Origins of the Cold War c1945–1949: US, British and USSR relations in 1945 - Tensions at Yalta Flashcards
When was the Yalta Conference?
4th - 11th February, 1945
How was the war at this point?
- In 1944, Western powers had opened up a ‘second front’ by invading Nazi-occupied France
- During August 1944, Soviet forces swept into Poland
- By March 1945 the Soviets had crossed the Oder River (goes through Poland and Germany)
Were the agreements broad or specific
broad
What agreements were made at Yalta?
- Germany would be divided into four zones, each controlled by an allied power (Britain, US, USSR, France)
- Berlin would be similarly divided
- The UN would be formed
- A Declaration on Liberated Europe should be created
- Stalin agrees to join war against Japan
-USSR would gain land from Poland
Why were there tensions surrounding spheres of influence?
- Western powers were concerned that many Eastern European states had been liberated by the USSR
- Roosevelt and Churchill agreed on national self-determination and no spheres of influence
- But Stalin wanted to provide the USSR’s security (buffer zone) through Soviet spheres of influence in Europe
How did the Western powers expect Stalin to act?
- Roosevelt was convinced that Stalin would agree to free elections and democratic governments
- Churchill was convinced that Stalin intended to expand Soviet power in post-war Europe
What disagreements were there surrounding Germany?
- Roosevelt and Churchill wanted to reconstruct and re-educate Germany as a democratic nation
- But Stalin wanted to keep Germany weak
What were the different economic aims of the powers?
- Roosevelt and Churchill wanted world economic reconstruction
- Though the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
- Stalin focused on economic reconstruction for the USSR
- Mainly at the expense of Germany
What disagreements were there regarding the Declaration of Liberated Europe?
- How it was interpreted in relation to Poland, Stalin was determined that a Communist government should stay in place whilst Roosevelt and Churchill insisted it become a democracy
- USSR set up pro-communist gov. on Poland’s liberation called the Lublin Poles
What was the Declaration on Liberated Europe?
- Agreement that the Grand Alliance would help any liberated European state or former Axis state in Europe, if they agreed to certain conditions
What conditions did European states have to follow under the Declaration on Liberated Europe?
- To establish conditions of internal peace
- To carry out emergency relief measures for the relief of distressed peoples
- To form interim governments broadly representative of all democratic elements in the population (population’s beliefs) and pledged to the earliest possible establishment of government through free elections
- To facilitate where necessary the holding of such elections
How did Stalin describe Poland at Yalta
As a corridor for attack on Russia
How satisfied would Stalin be with the agreements
USSR gaining land from Poland greatly satisfies them
Tolerates Declaration on Liberated Europe, likely has no intention of following it
Doesn’t love the division of Germany
How satisfied would FDR be with the agreements
UN’s creation strongly satisfies the US
Declaration on Liberated Europe satisfies US
Happy with Germany’s division to allow it to recover in a controlled way
How did Stalin violate the Declaration on Liberated Europe in the USA’s eyes
The USSR supported, partly by eliminating opposition of non-communist leaders, the pro-communist Polish Government in the city Lublin, the Lublin government- starting formation of buffer zone
