At the end of World War 1

• 9 million lives are lost.• 1918:Germany is defeated, and forced to pay

reparations (money). • Their economy is so decimated/stripped that they

needed a strong leader to pull them out. Hitler was just such a man. He was a hero.

• Unlimited spending on science and technology during that time. 1920s and 1930s.

• Germany develops rocket/ jet technology.

Roots of a Second World War

• When Hitler tries to expand Germany and take over the world, World War II is begun.

• Taking lessons from the first world war, why do you think the Allies (France, US, and Britain) don’t want to force Germany to pay reparations again?

AIM: How did WWII lead to the Cold War?

Do Now: How do you think GB, the USA, and the Soviet Union should treat the German government after WWII?

Joseph Stalin - Soviet Union’s communist dictator until 1954

Winston Churchill - Prime Minister of Great Britain until 1955

Harry S. Truman - President of the United States from 1945-1952

At the End of WWII• The Soviet Union lost 20 million

people• GB lost around 370,000 and the USA

lost 297,000 people.• The Soviet Union had marched its

army across Eastern Europe, keeping soldiers in several countries.

Berlin, Germany

• During WWII, the U.S. and Soviet Union’s armies were racing to get to Berlin (the capital) because whoever controlled it would have control over Germany after the war

• The Soviet Union got there first, but Berlin was still divided into 4 sections

Germany was divided into 4 sections

1st hot spot of Cold War

Improve your knowledge

• The Russians took very high casualties to capture Berlin in May 1945. They spent the early occupation trying to take over all zones of the city but were stopped by German democrats such as Willy Brandt and Konrad Adenauer. Reluctantly the Russians had to admit the Americans, French and British to their respective zones.

What caused tension in Berlin?Soviet Goals: Stalin wanted to destroy Germany. Why do you think Stalin wanted to do this?

He wanted to rebuild his country after the war.His communist ideology: Eastern Europe suffered under Capitalism. He wanted to prevent another Nazi invasion.

Western Goals: Britain and the USA wanted to rebuild Germany. Once the Nazi leaders were tried and punished for their crimes, the USA and Britain wanted to rebuild Germany. Why?They feared a Soviet takeover of Europe. A strong Germany and Europe would provide a buffer against the Soviets.Their capitalist ideology: free market is the best way to create a strong economy.

Economic Beliefs• USA was capitalist and the Soviet Union

was communist

• Capitalism is a free-market economy where people are free to make economic decisions as long as they are legal

• Communism is a command economy where the government makes most economic decisions

• Where would you rather live and why?

What caused tension in Berlin?BIZONIA: The Russians were taking German industry back to Russia. Britain and

the USA joined their two zones together to get the German industry back on its feet.

Why might this worry Stalin?

They called the two zones “Bizonia”

What caused tension in Berlin?New Currency: America and France announced that they wanted to create

the new country of “West Germany”.

They introduced the Deutsche Mark

They did not tell Stalin they were going to do this!

What caused tension in Berlin?

American Aid: The Russians did not want Marshall Aid coming into Berlin

Why did Stalin dislike Marshall Aid?

He thought it was a bribe to get the Europeans on the American side.

What was the Berlin Blockade?

• The Russians stopped all road, rail and canal traffic into Berlin.

• Stalin said he was defending the east German economy against the new currency, which was ruining it.  

• The western powers said he was trying to force them out of Berlin.

•

THE BERLIN AIRLIFT• The Western powers (GB, FR, USA) thought

Stalin was trying to force them to give up Western Berlin

• Because he closed all roads etc – people were starving (up to 2 million of them)

• Only have enough food & fuel for six weeks

• Truman had 2 options:

1.Surrender West Berlin (give in)

2.Or go to War (devastating)

• USA believed best thing was to fly in supplies (the Soviets had granted 3 air corridors into berlin in 1945)

• 26th June – airlift began – slowly – with only 600 tonnes – needed 6000!

• By September aircrafts were landing every 3 minutes

• By spring 1949 = 8000 tonnes were being flown in a day.

• The Soviets responded by cutting off electricity supplies for the West Berliners.

• Stalin also offered them more rations if they moved to the East.

Problem!

• Stalin realised his blockade wasn’t working

• The only way he could stop the airlift was by shooting planes down

• This would be an act of war – at this point the at this point the USA had the atomic bomb. The USSR did not USA had the atomic bomb. The USSR did not

• The Berlin blockade was called off May 1949

                                  

           In this British cartoon from 1948, Stalin watches as the storks fly coal and food into Berlin, but he dares not shoot them down.

How long did the airlift last?

318 days!

Airlift facts

• In the winter Berliners lived on dried potatoes, powdered eggs and cans of meat.   They had 4 hours of electricity a day.

• A plane landed every 3 mins.

• On April 16 1949, 1400 flights brought in 13,000 tons of supplies in one day – Berlin only needed 6,000 tons a day to survive.

• The airmen were regarded as heroes.

What were the consequences?

• May 1949, Stalin reopened supply routes• USA joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty

Organisation)• Committed to keeping the peace• USSR announced that it had tested its first

nuclear bomb• East Germany become Communist.• West Germany became Democratic (like

the U.S.)