Breakdown of Grand Alliance Flashcards
What did Truman agree to in November 1945?
Truman agreed to international control of atomic energy by the UN, provided other countries agreed. In November 1945, the US, alongside Canada and the UK, who helped create the bomb, called for the creation of a UN Commission to create rules to control nuclear weapons.
What rules would the UN Atomic Energy Commission have?
Exchanging of scientific information for peaceful means.
Establishing peaceful control for atomic energy.
Eliminating from national armaments of nuclear weapons.
Establishing effective inspection.
In December 1947 at the Conference of Foreign Ministers what did the USSR request about the energy commission?
At the December 1945 Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers, the USSR requested the commission report to the Security Council over the General Assembly so they may veto decisions they don’t agree to. The US countered this by saying no country should veto decisions on atomic matters to circumvent their interference.
In June 1946, what did the US refuse, and what did the US reject leading to the USSR’s veto of this in December?
Growing mistrust in June 1946 made the USSR refuse to surrender their veto, as they would be outvoted on the Security Council, and suggested the destruction of nuclear weapons instead. The USA rejected this as there would be no safeguard, so the USSR vetoed their decision in December 1946.
In September 1945, what did the Council of Ministers disagree on?
The Council of Ministers met in September 1945, and made many disagreements over peace treaties. The USSR, unlike the Allies, wanted a harsh peace with Italy and to make the peace treaties on the basis of armistices signed with Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Finland, but the US refused as democratic governments had to represent them first.
What month in 1945 did James Byrnes visit Moscow? What was to be discussed simultaneously? By which date were the treaties concluded?
James Byrnes, secretary of state, visited Moscow in December and the Eastern European and Italian agreements were to be discussed simultaneously. In the end, over a year of negotiation, by February 1947 the Paris Peace Treaties concluded.
Why did allies disagree over Italy and what happened to its colonies?
The US argued that as Italy had made peace by 1943 it was effectively an ally, but the USSR argued as an Axis state it should be punished, and wanted a share of its former colony, Libya, extending control across the Mediterranean. The US, alarmed, could only agree to save its colonies by agreeing to reparations of $360 million, (100 to USSR), loss of land to Yugoslavia, and control of the armed forces, to make the colonies trust territories under the UN.
What was wanted in Eastern Europe by the USSR and when were agreements signed? what treaties were delayed?
In Eastern Europe, they wanted the signing of peace treaties with former Axis states ASAP in order to dissolve the ACC which Westerners participated in and gain reparation. Governments were set up and agreements signed by 10 February 1947, but disagreements over the value of German property gained by the USSR delayed the Austrian treaty until 1955, and disagreements between four occupying powers prevented restoration of Germany until 1990.
