Chapter 13 McGraw Hill

Winston Churchil

A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately light by the Allied victory. . . . From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. . . . all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence, but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. . . .

Winston Churchill, address to Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, March 5, 1946

 In the excerpt, the “iron curtain” that Churchill describes is a symbol of

• disagreements over which country would provide funding for the Marshall Plan.

• the division between Communist Eastern Europe and Western democracies.

• the division between the nations that won World War II and those that lost.

• the four sections into which the Allies originally divided Germany.

In the long run, the Truman Doctrine committed the United States to

• a domestic Red Scare.

• the economic recovery of Europe.

• a pledge to fight communism.

• the rearming of West Germany.

As worries about nuclear war and Communist infiltration spread, Cold War themes appeared in films, plays, television, popular fiction, and even in

• fashion and design.

• operas.

• the titles of dance tunes.

• video games.

At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Allied leaders agreed to

• allow free elections in Germany.

• allow half of Germany to be Communist and the other half democratic.

• divide Germany among four Allied powers.

• help Germany’s economy to recover after the war.

President Eisenhower’s strategy of brinkmanship could prevent wars, but it could not

• bring warring nations to the bargaining table.

• force America’s adversaries to back down from aggression.

• prevent Communists from staging revolutions within countries.

• protect American allies from encroachment by the Soviets.

Among the major causes of the Cold War were arguments between the United States and the Soviet Union over reparations and

• control of Japan.

• the use of the atomic bomb.

• economic policy in Germany.

• immigration to the United States.

Critics of President Eisenhower’s strategy of brinkmanship argued that it was

• not effective.

• too expensive.

• too dangerous.

• unconstitutional.

President Truman’s first meeting with Soviet foreign minister Molotov marked a shift in Soviet-American relations because

• each official approached the meeting cautiously but diplomatically.

• Molotov gave in to most of Truman’s demands.

• Truman gave in to most Soviet demands.

• Truman forcefully confronted Molotov.

According to the theory of containment, if the United States could keep the Soviets from expanding their power, over time

• their commitment to Communism would weaken.

• the Soviet system would collapse.

• their military power would decline.

• the Soviets would rebel against their leaders.

When the United States, Britain, and France merged their zones of Germany in 1948, the Soviet Union responded by

• threatening to declare war.

• trying to undermine Germany’s economy.

• blockading West Berlin.

• organizing a military alliance.