The+Origins+of+the+Cold+War

=The Origins Of The Cold War= The origins of the cold war can be seen back through to the Russian Revolution in 1917 when the USSR became the first major Communist power to come about but we will focus on the post WW2 events that have caused the Cold War.

After World War Two the powers of the USA and the USSR were colliding through disagreement in what should become of Germany and the rest of the countries in Europe. The Yalta Conference in 1945 proved quite important in perspective framework. Stalin wished to destroy Germany to the core so they could never again attack on Russian soil whereas the US wanted to rebuild Germany as a weak Germany was in a sense the breeding ground for such dictators as Hitler to rise from and did not want this to happen again. It was agreed though that at the Soviets request German reparations would total at $10 billion. As the Soviets had occupied most of Eastern Europe and the US most of the West, Germany was split into a four power control including the French and the British. Already tension has occured with borders in place and territory claims at hand. It was not only governments and military personell being effected but the lives of ordinary people. The fact that the borders were now in place separating Germans from each other, some found themselves under the control of the Americans and others now living in a Communist ruled area. Such things changed an ordinary civilians lives greatly as the contrasting living conditions would be very different.

Another important conference was the Potsdam conference in July 1945. Newly elected President of the US Harry Truman was present and his dislike of Stalin was established. Stalin wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations but Truman disagreed. By this point the US had already dropped the first Atomic bomb and was sending the message to Stalin that they have the scientific edge in the stand-off between their conflicting governments.

One of the things that caused great tension between the USSR and the US was the Marshall Plan. The purpose of the Marshall Plan was to stop the spread of Communism, help the economy of Europe, boost the American economy and rebuild European prosperity. The Marshall Plan was to asses the economic needs of European countries and give help where needed. This would include food, fuel and electricity. This was to upset Stalin who rejected the plan from those countries under Soviet control as it was unacceptable to Soviet Pride.

One of the most important operations of the origins of the Cold War was the Berlin Airlift in 1948. Stail was becoming paranoid of people fleeing to the West for the sake of living conditions and this was an embarrassment for Stalin, as Capitalism was presented as better living than Communism. Stalin decided to block routes in and out of Berlin. Road, rail and canal routes were all cut off. The US chose the non aggressive action and decided to fly supplies in. For 11 months, food and other supplies were flown into Berlin by the British, the French and the US. This was a huge undertaking for the Western allies as thousands of flights were accomplished throughout the year. Ordinary people living in West Berlin were suffering as a result as the force of Communism was being felt by all who lived there. People were starving. This was yet another frustration for Stalin and only increased tensions between the USSR and the US.