One of the disagreements at Potsdam was how hardly Germany should be punished. Stalin wanted to cripple them completely, whereas Truman believed that this may lead to another Treaty of Versailles. Failure to come to an agreement on this subject increased tension between the Soviet Union and the west. It was a similar case when it came to reparations. Stalin wanted large scale reparations from Germany, whilst Truman believed that this may lead to another Treaty of Versailles.
Additionally, there was a lack of trust between the leaders. At Yalta, Russia had agreed to have free elections in liberated countries. However, rightfully as it turned out, Truman did not trust Stalin to keep this promise. Both sides appeared suspicious of each other and this greatly increased the tension.
Despite the many disagreements, one thing that was decided was that America was to use the atomic bomb on Japan. However, this caused further tension because at Yalta it had been agreed that USSR were to help in defeating Japan after Germany had been defeated. They were happy to do this because it meant that they would be able to influence their communistic ideals there. This was the reason that the USA decided to drop the bombs to end the war quickly before the Soviets got involved. This angered the Soviets. Furthermore, the power of America’s atomic bomb scared Stalin, which furthered the tension even more.
Ultimately, the increase in tension between the Soviet Union and the west can be blamed on clash in personalities and beliefs between the leaders, which caused them to disagree on almost everything.
- `The main reason for the escalation of the Cold War in the years 1947-49 was the Berlin Blockade` how far do you agree with this statement?
Although the Berlin Blockade had significance in escalating the cold war in the years 1947-49, there were several other factors that also played a role in this.
The Berlin Blockade, which was initiated by Stalin in June 1948, sent a clear signal to the West that he wanted them out of Berlin. This notion definitely escalated the war. Truman saw this and rather than ignoring the barriers and driving through Eastern Germany anyway, which would be an act of war, he launched the airlift. The blockade appeared to be a major, non violent fight for the peoples support. USA pumped many resources into its west section of Berlin so that people would be convinced that socialism was better than communist rule, which was the system of East Berlin and the surrounding East Germany.
In addition, the Berlin Blockade was the cause of France, Britain and America to join up their sections of Berlin; they introduced a new currency and worked towards rebuilding Germany. This escalated the cold war because it had been agreed at Yalta that Berlin was to be split into four sections and the joining up of these western sections went against the agreements at Yalta. This alliance caused USA to set up NATO and the USSR responded by starting their own pact, which they called the Warsaw Pact.
However, there were other causes for the cold war escalating. A similar situation was occurring throughout the whole of Europe. Stalin continued to force his communistic influence on the governments of Eastern Europe, whereas America tried to get people to be socialists and pumped in extreme amounts of money in marshal aid to do this.
In conclusion, although the Berlin Blockade played a role in escalating the cold war, there were other factors that also affected this. Every action performed by either of the two super powers was met with a response from the other and this caused the tension to increase and escalated the war.
