THE COLD WAR IN EUROPE

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A group of government officials dominated by Polish army officers, landowners, and Roman Catholic Church officials had sought asylum in Great Britain and declared themselves the Polish government in exile. Although Western powers objected, they were not willing to confront Stalin so soon after the war. In the matter of borders, Stalin insisted on establishing the western border of Poland at the Oder-Neisse line. The determination of each of the major powers to act unilaterally prevented the resolution of these major issues at Potsdam. The dispute over the boundaries of Poland festered throughout 1945, and fostered dissension between the Americans and the Soviets. The most contentious area of all was Germany, where the United States and the Soviet Union faced each other squarely in their respective occupation zones. The Western occupation zone in Berlin was particularly contentious, as it gave the West firm presence inside the general Soviet sphere of influence. Setting the line this far west was to compensate Poland for the loss of 21 336 sq km of territory taken by the Soviet Union in its westward expansion. Stalin’s promise was an empty one: free elections failed to materialize in areas dominated by the Red Army. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, renewed its demands for $10 billion in reparation payments and continued to strip its zone bare of resources and industrial goods for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. Stalin increased his support for the Lublin government and suppressed freedom of speech, the press, and religion. The British and the Americans wanted a politically unified and industrially self-sufficient country; the French and the Soviets wanted a politically weak Germany. The issue causing most dissension initially was the Polish question. the Allies worked out the broad outline for a settlement once Germany was defeated.

Common topics in this essay:
Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, Union Stalin, Union Western, Catholic Church, French Soviets, Yalta Potsdam, USA USSR, Poland Oder-Neisse, British Americans, soviet union, polish government, sphere influence, soviet sphere influence, usa ussr, british americans, free elections, polish question, soviet sphere, boundaries poland, eastern europe,

Approximate Word count = 556
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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