1943-1945: The Conferences

Question 1

When were the Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences?

Answer 1

Teheran - Nov/Dec 1943
Yalta - Feb 1945
Potsdam - July 1945

Question 2

What were the main agreements at Teheran in 1943?

Answer 2

• Britain and the USA agreed to open a second front by invading France in May 1944 - although this was later than Stalin wanted and he believed the USA and Britain were deliberately delaying the opening of the front to weaken the USSR as much as possible
• The USSR would wage war against Japan once Germany was defeated
• United Nations would be set up

Question 3

Who gained most from Teheran?

Answer 3

Stalin - he got most of what he wanted (a second front and eastern Poland).

Question 4

At Teheran, who felt slightly isolated and why?

Answer 4

Churchill - his idea of an Allied invasion through the Balkans (to prevent a Soviet control of Eastern Europe) was rejected

Question 5

What had Churchill done during the Russian Civil War that angered Stalin?

Answer 5

Supported the White Army, opponents of the Bolsheviks (communists)

Question 6

What event in April 1943 made Churchill more suspicious of Stalin’s intentions towards Poland?

Answer 6

The discovered by German troops of a mass grave in Katyn Forest which contained the bodies of 10,000 Polish officers murdered by the Soviets

Question 7

Why was Poland so vital to the USSR?

Answer 7

Stalin wanted it as a ‘buffer zone’ to protect against future invasion. It was through Poland that Napoleon (1812), the Kaiser (WWI) and Hitler (WWII) had attacked Russia in the past.

Question 8

Why did the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 further Churchill’s suspicions of Stalin?

Answer 8

The Soviet army waited outside Warsaw as the German army crushed a rebellion by the Polish. This also left Poland defenceless agaisnt Soviet occupation.

Question 9

What was the background to the Yalta Conference in February 1945?

Answer 9

The Allies were closing in on Berlin (and victory) and were meeting to consider what to do with Europe after the war’s end

Question 10

At Yalta, what did they agree to do with Germany?

Answer 10

To divide it into four zones (US, British, French and Soviet). Berlin would be split the same way.

Question 11

At Yalta, what did the USSR again agree to following German surrender

Answer 11

To declare war on Japan

Question 12

At Yalta, what was agreed about those countries freed from Nazi occupation

Answer 12

That free elections would be held

Question 13

At Yalta, did all three countries commit to joining the United Nations? What was the significance of this?

Answer 13

Yes. This was significant because it suggests the USA, GB and USSR were looking to continue working together after the war had finished - despite ideological differences

Question 14

At Yalta, what was agreed about Poland?

Answer 14

It should be run in a ‘Soviet sphere of influence’ but run on ‘a broader democratic basis’

Question 15

Did relations between the Big Three improve or grow more tense as a result of Yalta?

Answer 15

Relations improved, owing largely to the fact that Stalin and FDR got on well (so did FDR and Churchill). Although tensions remained about the future of Poland (US/GB didn’t want it turning communist/USSR wanted it as a buffer zone to protect it from invasion).

Question 16

Prior to Potsdam, who died and why was that significant?

Answer 16

Roosevelt died. Truman became President. Truman was strongly anti-communist, didn’t have the relationship with Stalin that Roosevelt did, and was less willing to compromise with him.

Question 17

Why did Truman delay the first meeting of the conference?

Answer 17

To test the atomic bomb

Question 18

Why was the testing of the atomic bomb significant?

Answer 18

Truman hadn’t told Stalin about it. This made Stalin suspicious of Truman.

Question 19

Which leader was replaced at Potsdam?

Answer 19

Churchill lost the 1945 General Election to Clement Attlee and was replaced

Question 20

What other key event had occurred prior to the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 20

Germany had been defeated (although Japan had not), so the Big Three were no longer fighting a common enemy

Question 21

What key agreements were made relating to Germany at the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 21

Confirmed that Germany and Berlin would be divided into four sectors; Germany would be reduced in size

Question 22

What was agreed at Potsdam relating to reparations?

Answer 22

The USSR would take 1/4 of the industrial equipment from the other three zones, but would provide the other zones with raw materials

Question 23

What was Truman’s attitude at Potsdam?

Answer 23

He attempted to assert his authority, using the atomic bomb as ‘the master card’. Churchill said Truman ‘generally bossed the whole meeting’

Question 24

Other than Truman’s arrogance, what else strained relations at Postdam?

Answer 24

It had been previously agreed that Poland would have a govt. with both communists and capitalists. By Potsdam, it was clear the USSR had not allowed this to happen.

Question 25

Did Potsdam increase or relax tension?

Answer 25

It increased tension. Outwardly there was unity. but insiders were aware of the bitter divisions below the surface, and worried of a new war.