Topic+A-21+Summarize+how+the+Soviets+came+to+dominate+Eastern+Europe

== toc = **SOVIETS DOMINATE EASTERN EUROPE** =

**Alli es Become Enemies: Differing U.S. and Soviet Goals **
Before World War II had come to a close, the allience between the U.S and the USSR had already began to unravel. The United States was upset after Joseph Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Germany and the Soviets were angered by the fact that the Allies didn’t invade German occupied Europe earlier than 1944. These disagreements and opposing views lead to the realization that the two countries had very different goals. The two countries celebrated together after defeating the Nazis, but soon after their feeling towards one another changed. The allied countries split after the war.

The effects of World War II were different for both countries. The United States became the world’s richest and most powerful country, but they still suffered over 400,000 deaths. On the bright side, the war left the factories and cities in America untouched, but that was not the case in Russia. Cities and factories in the Soviet Union were dismantled. On top of that one in four Soviets were killed or wounded, which meant there were about 20 million fatalities due to World War II. Because of the differing situations and different beliefs of the leaders, the priorities of each country contrasted remarkably.

__**Eastern Europe's Iron Curtain; Soviets Build a Buffer**__
__Backround Information on Stalin__ - Stalin was born in 1879, and he had a poor backround with a father who was a cobbler and a mother who was a peasant. - He succeeded in school and was able to win a scholarship to go to a seminary school, where priests are trained. This is where he turned to Marxism. - He became a follower of Lenin, and was arrested eight times, and exiled to SIberia, and he managed to escape seven times. - While in prison, he took up the name Stalin, which translated to "man of steel", feeling it would be good for his image. - When Stalin became leader of Russia, he came to realize that Russia was behind the west and would have to modernize.

__Stalin's Role In Bringing Communism To Russia:__ Although originally trained to become a priest, Stalin was the Soviet Union's second leader. While in seminary school, he was involved with both Marxist and socialist parties and spent years campaigning for the communist party. He was put in jail, and even exiled to Siberia.

He started to come to power in 1912. He was brought to the Bolshevik Central Committee at the Prague Conference, and was already the editor of the "Pravda" which was the communist newspaper. In was this newspaper, where he used his influence against Lenin. In April 1917, after the February Revolution he was elected to the Central Committee. By May, he was elected Politburo of the Central Committee.

April 3 1922, Stalin was elected to the position General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party. The way Stalin filled in the major positions was a surprise to fellow party members. He put his allies into the major roles, and even took Lenin by surprise. Lenin actually suggested that Stalin be removed from office, but a vote from congress denied it.

Stalin knew that he had to appear that was loyal to Lenin, so he would be seen as the next communist leader. In 1928 he gained rule, and expelled opposition from the party. He was able to gain the trust of the people, and he even called himself "a man of the people".

__Stalin and Government__ Stalin was able to operate a worldwide group of communist parties, by the time he had passed, communism spread to eleven other countries. The government style was called Stalinism, and it continued to influence other governments. After World War I, the Soviets controlled Eastern Europe, and were able to install communism in many countries. Some of the several countries that Stalin installed communism into were, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia. Many feared Stalin, but although people of the Soviet Union had reasons to dislike him, he had made them an industrial and military power from an undeveloped country. In World War I, Stalin was on the side of Great Britain and the United States, but sometimes he actually betrayed his own allies. In The Cold War, non-communist nations had to group together to stop communism from spreading.

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Harry Truman and Josef Stalin meet at Churchill.

In 1945, when Stalin, Truman, and Churchill met at the Potsdam conference, Truman suggested to Stalin that he try a permit free election. Stalin disagreed because he said it was a violation to countries rights. In 1946, Stalin gave a speech that declared Communism and Capitalism cannot exist in the same world. Communism meaning not only having ownership over your own things, but also having the government and people own it too. Capitalism meaning having possession over something and exchanging it for something else showing wealth and production. Stalin had many reasons to think Communism and Capitalism cannot co-exist. At his speech about the Communist party he said that they have many jobs to portray. For example, prepare work for the class struggles, and to prepare them for future problems. In other words, they have work to do and do not need Capitalism problems topping their own. At this point Nationalism was taking over Communism. Harry Truman media type="custom" key="9411982" width="24" height="24" Interesting facts of Truman: Born: May 8,1884 Nickname: Man of Independence In his first 6 months as president, he brought an end to World War II. In 1948, the newspaper declared his opponent the winner when actually Truman won the election.

During May of 1945, Truman decided to cut off all aids to the Soviet Union following Stalin’s policies. He showed a world dominated by rivalry between the Soviet Union and the world. Truman understood it as the Soviet Union not wanting peace. Stalin’s expectations were another economic fail for the United States, and he was ready to take that in order to spread communism.

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**An Iron Curtain Divides**
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 In March 1946, Winston Churchill made a speech in Missouri. He had said that an iron curtain has been created across the continent. At that time the real boundaries had not been established yet. Shortly after this speech, the “Iron Curtain” became known to describe the divide between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.  After a failed attempt to capture the entire city of Berlin, the Soviet Russians didn’t give up. There second choice was to divide Berlin. They ended up deciding that the perfect divider would be the Berlin Wall and the famous Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin Wall meant Berlin was officially separated into East and West, Communist ruling the East and Democratic rulin g the West.  This divider separated many families. For the citizens of East Germany, there was no chance of escaping. The Berlin Wall was so horrifying that anyone who made an attempt to climb over would be immediately shot. Hundreds died trying to climb over. The Berlin Wall was seen as a monument of hatred. This monument showed how power could really ruin a nation. Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party In 1985. New policies were put in place right away. With these new policies, the general public could now go against the government. Over time, the people who were against the Communist Government slowly began to rule. The Creation of the Berlin Wall Here you can see a woman attempting to get a peak at the other side of the wall

Fun fact! Construction began on the Berlin Wall on the night of Friday August 13th, 1961
 * Although the speech about the Berlin Wall by Winston Churchill was made in a small town very far away from Berlin, in Missouri, it still managed to become very famous. This shows how great of an impact the wall had on the world.

Citations:

"Iron Curtain." Their Past Your Future. Imperial War Museum. 2009. Web. 4 May 2011

Kelly,Bruce."The Cold War". 2011:1.4 May, 2011.

Lacke, Robert. "The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall." Time. N.P. 2011. Web, 4 May 2011

  Barth, Linda. "'The Cold War'." Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Major World Leaders. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. // Modern World History Online //. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/acti velink2.asp ?  ItemID=WE53&iPin=MAWLMRP04 &SingleRecord=True (access  ed May 4, 2011).

Darling, J. "War and Peace." 2000: Pages. May 9, 2011. < @http://www.dingdarling.org/cartoons/dynamite.html >.