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2.1 The Origins of the Cold War c1945 - 1949 > US, British and USSR relations in 1945 > Flashcards

US, British and USSR relations in 1945 Flashcards

Conflicting ideologies, tensions at Yalta, relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, breakdown of Grand Alliance at Potsdam, relations between Stalin, Truman and Attlee

1
Q

What are the key events for 1945?

A
  • Jan
    • most Eastern European states liberated by USSR
  • Feb
    • Yalta Conference
  • April
    • Roosevelt dies
    • Hitler commits suicide
  • May
    • war in Europe ends
  • July
    • Churchill defeated in general election, replaced with Attlee
    • successful test of US atomic weapon
  • July/Aug
    • Potsdam Conference
  • Aug
    • two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japan)
  • Sep
    • Japan agrees to unconditional surrender to US forces
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2
Q

What are the conflicting ideologies of the Cold War?

A

Capitalism and communism

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3
Q

What are the characteristics of capitalism?

A
  • USA and Britain
  • minimal government intervention
  • private ownership
  • economic growth
  • free market economies
  • individual and political freedom
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4
Q

What are the characteristics of communism?

A
  • USSR
  • Marxism > Leninism > modified by Stalin
  • authoritarian
  • communal ownership
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5
Q

What was the conflict between capitalism and communism?

A
  • each viewed the expansion of the other as a threat
    • desire for national security
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6
Q

What is the context for the Yalta Conference?

A
  • beginning of 1945 the Grand Alliance was showing cracks
  • Western powers had opened a ‘second front’ in 1944
  • Western powers conscious that many Eastern European states has been liberated by USSR
  • Roosevelt had committed to post-war reconstruction
    • based on unity among the victorious
  • Stalin’s guarantee of security through network of Eastern European allies conflicted with Roosevelt’s view
    • focus of tension at Yalta
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7
Q

When did the Yalta Conference take place?

A

4th - 11th February 1945

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8
Q

Who were the leaders at Yalta?

A
  • Stalin (USSR)
  • Roosevelt (USA)
  • Churchill (Britain)
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9
Q

What was the overall objective at Yalta, and what did the conference represent?

A
  • planning for the end of WWII
  • represented the high-point of inter-allied cooperation
  • outcomes reassure that Grand Alliance was ‘alive and well’
    • its members were committed to lasting agreement in international relations post-war
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10
Q

What were Stalin’s objectives/beliefs at Yalta?

A
  • Red Army victories would ensure Soviet sphere of influence in Europe and Asia
  • USSR should be compensated for its sacrifices and should be kept safe from aggression
  • large-scale reparations should be taken from Germany
    • should remain weak
  • Baltic States should form a buffer zone as protection against future Western attack
  • USSR should retain land gained in 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
    • included much of Poland
  • no support should be given to Polish government in exile in London
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11
Q

What were Roosevelt’s objectives/beliefs at Yalta?

A
  • a deal with Stalin was essential
    • due to extent of USSR control
    • USSR still had crucial role in war against Japan
  • decolonisation should be part of Yalta agreement
    • including US colonies such as Philippines
    • get rid of responsibility of colonies as were expensive and a drain
  • US demobilisation should be carried out as soon as possible (finish war asap)
  • ‘four policemen’
    • China, Britain, USSR, USA
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12
Q

What were Churchill’s objectives/beliefs at Yalta?

A
  • protect territorial integrity and self-determination of Poland
    • for which Britain had gone to war in 1939
  • maintain spheres of influence in Europe that were agreed in 1944 Percentages Agreement
  • protect British and French colonial interests after the war
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13
Q

What are the potential areas for disagreement based on the objectives of each power?

A
  • Poland
    • Britain wanted to protect Poland
    • USSR wanted to keep Polish territory, and no support to Polish gov in exile
  • British colonial interests vs US decolonisation
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14
Q

What were the outcomes of the Yalta Conference?

A
  • Germany would be divided into 4 zones
    • USA, Britain, USSR, France
  • Berlin would also be divided
  • United Nations Organisation would be formally ratified
  • USSR would gain land from Poland, and Poland would be expanded north and west
  • a Declaration on Liberated Europe should be created
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15
Q

Relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill: Stalin.

A
  • Stalin and Molotov (Foreign Minister) viewed the Grand Alliance as fundamentally anti-USSR
  • However, Stalin wanted to keep cooperation open with the West
  • Poland was a crucial issue for East-West tensions
  • Stalin’s priorities were to ensure Eastern Europe lay within Soviet sphere of influence
    • intention to turn Germany into a communist state
    • Germany had to be kept weak to ensure communism could be secured
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16
Q

Relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill: Roosevelt.

A
  • commitment to cooperation
    • but founded on basis that post-war world should focus on democracy
  • Roosevelt saw this as being in the interests of both USA and USSR, and could only be achieved through outcomes of Yalta
    • fundamental misconception
    • explains why Roosevelt willing to cooperate with Stalin
  • Roosevelt convinced that he could secure democratic future for Eastern European
  • underestimated Soviet Union security needs in Eastern Europe
17
Q

Relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill: Churchill.

A
  • convinced it was Stalin’s intention to expand Soviet power in Europe
  • believed USSR could threaten British imperial interests
    • Britain needs close alliance with US to ensure protection from potential threat
  • ‘percentages agreement’ 1944 with Stalin
    • Churchill’s determination to control Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe through spheres of influence
18
Q

When was the Potsdam Conference?

A

17 July - 1 August 1945

19
Q

Who were the leaders at Potsdam?

A
  • Stalin (USSR)
  • Roosevelt > Truman (USA)
  • Churchill > Attlee (Britain)
20
Q

What is the context for the Potsdam Conference?

A
  • war in Europe ended May 1945
  • war in Japan continued
  • Stalin committed to help Western powers defeat Japan
  • the day before, the first successful detonation of the USA’s atomic bomb had taken place
    • Truman hoped this would provide leverage to ensure Stalin stayed loyal to Yalta agreements
21
Q

What was Potsdam characterised as?

A
  • Truman’s ‘abrasive diplomacy’
  • Stalin and Molotov’s (foreign minister) determination to not be intimidated by US nuclear monopoly
22
Q

What did Potsdam result in?

A
  • some agreement
  • no medium or long term plan for future of Germany or international relations post-war
23
Q

What was agreed at the Potsdam Conference?

A
  • Germany to be completely demilitarised
  • de-Nazification to be carried out
  • decentralisation of political system to be undertaken, with development of local responsibility
  • freedom of speech and free press restored
  • Germany to become single economic unit
  • USSR to receive reparations from its own zone and 25% from the Western zones
24
Q

What did the Potsdam Conference not do?

A
  • did nothing to lay foundations of viable, non-confrontational relations between East and West
  • failed to address growing suspicions and uncertainty between USA and USSR
25
Q

Relations between Truman, Stalin and Attlee: Truman

A
  • wanted post-war world based on national self-determination
  • wanted open world trading system based on international economic cooperation
  • wanted to limit Soviet expansion
    • fearful of growing Soviet power in Eastern Europe
    • feared removal of anti-communist leaders and the rise of pro-communist provisional governments
  • believed USSR was not receptive to diplomacy and cooperation
    • force may be needed
26
Q

Relations between Truman, Stalin and Attlee: Stalin

A
  • convinced that USA and its allies were potential rivals for dominance in Europe
    • reinforced his obsession with Soviet security
      • Red Army’s continued presence in Eastern Europe
      • intensification of installing pro-communist regimes in liberated states
  • needed to ensure long-term Soviet security in Eastern Europe
  • believed USA had anti-Soviet agenda
27
Q

Relations between Truman, Stalin and Attlee: Attlee

A
  • for Britain, Germany was important geostrategically
    • vital that USA was main defender of Western zones in Germany against Soviet threat
  • British foreign policy became focused on anti-communist Soviet stance
  • Attlee supported Potsdam agreements, but aware that it weakened Germany
  • concerned that Potsdam offered no long-term arrangement for Germany
  • wanted to maintain close relations with USA
  • feared Soviet expansion and suspicious of Stalin
28
Q

What were the overall reasons for the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?

A
  • ideological divisions
  • US commitment to post-war liberal democracy
  • US atomic monopoly
  • no long-term plan for Germany
  • problems over Poland

2.1 The Origins of the Cold War c1945 - 1949 (4 decks)

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