Chapter 48 The continent of Europe rising from the ashes

〖In the middle of the 20th century, both Britain and the United States suffered from economic recession and political turmoil.Even so, they still did everything possible to prevent Europe from taking the road of independent economic revival. The Franco-German alliance led by Charles de Gaulle and Adenauer was finally killed by the joint efforts of the United States and Britain. 〗 By the late 1950s, the world finally had some hope, something it hadn't seen in more than 30 years.At least that was the case for most of Western Europe and some of the ambitious Southern Hemisphere, then called the "Developing Region".

In 1957, a new form of economic cooperation—the European Economic Community centered on France, West Germany, and Italy—was formed with the signing of the Treaty of Rome. In January 1959, under the terms of the Treaty of Rome, the European Economic Community was born.The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) has recovered from the ashes of war and is rebuilding the most productive industrial base in Europe.In France, General Charles de Gaulle returned to power in 1958, drafted an economic reconstruction plan with the assistance of economic adviser Jacques Rouyff, launched a vigorous economic plan, built modern infrastructure, restored destroyed industries and agriculture and restore the country's fiscal stability.By the end of the 1950s, Italy was enjoying an economic boom, largely the result of following the advice of Enrique Mattei of the national energy holding company (ENI).

In fact, during the first two decades after World War II, the economies of Western Europe, as well as many developing regions, experienced unprecedented industrial and agricultural prosperity and growth.By the early 1960s, the manufacturing industry in continental Europe had maintained a vigorous growth rate of 5% per year.In the decade after 1938, the total volume of world trade stagnated, but between 1948 and 1963, it increased by 250%, and the outlook was optimistic.By 1957, for the first time in history, world trade in manufactured goods surpassed trade in primary products—grains and raw materials.

The rapid growth was driven by increased trade in the European Common Market. In 1953, members of the European Community accounted for 19 percent of world exports; by 1960, they surpassed the United States in both relative and absolute terms, accounting for 26 percent of world exports, or about $30 billion. Investments in new steel mills, roads, power facilities, and modernized ports in major port cities such as Hamburg and Rotterdam laid the foundations for Western Europe's economic prosperity and productivity growth.Based on the output per person/hour of industrial labor productivity, in the 1950s and 1960s, the labor productivity of continental Western European countries maintained an annual growth rate of 7%, which was 1.5 times higher than that of the United States during the same period. .

In the process of the rapid growth of industry and trade in continental Europe, from the late 1950s, Europe and developing regions vigorously carried out trade cooperation, which made the industrial growth rate of many developing countries faster than at any time in the 20th century.Notable in this process is the growth in the developing regions' share of world manufacturing production, from 6.5 percent in 1953 to almost 9 percent in 1963, a 50 percent increase in output over the decade in relative terms and in absolute terms. More. Charles de Gaulle returned to power in 1958, bringing a powerful new political voice to the growing continent.De Gaulle, a seasoned military strategist and statesman, had no illusions about Britain's European plans, and he became increasingly convinced that America's postwar plans for Europe were just as dangerous as Britain's.Since taking office in 1958, de Gaulle has conducted a series of exchanges with President Eisenhower, especially proposing fundamental structural reforms to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and that France should have a "veto" over the use of nuclear weapons, but to no avail. In September 1959, General de Gaulle expressed his concerns in a letter to the President of the United States.

During the two world wars, the United States was an ally of France, and France will not forget the help of the United States.But she also did not forget that during World War I, after three years of war, the United States came to her aid when France was on the brink of destruction; I came to help her... I know as well as you what it means to be a country with its own territories, its own interests, its own political system, its own public opinion, its own passions, its own fears and its own mistakes.It can help others, but it cannot identify itself with others.That is why, despite my loyalty to the alliance, I cannot accept the demand for France to be integrated with NATO.

As Washington turned a deaf ear to the French proposal, de Gaulle began building an independent French nuclear deterrent and announced that the French Mediterranean naval fleet would no longer be under the command of the NATO Command. In 1960, France successfully tested the first atomic bomb in the Sahara Desert.De Gaulle articulated a new, independent voice for the postwar rise of continental Europe. After coming to power again in 1958, de Gaulle's first move was to extend an invitation to Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. In September 1958, de Gaulle met Adenauer at his private retreat, the Double Church of Colombe.It was the beginning of not only a political reconciliation between two wartime rivals, but also a close personal friendship between two seasoned statesmen, which is of great historical significance.About five years later, their relationship reached its peak. On January 22, 1963, de Gaulle and Adenauer signed the "Agreement between the French Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany", which stipulated the procedures for close cooperation between the heads of state of the two countries and the form of coordinating economic and industrial policies.

The Charles de Gaulle-Adenauer agreement sounded alarm bells in Washington and London.Continental Europe, under the leadership of de Gaulle, Adenauer and Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro, has become increasingly independent in its pursuit of autonomy, making some uncomfortable.The day of the historic Franco-German agreement was not without attention in London.The French government announced that she would veto Britain's application to join the European Common Market, the result of President de Gaulle's deep mistrust of Britain's motives.For many years, de Gaulle had always mistrusted Britain when it came to building a strong and independent European continent.