Question

Explain how the situation in Europe immediately following the fall of Germany led directly to the Cold War

Answer 1

The western members of the Allies (Britain, France and the United States) and their wartime partner in the alliance, the Soviet Union, were at odds over how Europe would be governed after the war.  The Western democracies wanted free and open elections in the countries of Eastern Europe coming out from under Nazi domination.  The Soviet Union wanted states allied and aligned with it to prevent any future aggression against the USSR (like how Germany had invaded).  The USSR ended up heavily influencing the Eastern European countries to align with communism, bringing them behind what Winston Churchill called "The Iron Curtain."

The situation of Germany itself was also a tension spot.  Germany was divided between the four Allied nations (Britain, France, the USA, and the USSR).  The British, French and American sectors combined their governance of West Germany and West Berlin.  This prompted the Soviets to blockade Berlin (located within the Soviet sector of East Germany).  The American side responded with the Berlin Airlift to keep West Berlin free of Soviet control.

All of these events were fueling tensions in the Cold War that was developing between the USA and its democratic allies and the USSR and its communist partners.