Alternate ways of life were democracy and dictatorship.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman pledged that the United States would help any nation resist communism in order to prevent its spread. His policy of containment is known as the Truman Doctrine. To help rebuild after the war, the United States pledged $13 billion of aid to Europe in the Marshall Plan.

…, A plan that the US came up with to revive war-torn economies of Europe. The Truman Doctrine was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere.

In a dramatic speech to a joint session of Congress, President Harry S. Truman asks for U.S. assistance for Greece and Turkey to forestall communist domination of the two nations. Historians have often cited Truman’s address, which came to be known as the Truman Doctrine, as the official declaration of the Cold War.

On Friday, February 21, 1947, the British Embassy informed the U.S. State Department officials that Great Britain could no longer provide financial aid to the governments of Greece and Turkey.

The Marshall Plan was very successful. The western European countries involved experienced a rise in their gross national products of 15 to 25 percent during this period. The plan contributed greatly to the rapid renewal of the western European chemical, engineering, and steel industries.

What caused Stalin to close access to Berlin? Stalin saw the loophole as an opportunity. If he moved quickly he may be able to take over part of Berlin.

The main cause of the Berlin Blockade was the Cold War, which was just getting started. Stalin was taking over eastern Europe by salami tactics and Czechoslovakia had just turned Communist (March 1948). Stalin wanted to destroy Germany, and the USSR had been stripping East Germany of its wealth and machinery.

After the war, both countries had different views on how they thought the world should be. This increased tensions between the two countries. The Soviet Union began to try to spread communism throughout Europe, starting at Greece and Turkey. The U.S. tried to contain the spread of communism.

How did the Allies get supplies to West Berlin ? They used the Berlin airlift to fly food and supplies.