Berlin Blockade Dbq

Which marked the start of the Cold War: Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech (1946), Truman Doctrine (1947) or the Berlin Blockade (1949)?

Introduction

The beginnings of the Cold War is difficult to make out, due to the fact that after all, the Cold War is a cumulation of many previous misgivings on both communist (USSR) and the democratic nations of the West (primarily the USA) that can be traced all the way back to the 1918-1920 Bolshevik revolution. However, after a period of co-operation during WWII, the friction between the East and the West intensified which ultimately led to the Cold War. To mark a specific event as the start of the Cold War, the event must mean the severing of all aspects of co-operation between the East and the West, official hostility of both countries as well as a clear demarcation of Europe being sliced into two distinct, hostile blocs of Communism and Democracy. These three given factors all fulfil some of the mentioned scopes, but none fully

qualifies to be credited as the official and clear beginning of the Cold War.

Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech

Nine months after Winston Churchill was not to be re-elected as Britain's Prime Minister Churchill travelled with Harry Truman (former president of the United States) to make a speech in one of the most famous addresses of the Cold War, previous British Prime Minister Winston Churchill began by praising the United States who according to Churchill were at the “pinnacle of world power”. It soon became clear the Churchill’s intentions was to push for an even closer “special relationship” between the English speaking commonwealth (mainly the United States and Britain”. Churchill was to denounce the Soviet Union’s policies in Europe and declared, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe.” Before this speech, the U.S. and Britain had been concerned with their own post-war economies and had remained extremely grateful for the Soviet Union's proactive role in ending World War II. It was Churchill's speech, which he titled "The Sinews of Peace" that changed the way the democratic West viewed the Communist East.

Churchill’s speech called for the unity and strength between the English Speaking commonwealth (United States and Britain) for the “safety of the world”

Positive Sign Posts:
Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech called for the coalition in strength between Britain and the United States for the “safety of the world”

Negative Signposts:
Although churchill was a wartime hero, he no longer held any political clout after not being re-elected as the British Prime Minister and therefore he was not a principal participant in the Cold War.
The Speech was a personal opinion of what Churchill believed the relations in Europe between the East and West were like as well as what he believed the relations between the United States and Britain should be. The speech cannot be interpreted as a representative or official viewpoint of any nation.
Before and up until 1946 there had been no declaration (between either of the superpowers) of hostility.

Many people consider Churchill's "iron curtain speech" the beginning of the Cold War.

The Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy whose stated purpose was to counteract Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. It was first announced to Congress by President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947. The uprisings in Greece and Turkey were, according to Truman developments that represented a seismic shift in the post-war international relations between the East and West. Truman much like most of the Western allied countries felt as if he should make a stand against the uprisings and. The United States, Truman declared, would step forward into a leadership role in Europe and around the world. The central ideas around the Truman Doctrine were:
The United States was willing to help any free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose totalitarian regimes upon them.The United States was willing to support any fee peoples who were resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure - this alluded to the USSR’s violation of the Yaltic agreement.

The Truman Doctrine came from a speech delivered by President Truman. The initial cause of the speech was the recent announcement by the British government that, as of March 31 1947, it would no longer provide military and economic assistance to the Greek Government in their civil war against the Greek Communist Party. Agreements on behalf of the United States were to support all free peoples. This statement insinuating that the United States was going to support any peoples/government that was not pro Soviet “agreements on aid to Greece and Turkey” were the central pillars of what was to become known as the Truman Doctrine.

Positive Sign Posts:
First official declaration of US intent - the commitment of the USA lay to defend the free world against any form of communism.
The Truman Doctrine lay the foundation of any further Cold War politics.
This led to subsequent initiatives like; the Marshall plan, creation of the West German State and NATO.
These creations further precipitated Soviet counter measures e.g The Warsaw Pact.

Negative Sign Posts:
The Truman Doctrine was one sided. It was unable to give the USSR’s viewpoint and therefore cannot conclude that there was actually hostility.
There was no outright mention of the USSR and communism; even though they may they may be intended and implied.
It is an ideological piece of document but it was not responsible of dividing Europe into two exclusive blocs; merely a pledge and promise.

The Berlin Blockade (1949)

In 1948 Stalin met with Wilhelm Pieck, his German right-hand man in the Soviet occupied zone and the future president of East Germany. Pieck complained to Stalin that the presence of the Americans, British and French in Berlin threatened to disrupt elections scheduled for 1949. “Let’s make a joint effort then,” Stalin told him, “and perhaps we can kick them out”(8).

The Berlin Blockade was an attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of the United States and the allied nations to travel to their sectors of Berlin, which lay within Russian-occupied East Germany(7).

The Berlin Blockade explored the symbolic and strategic significance of Germany and specifically Berlin in European politics. The event also reflected the larger division of Europe. The splitting of Germany essentially represented the splitting of Europe - this showed the determination on both the Allies and the Soviet Union side to hold on to their spheres of influence of communism in the East and Democratic Capitalism in West Europe.Coming just three years after the end of World War II, the blockade was the first major clash of the Cold War and foreshadowed future conflict over the city of Berlin and the rest of Europe. Five key points of the Berlin Blockade: 1. After 1945 the German capital Berlin was divided into zones, occupied by the United States, Britain, France and the

USSR.

1. 2. In 1948 Stalin and the East German government resolved to force the Allies out of Berlin by denying access.
3. As Stalin tried to starve them out of Berlin, the West held firm and decided to supply its sectors by air.
4. The Berlin airlift was the largest air supply campaign ever attempted, with more than 550,000 different flights.
5. The airlift proved embarrassing for the USSR, which in April 1949 agreed to negotiations for the re-opening of Berlin. Rail access was eventually granted in May 1949 and supply flights continued until late July 1949(8)