“The Holocaust manifested the veneer of civilization so thin and fragile that repetition was possible.”
- Sam Kaltman
Remembering our history, good or bad is always something that works to our advantage when witnessing current events. For the people living in the European Unions Countries and other people interested, this is a short summary of some important Events that hopefully inspires interest in further research or at least makes one or two facts stick in the back of the readers mind.
08.05.1945 08.05.1945 08.05.1945
End of WW2
MAY 1945
End of WW2
World War 2 was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. It caused the deaths of approximately 60 million soldiers and civilians and was the first war that claimed the lives of more civilians than soldiers. The Holocaust during the War was the first systematic genocide in modern history, resulting in the deaths of approximately six million Jews. The war also left a profound impact on the physical landscape of Europe. Many cities, towns and villages were completely destroyed by aerial bombing and heavy artillery. WW2 claimed the lives of millions of people and left Europe in ruins. It is a reminder of the devastating consequences of war and the importance of working towards peace and diplomacy.
In the years following 1945, the expression "Never again" was used widely as a symbol of a desire to avoid a repetition of the second world war. The people of Europe were especially committed to this ideal after watching their families torn apart and their homes destroyed. A great number of people in Europe feel that nationalism has played a major role in creating wars. The great powers of Europe, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia, competed fiercely for the right to dominate the economic and military affairs of the continent, even in peacetime.
Between most european countries tariffs and other trade barriers have been imposed. For many observers including politicians, intellectuals and members of resistance movements the answer is clear: Europe must be integrated into the world. Instead of competition between the european states a system of cooperation was much needed.
NATONATONATONATONATO
APRIL 1949
During the civil war in greece and tensions in turkey, president Truman said he would provide economic and military assistance to any country struggling against an attempt at subjugation. A Soviet-sponsored coup in Czechoslovakia resulted in a communist government coming to power on the borders of Germany. Attention turned also to the italian elections as the communist party made significant gains with italian voters.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed in 1949 to prevent soviet expansion and the revival of European militarism. The 12 original members are the United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. In 1947–1948, a series of events caused the nations of Western Europe to become increasingly concerned about their physical and political security.
Furthermore, events in Germany also caused concern. The Berlin Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of conflict. These events made U.S. officials increasingly wary of the possibility of Western European countries solving their security problems through negotiations with the soviets. Therefore the Truman Administration considered the possibility of an American-European alliance involving the United States in strengthening the security of Western Europe.
APR 1951
Formation of the ECSC
The Treaty of Paris, which established the ECSC, was signed on 18 April 1951 by "the inner six": France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The ECSC was based on supranational principles and was intended to expand the economy, increase employment, and raise the standard of living within the Community through the establishment of a common market for coal and steel. The market was also intended to progressively rationalise the distribution of production whilst also ensuring stability and employment.
The common market for coal was opened on 10 february 1953 and the common market for steel on 1 may 1953. The ECSC replaced the International Authority for the Ruhr after its entry into force. As of august 11 1952 the United States of America became the first non-member of the ECSC to recognize the community and stated it would now deal with the ECSC on coal and steel matters, establishing its delegation in Brussels. Monnet responded by choosing Washington, D.C. as the site of the ECSC's first external presence. The headline of the delegation's first bulletin read "Towards a Federal Government of Europe".
„Die Zusammenlegung der Kohle- und Stahlproduktion wird [...] die Bestimmung jener Gebiete ändern, die lange Zeit der Herstellung von Waffen gewidmet waren, deren sicherste Opfer sie gewesen sind.“
- RObert schuman
Six years after the Treaty of Paris, the Treaties of Rome were signed by the six ECSC members, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). These Communities were based on the ECSC with some adjustments. The Treaties of Rome were to be in force indefinitely, unlike the Treaty of Paris, which was to last for a renewable period of fifty years. These two new Communities worked to create a customs union and nuclear power community respectively.
TREATYOFROMETREATYOFROMETREATYOFROME
MARCH 1957
The Treaty establishing the ECSC was signed in Paris on 18 April 1951, and entered into force on 24 July 1952. As foreseen, the Treaty expired on 23 July 2002, after fifty years. The common market opened on 10 February 1953 for coal, iron ore and scrap, and on 1 May 1953 for steel. Partly in the aim of creating a United States of Europe, two further Communities were proposed, again by the French. A European Defence Community (EDC) and a European Political Community (EPC). While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, the EDC was rejected by the French Parliament.
One of the leading figures behind the communities, President Jean Monnet, resigned from the High Authority in protest and began working on alternative communities based on economic rather than political integration. As a result of the energy crises, the Common Assembly proposed extending the powers of the ECSC to cover other sources of energy. However, Monnet wanted a separate Community to cover nuclear power, and Louis Armand was put in charge of a study into the prospects of nuclear energy use in Europe.
MAR 1957
Treaty of Rome
The report concluded that further nuclear development was needed, in order to fill the deficit left by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers. In the end, Monnet proposed creating both as separate Communities to attempt to satisfy all interests. As a result of the Messina Conference of 1955, Paul-Henri Spaak was appointed as chairman of a preparatory committee, the Spaak Committee, charged with the preparation of a report on the creation of a common European market.
MAY 1968
Student Riots in Paris
The student population in France had greatly increased and many young people felt the French political system was rigid and autocratic. Add to that the dire world events at the time, like the Vietnam War, and this led to young people feeling angry and frustrated at the state of the world. At the beginning of May 1968, groups of students on the Nanterre campus of the University of Paris were protesting against various situations, including that some of their peers were arrested during the Vietnam War protest and the fact that men were not permitted in the women’s dormitories.
The turning point in this story was when the de Gaulle administration responded by shutting down the university. This is one of many reasons for the Paris riots. A mass of students took to the streets of Paris. The riot police were called in and the events of the night of May 10-11, 1968 will forever be ingrained in French history, known as the Night of the Barricades. Students held off the police through the use of barricades – the police retaliated with violence and this earned the students many more supporters of their cause. The following day on May 11, a general strike was called by French trade unions to fight for better working conditions and against police brutality.
"You couldn't go out with friends, and never with boys. Everything was forbidden everywhere. You had to obey orders in the factories, in the schools. We were suffocating. There was this enormous need to talk and share. Everyone was fed up."
- Josette Preud'homme
By the end of May,10 million workers were on strike. This was around two-thirds of the working population in the country at that time. The country’s economy was stopped in its tracks, causing chaos. What began as a student protest turned into one of the biggest general strikes ever seen in France. The strikes affected many changes in the country, including having an impact on the economy and politics. Traditional, conservative views began to be questioned by more liberal thinkers. This opened the door to many important social issues, such as the rise of feminism and gay rights. More concrete changes were also implemented, such as pay rises for workers and shorter working days.
FIRSTEUELECTIONSFIRSTEUELECTIONSFIRSTEUELECTIONS
JUNE 1979
The members of the European Parliament were directly elected for the first time. The parliament held its first session in Strasbourg on 17 July 1979. Louise Weiss as the "oldest member" presided over the chamber. Simone Veil was elected president. The Decision and Act on European elections by direct universal suffrage were signed in Brussels on 20 September 1976. Following ratification by all Member States, the Act entered into force on July 1978, and the first elections took place on 7 and 10 June 1979. Louise Weiss was a journalist and politician.
She co-founded the journal “L’Europe Nouvelle” later she created a movement advocating women’s suffrage in France. She became the oldest member of the European Parliament in 1979. Already a renowned politician in France, where she became minister for health in 1974, Veil was elected member of the European Parliament at the first direct elections in 1979.
JUN 1979
First EU Elections
The new Parliament elected her as its president for a period of two-and-a-half years. She thus became the first president of the directly-elected European Parliament and the first woman president of any EU institution.
AUG 1980
The Shipyard Strikes of Gdansk
Poland faced huge international debt, shortages of supplies and food price spikes. On August 14 1980, workers at the Gdansk Shipyard staged a strike over the dismissal of a crane operator and workers’ rights activist. More and more factories across Poland joined the protest in the following days. Having learnt their lesson from prior protests, brutally suppressed by the state forces, workers did not go into the streets but opted for nonviolent sit-in strikes and presented their demands.
The list of demands included demands such as respect for freedom of speech and easing of state censorship. The authorities ultimately gave in to the pressure and agreements were signed in Gdańsk and in other cities. They agreed to meet all of the demands, including the one granting the right to unionize, which opened the door to the establishment of “Solidarność”, the first trade union in a Warsaw Pact country that was not state-controlled, and the world’s largest to date. these developments were frowned upon by Moscow. It was speculated a Soviet military intervention was imminent.
“We have formed these trade unions ourselves. If you are there inside them, as I am, then you can be sure that we won’t allow anybody else to have a leading role over them.”
- Lech Walesa
The 1980 strikes and the agreements that ended them were closely observed by Western European countries and by the United States despite efforts on the part of the Polish communist authorities to limit access to information by tightening restrictions on foreign journalists. it is beyond doubt that the events of August 1980 were significant for the whole of Europe because they largely contributed to the collapse of communism in Poland and in all of the Soviet bloc a decade later.
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NOVEMBER 1989
Political changes in Eastern Europe and civil unrest in Germany put pressure on the East German government to loosen some of its regulations on travel to West Germany. At a press conference on 9 November, East German spokes-man Günter Schabowski announced that East Germans would be free to travel into West Germany, starting immediately. He failed to clarify that some regulations would remain in place. Western media inaccurately reported that the border had opened and crowds quickly gathered at checkpoints on both sides of the Wall. Passport checks were eventually abandoned and people crossed the border unrestricted. East and West Berliners came together in celebration.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was the first step towards German reunification. The political, economic and social impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall further weakened the already unstable East German government. Germany reunited on 3 October 1990, 11 months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Berlin Wall was the beginning of the end to the so-called Iron Curtain, and led to future EU enlargement, in which new member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were welcomed into the European Union. Overnight, the world had changed.
NOV 1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall is an important milestone in EU history and triggered a domino effect of events that propelled democratic change in the CEE region. Within days of the fall of the Wall, the European Parliament held a plenary debate on the situation in the CEE states. European Council members François Mitterrand, then President of France, and Helmut Kohl, Federal Chancellor of West Germany, attended the debate. During this meeting Chancellor Kohl stated "Germany will be completely united only if progress is made towards the unification of our old continent. Policy on Germany and policy on Europe are completely inseparable".
JAN 2002
The Euro
The international currency stability that reigned in the immediate post-war period did not last. Later attempts to achieve stable exchange rates were hit by oil crises and other shocks until, in 1979, the European Monetary System (EMS) was launched. The EMS was built on a system of exchange rates used to keep participating currencies within a narrow band. This completely new approach represented an unprecedented coordination of monetary policies between EU countries, and operated successfully for over a decade.
However, it was under the presidency of Jacques Delors when central bank governors of the EU countries produced the 'Delors Report' on how EMU could be achieved. The Delors Report proposed a three-stage preparatory period for economic and monetary union and the euro area, spanning the period 1990 to 1999. European leaders accepted the recommendations in the Delors Report. The new Treaty on European Union, which contained the provisions needed to implement the monetary union, was agreed at the European Council held at Maastricht, the Netherlands, in December 1991.
"It [the Euro] is a decisive step towards ever closer political and institutional union in Europe. Above all, it is political."
- CArlo azeglio Ciampi
After a decade of preparations, the euro was launched on 1 January 1999: for the first three years it was an ‘invisible’ currency, only used for accounting purposes and electronic payments. Coins and banknotes were launched on 1 January 2002, and in 12 EU countries the biggest cash changeover in history took place. The euro has eliminated the costs of exchange rate fluctuations within the Euro area. This protects consumers and businesses within the euro area from costly swings in currency markets, which, in some countries, used to undermine confidence, discourage investment and cause economic instability.
JAN 2020
Brexit
When a country leaves the EU, it loses the advantages it had as a member. The country has two years to reach new agreements. For the UK, the original deadline was March 29, 2019, but the deadline was later extended. The government of the UK worked to make a deal with the EU about how the UK could leave. On December 24, 2019, just a week before the new deadline, the UK and the EU reached an agreement.Though the UK officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, there were still some important agreements to be worked out. On December 31, 2020, the UK finally ended its close ties with the EU, finishing the Brexit process that started nearly four years earlier.
To decide about Brexit, the UK held a referendum. The results were close to tied. 51.9% of the people who voted wanted to leave. People had different reasons for wanting to leave the EU. Many people wanted to limit immigrants – people who come to the UK from other countries. Some people in the UK wanted to be indepen-dent of Europe. Some people thought that leaving the EU would be better for businesses in the UK. In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU.Nearly half of the voters did not vote to leave the EU. These people thought it was better for the UK to stay as a part of the EU.
The EU economy initially benefitted from Brexit as many financial institutions moved to the EU. However, the UK was one of the major contributors to the EU’s budget. After Brexit, the EU’s budget is short by 5%. Now the EU has to fill in this gap either via cutting the expenses or collecting more from the other member countries. Regarding trade, both the UK and the EU are looking for other trade partners. The EU increased its trading with the US (18%) and China (17%) in 2021 as compared to the year 2020.
"Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
- Machiavelli
This project was created and illustrated by Seraphina Senkmüller
during the 6th semester of her studies in Communications design.
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