What was the effect of Western Europe and United States forming NATO?
a.Europe's economy entered a long slump.
b. The Soviet Union benefited from the Marshall Plan.
c. The Soviet Union and its allies created the Warsaw Pact.
d. The Soviet Union formed an alliance with Germany and Japan.

Question

What was the effect of Western Europe and United States forming NATO?
a.Europe's economy entered a long slump.
b. The Soviet Union benefited from the Marshall Plan.
c. The Soviet Union and its allies created the Warsaw Pact.
d. The Soviet Union formed an alliance with Germany and Japan.

anonymous · Answer

C) The Soviet Union and its allies created the Warsaw Pact

(A) doesn't makes sense -- over half of Europe under the Marshall Plan was rebuilt and had a thriving economy a few years after the war. The Soviets did not join in the Marshall Plan (Stalin thought it would tie them too closely to the West and he wanted to pillage Eastern Europe by shipping what he could back to Russia), so (B) is out. (C) also doesn't make sense -- Germany was split in half (East Germany fell under Soviet occupation) and Japan was firmly under the control of the American occupation force led by MacArthur.