutions also merged and although the three communities had their own legal personality, the expression of “European Community” became common

Question 23

Northern Enlargement

Answer 23

1969: UK, Ireland, Denmark

Question 24

Southern Enlargement

Answer 24

1981: Greece
1986: Spain, Portugal

Question 25

Single European Act (1986)

Answer 25

declared the creation of European Union as ultimate goal, did not replace the three founding treaties but linked them

Question 26

Treaty of Maastricht (1992)

Answer 26

→ added two additional pillars: CFSP and JHA: intergovernmental cooperation → EEC renamed EC (European Community): three supranational organisations → EMU inserted into EU: common currency realised in 1999 → European Union came into existence with TEU → TEU intitially rejected by Denmark, special arrangements agreed upon → EPC transformed into CFSP

Question 27

Treaty for Establishing a Constitution for European 2004

Answer 27

→ an ambitious attempt to create a single constitutional framework for the European Union (EU), streamlining its institutions and decision-making processes. → rejected by referendum in France and Netherlands, so it was not implemented

Question 28

Treaty of Lisbon (2007)

Answer 28

→ far-reaching reform of founding treaties → eliminated the pillar structure and JHA → now corresponding treaty provisions → EU acquired legal personality in its own right → committing to common security and defence, obligation to provide military assistance

Question 29

First Allied Control Agreement

Answer 29

4 July 1945: supreme power held by Allied Council, which was High Commissioners from four powers and four occupation zones.

Question 30

Second Allied Control Agreement

Answer 30

28 June 1946: only constitutional laws must be approved by the Allies

Question 31

Act of Prohibiting the NSDAP

Answer 31

compulsory registration of former members and set up People’s Courts to punish National Socialists and war criminals. → two professional and three lay judges nominated by parties → 13.000 cases, 10% found guilty and 43 death sentences passed → sanctions: eg. tax liability, loss of pension, dismissal from public service → “less incriminated” members were rehabilitated → initially harsh sentences later reduced, death penalty abolished in 1950 → rehabilitation meant half a million new voters → Verband der Unabhängigen (VdU), later developed into Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ)

Question 32

Moscow Memorandum

Answer 32

15 April 1955 → leading Austrian politicians pledge neutrality as a price for troop withdrawal (no formal treaty!)

Question 33

State Treaty of Wien-Belvedere

Answer 33

15 May 1955: → withdrawal of Allied Troops till 25 Oktober; neutrality is not mentioned → guarantee to maintain democratic system, prohibit NS organisations, any economic or political union with Germany is forbidden, minority rights for Croats and Slovenians

Question 34

Constitutional Law on Austria‘s Permanent Neutrality

Answer 34

26 Oktober 1955: → Permanent Neutrality: known from the Swiss model — duties also in peacetime, state must avoid anything that could draw it into war in the event of war: no military alliance or customs union, not permit establishment of foreign bases on her territory → establishment of Austrian army, universal conscription was introduced, alternative civilian service was not created until 1974.