3. US-USSR relations 1945-1946

3

Spring 1945

FDR dies and replaced by Turman. Nazis surrender. Yalta Conference yalta

Yalta Conference

FDR tried again to persuade Stalin to agree to his new world order ideas, Stalin makes it ultimately clear he will not

FDR and Churchill issue an unconditional surrender to Japan, who do not accept this and continued fight

The Manhattan project

1941: begins rapidly for worry that Germany might develop it first. 1945: became clear the project would be a success, July first test

Potsdam Conference

July 1945: Truman and Stalin meet to discuss post-war management of Europe. Drew the boundaries of Europe with USSR occupying all of the East

Potsdam Declaration

Issued to Japan by US to surrender unconditionally. Does not ask the USSR to ratify showing the US perception that they could dominate without their help

Hiroshima date and deaths

6th August 1945, 90-166k total

Nagasaki date and deaths

9th August 1945, 60-80k total

Japanese surrender

14.08.45, Japan surrendered under the condition that their Emperor could remain in power following. US accepts this despite previous convictions

‘Unconditoinal’ surrender debates

Did the US use atomics just to end the war in Japan, or was it also to prevent the USSR from joining Japan.

• US dropped second bomb very close not allowing much time for Soviet rescue

• US accepted conditions on the surrender, shows their commitment to containment not to ending the war

Soviet response to Nagasaki and Hiroshima

Begin to build their own atomic bomb, used atomic espionage to accelerate programme. this was crucial for the survival of socialism while spreading the ideology to the Eastern bloc was slow

4 events of Feb 1945`

1. US discover atomic espionage, many moles were in Truman’s cabinet. Truman treats USSR as adversary to protect term

2. Stalin’s Speech to the West declares war as inevitable and the USSR will act. USSR is a natural enemy of capitalism

3. Kennan’s Long Telegram says the USSR is effectively still Russia and misunderstood by West.

4. Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech along the divide. Produces a boundary for future confrontation

When was the Baruch Plan

1946

Clauses of the Baruch plan

• US can keep everything needed to produce nuclear arms until at least the P5 had surrendered theirs

• new nuclear IGO would be dominated by the US

• search across world for secrete development programmes, punishment is attack from P5 without the veto

Soviet response to Baruch

Stalin would never have agreed to this as the USSR had already began its own nuclear programme and would face attack from the rest of P5. Allowed the US to blame the USSR for the plan’s failure