the Breakdown of the Grand Alliance at Potsdam

Question 1

where did the war continue after the war ended in Europe in May 1945?

Answer 1

Japan

Question 2

what was Stalin committed to doing?

Answer 2

aiding the Western powers in their continued struggle against Japan

Question 3

who did relish in Stalin’s help?

Answer 3

the USA and the UK

Question 4

who were the change in leadership at Potsdam?

Answer 4

Harry S. Truman was now the president of the USA after the death of Roosevelt and Attlee replaced Churchill after winning the General Election in Britain

Question 5

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)

Answer 5

had little knowledge of international affairs when he became president upon Roosevelt’s death. He rejected Roosevelt’s cooperative attitude towards the USSR, and was convinced that the USSR and communism was a threat to the USA’s vital national interests. He sought to promote the USA to the status of a global superpower

Question 6

Clement Attlee (1883-1967)

Answer 6

He shared Churchill’s mistrust of Stalin and was convinced of the importance of a continued alliance with the USA to protect Western Europe from the potential threat of the spread of communism

Question 7

what happened the day before Potsdam?

Answer 7

the first successful detonation of the USA’s atomic bomb had taken place

Question 8

what did Truman hope the atomic bomb would do for him?

Answer 8

provide him with the diplomatic leverage he needed to ensure Stalin stayed loyal to his agreements at Yalta

Question 9

what did Stalin regard the atomic bomb as?

Answer 9

the USA using atomic diplomacy in its dealings with the USSR

Question 10

what was Potsdam characterised by?

Answer 10

Truman’s abrasive diplomacy and the determination of Stalin and Molotov not to be intimidated by the USA’s nuclear monopoly

Question 11

what was significant in the agreements made at Potsdam?

Answer 11

there was no medium- or long-term blueprint laid out for either the future of Germany or the parameters if international relations in the new world order

Question 12

Agreement made at Potsdam

Answer 12

Germany was to be completely disarmed and demilitarised

Question 13

Agreement made at Potsdam

Answer 13

de-Nazification was to be carried out. War crimes would be judges and all former Nazi Party members were to be removed from public office. The education system was to be purged of all Nazi influences

Question 14

Agreement made at Potsdam

Answer 14

decentralisation of the political system was to be undertaken and local responsibility developed

Question 15

Agreement made at Potsdam

Answer 15

freedom of speech and freedom of press were to be restored, as was religious tolerance

Question 16

Agreement made at Potsdam

Answer 16

Germany was to become a single economic unit with common policies on industry and finance

Question 17

Agreement made at Potsdam

Answer 17

the USSR was to receive reparations from its own zone and an additional 25% from the Western zones

Question 18

what was a main problem for the Potsdam Conference?

Answer 18

it did nothing to reinforce the notion of international cooperation aimed at reconstructing long-term future for post-war Europe

Question 19

what was the growing problem for the East and West?

Answer 19

it did nothing to lay the foundations of a viable and non-confrontational relationship between the East and West

Question 20

what did the conference fail to address?

Answer 20

the growing suspicion and uncertainty that had developed between the USA and the USSR

Question 21

Atomic bomb

Answer 21

Nuclear technology had finally been refined to a point where a weapon of mass destruction could be successfully deployed. 2 bombs were dropped on Japan in August 1945. The news of the completion of the atomic bomb was given to Stalin at Potsdam. Truman saw the bomb as a form of absolute pressure that could be used to persuade Stalin to fulfil the agreements he had made over Europe’s future. It had the effect of reinforcing Stalin’s anxiety for future Soviet security.

Question 22

reparations definition

Answer 22

generally means making amends for a wrong done by someone to another; in the case of countries, reparations usually takes form of financial payment or other assistance to the wronged country

Question 23

Western zones definition

Answer 23

when Germany was divided into 4 zones of occupation those zones administered by Britain, the USA and France were referred to as the Western zones