Turmoil within Berlin: The Berlin Blockade and The Airlift

During the late 1940s and early 1950s there were many global issues which involved Communism and the aftermath of the Second World War. 

Communism around the World

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At the time communism was flourishing throughout many parts of the world for many reasons. These communist ideals spread due to poverty and poor leadership. For example in Russia Joseph Stalin was the first general secretary of the Communist Party. Stalin was in his prime mainly from 1922 to 1953, uniting a nation under the red flag. He was able to unite the Russian nation through communist propaganda portraying lies blinding the citizens forcing them to live in false hope. At the time Russia was also centralized upon things such as command economy and five year plans, attempting to launch a rapid industrialization and economic collection. 

Another large red power was China, united under the rule of Mao Zedong. China was in great conflict during this time agriculturally wise, this farmers looked towards communism as a source of hope giving Mao 85% of poor farmers support. But there was still opposition within the nation, so in order for communism to take over the entire nation the communist party needed to defeat the Nationalist Army which through brutal civil war, they were able to. 

Powers such as the U.S. and Western Europe were alarmed by the rising of this "evil" power. Many plans were created in order to vanquish the possibilities of a global communist movement, such as the Marshall Plan created by the U.S. to support and supply governments that were experiencing communist uprising and overthrow within their nation. Thus tension was rising eventually leading the the Cold War. 

World War II

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One of the biggest issues pertaining to the 1940s was World War II and Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. At first and the beginning of the war Hitler was disregarded but once he became active among the world powers conquering nations he was considered an immense threat. Places such as Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France all felt the pain of invasion leading to destruction and poverty throughout these nations. Hitler was able to successfully invade through his military strategies such as the "Blitkrieg" the Lighting Strike. Also at the time, Hilter focused on the purification of his nation, so Jewis citizens, Gypsies and other minorities were killed or put into concentration camps. Approximately 11 to 17 million deaths were recorded.  


At the time conflicts between Japan and the U.S. resulted in the use of the atomic bomb. On August 6, 1945 Hiroshima was bombed, killing 90,000 immediate deaths. And unfortunately many died later due to the radiation emitted from the explosion. Then 3 days later on August 9 Nagasaki was bombed, resulting in another 60,000 dead. Then forcing the end of the second world war, and the start of the Nuclear weapons race.