What were the main issues relating to Germany that caused Cold War tension?

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Ching Ann Jie

What were the main issues relating to Germany that caused Cold War tension?

Germany was a centre for Cold War tensions in the immediate post war period from 1945-9. Issues such as unification, ideological differences and economic recovery were influenced by both the US and the USSR in different ways, many times opposing The joint post-war occupation of Germany forced both sides, the United States and the Soviet Union, to take action with regards to their different aims for the country and this led to the accentuation of the conflicts between the two countries, leading to an increase in Cold War tensions. After the war, the Allies no longer had a common enemy in Nazi Germany, and this meant that their differences became more obvious. The Allies could not sweep under the carpet issues regarding administration, and had to tackle them by discussion. Both sides could not afford to ignore these issues as this meant that their stake in Germany and the rest of Europe would be compromised. These are the very same self-interests which intensify Cold War conflict elsewhere and they come into play in Germany, a place of necessary conflict between the US and the USSR. We can trace the deterioration of relations through the various speeches made by politicians, policies enacted, and Council of Foreign Ministers meetings between the wartime Allies where Germany as an issue came up often. It may be hard to identify if key conflicts over Germany were the result of the Cold War or if they played a role in increased Cold War tensions, as the cause-effect correlation is unclear. Yet, it is through these reactions of both sides to the issues surrounding Germany that causes the Cold War to intensify, and the intensification of the Cold War in itself (due to other external factors too) also causes these German issues to become more important and immediate. This then provokes a reaction on both the East and the West, which leads back to the increased Cold War tensions. This essay will focus mainly on economic issues in Germany. German economic issues formed a major part of the increasing Cold War tensions. This was as the economic state of Germany affected the rest of Europe both ideologically and economically, as well as the Allies’ domestic economies.

One of the issues that caused Soviet dissatisfaction with the West was in their disagreement on the economic recovery speed of Germany in terms of deindustrialisation. This was a major sticking point for the Russians, as after the West agreed at Yalta for the deindustrialisation of Germany, it suddenly changed its stance at Potsdam. The West now encouraged a fast recovery, promoting industrialisation for West Germany. The US and UK had decided not to follow the Morgenthau plan for the pastoralisation of Germany they were previously leaning towards at Yalta as they realised that by forcing Germany to deindustrialise, it was effectively making Germany a permanent dependant and leech on the Allies whilst slowing Europe’s economic recovery (Judge and Langdon, 1996). Germany’s economic reconstruction was vital in allowing the rest of Europe to recover from the aftermath of WWII which US placed importance on. The Russian point of view on the deindustrialisation on Germany, however, was that of indifference to the pace of European recovery and security against a possibly resurgent military Germany. Russia was scarred by the experience at WWII and was determined not to let Germany have the chance to assert its power and raise the possibility of another war where Germany could betray and crush Russia again. This fear is prevalent too in Russia’s other arguments with the Allies (e.g., on the issue of reparations covered later.) With Germany gone, Russia became more influential in Europe and sought to keep things as such. It also can be noted that Russia would not mind and even desire a poor Europe as this would make Communism more palatable to the Europeans and thus help in its spread, while the West certainly feared this to happen. This was an example of the diametrically opposing aims of the East and West that affected Germany in both and subsequently the Cold War. The about turn of the US and the UK on deindustrialisation, by putting much resources into transport and basic industries starting the April to June 1947, caused Russian interests to be compromised, and the Russians casted doubts on the Americans’ sincerity. They felt that the Americans were not taking into account Russian sensitivities, and this incident helped to drive a wedge between the US and its Allies, such as the UK, who agreed with the US on this about-turn, and the Russians.

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Another issue that caused Cold War tension was the Russian insistence on reparations. In response, the Western powers grew increasingly frustrated and forced the West to take measures which in turn frustrated the Russians. At Yalta, Stalin exacted $20 billion in reparations from Germany, of which half would be given to the USSR. This had to do with the Russian psyche of getting revenge for the destruction of Russia in WWII. They wanted Germany to pay for the damages brought to Russia. Russia was a battlefield during the war and it had suffered much more physical damage than the ...

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