342 CHAPTER 12

East Against WestAfter World War II, political differences divided the Soviet-controlled countries of Eastern Europe from those of WesternEurope. These differences gave rise to an invisible wall known asthe Iron Curtain. While there was no actual curtain, people ofthe East were restricted from traveling outside of their countries.Westerners who wished to visit the East also faced restrictions.

TERMS & NAMESIron Curtainpuppet governmentone-party systemJoseph Stalincollective farmWarsaw PactCold WarAfter World War II, the Soviet Union

was the most powerful country inEurope, but life for most Sovietcitizens was difficult.

Russia, the former Soviet Union,remains powerful and is currentlyexperiencing great change.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Today, the Soviet Union and most Eastern European

countries announced that they have signed the

Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and

Mutual Assistance. The members of this alliance

agree to offer military defense to one another for

a period of 20 years.

Yugoslavia is the only country in Eastern Europe

that did not sign the agreement.

The new treaty, also called the Warsaw Pact,

allows the Soviet Union to keep troops in the coun-

tries that are located between the Soviet Union and

Western Europe. The Warsaw Pact is a response to

the formation of NATO, an alliance that Western

European countries joined six years ago.Region • Warsaw hosted Eastern

European officials who signed a military

alliance here in the Palace of Culture. �

The Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union

WARSAW, POLAND, MAY 14, 1955

TAKING NOTES

World War I

World War II

Causes EffectsEvent

Use your chart to take notes about war andchange in Europe.

The Strongest Nation in Europe The Union ofSoviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, was theofficial name of the Soviet Union. It included15 republics, of which Russia was the largest.The Soviet Union entered World War II in1941, when Germany invaded its borders.German troops destroyed much of the westernSoviet Union and killed millions of people. This inva-sion brought the Soviet Union close to collapse. However, withthe defeat of Germany, the Soviet Union rose to become thestrongest nation in Europe.

Communism After World War II, the Soviet Union establishedCommunist governments in Eastern Europe. The Soviets madesure—either by politics or by force—that these new EasternEuropean governments were loyal to the Soviet Union.

Soviet Control of Eastern Europe The Soviet Union controlledthe countries of Eastern Europe through puppet governments. Apuppet government is one that does what it is told by an outsideforce. In this case, the Eastern European governments followedorders from Soviet leaders in Moscow.

Most Eastern Europeans did have the chance to vote, but theyhad only one political party to choose from: the CommunistParty. All other parties were outlawed. This meant that there wasonly one candidate to choose from for each government position.This is an example of a one-party system. Soviet citizens couldnot complain about the government. In fact, they could be jailedfor expressing any view that the Soviet leaders did not like.

Europe: War and Change 343

Movement • Thegovernment-controlled factories in theSoviet Union didnot produceenough of certain items.When goodsthat were oftenin short supply—such as breadand shoes—finally becameavailable, peoplehad to wait inlong lines to buythem. �

Region •The hammerand sicklebecame thesymbol ofSovietCommunism.The tools represent theunity of thepeasants (sickle) with the workers(hammer). �

A. MakingInferencesHow do you thinkthe Soviet Unionenforced a one-party systemin Eastern Europe?

Vocabulary

establish:set up; create

Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin (STAH•lihn) (1879–1953) ruled the Soviet Union during World War II. Stalintook power after the death of Vladimir Lenin.Lenin was a Communist leader who hadhelped overthrow the czar and ruled the SovietUnion from 1917 until his death in 1924. Thename Stalin is related to the Russian word for“steel.” Stalin was greatly feared, and his rulewas indeed as tough as steel. He controlled thegovernment until his death.

The Five-Year Plans Under Stalin, the govern-ment controlled every aspect of Soviet life. Stalinhoped to strengthen the country with his five-yearplans, which were sets of economic goals. Forexample, Stalin ordered many new factories to bebuilt. The Soviet government decided where andwhat types of factories to build, how many goodsto produce, and how to distribute them. Thesedecisions were based on the Communist theorythat this would benefit the most people.

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GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Region • Which countries were

behind the Iron Curtain but not in the Soviet Union?

2. Location • What was the western-most country in the Warsaw Pact?

344 CHAPTER 12

Region • JosephStalin ruled theSoviet Union from1928 to 1953. �

Region • The Soviet governmentmanaged the factories while citizens providedthe actual labor. �

Soviet Agriculture Stalin also hoped to strengthen the SovietUnion by controlling the country’s agriculture. During the 1930s,peasants were forced to move to collective farms. A collective farmwas government-owned and employed large numbers of workers.All the crops produced by thecollective farms were distrib-uted by the government.Sometimes farm workers didnot receive enough food to feedthemselves and their families.

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80°E60°E40°E 120°E 140°E

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Soviet Union

Warsaw Pact members

Western European Nations

Iron Curtain

0

0 1,000 2,000 kilometers

1,000 2,000 miles

Region • Similar to urban factoryworkers, Russianpeasants labored on government-controlled collectivefarms. �

The Iron Curtain and the Warsaw Pact Nations, 1955

The Secret Police Stalin used his secret police to get rid of citi-zens he did not trust. The secret police arrested those who did notsupport the Soviet government. Suspects were transported toslave-labor camps in Siberia. Millions of men and women weresent to this remote and bitterly cold region of northeasternRussia. Many never returned home.

The Cold WarFrom 1941 to 1945, the United Kingdom, the United States, andthe Soviet Union shared a goal: to defeat the Axis Powers. Theybecame allies to make that happen. Once the war ended, however,these countries no longer had a common enemy—and had littlereason to work together. Most Western European countries wereconstitutional monarchies or democracies, and most EasternEuropean countries had Communist, largely Soviet-controlled,governments.

0190

Soviet Film The Russian director Sergey Eisenstein(EYE•zen•stine) (1898–1948), bottom right, made onlysix movies, but they are among the most importantworks in film history. The silent film BattleshipPotemkin (1925), whose poster is to the right, is oneof Eisenstein’s most famous. It is about a mutiny atsea. The director’s use of close-ups and his method ofcombining short scenes changed the way films weremade all over the world.

Just before the start of World War II, Eisensteinmade the film Alexander Nevsky (1938). It tells thestory of a historic battle that the Russians wonagainst German-speaking invaders in the 1200s. Thisfilm became very popular during World War II, whichit seemed to foreshadow.

THINKING CRITICALLY

1. ClarifyingWhat influenced Eisenstein to direct war films?

2. Synthesizing What did Eisenstein want to show about therelationship between Russians and Germans?

346 CHAPTER 12

For more on Sergey Eisenstein, go toCL AS SZONE .COM

RESEARCH LINKS

The members of NATO and the nations in the Warsaw Pact—the alliance of Eastern European countries behind the IronCurtain—refused to trade or cooperate with each other. The coun-tries never actually fought, so this period of political noncooperationis called the Cold War. Both sides in the Cold War were hesitantto start a war that would involve the use of newly developed nuclearweapons, which could cause destruction on a global scale.

The United States and Western Europe feared that the SovietUnion would influence other countries to become Communist. Atthe same time, the Soviet Union wanted to protect itself againstinvasion.This led the countries on either side of the Iron Curtain toview and treat each other as possible threats.The tense internationalsituation caused by the Cold War would continue for almost 40 years.

Europe: War and Change 347

Reread the information about the secret police. Write a dramatic scene in which the main character is sent to a labor camp in Siberia.

SECTION ASSESSMENT

Using Graphics2. Use a chart like this one to

describe three elements of JosephStalin’s rule of the Soviet Union.

Main Ideas3. (a) What happened to the Soviet

Union during World War II?

(b) How did the governments ofmost Western and EasternEuropean countries differ?

(c) How did Joseph Stalin rule the Soviet Union?

Critical Thinking4. Analyzing Motives

Why do you think the Soviet Unionwanted to control the countries ofEastern Europe?

Think About◆ the events of World War II◆ the location of the Eastern

European countries◆ the governments of the Soviet

Union and Western Europe

Terms & Names(a) Iron Curtain (b) puppet government (c) one-party system (d) Joseph Stalin

(e) collective farm ( f ) Warsaw Pact (g) Cold War

Five-Year Plans Agriculture Secret Police

Region • TheBrandenburgGate was a partof the BerlinWall that separated EastBerlin from West Berlin. �

B. ComparingCompare theSoviet Union’sfears in the ColdWar with those ofthe United Statesand WesternEurope.

1. Explain thesignificance of: