Source 2 And 3 Essay

With reference to Sources 2 and 3 and your understanding of the historical context, which of these two sources is more valuable in explaining why the Soviet Union wanted to establish control over Eastern European States?

Source 3 by Stalin is more valuable than Source 2 by Churchill in explaining why the Soviet Union wanted to establish control over Eastern European States. Churchill does not ‘directly’ state any reasons why the Soviet Union wanted to establish control over Eastern European States. Stalin’s speech’s topic is basically explaining this. In order to come to a conclusion, it is important to analyse the historical context of the sources, whilst also considering who it is addressed to and what the emphasis of the Sources is.

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Source 2 is an extract from the Iron Curtain Speech from Churchill given by him in the US to the American people including President Truman in March 1946. The content was basically him warning them for the aggressive Soviet expansion as much of the people still believed the Soviet Union to be an ally after defeating Nazi-Germany together. He said the following “(…) an Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent [Europe]. Behind the line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe.” He believes that what the Soviets are doing at that moment divides Europe in to spheres, and wants to convince the Americans that they have to stop them. Source 3 itself is an extract from Stalin’s interview that was a response to the Iron Curtain Speech. It was published in the controversial [It was controlled by the Soviet government. So it would never be critical about the government and not objective at all. You could say the government used this newspaper to bring out political news and propaganda.] Soviet newspaper, Pravda. It was a very reliable source for official government views, but the content never stated something critical of the Soviet government. Stalin said the following “Mr Churchill now stands as a firebrand of war.” The Iron Curtain Speech made him believe Churchill was plotting with the Americans against the Soviet Union and implies that Churchill would be responsible if it came to a war. They are both valuable in this aspect, but Churchill was negative of the Soviet Union in his words, while Stalin somewhat explained what and why the Soviet Union did what they