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GERMANY: THE ROOT OF THE COLD WAR by Stephen Davies After Hitler's defeat in World War II, Germany was in turmoil, and the four major Allies -- France, Britain, the USA and Russia -- split the country, first to obtain reparations and then attempt to rehabilitate Germany so that it could eventually re-unite and become independent. But tension grew and developed between Russia and the West, especially the USA, eventually resulting in a war of …

…powers signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or NATO, protecting themselves against Russia, who later responded with the Warsaw Treaty Organisation (WTO) or Warsaw Pact. These treaties were another repercussion of the Berlin Blockade, and increased tension between Russia and the West. Therefore, although Germany was not solely responsible for the Cold War, it played a major role in causing it with the disagreements and tension it produced between Russia and the USA from 1945 to 1949.