Polsc6 – International Relations
West and East Europe
“From Stettin in the Baltic to
Trieste in the Adriatic a
curtain has descended across the continent.”
- Winston Churchill
March 5, 1946
Capitalist Democracy
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization. U.S. & several Western European Countries.
Communism
Warsaw Pact -Soviet Union & Eastern European satellite countries.
Un
ited
Sta
tes
So
vie
t Un
ion
• A State of Diplomatic hostility among
nations without direct armed conflict
• Conflicts never escalated to all-out
war between the largest states
• A relatively stable framework of
relations emerged, especially in East-
West Europe
A US-Societ-Britain meeting
GOALS:
1. To promote world peace
2. To provide emergency relief
3. To help form interim governments based on the will of the people
CHURCHILL, ROOSEVELT, STALIN
Need a threat of force and power – Arms, technology, influence
Use of Propaganda – created hatred and paranoia of other side
Send economic aid to weaker nations to spread influence and gain allies
Support with military aid nations in conflicts to protect interests or agitate other side
Marshall Plan
Truman Doctrine
Policy of Containment
• US financial aid to rebuild European countries
• Post WWII assistance program, in which, the U.S. would provide, food, machines, and other materials to any country that needed it.
• to promote economic and political stability in post WWII world
• Stalin saw the plan as a threat
• Marshall Plan aid would largely be used by the Europeans to buy U.S. manufactured goods and raw materials
• Communist influence on Western Europe would be reduced
• Soviet Union did not (or could not) offer a similar program for Eastern Europe
• Monetary support
given by U.S. to
countries that resisted
Communism.
• This policy of stopping
any further spread of
communism became
known as the policy of
“containment”
• BERLIN BLOCKADE & AIRLIFT 1948-Soviets closed all road and rail links to Berlin. The Western allies began a massive airlift to feed the West Berliners.•Led to the creation of Federal Republic of Germany in 1949
• BERLIN WALL 1961- East German government built a wall that separated East Berlin from West Berlin. Soldiers shot anyone that tried to escape East Berlin.