Churchill and International Diplomacy

Question 1

How did Churchill view Britain’s international role in WWII

Answer 1

• A major power that had entered the war to maintain peace and honour its obligations (to Poland)
• Britain’s empire was what made it a major power, and it was a force for good
• ‘English-speaking peoples” had natural bonds and would stand together to defend democracy and freedom

Question 2

What was Churchill’s view of the empire?

Answer 2

• Churchill had great respect for the white dominions, appointing high ranking military leaders and consulting with their statesmen
• HOWEVER, he viewed the colonies with much less respect, and expected them to provide troops - raw materials - and food for the war effort without receiving anything in return
• Britain’s exploitation of India for food is seen to have instigated the Bengal Famine of 1943

Question 3

Give 7 commitments that came about from Churchill’s international conferences

Answer 3

1. Commitment to democracy as the main war aim and the policy of unconditional surrender agreed on at conferences with the USA
2. Mediterranean Strategy was accepted by the USA
3. The decision to set D-Day in 1944
4. Spheres of influences in eastern europe with USSR
5. Division of Germany at Yalta and Potsdam
6. Establish the UN at Yalta
7. Stalin’s declaration of war on Japan at Potsdam

Question 4

Give 2 examples that show how Britain was an influential player at international conferences

Answer 4

• Churchill managed to convince Stalin to agree to the Percentages Agreement in 1944 - divvying up spheres of influence in eastern Europe, and securing no soviet intervention in Greece
• Convinced the US to accept the Mediterranean Strategy

Question 5

Give 3 examples that show how Britain was not influential at international conferences

Answer 5

• At Tehran the US made it clear that the UK was a junior partner
• Britain was forced to sign the Atlantic Charter in order to receive American support
• Churchill was forced to make concessions in regards to Poland

Question 6

How was Churchill’s and Stalin’s personal relationship

Answer 6

Surprisingly good - both enjoyed drink, and supported the protection of their empires

Question 7

What deal did Churchill make with Stalin in 1944?

Answer 7

Percentages Agreement

Question 8

What did the Percentages Agreement determine?

Answer 8

Spheres of influence in Eastern Europe - the USSR dominated Romania, Hungry, Bulgaria and Poland, but agreed to not touch Greece

Question 9

How could Churchill’s relationship with the US seemed to be in the US’s favour?

Answer 9

• Churchill was forced to agree to the Atlantic Charter
• Britain had to use its gold reserves as a guarantee for Lease-Lend assistance
• The ships received in the destroyers for bases deal were too old to be of much help
• Towards the end of the war Roosevelt put his foot down on an invasion of France
• By 1943 Roosevelt turned the meetings away from Europe and started focusing more on South-East Asia

Question 10

Where did the Atlantic Charter take place and in what year?

Answer 10

Placentia Bay - 1941

Question 11

What concessions did Churchill manage to convince from Roosevelt

Answer 11

• To oblige with their mediterranean strategy
• To delay the invasion of France
• To adopt a ‘Europe First’ policy of defeating the Germans before Japan

Question 12

What was Churchill and DeGaulle’s relationship like?

Answer 12

• Churchill admired de Gaulle’s patriotism and confidence by found him difficult to work with
• Churchill was frustrated by de Gaulle’s refusal to work with other French leaders (e.g. Giraud in North Africa)
• The rivalry between de Gaulle and Giraud threatened allied unity at the Casablanca conference in 1943

Question 13

How could Churchill be seen to be a “Europhile”?

Answer 13

Very pro:
- Believed in the concept of ‘the European family’ and urged a ‘United States of Europe’
- Did not see links with Europe as incompatible with other links (Commonwealth and UN)
- Had a history of promoting European co-operation; supporting Ariste Briand’s idea of a European union in 1930 and had offered a union with France in 1940
- Spoke in favour of reducing trade barriers and promoting economic co-operation in Europe

Question 14

How could Churchill be seen to be a “Eurosceptic”?

Answer 14

• He believed that the priority should be in maintaining the Empire and the Commonwealth
• He also wanted to develop stronger ties or a “special relationship” with the US
• Churchill saw the limitations of relying too much on Europe as he was not on good terms with de Gaulle and much of continental Europe was a mess after the war - so did not advocate joining the European Coal and Steel Community

Question 15

Where was the Iron Curtain Speech?

Answer 15

Fulton Missouri

Question 16

What was the significance of the speech?

Answer 16

• It helped foster the idea of an almost impossible barrier between the USSR and the West - which worsened relations between the USSR and the West
• Encouraged the view that the West needed to maintain armaments to defend itself
• Reinforced Stalin’s belief in Western hostility towards the USSR

Question 17

How was the Iron Curtain speech misunderstood

Answer 17

The most commonly quoted part is about how ‘from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic,’ behind which lay ‘Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest and Sofia’ was often taken out of context, and the speech also had positive connotations regarding the Soviets

Question 18

What positive connotations did the Iron Curtain speech have regarding the Soviets?

Answer 18

• The speech also referred to Churchill’s admiration for the valiant people of Russia
• It said that Stalin did not desire war
• It called for a settlement

Question 19

How could the Iron Curtain speech be seen to have exaggerated?

Answer 19

• Berlin was not totally under Soviet control but rather
  split into 4 zones
• Yugoslavia was not totally dominated by the USSR
• There was no evidence that Stalin was planning further
  expansion
• There was, as Stalin said, no acknowledgement that the
  USSR might have had real defence concerns it its desire
  to put a barrier between itself and the West
• Though the Red Army was a powerful influence the total domination of eastern Europe was not complete in 1946

Question 20

What was the reaction to the Iron curtain speech in the US?

Answer 20

• Mixed; some newspapers were critical
• US policy was not transformed by the speech, as key figures like Truman and Kennan were already critical of the USSR
• The speech only reaffirmed American concerns with the closing off of eastern Europe, creating a closed economic zone, threatening American economic interests before the speech was delivered

Question 21

Amongst whom was the reaction to the Iron Curtain speech hostile?

Answer 21

• the USSR
• the political left across Europe