COLD WAR, CHAP 1; Reasons for the cold war

When & why did the leaders of the Grand Alliance meet three times?

To discuss the organisation of Europe post-WW2.

• Tehran, November 1943

• Yalta, February 1945

• Potsdam, July-August 1945

When was Tehran & what happened?

1943

AGREEMENTS MADE;

• “Second Front” opened by Britain & the USA to ease the pressure on the Eastern Front where the Soviets were struggling.

• Stalin to declare war against Japan & aid USA against Japan, once WW2 is over

• That the general aim of WW2 was to defeat Germany & keep it weak

• General agreement that there needs to be an international body to settle disputes diplomatically - laid the ground for the United Nations

REACTIONS

• STALIN is pleased. He didn’t expect the agreement for a Western front, and Roosevelt is siding with him.

• CHURCHILL is less pleased. He wanted the 2nd front to be in the Balkans, not the West.

• BRITISH-AMERICAN TENSION - Roosevelt sometimes saw British colonialism as more of a threat than communism. Good relations between Roosevelt & Stalin might lead to a Big Two rather than a Big Three by 1945.

OVERALL; significant impact on international relations. Stalin is pleased, but there is UK-US tension due to Roosevelt seeming to side more with Stalin.

key to remeber; duo in a Trio in Tehran

When was Yalta & what happened?

Early 1945

AGREEMENTS MADE

• CONTROL OF GERMANY - to be split into 4 zones, controlled by the USA, Britain, France & the USSR after WW2

• Germany to pay $20 billion in reparations, most to the USSR

• Nazi party banned

• A United Nations to be set up

• Stalin joins the war against Japan

• Stalin agrees to free elections in Eastern Europe

• Poland’s borders agreed - significant gain for the USSR. + Free elections

OVERALL; Roosevelt & Stalin are pleased to agree on the free elections & the UN, but Poland was going to be a difficult issue in the future

key to remember - Yalta - YAY!!!! war is over . dealing with Germany, United Nations, Soviet matters (G.U.S says YAY!!!!!!!!!!)

When was Potsdam & what happened?

July-August 1945

CRUCIAL EVENTS

• Roosevelt dies, replaced by Truman

• Winston Churchill loses election, replaced by Attee

• Germany surrendered in May 1945

• US scientists develop & successfully test an atomic bomb

CHANGE IN RELATIONS

• Truman & Attee are new to diplomatic discussions - harder to get their way with Stalin

• Truman wanted to be tougher with Stalin as he was suspicious of him & feared communism. He delayed the conference till the atomic bomb was ready to gain an edge in discussions - this only worsened relations, opposite of intended effect

• Attee did not want the talks to drag on - he had to return to Britain as the new P.M

AGREEMENTS MADE

• Germany split into 4, but the economy is run as a whole

• Berlin is also split into 4

• Each country to take reparations from its own zone

DISAGREEMENTS

• THE GOVERNMENT OF EASTERN EUROPE; Truman disliked the control the USSR had over the countries it freed from Germany. Stalin wanted to control E.E as a defensive measure, while Truman saw this as aggressively spreading communism

• POLAND; Truman objected to the borders and wanted to see a government with less communist influence

OVERALL; Drastic changes in UK-US leadership heighten tensions. Development of the atomic bomb worsens relations & heightens tensions. Agreements on Germany’s division, disagreements over Stalin’s Eastern Europe

key to remember - P for Potsdam and Pretty big changes !! and Pretty high tensions

When & were were the US atomic bombings of Japan?

• 6TH AUGUST, 1945; 1st bomb at Hiroshima

• 9TH AUGUST, 1945; 2nd bomb at Nagasaki

How did the Atomic Bomb affect US-Soviet relations?

• TRUMAN; the Atomic Bomb & being able to make atomic bombs made him more confident & determined in the Potsdam negotiations.

• THE AMERICANS; hoped it would now be easier to persuade Stalin to give E.E countries more freedom

• WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES; the development of the Atomic Bomb made them feel more secure about being under American protection rather than looking for an agreement with the Soviets

• STALIN; felt threatened. he was now even more determined to have a communist buffer zone between Germany & the Soviet Union

OVERALL; the bomb had the opposite of it’s intended effect & dramatically increased Cold War tensions. The USA and Soviet Union now enter an arms race

Overall, what were the reasons for the Cold War?

• Changes to leadership in the UK&US - they were now less agreeable with Stalin

• The West’s fear of communism taking away their capitalist democracy & the Soviet’s desire to maintain a communist buffer zone

• The threat of the atomic bomb