Helen Tiffney 11DM
Why did relations between the USA and the USSR change in the period from the end of WW2 and the beginning of the Berlin Blockade 1948? (15)
In the period from the end of the Second World War to the beginning of the Berlin Blockade there were significant changes in the relations between the USA and the USSR and these were due to many causes.
At the Yalta conference in February 1945 the USA and the USSR were getting along quite well, making decisions about what should happen to help resolve the problems that the war had caused. There were no real disagreements apart from over Poland’s government but this was soon resolved as Britain and the US persuaded Stalin to allow Poland to have free elections. So overall the relationship between the USA and the USSR did not seem bad at all. However in the time between the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference many things changed. Stalin went against some of the agreements that had been made at Yalta, such as setting up a communist government and this meant that the USA lost trust in him. Also Truman took over as president and he did not trust Stalin as much as Roosevelt had which created more tension between the two sides. The occupation Stalin had over East Europe also worried the Truman because he felt that Stalin was taking over.
