US, British and USSR relations in 1945

What happened - January 1945?

most Eastern European states are liberated by the Soviet Union

What happened February 1945?

Yalta Conference

What happened April 1945?

Roosevelt dies

Hitler commits suicide

What happened May 1945?

The war in Europe ends

What happens July 1945?

Churchill is defeated in the General Election

successful test of the USA’s atomic weapon

What happens July/August 1945?

Potsdam Conference

What happens August 1945?

Atomic bombs on Japan at Hiroshima and Nagasaki

What happens September 1945?

Japan agrees to an unconditional surrender to American forces

Who were the leading capitalist democracies when WWII broke out?

USA + Britain

What did democratic American capitalist thinking believe?

belief in the individual’s fundamental right to liberty - protected by government but only through limited controls

equal opportunities but not equal outcomes

liberty based on free market economies - enabled competition + free exchange of goods with minimal government intervention

right of every citizen to have a choice of how the system would be led - free elections, enabling citizens to select their leaders from a range of candidates and political parties

Who was the founding father of communist ideology?

What did he believe?

KARL MARX

believed that capitalism led to the exploitation of the proletarian majority by the ruling bourgeoisie - done to strengthen the bourgeoisie’s economic dominance and to enable it to maintain its control

What did the Russian Revolution change regarding communist thinking?

resulted in the creation of the first communist state in the world, led by Lenin

modified Marxist thinking by establishing LENINISM as means by which Marxism would be turned into a practical reality

based thinking on idea there would be a dictatorship of the proletariat as a first step to the creation of a socialist society

In what was was Leninism authoritarian?

it demanded rule by a relatively small workers’ elite, exercised by the Communist Party on behalf of the proletariat

When did Stalin come to power?

1929

How did Stalin modify Leninism to suit his own ends?

developed the ‘cult of personality’ + promoted himself as the infallible interpreter of communist ideology

became obsessed with protecting his own power and the machinery of the state that guarded it

What were the communist, totalitarian beliefs of the USSR?

Communist Party = only legal political party

private property practically abolished - state owned all land, factories, mines, transport networks

What was significant about the two conflicting ideologies of the USA and USSR?

the certainty of each side that its ideology should dominate in as many other nations as possible - each viewed the expansion of the other as a threat

both the communist East and the Capitalist West saw the need to expand its own power - ideological conviction and a desire for national security through increased global influence became driving obsessions for each side

What was the Grand Alliance?

marriage of convenience

Britain, USA, USSR united against Nazi Germany

Why was the Grand Alliance beginning to show cracks in 1945?

Western powers delayed opening of a second major front in Western Europe - Stalin saw this as a sign that the Western powers wanted Germany and the USSR to weaken each other before intervening

Who was Joseph Stalin?

had been leader of USSR since 1929, had succeeded Lenin

modified Leninism to suit his own ends

had ‘cult of personality’

Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt?

US President 1933 - 1945

ended the USA’s isolationism when he entered the war in 1941

committed democrat but prepared to support the USSR in the Grand Alliance, was optimistic that meaningful international cooperation could continue after the war had ended

Who was Winston Churchill?

British prime minister 1940 - 1945, 1951 - 1955

established a working relationship with Stalin but quickly became deeply suspicious of his post-war intentions

anxious to ensure unity among the Western capitalist powers in the face of what he regarded as a fundamental threat from the USSR

Why was the fact that many Eastern European states had been liberated from Nazi occupation by the USSR significant for the Western powers?

Franklin D. Roosevelt was committed to post-war reconstruction based on unity among the victorious powers

Stalin’s guarantee of security through a network of Eastern European allies was in conflict with this view - FOCUS OF TENSION BETWEEN EAST AND WEST LEADING UP TO YALTA CONFERENCE

When as the Yalta Conference?

February 1945

What was the purpose of the Yalta Conference?

preparation for planning the imminent end of the war

What did the Yalta Conference represent?

the high point of inter-allied cooperation

its outcomes appeared to reaffirm the belief that the Grand Alliance was still alive and well, and that its members were committed to a lasting consensus in international relations in the post-war world

What were Roosevelt and Churchill’s objectives at Yalta?

Collective security founded on the United Nations (UN)

Long-term cooperation with the USSR

The right to national self-determination and no spheres of influence

Germany’s reconstruction and re-education as a democratic nation

World economic reconstruction through the creation of the IMF and the World Bank

What were Stalin’s objectives at Yalta?

The USSR to be in control of its own destiny

Cooperation with the Anglo-Americans

The USSR’s security guaranteed through Soviet spheres of influence in Europe

Germany to remain weak for the indefinite future

Economic reconstruction for the USSR - mainly at Germany’s expense

What was agreed at Yalta?

Germany would be divided into four zones, each administered by an allied power - USA, USSR, UK, France

Berlin would be similarly divided

the United Nations Organisation would be formally ratified

the USSR would gain land from Poland; Poland would be expanded to the north and the west

a Declaration on Liberated Europe should be created

What did the Declaration on Liberated Europe include?

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE: promised to help the liberated nations establish democratic institutions and governments that were representative of all democratic elements in the population

FREE ELECTIONS: explicitly guaranteed that free elections would be held as soon as possible

JOINT RESPONSIBILITY: USA, USSR, UK would work together to maintain order and rebuild these societies

What became a supreme objective for Stalin following WWII?

lasting security

How many Soviets died during WWII?

estimated 25 million

Who was Vyacheslav Molotov?

Soviet Foreign minister 1939 - 1949, 1953 - 1957

leading Soviet representative at Yalta and Potsdam

many regarded his attitudes as making a major contribution to the collapse of East-West relations

What were Stalin and Molotov’s view of their Grand Alliance allies?

viewed them as fundamentally anti-USSR

but Stalin was a pragmatist, wanted to keep open an avenue of cooperation with the West

What were Stalin’s priorities in Europe?

focused on ensuring that Eastern Europe lay within a Soviet sphere of influence

had the intention to turn the whole of Germany into a communist state at some point in the future

What was Stalin’s view on the dismemberment of Germany?

it wasn’t in the interests of the Soviet Union, but Germany had to kept economically weak until it could be secured as a communist state

What was collective security?

the principle whereby states would cooperate with each other as a means of reducing insecurity and minimising the need for defence alliances

What was the United Nations?

an international organisation set up in 1945 with the primary aim of preserving world peace through the collective cooperation of its members

What did proletarian mean?

the proletarian class were the workers, but they owned very little; they were the exploited majority and were able to rise against their oppressors

What were the bourgeoisie?

communists used this term to signify the class in society that controlled the means of production and distribution; this gave them power to exploit the masses of workers

What was a free market economy?

an economic system in which the prices of goods are set by the forces of supply and demand, and competition is allowed through minimal interference by the state

What was Roosevelt committed to?

What was this founded on?

cooperation as the basis for a lasting post-war settlement

founded on the certainty that the post-war world should strongly reflect the American concept of democracy - for him this was not only in the interests of the USA, but in the interest of all the states

What does Roosevelt’s commitment to cooperation highlight?

a fundamental misconception - to some extent explains why Roosevelt was unwilling to cooperate with Stalin

Roosevelt was convinced Stalin shared the same understanding and values inherent in the configuration of the post-war world, Roosevelt was certain he could secure a democratic - therefore non-communist - future for Eastern Europe and that international affairs could be managed through an international peacekeeping organisation

What has Roosevelt been criticised for regarding his attitude towards the USSR?

a degree of naivety and for underestimating the security needs of the Soviet Union in terms of Eastern Europe

What was Churchill convinced regarding Stalin’s intentions?

What was it therefore essential for Britain to do?

that it was Stalin’s intention to expand Soviet power in post-war Europe

believed that the Soviet Union could threaten Britain’s imperial interests - therefore it was essential that Britain establish a close alliance with the USA to counter this potential threat - strategy gained even greater urgency given the economic impact of the war upon Britain

What was the percentages agreement?

1944

Churchill + Stalin

established the percentage of predominance the USSR and Britain would have in Eastern European states

Romania: USSR - 90% UK - 10%

Greece: USSR - 10% UK - 90%

Hungary: USSR - 50% UK 50%

What did the percentages agreement show regarding Churchill’s aims?

showed his determination to control Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe through spheres of influence as a means of protecting British interests

What was the Lublin Government?

A pro-Soviet, communist-dominated provisional government set up in Poland by Stalin in July 1944, explicitly designed to undermine the Western-backed Polish government-in-exile, which had existed in London during the war

Stalin had ensured that the non-communist leaders who had resisted the Nazis were eliminated so they could not transplant the Polish government in exile back into post-war Poland

What was the response to the Lublin Government and its impact?

Shocked by Stalin's actions, Churchill and Roosevelt forced a compromise at Yalta (1945)—Stalin agreed to include a few "London Poles" in the government and promised "free and unfettered elections."

Stalin completely broke his promise. The Soviet NKVD arrested remaining non-communist leaders, and the 1947 Polish elections were completely rigged by communists.

It proved to the West that Stalin could not be trusted to uphold the Declaration on Liberated Europe. It hardened Truman's anti-communist stance.

Who was Harry S. Truman?

US President 1945 - 1953

had little knowledge of international affairs when he became president upon Roosevelt’s death

rejected Roosevelt’s cooperative attitude towards USSR, was convinced the USSR and communism was a threat to the USA’s national interests

sought to promote the USA to the status of a global superpower

When did the war in Europe end?

May 1945

What continued despite the end of the war in Europe?

the war against Japan

What was Stalin committed to regarding Japan?

aiding the Western powers in their continued struggle against Japan, although this was not a prospect either the USA or UK really relished

What were the leader changes between Yalta and Potsdam?

Roosevelt replaced by Harry S. Truman

Churchill replaced by Clement Attlee

What occurred the day before the Potsdam Conference?

the first successful detonation of the USA atomic bomb

What had Truman hoped regarding the detonation of the atomic bomb?

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

What was Stalin’s reaction to the detonation of the atomic bomb?

regarded this as the USA using atomic diplomacy

What was Potsdam characterised by?

Truman’s abrasive diplomacy

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

What was agreed at Potsdam regarding Germany?

Germany was to be completely disarmed and demilitarised

de-Nazification was to be carried out - war crimes would be judged, all former Nazi Party members were to be removed from public office, education system would be purged of all Nazi influences

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

freedom of speech + a free press were to be restored, + religious tolerance

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

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

What were the shortcomings of the Potsdam Conference?

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

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

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

failed to address the growing suspicion and uncertainty that had developed between the USA + Soviet Union

What were reparations?

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

What were the western zones?

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

What was similar between Roosevelt and Truman’s aims?

wanted:

a post-war world based on national self-determination

open world trading system based on international economic cooperation

world economic reconstruction through the creation of the IMF and the World Bank - would minimise possibility of USA returning to Great Depression conditions + would fulfil USA’s ideological imperatives + would ensure the USA’s geostrategic interests by limiting the expansion of the territorial influence of other states, especially USSR

How did Truman quickly come to regard the basis for relations with Stalin?

confrontation rather than cooperation

hoped that the USA’s possession of nuclear technology would be the key to ensuring Stalin’s cooperation over the composition of provisional governments in Eastern Europe

feared the growth of Soviet power in Eastern Europe, the removal of anti-communist leaders, the rise of pro-communist provisional government

What did Truman become increasing convinced of due to the way in which Soviet compliance would need to be gained?

increasingly convinced that the USSR was receptive to diplomatic solutions - she form of force may be necessary to ensure Soviet compliance with US wishes

What was Stalin convinced of regarding dominance in Europe by Potsdam?

What effect did this have?

convinced that the USA and its allies were potential rivals for dominance in Europe - reinforced obsession with Soviet security, necessitated Red Army’s continued presence in Eastern Europe + the intensification of programme of installing pro-communist regimes in these liberated states

Stalin soon came to see the USA as having an anti-Soviet agenda

What was Attlee’s viewpoint?

events since Yalta confirmed to Britain Stalin was expansionist in Europe

Germany’s geostrategic significance in Europe was supreme - vital that USA act as the primary defender of Western Zones of Germany against any Soviet threat

anti-communist Soviet stance

What was Attlee’s view on Potsdam?

supported terms but conscious that they weakened Germany + offered no long-term plans for future of Germany - became urgent in context of Stalin’s failure to implement agreements on Poland and Declaration on Liberated Europe made at Yalta

What were the reasons for the collapse of the Grand Alliance?

loss of a common enemy

ideological divisions

changes in leadership

minor - problems over Poland, US commitment to a post-war liberal democracy, US atomic monopoly, no long-term plan for Germany