How Greece saved Europe in the aftermath of WWII

Greece could have become a communist country in 1947 and stayed that way until at least 1989, even though many believe that on October 9, 1944, at the Moscow Conference, Winston Churchill gave Joseph Stalin a napkin saying that Great Britain wanted 90 percent of Greece and we all - including the Americans - lived happily ever after.

The so-called Percentages agreement, however, was nowhere near as simple as that, given that the situation across Europe remained incredibly fluid for two to three years after the war.

Prime Minister Churchill had lost the elections in 1945. Weakened by the war, Britain was gradually dismantling its empire and America was still on the fence over whether it would replace it as a world superpower.

Western Europe as we know it did not get back on its feet until 1947, which is also when the US Congress approved the Marshall Plan...