The Berlin Blockade and Airlift

1. What is Source 37 (p. 75) saying about Josip Tito, leader of Yugoslavia?     
Source 37 is saying that Josip Tito is betraying the communist government by accepting money from America, who at that time was the enemy to the Soviet Union and the communist party. It shows Tito looking like a poor guilty man, meaning that he knows what he is doing is wrong and he shouldn't be betraying the Soviet Union but he is for his own benefit. 


2. Why do you think Stalin was so hostile to Tito?        
Stalin was so hostile to Tito because not only is he going against the communist government and the influence that the Soviet Union has on Yugoslavia, but he is getting help from Stalin's number one enemy which is the United States. Yugoslavia is supposed to be apart of the Soviet Union's sphere of influence but instead the United States has penetrated the sphere of influence and got Tito to accept money from the United States and therefore Stalin is taking out his anger toward the United States on Tito. 


3. Look back at the map in Source 27 on page 71. How does the geographical position of Yugoslavia help to explain why Stalin did not take any direct action (such as sending in troops) against Tito?     
Stalin did not take any direct action against Tito because Yugoslavia does not have a border with the Soviet Union, and it is just apart of the sphere of influence. Stalin would have to bring the troops through other countries in order to get to Yugoslavia which would cause conflict in the countries which there no conflict in. 


4. Read Source 40 (p. 77). What reasons did the Soviet Union give for cutting off West Berlin?       
The Soviet Union's reason for cutting off West Berlin was that there was a shortage of coal, and therefore they cut off electricity from West Berlin. The Soviet Union's reason for stopping all traffic into West Berlin was that there were technical difficulties. 


5. Why do you think the USA did not believe these were genuine reasons?           
The USA did not believe that the Soviet Union had genuine reasons. The reason for that is that the United State's knew that the Soviet Union should not be trusted because over the years the Soviet Union would say one thing and then do the opposite. Also by this point the Soviet Union was an enemy to the United State's therefore they could not be trusted, especially since the Soviet Union is known for doing things that only benefit themselves. 


6. How do Sources 41–43 differ in their interpretation of the blockade?            
Source 41 claims that there was nothing gained nor lost in the Berlin blockade and all it did was make the United State's and Soviet Union more stubborn to their ways. Source 42, is a speech from President Truman, saying that there was nothing lost but it was a test to the United State's on whether they had the will to stay in Berlin, and that the United State's will not back down from helping the Europeans from having their power. Lastly, Source 43, written by someone in the Soviet Union, had a very different interpretation of the Berlin blockade. The source said that it was an act of war from the United State's and that in the process of the Berlin blockade all the United State's was doing was hurting the innocent people in Berlin and it caused them to starve. In the end the United State's act of war failed and they had to yield. This interpretation was very different from the ones in source 41 and 42.  


7.  Which do you think is the most useful source for a historian studying the Berlin Blockade?       
The most useful source for a historian studying the Berlin blockade would be source 41, because source 41 was not written at the time of the blockade and it does not seem to favor one side or the other, therefore it is most likely more accurate. Source 42 and 43 are also valuable because it was written from the point of views that the American's had during the time of the blockade, and the Soviet Union's point of view of the blockade after it happened. 


8.  Which source do you think gives the most reliable view of the blockade?      
Source 41 gives the most reliable point of view of the blockade. Source 43 is in favor of the Soviet Union because it was still during the Cold War, and therefore the Soviet who wrote it would want the Soviet Union to seem like the better country. Source 42 is not as reliable because it is President Truman talking after the Berlin blockade, meaning he would want to glorify his actions that he made in the Berlin blockade and give a morale boost to the people.