The Soviets and Eastern Europe

1. The Soviets and Eastern Europe Read through and answer the corresponding Q on the worksheet that’s also on the website

2. Homepage Soviet Expansion About Stalin Iron Curtain Speech Video Stalin’s Pre-Cold War Ideas for Expansion Right After WWII

3. A little about Stalin • STALIN'S ACQUISITIONS:  A LITTLE DESIGN, A LOT OF LUCK • By Jennifer Coates, Foothill College • Whether or not Stalin "got" Eastern Europe by accident or by design, I would have to say that I am not sure that accident is the right word. The one that immediately comes to mind is just plain dumb luck. That is, a little bit by design and a lot by luck. I would like to also say that the design in which he got Eastern Europe was a direct consequence of his luck- the first and foremost based upon Stalin's psyche and the effect it had on the way he interpreted the actions of the West. • Stalin was and is notorious for being a suspicious power hungry leader and mentally unstable,  for that matter. Any threat of opposition put Stalin on the warpath - determined to suppress any opposition to his regime. A conclusive example of this was the opposition of the kulaks to the collective farm system. They slaughtered their animals in protest to the first five-year plan. The government- headed by Stalin decided to eliminate the kulaks as a class- and that is precisely what they did. Also, Stalin "purged" the government of any political opposition. If anyone expressed anti- Stalin or anti- communist views, they were expelled and in most cases killed. • With that little bit of background concerning Stalin's psyche out of the way, I would like to address the way he dealt with World War II. Stalin was looking to side with a nation(s) that opposed Nazi expansion but due to Stalin's distrust of the west, he ended up siding with Germany (German- Soviet Treaty). Germany was the lesser of two evils in a sense, and Nazi Germany offered him something he could not refuse when they took control of areas of Soviet interest. They were willing to give the Baltic states and part of Poland to Russia.Russia moved into these areas quickly, and only when Germany reclaimed control of these areas did Stalin renegotiate with the west and form an alliance along different lines. • As you can see, when faced with a direct threat, Stalin seemed to side with whoever would help him. A new alliance was formed, yet Stalin was reluctant to share military information with the west- hence his blatant distrust- so there was very little military collaboration between the forces. After the war had ended and peace was being negotiated, Stalin wanted the world divided into spheres of interest: i.e. Eastern Europe and the Balkans would go to Russia. The United States was pushing for democracy in all of the states that Hitler had picked up along the way. Russia partially conceded to this by allowing a few moderate parties in the countries of Eastern Europe. • Stalin's design as a result of his luck in WWII was a renewed policy of "world revolution." To make economic recovery run more smoothly, the communist parties were eliminated from Italy and France. Stalin reacted with the expulsion of these "moderate" parties in Eastern Europe and the formation of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. • I think that Stalin's luck lay in the fact that he ended up siding with the west. Had Germany not invaded Russia it is feasible that most of these post war events would not have occurred. Germany still would have lost the war and that would have put Russia in a sticky spot leaving their fate with the west. At any rate that did not happen, and Russia had an avenue for expansion to these former German allies. The design came in post WWII, when Europe was being divided. Russia liberated these countries, so naturally Stalin wanted a hand in rebuilding them. • Fortunately, the economic turmoil surrounding the war had led to dissatisfaction of the people so Stalin used that to his advantage and found that it would be relatively easy to set up communist regimes in these countries. • I think that the only bit of human appeal that Stalin and or the USSR was that of an economic nature. He took on a kind of "big brother role and really made the people of Eastern Europe think he was trying to help them- and he was- but only because that helped him. Whether or not that is legitimate is questionable. I really don't think that Stalin did anything out of sincere concern without his own interests in the foreground. I think that he was a very selfish autocrat that was so paranoid that it led to his hoarding of the Eastern European nations and severing all ties with the west- since they were obviously out to get him... • Did he kidnap Eastern Europe?" He lured the countries in with great promises of what Russia could do for them economically, politically, and socially, and filled their little heads with all kinds of anti-west propaganda. Then when he felt the time was right he just scooped them up and severed all ties with the west. Then it was too late - Stalin had them in his hot little hands before anyone could really realize what had been done. The Cold War began in full fury. Back

4. Soviet Expansion • STALIN AS KIDNAPPER; EASTERN EUROPE AS CHILD; THE WEST AS NEGLECTFUL PARENT • By Michael Bobadilla, Foothill College • The territory in eastern Europe in which Joseph Stalin acquired during his years as leader of the Soviet Union stayed under Soviet control for over 40 years. A popular debate is whether Stalin had actually planned his take over of eastern Europe, or that maybe eastern Europe fell into Stalin's hand by accident. A less popular debate is whether or not Stalin and the ways of the Soviet Union really appealed to anyone. From what I have read and learned, it is my judgment that Stalin had planned to control eastern Europe, but came by some of eastern Europe by accident.  And that Stalin and the Soviet Union actually did have some legitimate human appeal. • Stalin had planned to set up a buffer zone between the Soviet Union, the home of Communism, and the democratic and capitalist ways of the West. Fate would have it that the only possible buffer would be the countries and territories of eastern Europe. Stalin went into the Potsdam Conference with the plan for Russia to be repaid for the losses it had sustained during the war, and for Russia to have a barrier between the east and west. Stalin eventually wrested the control of Estonia, Latvia. Lithuania, Eastern Poland, Bucovina, Besarabia, East Germany, and other smaller pieces of territory to the Soviet Union. Together, these territories, and their people, became the shield for Communism that Stalin had yearned for even before the war. Stalin planned these territorial acquisitions; hoped and planned by Stalin; but if these were his exact plans, one can only speculate and never truly know. Later, weaker eastern European countries fell under the shadow of Communism because their friends in the West were unable or unwilling to come to their defense. That too, was one part planning, and one part luck, as the West abandoned its eastern allies. • To some of the people in Eastern Europe, the promise of Stalin and the Soviet Union actually held legitimate appeal. For almost a decade these countries had seen the tyranny of Hitler. Later they served as the battleground for the red Army advancing to Germany. To these people, any source or form of stability had to be regarded as worth trying. This, coupled with the fact that as the world fought the Nazis, the atrocities and truth behind Stalin's rule were downplayed. To all of the huddled masses in these countries who resented the wealthy and upper classes for their money and status, the idea of everything becoming nationalized and spread out throughout the country produced few qualms. Redistribution of wealth through all classes held great appeal. To those who still held harbored anti-semitic feelings toward the Jews, Stalin's stand on the Jew `problem' also held a particular interest.Stalin did in one sense kidnap Eastern Europe. However, if Stalin is to play the  historical kidnapper role, with Eastern Europe as the "child," we should put some blame on the "parents." Obviously not realizing that ceding great land area to the Soviets was much like the appeasement a decade earlier, the West once again, gave the lives of millions to a madman. The neglectful West also stood by and watched later as the Soviet Union swallowed up even more land. Back

5. Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech • Please listen through earbuds • Borrow from a friend if you need to • 52 Seconds Back

6. Stalin’s Pre-Cold War Ideas for Expansion • STALIN DESIGN, WESTERN IGNORANCE: A Fatal Mistake Due to Expert Manipulation and Idealism and Ignorance • By Caroline Johnson, Foothill College • When the Second World War broke out, it was Stalin's plan to claim neutrality. His idea was that if all the countries of the world went to war with Germany, by the end of the war, each would become financially and politically exhausted. Russia, having been at peace the entire time, would inevitably rise as the greatest power in the world and dominate above capitalism. However, even Stalin could not ignore Hitler's advances into the USSR and other parts of Europe - the Nazi plan of domination intimidated and threatened that of Stalin's. It was then that Russia became involved in the war. • Entrance into the war had many advantages for Russia: it would obviously defend the USSR from Hitler's dominance and it gave Russia the opportunity to take over all of the land in the East that the Nazi's had invaded. This action not only defeated Hitler and his intentions, but it placed Russia in a powerful position in these lands. It is here that Stalin's plan begin to thoroughly develop. He was fully aware that occupying and protecting other East European countries would indeed insure some sort of reward for Russia. I do not believe that Stalin had totally anticipated the eventual outcome of the border settlements, but that he had a good idea. • One of the most important aspects of Stalin's plan was the manipulation of the western allies. In doing so, he had to over-shadow the brutality of the communists in Russia. He recognized that if his country continued displaying the inhumane communism that he developed, the western powers would revoke the possibility of communist expansion. So in order to get on their favorable side, Stalin worked himself and his country under a facade that gave the western powers hope that Russia had "seen the light" out of communism and was willing to join them in an effort to sustain world peace. The western powers interpreted Russian involvement to be backed by the same humanitarian forces that drove the West. I do not conclude that Stalin was necessarily concerned about the immorality of Hitler, but that he was driven by his own image of gaining worldly power and dominance. I think this drive was especially displayed in Stalin's reluctance to negotiate with Western intentions after the war. • When the war ended with Germany defeated, a settlement needed to be made concerning the zones occupied by the western powers. The U.S., Great Britain, and Russia met in Potsdam, Germany to decide to whom to grant governmental influence and guidance of the parts of Europe that they occupied. They made decisions on the basis that the governments of these countries were to remain democratic and a strong effort would be made to strive towards the earliest possible free elections. Due to the ignorance of the Western powers, Russia was granted Eastern European territory. After the settlements were made, Russia began to move away from the rules set down by the Western powers. Stalin shed his facade and "kidnapped" the Eastern European countries from their father of democracy to Stalin's communism. He was able to do this because the Western powers were relatively helpless to stop it. They had made a terrible mistake in thinking that Stalin had changed, that his ideas of expansion had disintegrated. • Thus Eastern Europe was lost. Russia stole Eastern Europe from the rest of the world and hid it beneath a shadow of communism. Exhausted by war, the western powers could not retaliate militarily, but attempted through failed discussions. The reign of Stalin bound the Eastern European peoples for decades and lasted beyond his death. • I do not understand such a mistake could have occurred, how trust in Stalin to keep the Eastern European countries under democracy could develop. It was a fatal mistake led by the experienced manipulation of Stalin and the idealism and ignorant hope of the Western Powers. Back

7. Right After WWII • STALIN AND THE ALLIES:  The Seduction of a Kremlin Leader Gone Wrong • By Alexis Cheney, Foothill College • The Soviet procurement of Eastern Europe was the eventual result of Stalin's devious mastermind. Through simple, yet undetected manipulation, even intimidation, Stalin was able to single-handedly exert Soviet power and influence over Eastern Europe. He was quick to comprehend that the attainment of his goals such as territorial accumulation and national reconstruction relied heavily upon compliance with the remaining Allied leaders, namely the US. His initially weak stance, forced Stalin into a role of submission but ultimately led to his control over Eastern Europe. • In November 1943 at the Teheran Conference, Stalin announced his ideas for postwar Germany. Following the war, Stalin wanted to occupy, demilitarize, and dismember Germany, abolish its officer corps, and force the payment of reparations. Throughout the late 1940s, Stalin believed that Germany would recover and generate yet another world war. • In February 1945, the "Big Three," Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill, met at Yalta to decide upon postwar issues. • The question of occupation dominated Yalta. Generally speaking, the Allied forces occupied those areas into which they had progressed. More specifically, the areas of Germany and Austria were divided into designated zones and assigned to each power. It was acknowledged that Russian national security necessitated friendly governments along Russia's western border. With the exception of Greece and Tito's Yugoslavia, Russian troops were positioned in the Balkans, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and an eastern segment of Austria. Russia had also been given a division of Germany after being the first Allied power to reach German soil. • While Stalin himself was lacking in human appeal, the communistic ideology of his nation appeared somewhat desirable to outside inhabitants. Though the people of the Soviet Union were subject to Stalin's tyrannical rule, the economic appeal of communism rang out. As troops returned to their native countries following the end of the war, many were greeted with thoughts of displacement and unemployment. The ideas of guaranteed provisions and employment were alluring, despite the strings that accompanied them. • Stalin's consequential triumph in acquiring Eastern Europe was unquestionably facilitated by the remaining western Allied leaders. Through Stalin's beguiling ways, Roosevelt and Churchill were wiled into conceding to his terms. The concessions made by Roosevelt and Churchill made Stalin's plunder of Eastern Europe possible, leaving Stalin with idle hands. Back

8. Citation From the Internet Book, Eastern Europe •  "Stalin's Acquisitions: A Little Design, A Lot of Luck," Jennifer Coates • "Stalin as Kidnapper; Eastern Europe as Child; the West as Neglectful Parent,"Michael Bobadilla • "Stalin Design, Western Ignorance: A Fatal Mistake Due to Expert Manipulation              and Idealism and Ignorance,"Caroline Johnson • "Stalin and the Allies:  The Seduction of a Kremlin Leader Gone Wrong,"             Alexis Cheney • http://www.omnibusol.com/wcessay4.html • Iron Curtain speech from :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8_wQ-5uxV4