“The West was more to blame than the USSR for causing the division of Europe during the period 1945-1950.” Do you

agree? Explain your answer.

SEQ 13 marks

“The West was more to blame than the USSR for causing the division of Europe during the period 1945-1950.” Do you

agree? Explain your answer.

Analyzing the question: “More to blame”

• The question presupposes that both parties are to blame. It wants you to decide who is MORE to blame, rather than simply who is to blame.

• Given perspective: West is MORE to blame. • Other perspective: USSR is MORE to blame. • You must explain why: i.e. there must be an

argument/reason for why you think that one party is MORE to blame.

• E.g. The West is MORE to blame because they took the first actions, whereas USSR merely responded to the West’s aggressive actions.

Analyzing the question: “division of Europe”

• “Division of Europe” ≠ Cold War • Cold War is a general topic• Division of Europe is a specific topic. • You must talk about the concrete division of

Europe, not merely in terms of the ideological divide, but more importantly, how these differences in ideologies led to a concrete ECONOMIC, POLITICAL and MILITARY division of Europe.

• Economic division: Marshall Plan vs. Molotov Plan• Political division: Germany: German Federal

Republic vs. German Democratic Republic• Military division: NATO vs. Warsaw Pact

Analyzing the question: “1945-50”

• Pick examples that fit WITHIN the time period, as there are A LOT of pertinent examples during this period 1945-1950, rather than talking about the Russian Civil War 1918-1921/Late opening of Western Front 1944 etc.

• 1945: Yalta and Potsdam Conference• 1946: Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech• 1947: Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Molotov

Plan• 1948: Berlin Blockade• 1949: Creation of NATO, 2 Germanies (GFR

and GDR)• 1955: Warsaw Pact (as a late reaction to NATO)

Common mistakes

• Not focused on the question.• Talks about blame generally, but not who is

MORE to blame.• Talks about cause of Cold War generally, but not

about division of Europe specifically.• Pays lip service to Europe, but does not show

concretely HOW something (e.g. different ideologies) led conclusively to the division of Europe along economic, political and military lines.

• Not focusing on the time-period.