The leaders had also agreed that all countries liberated from German occupation were to be given the chance for free elections regarding their new governments. This clashes with another of the agreements made with Russia, which stated that all Eastern European countries were to be under the influence of Communism. Soviet leaders felt discontent because a communist society should not have free hand at elections.
Tension built up as the two sides disagreed about more things. In July 1945, another conference was held in Potsdam to discuss the issues brought about by Hitler’s defeat.
It was already starting to get clear that the Alliance was slowly crumbling. The Russians had lost many lives during the war and had demanded reparations from Germany. They also insisted on crippling the Germans permanently in order to thwart possible threats. The Capitalist, America and Britain, however, had disagreed and argued that they did not want a repetition of what happened during the World War.
Eastern Europe’s liberation also brought about many problems. Instead of withdrawing the armies after liberating the countries, Stalin had insisted on leaving them there in order to enforce the Soviet system upon them. Stalin had also imposed a communist Government in Poland who strongly wished against it. This turn of events upset the US and Britain because it clashes with the agreements made in Yalta, which stated that the nations were to be allowed free hand at elections. The two countries wanted more say in the events taking place in Eastern Europe but Stalin refused this.
America had also successfully tested an atomic bomb and had informed Stalin about it. This would have built up even more tension as Stalin would have felt threatened. The fact that there were more disagreements in this meeting than the previous one in Yalta shows that relationships were already starting to turn sour. All these disagreements and arguments would have increased the tension, which had already existed between the two sides, and finally bring about the war.
The leaders had left Potsdam with no actual agreements made. As a result, the ‘iron curtain’ was formed. Churchill had described the line between east and west Europe as an iron curtain where people from either side were not allowed to cross. This name stuck in the people and further separated the two groups of people: Communist and Capitalist. This would have strong Psychological effects on the normal population.
We can also place the blame on America who played the opposite side during the cold war. The country’s interference in European affairs brought about many disputes and built up tension between the two countries. It was the American view that Communism was a threat to all countries. This was further reinforced by the Truman Doctrine carried out in 1947. It gave the American government the opportunity to send money equipment and advice to any countries that were forced into communist rule. It was America’s aim to ‘contain’ communism or to prevent it from spreading any further. The Soviet Union would have surely felt discontent about this turn of events and thus build up even more tension between the two sides.
There was even a threat of military action, as many Americans believed it was necessary to contain communism. This proved true, because in the 1950s the Americans had sent troops to Vietnam in order to suppress the Communist threat. The Vietnam War was one of the most catastrophic wars in South East Asia.
Over the next years, many people in Eastern Europe faced poverty and hardship. President Truman had thought this to be the fault of Communist rule and appealed to American congress to ‘rebuild’ Europe. At first, the appeal was refused but was later accepted when news of Czechoslovakia’s communist take – over reached them. Anti- Soviet leaders, including an American Prime minister were purged. This sudden change of decision shows that the acceptance of the Marshall plan was a means of ‘getting- back’ at Russians.
Although the primary intentions of the Marshall aid was ‘for the good of the people’, there was also some amount of self- interest involved. The Marshall aid helped link certain countries to the Capitalist America and made them turn away from Communist rule. In addition to this, America was also steadying markets and opportunities for American goods. Stalin and other Soviet leaders were suspicious of Marshall Aid. As a final act, he ordered the European States to refuse any help from the Americans. Marshall Aid would not have only caused discontent among Soviet leaders but also among Americans, who were refused because of Stalin.
Some Historians also lay the blame on the rulers and their personal relationships and views. Stalin in particular, was always very ambitious. His purging of the Russians during his earlier years as ruler reflects on his personality. Stalin had always been very ‘communist- minded’ and ambitious for power. He was responsible for the occupation of the various Eastern countries after liberating them from German rule. His reasons or excuses for this were very simplistic: ‘Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army has power to do so’. Stalin had used his extensive army in order to keep the various European states under his control. Because of these, his relationships with the British and US leaders had never been good. There was always a certain amount of tension between them because of a difference in views.
After Roosevelt died, President Truman had taken over. President Truman was more ‘anti- communist’ than Roosevelt was. This is one of the reasons why so many arguments were brought about during the Potsdam Conference. Truman was another idealistic person who was opposed to communism. His and Stalin’s relationship had always been one of suspicion and dislike. There was always a certain amount of discontent among the Soviet leaders each time Truman carried out on of his ‘anti- communist’ plans (e.g. the Truman doctrine and Marshall aid). The sour relationships between the rulers gave them the more reason to continue with the war.
Many arguments also broke out over Germany. After the Second World War, the country had gone into a state of economic chaos. As previously mentioned, Russia had wanted the country to be permanently crippled and so had left armies over in east Germany to suppress them. The Western Allies however, had felt this was wrong, as the people of the country would surely have not enough to feed themselves if their industry was not allowed to build. As a result, West Germany was formed in 1946 when the Western Allies joined their zones. Their currency was established and the country slowly recovered with help from the US.
The act of the Western Allies had forced Stalin into taking action. Stalin cut off supply routes leading into the western zone of Berlin and as a result, there was chaos as the 2 million citizens suffered from food and electricity shortages. He believed that this could force the capitalist out of Berlin and thus make the entire city communist. President Truman however, countered this by trying to ram down roadblocks etc. and sending continuous streams of supply planes towards the city. The events, which took place in Germany, were important because it was one of the first where the two sides had actually done anything to purposely provoke the other. It increased tension between the two sides and made it harder for the leaders to get along.
Although much of the blame can be laid upon other factors, the USSR still has a lot to say about it. The Russians were responsible for the deliberate and provocative annexing of the East- European countries. This caused the fabrication of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid, which were simply responses to Stalin’s own actions. The Berlin blockade was also the result of Stalin’s actions and it built more tension between the two sides.
It is my opinion however that the cold war is not to be blamed on either side. It was an inevitable result of the Second World War. Millions of people had died and were discontent after a period of occupation by German troops. After liberation, there were no governments and they needed guidance. This was going to be provided by one of the superpowers: either Russia or America. Since the two nations were arguing over the same states, there would certainly be tensions and disputes between the two sides. On top of all this, the countries had also belonged to opposite types of societies and tensions had already existed between them.
