History 342

Devine

Study Questions for Pechatnov and Naimark

Vladimir O. Pechatnov, “The Soviet Union and the World, 1944-1953”

1. As the Second World War ended, the USSR had reason to be both proud and insecure. Why?

2. In 1944, why were Soviet officials relatively confident that they could pursue “security” as Stalin defined it and preserve good relations with the United States and Great Britain? What happened over the next two years that eroded this confidence?

3. Why was Stalin worried about continuing U.S. presence in Europe? How did this presence interfere with his envisioned “grand strategy”?

4. Why did Stalin launch an anti-West propaganda campaign in the USSR in 1946?

5. Stalin feared the emergence of an anti-Soviet British-American bloc. How did his own actions hasten the emergence of this bloc?

6. Stalin envisioned three plans for postwar Germany (103). What were they? Which of the three ended up coming to pass?

7. Why was Stalin more scared of the Marshall Plan than he was of the Truman Doctrine? What steps did he take in response to the Marshall Plan?

8. Why did the Berlin Blockade undermine Stalin’s larger “grand strategy”?

9. Why did Stalin change his mind in 1950 and give Kim Il Sung the “green light” to invade South Korea?

10. In implementing his “grand strategy” for security, what were Stalin’s major achievements and major failures between 1944 and 1953?

Norman Naimark, “The Sovietization of Eastern Europe, 1944-1953”

1. In 1944, did Stalin have a coordinated “master plan” for the Sovietization of Eastern Europe? If not, how do we know that he didn’t?

2. What steps did Stalin take to insure Soviet influence was dominant in postwar Poland and Romania?

3. In the early days after the war, why was Stalin less aggressive in Sovietizing the Eastern zone of Germany than he was in other Eastern European nations?

4. As he began the process of Sovietization, why do you think Stalin emphasized “pan-Slavic” and “anti-Fascist” themes rather than Marxist-Leninist ideology?

5. What role did the secret police play in the Sovietization of Eastern Europe? How, according to Naimark, were the Soviets able to assure their dominance even before the Communists actually seized power? (183)

6. Did the Soviets build socialism in Eastern Europe by relying on democratic politics and parliamentary procedure?

7. How did Yugoslavia’s resistance to Soviet domination affect Stalin’s policies toward other Eastern European nations?

8. What do you think was the purpose of all the “show trials” of Eastern European leaders during the late 1940s and early 1950s?

9. What have been the major points of disagreement among historians who assess Stalin’s “grand strategy” for Eastern Europe?