Germany and the Cold War
- Created by: tuttifruity1206
- Created on: 17-11-18 12:20
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- Germany and the Cold War
- Reunification
- USA wanted a united, capitalist Germany, to trade with and help prevent spread of communism
- Division
- Soviet Union wanted Germany to be weak, communist and divided, never be able to attack Soviet Union again
- Eastern Germany and the Berlin Blockade
- Soviet Union had 1.5 million troops in its zone, Western countries had sent most troops home
- Grew almost all the food West Berlin ate
- Jun 1948, Soviet Union closed all toad, rain and canal links to W. Berlin to force British, French and US troops to leave their zone in the city
- Blocked all supplies into Berlin to show it had the power to stop a divided Germany working
- Bizonia and Western Germany
- Made sense for US and Britain to join forces, easy to administer, became bizonia (included in Marshall Plan), later on French zone joined to create trizonia (W. Germany)
- Not popular with Soviet Union, Stalin was not consulted. Thought Bizonia went against the agreement, suspected USA was aiming to permanently divide richer Western Europe from poorer Eastern Europe
- Berlin Airlift
- W. Berlin couldn't last long without supplies but pulling out would look weak, undermining USA's image.
- Western powers responded with an airlift (26 June 1948 to Sept 1949), thousands of supplies were flown daily into Berlin
- West Germany
- Airlift made USA appear peaceful and generous
- Sept 1949 - FRG was officially formed, with US support
- Apr 1949, Western European countries and the USA formed NATO to counter the Soviet military threat
- East Germany
- Airlift made Soviet Union appear aggressive and threatening
- Oct 1949 - GDR was officially formed as a Soviet state
- May 1955 - USSR formed Warsaw Pact to counter military threat from NATO
- Reunification
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