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Difficulty: MediumWorld War II: Military Campaigns and Postwar Planning

Declaration on Liberated Europe, Yalta Conference, February 1945:

"The establishment of order in Europe and the rebuilding of national economic life must be achieved by processes which will enable the liberated peoples to destroy the last vestiges of fascism and militarism and to create democratic institutions of their own choice. This is a principle of the Atlantic Charter—the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live—the restoration of sovereign rights and self-government to those peoples who have been forcibly deprived of them by the aggressor nations."

Which of the following best explains how the principles expressed in this excerpt differed from the postwar reality in Eastern Europe?

  1. A
    The United States Senate rejected the Yalta agreements, forcing a return to the absolute isolationism of the interwar era.
  2. B
    The Allied powers immediately implemented the Marshall Plan to establish direct military administration over Eastern Europe.
  3. The Soviet Union established satellite states in Eastern Europe, preventing the holding of free and fair democratic elections.Answer
  4. D
    The United States launched a military campaign to directly liberate Soviet-occupied Poland and restore its prewar government.

Answer

The Soviet Union established satellite states in Eastern Europe, preventing the holding of free and fair democratic elections.
The correct answer is correct because although the Yalta Conference's Declaration on Liberated Europe promised democratic elections and self-determination for liberated nations, the Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe and established pro-Soviet puppet regimes, creating satellite states and denying democratic choice to these populations.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the Yalta Conference document to identify its core promises.
The document pledges to establish democratic institutions of their own choice and restore sovereign rights/self-government in liberated European nations.
This establishes the stated principles of self-determination agreed upon by the Big Three at Yalta.
2
Compare these promises to the actual historical outcome in postwar Eastern Europe.
In the years following the war, Eastern European countries like Poland, Hungary, and Romania fell under Soviet control as satellite states without free elections.
This identifies the divergence between Yalta's stated goals and the reality that contributed to the Cold War.
3
Select the option that accurately describes this divergence.
The statement describing the Soviet Union establishing satellite states and preventing free elections matches the historical postwar reality.
It correctly matches the visual and historical evidence of Soviet control in Eastern Europe.

Key Concept

Postwar Planning and the Division of Europe
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Topics

World War II: Military Campaigns and Postwar Planning

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