Iron Curtain Separates Europe

1. What is your overall impression of Source 26 (p. 70) and use extracts from the source to support your view. (No fence sitting; you must choose one but not both)      

• a reasonable assessment of Stalin’s aims based on the facts
• an overreaction to Stalin’s actions based on fear of and prejudice towards the USSR?        

     My overall impression of Source 26 is that is was an overreaction to Stalin's actions based on fear of and prejudice towards the USSR. They are fearing the worst outcome, which is Stalin taking over the world, to scare people and make them even more anti-communist then they already are. They are exaggerating communist power by saying that because Stalin has taken control of Eastern Europe, he will eventually be able to take control of the whole world. 

  
2. Source 26 is a British source. Does it seem likely that similar documents were being produced by the American government?      

     It seems likely that similar documents were being produced by the American government because the United States and Britain shared similar views on communism and Stalin. They both believed communism was wrong and didn't trust Stalin. Also, the United States and Britain were very close allies, therefore, it would seem likely that their documents being produced about communism would hold similar views. 

3. Study Source 27 (p. 71) and make a list of three different actions that Communists took to achieve power in eastern Europe. Explain how each factor helped.     

1. In Czechoslovakia, Communists banned any other party except Communism in 1948, making Czechoslovakia a Communist one-party state. This helped Communists achieve power in Eastern Europe because Czechoslovakia was now completely under Communist control. 

2. In Romania, Communists abolished the monarchy in 1947.This left Romania under Communist control with a Communist prime minister adding to their power in eastern Europe. 

3.  Communists imprisoned opposition politicians, and attack Church leaders in Hungary. This ensured Communist power in eastern Europe as Communism was able to become the largest single party.  

The Potsdam Conference

1. Read Source 17 (p 68). At Yalta, Churchill and Roosevelt had agreed with Stalin that eastern Europe would be a Soviet ‘sphere of influence’. Do you think Source 17 is what they had in mind?    

No, I do not think Source 17 is what Roosevelt and Churchill had in mind when they agreed with Stalin that eastern Europe would be a Soviet "sphere of influence." They did not want Stalin creating such a large scale of communism in eastern Europe, which is exactly what he was doing. Stalin and his troops had already taken control over Finland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Baltic States. He had already set up a Communist government in Poland, even though Churchill and Roosevelt opposed this.  


2. Would they agree with Stalin’s views expressed in Sources 17 and 18? Explain your answer.   


Roosevelt and Churchill would disagree with the views expressed by Stalin in Sources 17 and 18. Both Churchill and Roosevelt did not like the beliefs of the Communist party and did not want a communist government in eastern Europe. Stalin tried to justify his actions by stating "everyone imposes his own system as far as his army has power to do so, it can not be otherwise." The one thing Churchill and Roosevelt didn't want was another dictator in Europe. Churchill would disagree with Stalin's claim that Greece does not had a truly representative government because Britain had helped to created an anti-communist government in Greece.    


3.  Explain how each of the three developments described in the text might affect relationships at Potsdam.

1 Stalin’s armies were occupying most of eastern Europe: This development might affect relationships at Potsdam because Churchill and Roosevelt did not want Stalin taking over most of eastern Europe because of his communist beliefs. Even though they were suppose allies, Stalin denied Britain and the United States' wished to takeover Poland.
2 America had a new president: Once Roosevelt died, he was replaced with his vice president, Truman. This could affect the relationship at Potsdam because Churchill and Stalin don't know him very well and Truman was much more anti-communist than Roosevelt. He was very suspicious of Stalin and his anti-communism and suspicion could offset the alliance between all three.
3 The USA had developed an atomic bomb: This gave the U.S an advantage over other countries. This also made other countries jealous and worried as they felt threatened with this new weapon of warfare. The trust and alliance they had was on the edge with a weapon that could wipe out cities and created massive damage.

Origins of the Cold War: Yalta Conference

1. Choose two points of agreement from the list and explain why they were significant for the future peace of Europe.      

First Point:     During the Yalta Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill agreed that as countries were liberated from the German Army, they would be allowed to hold free elections to choose the government they wanted. This was very significant for the future peace of Europe, because it ensured democracy in Europe and set to prevent the rise of any totalitarian government or dictators. 



Second Point: The Big Three also agreed to hunt down and punish war criminals who were responsible for the genocide during the holocaust. This was significant because it ensured Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill were serious in working together to ensure the end of Nazism in Europe, and to provide protection and keep the peace in Europe against war criminals.   

2. Read Sources 2 - 11 on pages 320 and 321. What is your overall impression of the Yalta Conference based on these sources?

My overall impression of the Yalta Conference was that all three leaders wanted to work together and had a genuine alliance with each other, however, neither of them fully trusted each other. It seemed Britain and the United States had a stronger alliance with each other on behalf of their hatred for Communism. It seems that Stalin thought Roosevelt and Churchill especially could be easily taken advantage of and looked down upon him. Overall, the Big Three seemed to have a genuine alliance while keeping a distance from each other.