Events of 1945

Question 1

What were Stalin’s key goals after WW2?

Answer 1

Stalin wanted to safeguard and rebuild the USSR after losing over 20 million citizens. He aimed to expand communist influence in Europe and secure his position through military and political control.

Question 2

Why did Stalin create a buffer zone?

Answer 2

To protect the USSR from future Western attacks, based on previous invasions by Germany (WW1, WW2) and non-communist forces during the Russian Civil War. The buffer zone consisted of Soviet-controlled satellite states in Eastern Europe.

Question 3

What was Stalin’s policy regarding Poland?

Answer 3

Stalin wanted to retain Polish lands acquired in the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and opposed the exiled Polish government in London, which accused the USSR of murdering Polish officers.

Question 4

How did Stalin maintain Soviet influence in Europe and Asia?

Answer 4

By using the Red Army to enforce control and protect the Soviet sphere of influence, which Western Allies viewed as an attempt to spread communism.

Question 5

What was Roosevelt’s vision for international peace?

Answer 5

Roosevelt supported the establishment of the United Nations, with key nations (USA, USSR, Britain, China) acting as peacekeepers to resolve disputes.

Question 6

What were Roosevelt’s views on Poland and decolonization?

Answer 6

He believed in Poland’s self-determination and opposed Stalin’s interference. He also supported global decolonization, including U.S. territories like the Philippines.

Question 7

How did Roosevelt’s death change U.S. foreign policy?

Answer 7

After Roosevelt’s death in April 1945, Truman became president. Truman was less experienced in foreign policy and adopted a more hostile approach toward the USSR, escalating tensions.

Question 8

What were Churchill’s goals regarding Poland?

Answer 8

Churchill prioritized free and fair elections in Poland and fair borders with Germany, as Britain entered WW2 to protect Poland’s sovereignty.

Question 9

What was the Percentages Agreement, and why was it significant?

Answer 9

A 1944 deal between Churchill and Stalin dividing influence in Europe. For example, Britain had 90% in Greece, and the USSR had 90% in Romania. Churchill aimed to uphold this agreement in 1945.

Question 10

How did Churchill view Britain’s global position post-war?

Answer 10

Churchill wanted to preserve British and French colonial power and feared U.S. isolationism. He sought to maintain a strong alliance with the U.S. and negotiate with Stalin to secure British interests.

Question 11

What happened to Churchill in 1945, and how did it impact policy?

Answer 11

Churchill was replaced by Clement Attlee in July 1945, who had no sympathy for communism and took a firmer stance against the USSR.

Question 12

Who were the ‘Big Three’?

Answer 12

Stalin (USSR), Roosevelt (USA), and Churchill (Britain), leaders of the Allied powers during WW2.

Question 13

How did the ‘Big Three’ present themselves publicly in 1945?

Answer 13

They portrayed a united front through staged photographs at events like the Yalta Conference, masking underlying tensions.

Question 14

What did Roosevelt think of Stalin and Churchill?

Answer 14

Roosevelt believed he could work with Stalin, thinking they shared similar post-war goals. He felt Churchill overreacted to Stalin’s provocations.

Question 15

What were Stalin’s views of Roosevelt and Churchill?

Answer 15

Stalin distrusted Churchill, seeing him as a greater threat to the USSR than Roosevelt. He respected Roosevelt and preferred working with him.

Question 16

How did Churchill view Stalin and Roosevelt?

Answer 16

Churchill distrusted Stalin, fearing he would challenge British imperial interests. He also thought Roosevelt was too trusting of Stalin and overly pro-Russian.

Question 17

What was the main issue of tension at the Yalta Conference?

Answer 17

The fate of Poland, particularly the communist government established by Stalin in Lublin and his promises of free and fair elections.

Question 18

What agreements were made about Poland at Yalta?

Answer 18

Stalin agreed to allow members of the exiled Polish government into the Lublin government and to hold free elections. Poland’s borders were adjusted, giving parts of Eastern Germany to Poland and other Polish lands to the USSR.

Question 19

How was Germany dealt with at Yalta?

Answer 19

Germany was divided into four zones controlled by the USA, USSR, Britain, and France. Berlin was also divided into corresponding zones.

Question 20

What agreements were made regarding Japan at Yalta?

Answer 20

The USSR agreed to join the war against Japan in return for the southern half of the Sakhalin Island and economic rights in Manchuria.

Question 21

What was the Declaration of Liberated Europe?

Answer 21

An agreement among the Big Three to promote democracy and freedom in post-war Europe, ensuring liberated nations could choose their own governments.

Question 22

What agreements were made about the United Nations?

Answer 22

The Big Three confirmed the establishment of the United Nations, with a founding conference planned for April 1945 in the USA.

Question 23

What were the broader agreements made at Yalta?

Answer 23

In addition to plans for Poland and Germany, the Big Three agreed on the division of Germany, Soviet participation in the Pacific war, and a framework for post-war cooperation.

Question 24

Who attended the Potsdam Conference in July 1945?

Answer 24

Stalin (USSR), Attlee (Great Britain), and Truman (USA).

Question 25

How was the context of the Potsdam Conference different from Yalta?

Answer 25

Germany was under occupation, two new leaders (Attlee and Truman) had replaced Churchill and Roosevelt, and the USSR had expanded its control over Eastern and Central Europe.

Question 26

What actions by the USSR concerned America and Britain by Potsdam?

Answer 26

The USSR expelled 5 million Germans from Poland, forcibly relocated them to West Germany, and placed communist officials into local governments across Eastern Europe.

Question 27

What was Stalin’s goal regarding the Soviet sphere of influence?

Answer 27

To maintain control over Eastern Europe as a buffer zone through Red Army divisions and communist regimes in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania.

Question 28

How did Stalin violate promises made to the Allies regarding Eastern Europe?

Answer 28

He failed to hold free elections in the satellite states, despite his commitments at Yalta, causing distrust among Western powers.

Question 29

How did the dropping of atomic bombs affect relations at Potsdam?

Answer 29

Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan without informing Stalin heightened Stalin’s hostility and suspicion toward the USA and Britain.

Question 30

What agreements were reached about Germany at Potsdam?

Answer 30

Germany would be demilitarized, disarmed, and de-Nazified. Freedom of speech, press, and worship would be restored. Germany would be treated as a single economic unit.

Question 31

How were reparations from Germany handled?

Answer 31

The USSR took reparations from its zone and 25% from Western zones in exchange for agricultural produce. Western powers took reparations from their respective zones.

Question 32

What is the historical view of the breakdown of the Grand Alliance at Potsdam?

Answer 32

Historians David Evans and Jane Jenkins argue that the alliance was already breaking down by Potsdam due to Stalin consolidating communist rule through intimidation, infiltration, and subversion in Eastern Europe.