Do you think communism was contained well after WWW? I believe that communism was not contained very well after WWW because communism managed to spread to Korea, Vietnam, China and Cuba. Communism parties took control in these countries. This spread of Communism was exactly what we didn’t want because If Communism spread too much then we would lose control of It and then It would spread to most of the Middle East. Losing control of communism would be a disaster, If Communism spread to most of the Middle East hen who knows where else it will go.
Luckily Communism didn’t spread to as much of the Middle East as I had feared it would. What is your perspective on the Blockade? I personally believe that the Berlin blockade move made by Stalin was an act of war because by blockading off the vital railways and roads to West Berlin, the USSR were starving a whole civilization. This action was also demonstrating that Stalin was trying to force us to give him our (U. S. Britain, Italy) parts of Berlin to him and this was a very aggressive move, trying to bend us to his will. Why do you hold this perspective?
I hold this view because starving a whole civilization and forcing other nations to give him land cannot be anything less than an act of war! Stalin knows this is an act of war but he’s so focused on controlling all of Berlin that he will do what it takes to try bend us over to his demands. We were not going to give in though; I knew that I had to think of a way to deliver supplies to West Berlin. Believe that this move by Stalin was also due to his hatred of the German people. Although what Russia and Stalin suffered during WWW was terrible, he should not be punishing innocent civilians like his in a time so soon after war.
What actions did you take as a result of your perspective? We knew we couldn’t let the West Berliners starve, but we also couldn’t give in to Stalin. I originally was going to move Tanks up to the blockade to Intimidate Stalin and make him move the blockade but others thought this might cause war. We decided to airlift supplies to West Berlin, although this was very expensive it was a perfect idea, we used the Berlin airways to send planes over to deliver food and other needed supplies. This would mean that we could supply to Berlin while not taking an aggressive move towards Stalin.
What is your perspective on the airlift? The Berlin Airlift was a great success! We managed to supply tons and tons of food to Berlin, we had airplanes landing in West Berlin and taking off every three minutes. We were sending five thousand tons of food every day! This was far more than when we were supplying via railway. Even though I originally wanted to take a more down the planes due to this being considered a war act. He did fly planes extremely close to our planes though. Just under a hundred pilots died because of this aggressive act by Stalin.
Why do you hold this perspective? The airlift is what saved the Berliners and also what saved our parts of Berlin. If we didn’t airlift then either West Berlin would starve or we would have to give away our parts of Berlin. The airlift was the perfect counterpart to Stalin’s blockade. He thought he had us in a corner but the airlift proved him wrong. We could supply huge amounts to Berlin quickly and effectively. I believe that Stalin shot himself in the foot by putting up the blockade. We managed to get huge amounts of food to the Berlin people, and we kept our parts of Berlin.
This is the opposite of what Stalin wanted. I truly believe that the airlift was one of the best decisions made during the Cold War due to it being non-aggressive and how successful it was for supplying to West Berlin. What are your views on WWW ally USSR now becoming a foe? I think it is a great loss to lose USSR as an ally. They were a very strong fighting force and practically won the war as hard as it is to admit. They did sacrifice a lot to defeat Germany, USSR had 8,806,000 casualties during WWW and that far exceeds everyone else’s. Russia became too greedy after the war though.
They wanted to keep Germany weak and wanted to take too much of Germany. I do hope that someday we could become allies again with USSR. Why were you going to take an aggressive approach to the Blockade by moving tanks up? I believe that the Berlin blockade by Stalin was an act of war, and this deserved to be replied to with an aggressive act. I believed that by bringing tanks to the blockade, we could intimidate Stalin and make him take down the Blockade. I believe this would have been a good option, the airlift urine out to be a better option though.
By moving tanks up to the blockade this could have started a war so I am glad that we chose to airlift supplies instead of a more aggressive approach. During the Blockade what did you think the relationship between USA and USSR would be like in the future? I believed that the relationship between us and the USSR wouldn’t be the same for a long time. I knew that for at fifty years there would be tension between us due to what is happening right now. There already was tension during WWW before the blockade but now because of the blockade the tension will be rater than ever.
I knew that someday, If we became allies, the tension would easy, but that day wouldn’t be for a long, long time. Interview with USSR leader Joseph Stalin: What is your perspective on the Blockade? The blockade was absolutely necessary! The Allies were taking most of Berlin when it was USSR who sacrificed the most during WWW. To make matters worse, the allies merged their parts of Berlin together as to say that they are friends and we are enemies! We didn’t sign any agreement saying that the allies could have access to our railways through to our part of Berlin anyway.
We also needed to keep Germany weak and not let them get back to power by supplying so much to them. Why do you hold this perspective? I believe that the blockade was necessary because it us who had 806,000,000 a formal agreement letting allies have access to West Berlin. I put up the blockade because we deserve more of Berlin! If I did nothing and Just let the Allies have most of Berlin then we could never demand anything again. Another reason the blockade was put up was because we have to keep Germany weak! If we keep giving them applies and feeding them, giving them an economy and more luxuries then they will get back to power again.
We must keep Germany weak because I will never forget how they treated us, and how many they killed. What is your perspective on the Airlift? The airlift was most definitely propaganda. The allies are saying that they are airlifting simply to supply to West Berlin and not give in to my demands but I know that the airlift is purely for propaganda purposes. All the sweets and luxuries they are supplying to West Berlin are sending a message. The allies are saying that their art of Berlin is better, living is better, you will get these luxuries, they are saying for everyone come on to their part of Berlin.
Why do you hold this perspective? I hold this perspective because the Allies can fool everyone else with their thoughtful, caring airlift, but I know this is Just their plan to advertise their part of Berlin. This airlift though, the allies were managing to supply more than before because of this propaganda, I tried flying planes close to their planes but I knew that it was only a matter of time before something happened such as someone shooting a plane down ND then that would mean I declared an act of war, even though the airlift was an act of war, I couldn’t display this or a war would start.
What actions did you take as a result of your perspective? The blockade had the potential to start another war, because of this I knew had to take the blockade down, although this pained me to do so, I knew I had to do it because the blockade was only benefiting the allies and sooner or later, an act of war would have occurred. None of us wanted a war so soon after WWW had ended. The results of another war would have been devastating for everyone. Also because of he new nuclear technology I believe that another war would completely demolish the world as we know it.
What did you aim to achieve by blockading West Berlin? I was aiming for the allies to give in to my demands and give me their part of Berlin, if they gave me their part of Berlin, then I’d lift the blockade. One other thing I was trying to achieve was keeping Germany weak; I didn’t want their capitol to become so strong suddenly after WWW. If we kept giving them supplies then they would become strong again Just like after WWW, and they would start another war. What are your thoughts on the Berlin Wall? The Berlin wall was a very smart move by Nikkei Khrushchev.
Although it wasn’t me who put up the Wall, I would have done the same thing if I was still leader. The Berlin Wall was an effective solution for separating the Berliners. It was a lot better than when there was Just barbed wire and guards guarding the border. The rate of West Berliners escaping to other parts of Berlin dropped drastically when the Wall was built in 1961. I am extremely glad that this decision to create the Wall was made; it separated the Berliners very well and meant they could not leave West Berlin and we