STARTER How and why did the USSR take over Eastern Europe from 1945

onwards?

1. Red Army2. liberated3. occupied4. satellite states5. sphere of

influence6. buffer zone

USSR: take over eastern

Europe

USA: Truman Doctrine &

Marshall Plan

USSR: Cominform

and Comecon

The USA becomes convinced that the USSR are trying to spread communism – first through eastern Europe, then to the west, then beyond!

Truman ‘squares up’ to Stalin – the USA promises to use their money and armed forces to stop more countries ‘falling’ to communism.

In return, Stalin tightens his grip on eastern Europe, setting up these two organisations to help the USSR control its satellite states.

Incr

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…The Big picture: results of Soviet expansion

Today…..• How did the USA react to Soviet

expansion?....• The Truman Doctrine• The Marshall Plan

• …..And how did the USSR react to the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan?• Cominform• Comecon

What were they?What caused them?What were the

consequences?

The Soviet Union has shown that they will stop at nothing to turn the world communist.

I’m tired of babying them….we must face them with an iron fist! The USA

must be prepared to use its armed forces and its money to

help countries who are threatened by communist takeover. We must contain

communism!

The Truman Doctrine (or ‘policy of containment’), 1947

You know, the communists

have said they’ll give us

spoons….

The USA believed that communism would get more support in countries which were

poor after WW2. So, the USA offered them money to stop them from being poor and so stop them becoming communist. This

was called the Marshall Plan. It was a financial way of containing communism (stopping communism from spreading).

Impoverished Europe, 1945

The key idea…

STARTER

What was the USA’s reaction to the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe?1. Can you explain what the Truman

Doctrine 1947 was, and what it meant to do, using these pictures?

2 …and the same with the Marshall Plan 1947?Do these pictures tell the whole story about

the USA’s motives behind the Marshall Plan?

How did Stalin/the USSR respond to the Truman Doctrine?

1.Cominform was set up by the USSR in 1947 (response to Truman Doctrine)

• It was an organisation to help the USSR to co-ordinate the communist parties throughout Europe. Cominform was used to make sure that the satellite states in Eastern Europe…..Followed Soviet aims in foreign policy

(relationships with other countries)Followed similar economic policies to the USSR

(eg. state control of industry, no private businesses allowed etc.)

So, Cominform was all about the USSR having total political control over Communist countries.

How did Stalin/the USSR respond to the Marshall Plan?

2. Comecon was set up by the USSR in 1949 (response to the Marshall Plan)

• It was supposed to be an organisation which would let the USSR give the satellite states financial support.

• In reality it was used by the USSR to….Control the economies of the satellite statesGive the USSR access to all of their resources/raw

materialsEncourage economic specialisation within the

satellite states – eg. some were to concentrate on heavy industry, others were to concentrate on food production.

So, Comecon was all about the USSR controlling the economies of the Communist countries, and making sure they benefited the economy of the USSR.

REVIEW

If you had to choose one word to describe each bullet point below, what word would you choose?

Truman Doctrine• What was it?• What did in involve?• What were the results?

Marshall Plan• What was it?• What did in involve?• What were the

results?