World War II Aftermath & Origins of the Cold War (Yalta to Early Tensions)

Overview: From World War II to the Cold War

• World War II (WWII) identified in previous lecture as a global turning point; today’s focus = how its end spawns the Cold War.
• WWII casualty estimate: 50{,}000{,}000 dead worldwide → label “most devastating & destructive war in world history.”
• Immediate historical consequence: emergence of a bipolar world dominated by two “superpowers.”
  • United States (U.S.)
  • Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.)
• “Cold War” defined:
  • Period of sustained, high‐stakes rivalry between U.S. & U.S.S.R. (mid-1940s → early-1990s)
  • “Cold” = no direct, declared shooting war between the two, yet proxy conflicts & constant tension.
  • Impacts both foreign affairs & U.S. domestic politics (e.g., Red Scare, defense spending, etc.).

Global Destruction & the Rise of Superpowers

• Post-1945 landscape: Europe & Asia in ruins; even victors (e.g., Great Britain) economically & militarily exhausted.
• Result: power vacuum filled by U.S. & U.S.S.R.

Why the United States became a superpower

• Possessed the world’s strongest economy by 1945.
• Homeland untouched by large-scale combat → industrial plant intact.
• Sole owner of the atomic bomb at war’s end (nuclear monopoly until 1949).

Why the Soviet Union became a superpower (despite immense losses)

• Suffered worst casualties: 18-20\,\text{million} Soviets killed (≈40 % of total war dead).
• Massive wartime industrial & military build-up (partly via U.S. Lend-Lease aid) produced the Red Army—key to defeating Nazi Germany.
• Occupation of Eastern Europe by Red Army positioned U.S.S.R. to shape postwar settlement there.

Ideological Chasm Between Allies

• U.S.: democratic, capitalist, multiparty system.
• U.S.S.R.: one-party communist state, totalitarian under Joseph Stalin.
• Alliance during WWII strictly pragmatic—“the enemy of my enemy” logic.

Wartime Seeds of Distrust

• Soviet grievance: Western delay in opening a true “second front.”
  • German invasion of U.S.S.R. began June 1941.
  • Western Allies first focused on North Africa & Italy, not France or Germany proper.
• U.S./British grievance: Nazi–Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (Aug 1939) & its secret protocol dividing Poland—evidence of Stalin’s willingness to deal with Hitler.
• Propaganda moment: U.S. posters calling Soviet troops “friends” & Stalin “Uncle Joe” masked underlying suspicion.

Clashing Postwar Objectives (Core of Cold-War Tension)

United States’ Vision – Atlantic Charter (Aug 1941)

• Drafted by Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) & Winston Churchill before U.S. entry into WWII.
• Key pledges / war aims → postwar blueprint:
  • No territorial aggrandizement by victors.
  • Self-government & free elections for liberated nations.
  • “Freedom from want” & “freedom from fear.”
  • General disarmament to prevent future aggression.
  • Creation of new international body → becomes United Nations (UN).

Soviet Union’s Vision – Security Above All

• Overriding goal: prevent another devastating invasion.
• Strategy: create a “buffer zone” of friendly (i.e., communist, pro-Moscow) regimes in Eastern Europe (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, etc.).
• Little interest in democratic elections or liberal economic systems.

The Yalta Conference (Feb 1945)

• Location: Yalta (Crimea, then in Soviet Union).
• Attendees:
  • Winston Churchill (Britain)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt (U.S.)
  • Joseph Stalin (U.S.S.R.)
• Timing: Nazi Germany close to defeat; Allies need to plan for post-Nazi world.

Major Agenda Items & Decisions

1. Eastern Europe

• AGREEMENT (on paper): Nations like Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia to be independent & hold free democratic elections.
• CAVEAT: They remain under temporary Soviet occupation → de facto Soviet leverage; in practice becomes communist “Eastern Bloc.”
• Later historians criticize this as Western “sell-out” of Eastern Europe.

2. War Against Japan

• U.S. planning costly invasion of mainland Japan (projected \approx 1{,}000{,}000 Allied casualties).
• Stalin agrees U.S.S.R. will enter Pacific War after Germany’s defeat (actual entry: Aug 1945).

3. Creation of the United Nations

• All three endorse establishing the UN.
• Soviets accept membership so long as organization does not dictate their security policy.

4. The Future of Germany

• Divergent goals:
  • U.S./Britain: rebuild Germany as unified, democratic state; avoid punitive mistakes of Treaty of Versailles.
  • U.S.S.R.: punish, de-industrialize, demilitarize, demand reparations.
• COMPROMISE: Temporary division & occupation of Germany.
  • East Germany: Soviet zone.
  • West Germany: divided among U.S., Britain, France.
  • Capital city, Berlin, likewise split into four sectors despite being deep inside Soviet zone → sets stage for future crises (Berlin Blockade 1948-49, Berlin Wall 1961).
• Plan envisioned eventual reunification, but Cold-War tensions will freeze division for decades.

Significance & Longer-Term Implications

• Yalta Conference symbolizes last moment of substantive Allied cooperation; soon followed by escalating mistrust (Potsdam Conference, 1945) & onset of Cold War mechanics (Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, etc.).
• Decisions on Eastern Europe provide structural foundation for Iron Curtain & bipolar geopolitical order.
• Division of Germany/ Berlin becomes focal point for repeated Cold-War confrontations.
• Soviet entry into Pacific War (followed by U.S. deployment of atomic bombs) accelerates postwar nuclear competition.
• Founding of United Nations reflects lingering hope for collective security—yet veto structure (Security Council) embeds superpower rivalry inside the institution.

Ethical, Philosophical, & Practical Takeaways

• Ethical tension: ideals of self-determination vs. realpolitik security demands.
• Demonstrates limits of wartime alliances founded on convenience rather than shared values.
• Case study in “grand strategy” trade-offs: immediate military necessity (securing Soviet help vs. long-term political cost in Eastern Europe).
• Reminder that “temporary” geopolitical arrangements often calcify under rising mistrust.

Links to Previous & Future Course Content

• Builds on earlier lectures covering the Atlantic Charter, Lend-Lease, & WWII European theater strategy.
• Sets up forthcoming topics:
  • Truman Doctrine & containment.
  • Marshall Plan & European recovery.
  • NATO vs. Warsaw Pact formation.
  • Domestic Red Scare & McCarthyism.
  • Proxy wars (Korea, Vietnam, etc.).

Key Numbers & Terms Quick-Reference

• Total WWII deaths: \approx 50 \text{ million}
• Soviet WWII deaths: 18\text{–}20 \text{ million}
• Casualty projection for Japan invasion: \approx 1 \text{ million} Allies.
• Yalta Conference: Feb 1945.
• Superpowers: U.S. (capitalist/democratic), U.S.S.R. (communist/totalitarian).
• Atlantic Charter (Aug 1941) → blueprint for U.S. war & postwar aims.
• “Buffer zone” = Soviet plan for friendly communist governments in Eastern Europe.
• UN founded 1945 with Security Council veto powers.
• Germany divided into occupation zones; Berlin divided though inside Soviet zone.