TENSIONS AT POTSDAM

Britain and the USA denied stalin a naval base in the meditteranian

• they saw no need for stalin to have this base
• stalin saw this as evidence that his allies mistrusted him

stalin wanted to take more reaparations from Germany than UK and USA thought was neccessary

• the USA and Britain did not wish to cripple germany, seen the results of repartations after the first world war
• stalin was suspicious about why his allies seemed to want to protext germany and even help it recover

stalin had set up a communist government in Lublin - back then the capital of poland. Britain had preferred the non-communist version which had lived in exile in britain thorughout the war.

truman and atlee were very suspicious of Stalins motives in setting up a communist government