Which of the following describes a major impact of world war ii on the development of the cold war? a. during the war, the soviet union had refused to commit troops or resources to the fight against germany, enraging europeans. b. after the war, the soviet union demanded that the united states and western europe provide it financial aid to it rebuild. c. after the war, western european leaders began plans to launch a surprise attack against the soviet union to end communism. d. during the war, liberal democracies had occupied western europe while the soviet union had occupied eastern europe.

The correct answer is the following: option D. A major impact of World War II on the development of the Cold War was that during the war, liberal democracies had occupied Western Europe while the Soviet Union had occupied Eastern Europe.

The occupation of Western Europe by liberal democracies, and of Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union served to what was later be known as the Cold War. By the end of World War II, it was clear that a new conflict was arising, and was the fact that the political and economic systems of capitalist United States and communist USSR were incompatible. Stalin, on his hand, wanted to create a communist friendly territory all along Eastern Europe, while the allies held up the territories through Western Europe.