The atomic bomb is another reason for the cause of the cold war. The USSR were meant to be an ally of the US, however the USSR felt that they could not trust the US anymore as Truman did not want to share the new technology of the nuclear weapons. Some historians also believe that Truman unnecessarily ordered the atomic bombings in Japan, not to win the war there, but to scare the Soviets and show them how powerful they really were.
The Berlin Blockade escalated the tensions between the east and west. Stalin blocked off West Berlin by cutting road and rail links. Due to the blockade West Berlin had no food supplies for thirty-five days. Stalin thought that if he blocked off West Berlin, the West will give it up and surrender it to him, however this was a very bold move from the leader of the communist superpower, as he knew that the West may have to intervene militarily if they didn’t want to give up West Berlin, which would lead to a military war between the two superpowers. Truman however did not want to give up West Berlin to the Soviets, however time was running out, Truman had to make a decision otherwise the people of West Berlin would starve to death. The US came up with the ‘Berlin Airlift’, it was agreed that the US had air space in West Berlin and they used this to their advantage by flying in supplies. Stalin eventually realised he would not be able to conquer West Berlin and halted the blockade on May 11, 1949.
Source C compares the USSR and communism to Nazism, it explains that there are similarities emerging and that the Soviets could be heading into the same direction as the Nazis. It goes on to explain that the policy of appeasement was a failure and if the US had been the aggressor, matters could have been different, this suggest that the US, especially Truman does not want to make the same mistake it did with Germany and therefore the attitudes of the west will be more aggressive towards the USSR in order to stop the spread of communism and try to prevent another devastating war.
The Truman Doctrine was a proclamation by President Truman stating that the US would support Greece and Turkey militarily and financially to prevent them from falling under Soviet Control. Source F is A ‘Punch’ Cartoon that shows the Truman Doctrine in a cartoon form. The Source shows Stalin throwing countries of Eastern Europe into a carriage, which suggests that Stalin is very aggressive and gives the impression that Stalin is forcing the Eastern European countries to be communist. On the other hand the source also shows Truman looking very friendly and welcoming, inside his carriage are the countries of Greece and Turkey. This policy of Truman’s was on the harsher side of containment and possibly halted the spread of Communism towards the West, however some historians believe that this then therefore triggered the spread of Communism into the far east.
