(1) US, British and USSR relations in 1945 Flashcards
1.2 Tensions at Yalta
What was agreed at the Yalta conference, and what tensions had these caused?
✩ The division of Germany into zones of occupation and the trial of Nazi war-criminals. The USSR was keen that Germany should not be allowed to rearrange as a military threat.
✩ They pledged to hold free elections in Poland. Churchill was keen to have the Polish Government in exile in London take power. Conversely, Stalin sought influence over Poland because Russia had been invaded three times via Poland in the twentieth century.
✩ The USSR would join the war against Japan and join the United Nations (UN).
When was the Yalta Conference?
✩ February 1945
1.2 Tensions at Yalta
What were the aims of the USSR, Britain and America
✩ Aim of Britain: to create an independent Poland, and block soviet expansion in Europe.
✩ Aim of America: raw materials, freedom to export and trade throughout the world and the creation of the United Nations.
✩ Aim of USSR: USSR’s security to be secured through Soviet spheres of influence in Europe, creation of friendly pro-soviet regimes in Eastern Europe and reparations from Germany.
Tell me more about Roosevelt’s intention of creating a United Nations
✩ Roosevelt wanted the four most powerful countries (Great Britain, China, USA and USSR) to act as ‘policemen’ that would maintain world peace.
✩ He supported the idea of the United Nations which would maintain world peace and provide a strong Security Council which would work to ‘police’ disputes.
1.3 Relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill/Attlee
What were the Western views about the Soviet’s desire for security?
✩ Even with the suggestion of a buffer of friendly Communist countries to protect the USSR from further attack in the future, USA and Britain made it clear at the agreements that this was unacceptable to the Western governments as they wanted freely defined states and were fearful about the spread of communism.
1.3 Relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill/Attlee
What were the consequences of the showcasing and creation of the US atomic bomb?
✩ Soon after the Potsdam conference, the power of the US’s atomic capability was shown to the world and particularly the USSR through the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
✩ For example, there were around 140,000 estimated deaths and 70% of all buildings in Hiroshima were razed and burnt.
How did the US atomic bomb cause tensions?
✩ Stalin was not informed of the dropping of the bombs.
✩ Truman thought this show of military superiority would make Stalin more amenable to American and British ideas for Europe but instead, it made Stalin hostile and suspicious towards them.
1.4 The breakdown of the Grand Alliance at Potsdam
What was agreed at the Potsdam Conference?
✩ USSR to receive reparations from its own zones and an additional 25% from western zones.
✩ Germany to become a single economic unit.
✩ Germany to be completely disarmed/demilitarized.
✩ Denazification to be carried out (Nazi influence from education system eradicated and Nazi party members to be removed from office.)
When was the Potsdam Conference held?
✩ July to August 1945
Why did tensions build up during the Potsdam Conference?
✩ The Americans wanted an entirely new government in Poland as they felt the elections there had not been ‘free’, despite Stalin’s offer to include more London Poles in the Lublin-based government.
✩ The Americans were unhappy with the spread of the Red Army across Eastern Europe and the influence Stalin had over the governments there.
✩ President Roosevelt died and his successor, Harry Truman, was inclined to ‘get tough’ with the USSR. Churchill also lost the 1945 election and was replaced by a new prime minister (Clement Atlee, Labour) who lacked experience in diplomacy.
What were further tensions that built up during the Potsdam Conference (specific knowledge)
✩ The discovery of a mass grave in Katyn Forest containing 10,000 Polish officers caused tensions with the Western Allies. The Soviets denied any involvement.
✩ The Soviets were accused of allowing the crushing of the Poles by the Nazis during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, this alarmed the Western Allies.
✩ The delay in opening a Second Front caused tensions between the Allies. The USSR felt it had been left to take the brunt of the war, as they suffered the most after WW2; 27 million deaths.
What were the Percentages Agreement?
✩ The Percentages Agreement was a secret understanding between Churchill and Stalin in 1944, dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence for the UK and the Soviet Union after World War II.
✩ Although it had not been formally acknowledged by the US, it revealed the emerging East-West divide and the intention to partition Europe for political gains, an epitome of their growing fears and tensions.
What did David Evans and Jane Jenkins put fourth in their interpretations about the Potsdam Conferences?
✩ These historians argued that ‘at the time of The Potsdam Conference, it was already clear that the wartime alliance of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union was breaking down.’
What did David Evans and Jane Jenkins put fourth in their interpretations about their involvement in Eastern Europe?
✩ These historians argued that “by using diplomatic pressure, infiltration, intimidation and subversion, Stalin began consolidating communist rule across much of Eastern Europe.”
