Chapter 6
Source A
The so-called "Berlin Crisis" is entirely an outgrowth of your own incredible stupidity. When you attended the Potsdam Conference it was your duty to insist upon the establishment of a corridor to the American Zone for entry and exit to the city. This you failed to do. Possibly this was because Joe Stalin to be a "good old chap,”. But I am inclined to think that you were just too dumb to know that such a corridor was necessary.
Excerpt from a letter received by President Truman, Sept 12 1948.
Source B
We refused to be forced out of the city of Berlin. We demonstrated to the people of Europe that we would act and act resolutely, when their freedom was threatened. Politically it brought the people of Western Europe closer to us. The Berlin Blockade was a move to test our ability and our will to resist.
President Truman, speaking in 1949
- “Source A is very critical of the president.” Do you agree? Give two pieces of evidence to support your answer.
- According to President Truman why did the Blockade bring “the people of Western Europe closer to us’?
- Which of the sources do you think is the most reliable? Give one reason to support your answer.
1. Document Question
Here is an extract from a CNN report about Soviet involvement in the Korean War.
It was no secret at the time of the Korean War that the Soviet Union had equipped North Korean forces. But documents made public after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. have revealed the full extent of Moscow's involvement in the conflict.
- Soviet leader Joseph Stalin approved North Korea's plans to invade the rival South and sent officers to help Pyongyang finalize those plans. In a recent interview, Valentin Pak, Kim's former aide and translator, said "the invasion plan was devised by Soviet advisers to the North Korean army," said Pak. "The battle plan was handed to us on tracing paper.”
