How Communism took over Eastern Europe after World War II? Discuss the steps taken by the Western Countries to contain Communism, and to what extent were they successful in it.
Eastern Europe region was the main battlefield during the Second World War. The process of spreading communism in this region started at the end of world war-I and was expedited after the end of world war-II. In 1918, Russia under the leadership of Lenin, a powerful communist leader, started annexing the neighbouring countries. Hungary was the first to fall prey in this list. Next was the Ukraine which came under the control of Communist government. After the world war-II, the Soviets in order to spread Communism in Eastern Europe annexed the Baltic States and East Germany became their operational zone. Soviet supported communist parties took over in Poland in 1945, Albania and Bulgaria in 1946, Romania in 1947, Czechoslovakia in 1948, East Germany and Hungary in 1949. By the end of 1949, all the governments of Eastern Europe, except Yugoslavia were dominated by the USSR. This created a buffer zone in the Europe. While Western Europe was dominated by the western democracies and capitalist United States, communist based USSR dominated the Eastern Europe.
Steps taken by western democracies and United States to contain communism
United States as well as Western European democracies adopted several policies at home and for abroad to contain communist ideas and spread of communism. These countries started providing financial aid and military support to countries feared of communism. They also supported the anti-communist parties in communist countries. United States adopted drastic policies such as Brinkmanship and McCarthyism. It also started testing loyalty of government employees, those associated with education and entertainment industry and of labour union activists. (261 words)