... separation of Germany caused approximately 3.5 million people out of 18 million, many of them who were skilled workers and intellectuals, to head towards the western side of the country (459). "Moreover, the open border and possibility of flight to the West placed certain constraints on the entire ' ... opposition which would spark protests ("A World Divided"). The desire of native Germans started to gain popularity among both sides, eastern and western. Many protest and uprising took place in Germany. However, the opening of the gates was totally accidental. On 9th November 1989, the gat...

• Word Count: 839
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography

... allies) was capitalist "two opposing economic systems seeking global dominance. In addition, the Soviets were afraid that their borders were at risk from a Western invasion, and the United States and its allies were afraid that communism would spread throughout Europe. Tension also existed between the two sides because they could not agree on the terms of peace to be established in ... wanting to deal with Germany as harshly as the Soviets did, believed that the Soviet Union should withdraw from Eastern Europe. They believed that if Germany was allowed to keep some military strength it ...

• Word Count: 915
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... like to discuss the objectives and successfulness of these two strategies. George Kennan recommended the Marshall Plan to shore up economic weaknesses in western European nations devastated by World War II. Kennan felt that such a program would help restore Europe's self-confidence, and in turn, provide an incentive to back the US as an ally in the inevitable containment struggle with the ... , citing that America should not help nations that cannot help themselves. He felt that a balance of power was in order, not an American overpowering. However, if the plan were successful, Western E...

• Word Count: 664
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... In addition, the United States was trying to scotch the influence of the Soviet Union spreading in the east of Europe while aiding Europe with Marshall Plan. Western European countries agreed to receive the aid of America, so American government provided them not cash but credit to purchase ... States. Until June 30, 1952, when was the end of Marshall Plan, the United States had appropriated 13 billion dollar in total to Western Europe and other countries willing to accept the help of America. Of these European and part of Asian countries, the United States was concerned about Greece .....

• Word Count: 929
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... though the Allied forces had won the war, they now were faced with the enormous feat of rebuilding Europe. The United States played a major role in promoting economic and military security in Western Europe during the 1940's and 1950's. To stimulate economic growth within Western Europe, the United States implemented the Marshall Plan. Also known as the European Recovery Program, the Marshall Plan gave ... over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe between 1948 and 1951. The Marshall Plan successfully sparked economic recovery ... United States was and still is the all...

• Word Count: 639
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... , Germany was seen from both the Soviet and American perspectives as an opportunity to tip the ideological scale. "Germany occupied the center of Europe. Her geostrategic location and formidable industrial potential made her a crucial factor in the European and global balance of power. Whichever side controlled this ... has Germany has Europe," had lost nothing of its truth or relevance." The uniform concentration of the world powers coming out of World War II was no doubt focused on Germany. From the Soviet perspective, Germany was key for several reasons. Pragmatically, the weak Wester...

• Word Count: 1231
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... allies, including Canada, France, West Germany, the Philippines, Japan, Great Britain, and many other countries of Western Europe and Latin America. This group was usually referred to as the Western bloc. Such intense rivalry is known as the Cold War because it has not actually led to fighting, or ... control areas it considers very important to its national interest, including much of Eastern Europe. In 1941, during WWII, Germany attacked the Soviet Union. For this reason, the Soviet Union joined the Western Allies in fighting Germany. For a time it seemed that some sort of union ... m...

• Word Count: 755
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... began to unravel before the end of World War II. When the war ended, the Soviet's Red Army occupied much of Eastern Europe. Western Europe felt the presence of communism spreading even farther into their homeland. The Marshall plan, helped restore Western Europe, but other events in the late 1940s kept tensions high. Communist coups in Czechoslovakia, the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948 ... , and the fall of China and the Soviet A-bomb in 1949, were the events that kept the tensions high. The establishment in 1949 of a Western Alliance, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), a...

• Word Count: 465
• Approx Pages: 2

... sides for world domination and the opposing ideals of communism and capitalism. On one side, Stalin sought to spread his influence in Eastern Europe by setting up pro-Russian governments in these states while America, feared for their power and domination over the world and attempted to "contain ... was to blame for the outbreak of this war that lasted for nearly five decades. It can be argued that Stalin's political incursions into Eastern Europe caused unnecessary conflict between Russia and the West. By 1948, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Albania and Yugoslavia a...

• Word Count: 816
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... United States) had different views on achieving those goals. While at the Yalta Conference, the three nations; United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, developed the Declaration on Liberated Europe. This declaration meant that the three nations agreed to hold democratic elections in countries freed from the control of Germany. The Soviet Union did not keep its word and broke ... this agreement. Stalin had driven German troops out of parts of Europe and had established a communist government in Poland. This caused the United States to feel betrayed by the Soviet Union and also...

• Word Count: 881
• Approx Pages: 4

... to the middle east resulting in widespread chaos. Having sustained staggering lose during the war, USSR was determined to establish a buffer zone in eastern Europe. Between 1945 and 1948, the soviets sponsored dictators to seize power in Europe's war-torn heart land. In Germanys pivotal arena. The zones of the allied occupations began to harden into political entities. 1949 the west and ... in economic ruin, u.s. secretary of state at the time George c Marshall came up with a program called North Atlantic Treaty Organization or as we know today (NATO) in 1949 this showed western Europe'...

• Word Count: 485
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... in Communism at all what so ever like the U.S.S.R did. The Iron Curtain was the dividing line between the capitalist and so called " Anciet states of Central and Eastern Europe" Winston Churchill made a speech about the iron curtain March 5th, 1946 stating that "behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of the Central and ... Eastern Europe.." Europe was divided into EAstern and Western Germany controlled by the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R ( Soviet Union). In order to get the countries to keep from turning fully Communist like the Soviet union wanted, The United ... only fo...

• Word Count: 843
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... be known as the "Marshall Plan" or the "European Recovery Program" (ERP). A triumph in American foreign diplomacy, it was an agenda of economic aid spanning four years that would set Western Europe on the course of economic rehabilitation. Though his speech took on a sympathetic and benign tone , the motivations behind the 13 billion dollars that the United States funneled into the participating ... policy, and thus, the Marshall Plan was based. Additionally, by 1946 there is a great fear on the part of the Americans that hunger and poverty pervading Germany would indicate to Western Eu...

• Word Count: 842
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... here "Soviet-communism" metamorphosing to create a domino effect inflicting other communist sovereignties with change. In November 1989, the East Germany government decided to undertake the most moving ceremony in Europe since 1945 by officially opening the Berlin wall. Lastly, Romanian revolt took a more violent course. After a clergyman attempted to defend the rights of ethnic Hungarians residing within Romanian borders ... ministries. The goal was to diminish them in size and steer activity towards the private enterprise on the local level. This is reminiscent of the capitalistic move...

• Word Count: 755
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , the Marshall Plan could have been seen as a capitalist plan for gaining support from the western part of Europe and then from the eastern. In fact, it gained support from, especially, Western Europe. By the same way, The Cominform could have been seen as a communist way of indoctrinating Eastern Europe. On the other hand, in 1949 the proclamation of a communist government in China make the ... ...

• Word Count: 466
• Approx Pages: 2

... eastern side of Berlin. Many tried to escape but over a hundred people died at the Berlin Wall. Victor Ross is the American Soldier in the Western part of Berlin during the wall was being erected. He falls in love with an East Berliner, Ana Menz. Victor Ross Believes in Freedom and tries ... Victor Ross. The Berlin Wall in my mind was the last show of force by the Communists in Europe. It didn't just separate East Germany West Germany but also drew a line in the minds of Western Berliners with Eastern Berliners. It tore apart families and took away their freedom. The Russians were behind ...

• Word Count: 964
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... agreements concerning the militarily occupation of former Axis and Axis controlled countries. Germany and Austria were each divided into four zones under American, British, Soviet and French control. In eastern Europe, Rumania, Hungary, and Bulgaria (which had been allies of Germany) were placed under Soviet control. British and American forces occupied Italy. In Asia, Japan was occupied mainly by American ... were united as the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), with its capital at East Berlin. West Berlin r...

• Word Count: 799
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... seen there were many areas in which ethnic conflicts can be observed. But the most important ones are the ones which were located in Eastern Europe (Poland,Estonia etc.). In these areas there were satellites (mostly they were border states). The weakening of ties of these satellites caused the ... Suny mentions in his book (pp. 45-67). The ethnic conflicts had caused great troubles in Bosnia, Kosovo and many places in Eastern Europe so many wars in Caucasia and middle Asia are expected. The potential danger had increased much more by the foundation of the new rich oil ... etc.). The col...

• Word Count: 1219
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union could not agree on a German peace treaty. In 1948, the Marshall Plan was put into effect. By having a strong and reliable Western Europe, it would assist us in the block and containment of Communism. Later in the year, West Germany established their independence and became part of the Marshall plan. Military strength became ... Berlin airlift. United States and its allies flew planes of food and supplies into Berlin, which eventually stopped the blockade. This proved the United States loyalty to the countries of Western Europe. ...

• Word Count: 619
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... and of the important policy of spheres of influence. In the post WWII-era the Americans thought that the Russians were aiming to incorporate Western Europe (the US & British sphere of influence) into their sphere of influence (Eastern Europe) by supporting the communists in these countries. Their fears were enforced when a coup substituted communist for coalition rule in Prague. In this ideologically hostile ... achieve than before. Companies can take up opportunities in the former Eastern Bloc states and by doing so help them to become more equal on an economic level to the Western Sta...

• Word Count: 1237
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

A New War When World War II broke out in Germany and all over Europe, America and the Soviet Union put aside their differences to help put an end to Hitler's reign. In 1945, when the war had ended ... government in Poland and Iran. These events and others are eventually what led up to the mass weapons build up we know as the Cold War. When Europe was thrown into World War I in 1914, Tsar Nicholas II joined with the allies and declared war on Germany. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 the ... take the heat off the Red Army and the United States and Great Britain waited until 1944, which...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3

Following the Second World War, the Soviet Union was clearly becoming a global power. They had seized Berlin and cutoff the Western side from all goods. President Truman felt that the Soviet Union was a threat to world peace and sought to alleviate the ... incumbent governments. The next year, in 1948, the Marshall Plan was penned. The Marshall Plan allotted seventeen-billion dollars to the reconstruction of postwar Europe. The majority of Europe was in shambles, as most of the countries were poverty-stricken. It was not uncommon for nations like these to develop a communist push. The ... t...

• Word Count: 885
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... It is no wonder as to why the Soviets wanted to bomb the guts out of America. Stalin was ready for his already increasing power in Europe and he still wanted more territory and militia. His armies were in the millions and he already had Germany. Everybody wanted Poland because this would ... thing that Truman wanted was a repeat of the Treaty of Versailles and that is just what this would turn out like. Stalin wanted pro-communists in Eastern Europe, Truman did not like this idea and he decided he would make a "Get Tough" approach to this. The Potsdam conference had ended on a sour note ...

• Word Count: 1125
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... emerged. They were people who accepted the fight to the cult of personality as the beginning of social regeneration. And one can see the increased influence of Western propaganda against the socialist countries of Europe. Authors of radio programs pointed out that the leaders of these countries had been put in power by Stalin, and behaviors, existing there, were not so different ... they glorified Stalin before, but now they began to accuse him of all "deadly sins." The mixed reaction of the international communist movement, disorders in the socialist countries of Europe, the events in ...

• Word Count: 846
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Soviet Union decided not to take part in the Marshall Plan and tells the satellite countries to do the same. Czechoslovakia is taken over by Stalin and the communist army. Europe's purchase of American goods and machinery because of the Marshall Plan helps boost the American economy. The United States economy is growing although communism is spreading. The Soviet Union is ... four sections, American, British, French and Soviet rule. When West Germany plans a new German state in their zones, the Soviets blockade the city. The North Atlantic Treaty is signed and Western Europe and North A...

• Word Count: 851
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School