Cold War Research Paper: Why the Soviets were Responsible for the

Cold War

Bertin Mathai
1st Period American History
Mr. Jehn

Many historians refer to the years of 1946 to 1961 as the first part of the Cold War
between the Democratic countries of the West and the Communist countries of the Eastern
Europe. The two major rivals during the Cold War were the United States of America and the
Soviet Union. There was minimal direct warfare, but two countries were pitted against each other
in a fiery political battle. Although the U.S. took part in devious events such as the U-2 spy plane
incident and had suspiciously anti-Communist intent in their actions, the USSR can be blamed
for escalating the tensions of the Cold War due to their aggravating moves in the Berlin
Blockade, the Korean War, and the Berlin Wall. The Cold War was the result of an intense
competition between two countries, triggering them to do things on the basis of toppling each

other. Although not as militaristic and direct as the Cold War, this kind of competition still exists
today between countries such as the economic rivalry between the U.S. and China.
One of the first crises that occurred in the Cold War was the Berlin Blockade. After World
War II, the Allied Powers split Germany into East and West, with the East containing Berlin,
which was the capital of Germany. The Soviet Union feared that the Western powers would
influence Berlin too much because of the recovery of West Germany so the Soviets set a
complete blockade of ground travel on the border of Berlin on June 24th, 1948, restricting access
to and from West Germany.1 This event can be seen as the first act of aggression in the Cold War
as the Soviets isolated Berlin specifically to limit the influence of Western Nations, a direct act of
opposition to the United States and Britain. The Soviet Union focused completely on having
political control of Berlin rather than helping its citizens. As living and working conditions grew
worse in Berlin, the Western Powers decided to carry out airlifts to help the people of Berlin.
According to the British Berlin Airlift Association, a total of about 2,325,809 tons of supplies
were sent to Berlin from the U.S. and Britain.2 By doing this, the Western Powers defeated the
blockade and helped the people of Berlin. This help was openly accepted by Ernst Reuter, the
mayor Berlin, as he said in a speech about the blockade, Peoples of the world! You also should
do your duty and help us in the time available before us, not only with sound of your aircraft. 3
From this quote, we can see that the Soviets did not really care about the condition of Berlin, but
only about becoming stronger than the Western world.
Another thing that the Soviet Union did to escalate tensions in the Cold War was actively
persuading countries into becoming Communist countries. The Soviet Union helped these
countries have Communist revolutions so that these countries would fall under the USSRs ring
of Communist satellites. The first country that the Soviets influenced was Korea. Near the end of
World War II, Soviet troops had occupied the northern region of Korea while the United States
occupied the South. After World War II, the Soviet Union supported North Korea with weapons
and supplies, spurring pro-Communist feelings among the North Koreans.4 Soon, the North
1

Pennacchio, Charles F. "The East German Communists and the Origins of the Berlin
Blockade Crisis." East European Quarterly 29.3 (1995). Mount Holyoke College. Web. 10 Apr.
2011.
2
"British Berlin Airlift Association - Statistics." British Berlin Airlift Association. Web. 10 Apr.
2011.
3
Reuters, Ernst. "Ernst Reuters Speech on 9 September 1948 to the Reichstag." Berlin Offizielles Stadtportal Der Hauptstadt Deutschlands - Berlin.de. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
4
Kim, Ilpyong. "The Impact of Division on Korea and the Major Powers." IIC - Intercultural
Institute of California. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.

Koreans adopted a Communist government and invaded South Korea on June 25th, 1950.5 In
response, the United States supported South Korea with troops, materials, and weapons. Due to
the Soviet Unions influence on North Korea, the United States was pulled into another war,
showing that the Soviet Union had to be blamed for escalating tensions during the Cold War .
President Eisenhower proves this in his I Shall Go to Korea speech as he says, It was never
inescapablethat little South Koreawould fatally tempt Communist aggressors as their easiest
victim.6
After the airlifts in Berlin picked up much success, the Soviet Union eventually lifted the
blockade. However, on August 12, 1961, the Soviets constructed posts all around the border
between West and East Berlin and put barbed wire on the fences around the borderline.7 Later on,
the Soviets would actually construct a physical wall made of concrete to fully divide the two
sides of Berlin. This act not only separated friends and families, but went against the agreement
under which the Allied Powers set up shared control of Germany.8 By creating its own borders in
Berlin, the Soviet Union effectively violated the Allied agreement and single-handedly escalated
the tensions of Europe and the Cold War again.
Since the advent of globalization and industrialization, competition has become an
enormous factor in everyones lives. The power of competition and the thirst of money fueled the
energy behind big business. The same element of competition is what fueled the Cold War. The
United States and the Soviet Union both wanted to spread their political ideals across the world
and harshly rejected each others philosophies. This led to actions such as the Berlin Blockade
and the Berlin Wall. Today, competition is not seen in such a direct and openly militaristic way
but it is seen economically and politically. A strong example of this is the relationship between
the U.S. and China as the United States urges China to reduce and regulate the value of its
currency, the Yuan. China, on the other hand being the United States prime economic
competitor, refuses to believe that the value of its currency is an international issue.9 In April
2001, the U.S. was also seen giving weapons and supplies to Taiwan, along with having a spy
5

"The Korean War, June 1950 - July 1953." Naval History and Heritage Command. Web. 10
Apr. 2011.
6
"I Shall Go to Korea." The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum Homepage. Web. 10
Apr. 2011.
7
"Berlin Wall." Galenet.com. Gale World History In Context. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
8
"Berlin Wall." Galenet.com. Gale World History In Context. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
9

Tensions Flare Between U.S., China After Push for Revalued Currency | PBS NewsHour |.
Perf. Ray Suarez and Fred Bergsten. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. 18 June 2010. Web. 10
Apr. 2011.

plane in restricted Chinese airspace.10 These actions and events are easily comparable to that of
what happened during the Cold War with the Soviet Unions assistance to countries that would
be future satellites.
As George Orwell states, the Cold War was a time of peace that is no peace.11 There
werent any direct wars between the United States and the USSR in the years from 1946 to 1961
but tension had grown rapidly in those 15 years. Both the US and the USSR had taken bold
actions that fed the cycle of hate in the Cold War, but the USSR had done much more to escalate
tensions and damage the partnership between the original Allied Powers. The Soviet Union had
started the Cold War in the first place with the Berlin blockade and then continued it in other
events such as the Korean War and the Berlin War so the Cold War can be blamed on the Soviets.

Works Cited
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10

Chan, John. "US-China Tensions Loom over Taiwan." World Socialist Web Site. 5 Dec. 2003.
Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
11
Orwell, George. "George Orwell - You and the Atomic Bomb - Essay." Editorial. Tribune 19
Oct. 1945. George Orwell - Complete Works, Biography, Quotes, Essays. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.

"British Berlin Airlift Association - Statistics." British Berlin Airlift Association. Web. 10 Apr.
2011. <http://www.bbaa-airlift.org.uk/statistics.html>.
Chan, John. "US-China Tensions Loom over Taiwan." World Socialist Web Site. 5 Dec. 2003.
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Eisenhower, Dwight D. "I Shall Go to Korea." The Eisenhower Presidential Library and
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lgotokorea1.html>.
"I Shall Go to Korea." The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum Homepage. Web. 10
Apr. 2011.
<http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/All_About_Ike/Presidential/Korea/documents/ishal
lgotokorea1.html>.
Kim, Ilpyong. "The Impact of Division on Korea and the Major Powers." IIC - Intercultural
Institute of California. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.iic.edu/Main/AboutUs/publications/IICKoreaDivisionImpact.htm>.
"The Korean War, June 1950 - July 1953." Naval History and Heritage Command. Web. 10 Apr.
2011. <http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/kowar/kowar.htm>.
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<http://www.george-orwell.org/You_and_the_Atomic_Bomb/0.html>.

Pennacchio, Charles F. "The East German Communists and the Origins of the Berlin Blockade
Crisis." East European Quarterly 29.3 (1995). Mount Holyoke College. Web. 10 Apr.
2011. <http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/penna.htm>.
Reuters, Ernst. "Ernst Reuters Speech on 9 September 1948 to the Reichstag." Berlin - Offizielles
Stadtportal Der Hauptstadt Deutschlands - Berlin.de. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.berlin.de/rubrik/hauptstadt/geschichte/ernstreuterrede.html>.
Tensions Flare Between U.S., China After Push for Revalued Currency | PBS NewsHour |. Perf.
Ray Suarez and Fred Bergsten. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. 18 June 2010. Web. 10
Apr. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/jan-june10/chinacurrency_0618.html>.