This document provides a sample answer to questions about the Berlin Blockade and the early Cold War. It suggests that a cartoon depicting the Allied airlift into Berlin during the blockade was likely published in Western Europe. The cartoon pokes fun at Stalin by showing him unable to shoot down the Allied planes without looking like an aggressor. The document then provides sample answers to additional questions about the Potsdam Conference outcomes, Soviet unhappiness with those outcomes, and perspectives on the causes of the Cold War.

1. Sample answer: Do you think that this cartoon was published in
Western Europe or Eastern Europe? (6)
I think that this cartoon was published in Western Europe for a variety of
reasons. The cartoon shows the Allies beating the Berlin Blockade by flying
in essential supplies. The planes are depicted as storks perhaps to show the
rebirth of Berlin. Stalin is made to look foolish because of the old fashioned
gun he is holding and which he dare not fire. If he shoots down the peaceful
birds then the USSR will look like the aggressor. This is exactly what
happened in June 1948 when Stalin could not short down the allied planes
because that would make him look threatening. The cartoon is therefore
almost poking fun at Stalin by showing that he is incapable of dealing with the
allied airlift over Berlin.

2. Section B questions:
a) What was agreed at the Potsdam Conference in
July 1945? (4)
• Germany would be divided
• Poland’s border would be moved West
• Nazi party banned
• Germans living in Poland, Hungary, Czech would be sent back to
Germany
b) Explain why the Soviet Union was unhappy at the
outcome of the Potsdam Conference. (6)
• Soviet Union wanted to impose severe reparations on Germany
• Britain and USA wanted a greater say in East Europe and Stalin
wasn’t happy
• Soviet Union wanted to share in the occupation of defeated
Japan.
Explain your points for this answer! Example (point 2) :
Stalin was unhappy because he had gone to Potsdam with definite ideas
about how the liberated countries in East Europe should be run. However,
his ideas were not accepted by the West as Britain and the USA waned a
greater say in East Europe. Stalin thought that it was okay to keep the
Red Army in liberated countries but Truman was adamant that there
should be fair and free elections in the East.
c) ‘The most important cause of the Cold War was the
Soviet Union’s fear of the West.’ Do you agree?
(10)
• Why did the Soviet Union fear the West? (USA had developed
atomic bomb 1945, distrust since World War Two,
Truman Doctrine, Marshall Aid, NATO
• Why did the USA fear the Soviet Union? (fear of communism
(explain capitalism v communism), Soviet Union creating satellite
states with Red Army (examples – eg Poland)
• Trigger – Berlin Blockade – final action which makes it clear to
USA what the USSR would do if left unchecked.
• Conclusion: Sum up fear and mistrust on both sides due to
different ideologies which led to each side taking action to
contain/spread communism.

3. a) What was the American attitude to the spread of
communism in Europe after the Second World War?
(4)
My answer:
b) Why did the Soviet blockade fail? (6)
My answer:
1) airlift by Western allies
2) Soviet Union had its bluff called
c) The following were all equally important reasons for the
Cold War:
• Soviet aggression
• American fear of communism
• Western policy towards the Soviet Union in the period
1917-1945
Explain your answer referring to the reasons above. (10)
Sample paragraph:
Western policy towards the Soviet Union also contributed towards the Cold War. In
1917, when the communists took over in Russia, the West sent in armies to try and
defeat the communists. Moreover, in the lead up to, and during the Second World
War, the Soviet Union always felt that Britain and France were isolating them. For
example, at the Munich Conference in 1938, Stalin was left out of the talks over what
to do with Czechoslovakia. And during World War Two itself, Stalin felt that the
allies were delaying the D-Day invasion so that the Soviet Union would bear the brunt
of the fighting. Therefore, after the war, the Soviet Union felt no loyalty to the allies
and this mistrust led to actions being taken to protect the USSR against the West.