WHY WAS GERMANY DIVIDED AT THE END OF THE WAR
WHY WAS GERMANY DIVIDED AT THE END OF THE WAR?
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE DEFEAT OF THE NAZIS?
- After Germany defeated, a race for power occurred
- Soviet union vs USA
- Britian unstable economy
WHAT IS COMMUNISM?
- Russian Revolution – 1917 – made Russia communist
- Everyone was equal
- Wealth is shared
- Government run
WHAT IS CAPITALISM?
- Every citizen is equal but there are more opportunities for more
- Freedom of speech
- Can be wealthy
- Free market economies
- Economic growth
- Vote on who they want to lead the country
WHY THE IDEOLOGIES CREATE TENSION?
- They were complete opposite
CAPITALISM
- HARRY S.TRUMAN * President of the USA from 1945-1953 * Had been Roosevelt’s vice-president and took over following the latter’s death * Less experienced in foreign affairs and also more aggressive in his attitude, particularly towards the USSR
COMMUNISM
- JOSEF STALIN * Leader of the Soviet Union: 1928 * Followed a series of brutal policies to modernise the state and remove opponents * Foreign policy had been pragmatic, making an agreement with Germany, in August 1939, as the Soviet Union was unprepared for war * Followings its invasion by Germany in 1941 he allied with Britain and then the USA * It was Soviet forces that did much of the fighting and suffered the most of the war, and this influence his policy in 1945
YALTA CONFERENCE
- A conference held at Yalta in the Crimea
- 4-11 February 1945
- Attended by Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
- Drew up plans for the ending of the war in Europe and Asia and attempted to draw up plans for peace and occupation of Germany, which Churchill insisted to include France
- Decision was also taken to establish the United Nations
| CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY | COMMUNISM AND TOTALITARIANISM |
|---|---|
| Government chosen in free multi-party democratic elections | A one-party dictatorship. Elections were held, but all candidates were communist |
| Business and property are privately owned. The owners employ the workers and keep the profits | Industry and agriculture was controlled by the state. There is no individual profit making, with profits used for the benefit of all |
| Individual rights were more important than people being equal | The rights of individuals were less important than the needs of society as a whole |
| Government control was limited to the public sphere | Government controlled all aspects of citizen’s lives |
| Political freedom, freedom of speech, expression and belief and no press censorship | No political freedom, there was no freedom of speech or belief, and there was press censorship |
COLD WAR: a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare.
- German Government had led, there was no alternative but to take over responsibility for the administration of Germany
- It was Nazi expansionism ultimately resulted in Allied forces occupying much of Central Europe
- The USSR viewed Germany, particularly the possibility of a resurgent Germany, with trepidation
- America wanted Germany to recover so they could become a valuable trading partner
WHY DID USA AND USSR DISGAREE WITH HOW TO DEAL WITH GERMANY?
The USA and USSR disagreed with how to deal with Germany, as the USSR, who had been invaded twice by Germany, were anxious about another invasion from a resurgent Germany- and therefore wanted Germany to stay unstable in order to protect themselves. However, the USA, who had not been invaded by Germany, wished for Germany to recover in order to make it a valuable trading partner (linking to German’s industrial prowess). Furthermore, the USSR wished to create buffer states, and therefore spread communism further West, yet the USA were worried that this spread of communism would reach further than they wished.
JUDGEMENT
As although they did not like each other- the difficulty of deciding what to do with Germany was the catalyst for their disagreements- giving them a specific reason for them to disagree