Was the formation of NATO the greatest impact of the Cold War in Europe? Explain your answer. [12]

Introduction:
The Cold War has dominated international relations for about 45 years after the end of the Second World War. In Europe, a few key events had great impact throughout the period.

Main Body:
NATO played an important part in the history of the Cold War. It was set up in 1949 as a military alliance by the US and 11 other countries. It aimed to defend Western Europe from Soviet attack. One of the key terms in NATO was that an attack on any NATO member was regarded as an attack on all members. Thus, all members would come to the assistance of the attacked member. Under such circumstances, it ensured the security of all Western European countries. Throughout the Cold War, NATO served as a deterrence against any possible Soviet attack. However, the formation of NATO also triggered the USSR to create the Warsaw Pact in 1955. The Warsaw Pact united all the Eastern European countries under Soviet leadership. This meant that Europe was clearly divided into communist East and democratic West. Due to long boundaries separating these two blocs, tensions would always remain high and thus, NATO created a long-term impact in Europe.

The Soviet spread of communism on Eastern Europe was another event with major impact on the Cold War. Due to its fear of being attacked again, the USSR created pro-Soviet regimes in all the Eastern European countries. This ensured that the USSR had a buffer against future attacks. This also meant that Eastern Europe would be under communist rule for the next 40 years. In addition, this spread of communism triggered a major reaction from the West, who introduced the containment policy to counter the spread of communism. This policy included measures like the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Thus, the spread of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe could actually be seen as the immediate spark for the start of the Cold War. This determined the state of international relations in Europe for the next 40 years. It also caused the division of Europe for the same period.

The introduction of the Marshall Plan was also another key event with great impact Through the Marshall Plan, the US provided US$13 billion in aid, loans and goods to the Western European countries. Not only did the Marshall Plan help the Western European countries recover economically from the ruins of the Second World War, it also ensured Western Europe remained free from communism, as the people in West Europe did not experience the poverty that would encourage them to accept communism. The Eastern European countries, on the other hand, did not accept the Marshall Plan due to Stalin’s objection. This ensured the different rate of economic development between East and West Europe. In time to come, the people in East Europe would desire to break free from communism in order to embrace the developmental model of the West in the 1980s. Meanwhile, from the late 1950s to the 1980s, the East Europeans would continue to experience a lower standard of living. Europe had divided economically as well.