Name Date Period _________________________________ _________________ __________
Europe at the end of World War II
1. Yalta, February 1945: It became clear that the Allies would win the war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met
with Joseph Stalin (USSR) and Winston Churchill (Great Britain) to discuss the Europe after the war, especially
Germany. The leaders divided Germany into four quarters to be occupied by American, French, British, and
Soviet forces. Stalin agreed to allow elections in Poland, which was occupied by Soviet forces.
On your map of Europe, please locate the following countries:
a. Germany: West Germany (the combined quarters of USA, France, and England), color blue
b. Color the Soviet Union and Poland red.!
The division of Europe
2. The Soviet Union gained control over parts of Eastern Europe that Germany had captured during the war. On
your map of Europe, locate the following countries and color them red:
a. Albania and Bulgaria. Occupied by USSR in 1944, communist-controlled by 1948.
b. Czechoslovakia. Communist-controlled by 1948.
c. Hungary and Romania. Communist-controlled by 1947.
d. East Germany. Occupied by Soviet Union after war, communist government established 1949.
e. Color the countries sandwiched in between these border countries and the Soviet Union.
COLD WAR Map Europe 1945-1949
As the Soviet Union established satellite nations, the United States gained allies among Western European nations. In
1949, the U.S. joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to oppose Soviet power in Europe.
On your map of Europe, locate the following countries and color them blue:
a. Great Britain b. France c. West Germany
d. Norway e. Belgium f. Italy
g. Turkey j. Denmark h. Greece
k. Portugal i. Netherlands
Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947)
This excerpted speech, given by President Harry Truman before a joint session of Congress, outlined the president’s
plans for economic aid to Greece and Turkey.
I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are
resisting at- tempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures...
I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is
essential to economic stability and orderly political processes...
It is necessary only to glance at a map to realize that the survival and integrity of the Greek
nation are of grave importance in a much wider situation. If Greece should fall under the
control of an armed minority, the effect upon its neighbor, Turkey, would be immediate and
serious. Confusion and disorder might well spread throughout the entire Middle East.
Moreover, the disappearance of Greece as an independent state would have a profound effect
upon those countries in Europe whose peoples are struggling against great difficulties to
maintain their freedoms and their independence while they repair the damages of war.
1. Find Greece and Turkey on your map.
2. Given the world political situation in 1947, who do you think are the “armed minorities” and “outside pressures”
who are trying to take over Greece and Turkey? _____________________________________________________________
!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. According to this excerpt, what kind of aid does Truman plan to give to Greece and Turkey?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Looking at the final two paragraphs, what does Truman say will happen in Europe and the Middle East if the
United States does not help Greece and Turkey? ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Truman’s foreign policy has often been described as the “domino theory.” Here’s the concept: if dominoes are
stacked one slightly behind the other, a slight push on one will knock down all of the pieces in a row. Why do you
think it has been described in this way? _____________________________________________________________________
!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Were Truman’s plans in Greece and Turkey military goals, national security goals, political goals, or economic
goals? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name Date Period _________________________________ _________________ __________
Europe at the end of World War II
1. Yalta, February 1945: It became clear that the Allies would win the war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met
with Joseph Stalin (USSR) and Winston Churchill (Great Britain) to discuss the Europe after the war, especially
Germany. The leaders divided Germany into four quarters to be occupied by American, French, British, and
Soviet forces. Stalin agreed to allow elections in Poland, which was occupied by Soviet forces.
On your map of Europe, please locate the following countries:
a. Germany: West Germany (the combined quarters of USA, France, and England), color blue
b. Color the Soviet Union and Poland red.!
The division of Europe
2. The Soviet Union gained control over parts of Eastern Europe that Germany had captured during the war. On
your map of Europe, locate the following countries and color them red:
a. Albania and Bulgaria. Occupied by USSR in 1944, communist-controlled by 1948.
b. Czechoslovakia. Communist-controlled by 1948.
c. Hungary and Romania. Communist-controlled by 1947.
d. East Germany. Occupied by Soviet Union after war, communist government established 1949.
e. Color the countries sandwiched in between these border countries and the Soviet Union.
COLD WAR Map Europe 1945-1949
As the Soviet Union established satellite nations, the United States gained allies among Western European nations. In
1949, the U.S. joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to oppose Soviet power in Europe. On your map
of Europe, locate the following countries and color them blue:
a. Great Britain b. France c. West Germany
d. Norway e. Belgium f. Italy
g. Turkey j. Denmark h. Greece
k. Portugal i. Netherlands
Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947)
This excerpted speech, given by President Harry Truman before a joint session of Congress, outlined the president’s
plans for economic aid to Greece and Turkey.
I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are
resisting at- tempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures...
I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is
essential to economic stability and orderly political processes...
It is necessary only to glance at a map to realize that the survival and integrity of the Greek
nation are of grave importance in a much wider situation. If Greece should fall under the
control of an armed minority, the effect upon its neighbor, Turkey, would be immediate and
serious. Confusion and disorder might well spread throughout the entire Middle East.
Moreover, the disappearance of Greece as an independent state would have a profound effect
upon those countries in Europe whose peoples are struggling against great difficulties to
maintain their freedoms and their independence while they repair the damages of war.
1. Find Greece and Turkey on your map.
2. Given the world political situation in 1947, who do you think are the “armed minorities” and “outside pressures”
who are trying to take over Greece and Turkey? _____________________________________________________________
!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. According to this excerpt, what kind of aid does Truman plan to give to Greece and Turkey?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Looking at the final two paragraphs, what does Truman say will happen in Europe and the Middle East if the
United States does not help Greece and Turkey? ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Truman’s foreign policy has often been described as the “domino theory.” Here’s the concept: if dominoes are
stacked one slightly behind the other, a slight push on one will knock down all of the pieces in a row. Why do you
think it has been described in this way? _____________________________________________________________________
!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Were Truman’s plans in Greece and Turkey military goals, national security goals, political goals, or economic
goals? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Communist rebels, backed by the USSR trying to take over Greece and Turkey
“Economic and Financial Aid” aka Money to provide a stable economy and jobs
Turkey and the Middle East would experience chaos, and could possibly be taken over by similar rebels
Europe, who is in the process of rebuilding itself, may feel severely threatened by communist forces,
which in turn hinder the process of rebuilding.
Domino theory says that if one country or region was
taken over by communism, then the surrounding countries would follow.
All Three - Economic - to help Greece become economically sound.
Political - An economically healthy Greece would not look to communism as an answer to their
problems. National Security - One less Communist country was seen as one less threat to national
security.
KEY
