NAME: ____________________________ PERIOD: ___ DATE: _________MR. XIAO / MRS. BRANFORD GLOBAL HISTORY 10

~ EUROPE AFTER WWII ~1. What decisions did the Allies make after the end of World War II? Identify at least two.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Just like WWI, WWII was also disastrous to the countries of Europe. From France to Russia, the entire continent was ravaged by Hitler’s war of aggression. And like in the aftermath of WWI, the European countries needed money to rebuild.

The Soviet Union directly extracted resources from East Germany as reparations to pay for the damaged caused during WWII, which was agreed to during the Yalta Conference. Scared by the possibilities of more invasions from the west, the Soviet Union wanted to keep Germany weak and divided, and also moved into Eastern Europe to create a buffer zone. While Stalin agreed in the Yalta Conference that Eastern Europe would have free elections, he maneuvered to have Communist governments installed in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Poland.

Label the “iron curtain”.

The United States, on the other hand, got the support of Western European countries through financial assistance. Under what is known as the Marshall Plan, the U.S. provided food, machinery, and other resources to help rebuild Western Europe. Countries such as West Germany, Turkey, and Greece that were under threat from Communism received financial aid. Eastern European countries were also invited to be a part of the Marshall Plan, but the Soviet Union under Stalin forced them not to accept American help.

2. How would the Marshall Plan influence the relationship between the United States and European countries?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why did the Soviet Union not allow the countries under its control to be a part of the Marshall Plan?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Label the people on the cartoon.

4. What is this political cartoon saying about Europe after the end of WWII?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________