Berlin Blockade Document Analysis

1. What type of document is this? What is its purpose?      
  Both documents are reports and memorandums from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  The purpose of these documents is to report on the decisions being made by the Soviet Union regarding Berlin and West Germany.


2. When was it written? Why is that significant?     
 They were written on June 30, 1948 and that is significant because they are events that had just happened and were probably events that the Soviet Union did not want the rest of the war knowing about.


3. Who created the document? Who received the document?     
 They were written by R.H. Hillenkoetter in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created the document for President Truman.


4. Who is Marshal Sokolovsky?     
 Marshal Sokolovsky is an official from the Soviet Union who met with German officials about how the Berlin Blockade would affect East Germany and how to solve this issue. He decides to let the West feed their own parts of Berlin (West Berlin).


5. How did the CIA get information of the meeting between Marshal Sokolovsky and German members of the German industrial committee?      
   The CIA had a spy or imformant at the conference who supplied them with information.
  

6. What were the three Soviet alternatives as they presented themselves when this document was written? What policy did the Soviets pursue over the course of the next nine months? Why?     

 The three alternative were to start a war with the USA, Britain, and France, stop the blockade, or just let the three western countries take care of feeding the people in West Berlin.  They felt that they were not in a good position to start a war because they did not have the supplies to do so and that if they lifted the blockade they would look weak.  Therefore, having the West feed their people was the best option and would create a challenge for those countries and Soviet wanted to create hardships for them.

7. Stalin stated in a speech on February 9, 1946, "he [Stalin] blamed the last war on 'capitalist monopolies' and warning that, since the same forces still operated, the USSR must treble the basic materials of national defense such as iron and steel, double coal and oil production, and to delay the manufacture of consumer goods until rearmament was complete." Who are the "capitalist monopolies?" How does this statement enlighten the Soviet viewpoint against the United States? Were the Allies justified in canceling the shipments of German reparations to the Soviets at the end of World War II? Why did the Soviets rely so heavily on Germany for food and industry?        
  The capitalist monopolies are American and British companies.  This statement enlightens the Soviet viewpoint against the US.  That is because Stalin is saying that companies of the US and Britain are responsible for starving people and the lack of goods for the people in the country.  This would make the Soviets seem like the victims and the US seem like an attacker out to kill innocent people.  Also, although it does not seem fair, the Allies were justified in stopping the Soviets from taking such a large amount of money from Germany.  Even though the Soviet Union lost many men in the war, punishing Germany too harshly would risk another war and, with the discovery of the atomic bomb, they might actually have been able to take over the world in World War III.  The lack of money was especially unfortunate for the Soviet Union because they desperately relied on Germany for food and industry because the rest of the Soviet Union, mainly Russia, was in a drought.  This meant that the rest of the Soviet Union could not grow food, so they needed German food.

Dictators Threaten World Peace

1. Why did the new democracies set up after World War I fail? (And yes, I am aware the answer is in the reading so make sure your answer is in your own words.)      

The new democracies set up after World War I failed for many reasons.  In many of the countries where democracies there was no tradition of democracy so the people in the country did not know what to expect in a democracy or how to run one.  Therefore, these governments were not working.  Also, countries such a Germany were upset about having lost land and were angry about the Treaty of Versailles.  They wanted to reverse this treaty because the treaty took away there property and blamed them.  The democracies also failed because of the economic depression and devastation after the war.  It was difficult to keep people happy when many were starving and it was also difficult to run a government when the economy was doing very badly, so it was easy for the governments to fail. Also, the strong nationalism in the country left the countries wanting something more like an empire.  That was why the new democracies failed.

2. What are the characteristics of a totalitarian state?     
  There are characteristics of a totalitarian state.  In such a state, there cannot be any opposition to the government and the individuals in the society have no rights.  In a totalitarian state the government has complete control of the citizens.


3. What factors led to the rise of Fascism in Italy?     
  There were many factors that led to the rise of Fascism in Italy.  The Italians really felt the need for stronger leadership due to the fact that there were large unemployment and inflation rates. This was blamed on Communism, so Benito Mussolini, who established the Fascist Party, was able to make people want a strong leader by using their fears of Communism to his advantage.  He made people want the nationalism and stability that he claimed Fascism offered and those were the factors that led to the rise of Fascism.


4. What were the key ideas and goals that Hitler presented in Mein Kampf ?      

  The key ideas and goals that Hitler presented in Mein Kampf were related to Nazism.  This was a political philosophy that included fascism with extreme nationalism.  Another idea was racial purification, which was the idea that the Aryan race of blue eyes and blonde hair was the "master race" and that this race was to be served by inferior races such as Jews and Slavs.  Another idea was Germany needed to expand in order to succeed, so it basically had to take over other countries or just take their land.  Those were the three main ideas and goals in Mein Kampf.

5. Why did Japan invade Manchuria?     
Japan invaded Manchuria because they wanted Japan to expand.  The leaders of Japan were mainly militaristic, nationalists, so they believed in spreading Japan and having ways to do so.  Therefore, these Japanese leaders led an invasion of Manchuria in order to take the country's natural resources and land.  This would allow for the expansion Japan thought it needed.


6. What foreign countries were involved in the Spanish Civil War?     
There were many foreign countries involved int he Spanish Civil War.  The Americans created the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and that would be used to fight Fransisco Franco.  The Soviet Union also sent equipment and advisors.  Yet Hitler (Germany) and Mussolini (Italy) sent help to Franco. These two countries would later become alies.  However, many democracies in the west did not take a side.  Clearly more countries than just Spain were involved in the war.


7. What factors contributed to America's growing isolationism?      
There were many factors that contributed to America's growing isolationism.  The main factor was that there was a large antiwar feeling in the country.  During the 1930s, many books had been published stating that the US involvement in World War I was only for the benefit of bankers and those who sold weapons.  Since many people had died in this war, this cause that everyone was believing angered people.  Even the Girl Scouts changed in order to be less militaristic.  In order to keep the people happy, the government did not want to be involved with another war, so America kept to itself.