WW2 Conferences

  • The Munich Agreement- 15th and 22nd September 1938. Hitler, Chamberlain.

    • Areas of the Sudetenland are handed to Germany, subject to approval by British, French and Czech governments.

    • On the 22nd, Chamberlain reports the approval of this.

    • Hitler claims that he must have this territory immediately.

    • He demands that Czechoslovakia withdraws from these areas by 1st October to avoid conflict.

  • The Munich Conference- 29th September 1938. Chamberlain, Hitler, Mussolini, Deladier.

    • The Sudetenland is to be transferred to Germany over 10 days

    • Plebiscites are to be held wherever there is doubt over the dominant nationality

    • The four powers will guarantee the remainder of Czechoslovakia once Polish and Hungarian claims are met.

    • Chamberlain returns, claiming that he has found “a peace for our time”; Hitler adds his signature to these vague promises. He is persuaded by Mussolini, his fellow fascist.

    • Pro:

      • Chamberlain doesn’t feel that Britain is prepared for a war

      • Its air force is incomplete.

      • The British Dominions (Commonwealth) aren’t convinced about a war. This will change over the next year.

    • Con:

      • Britain and France don’t protect Czechoslovakia.

      • Munich is seen as the supreme example of appeasement

      • If war had broken out now, Britain and France would have had the considerable support of Czechoslovakia (36 fighting divisions)

      • In the event of war, the USSR’s neutrality was more likely now than in 1939 (Nazi-Soviet Pact).

  • October 1944- Churchill and Stalin meet

    • “spheres of influence” are assigned to each leader in southeast Europe

    • the two leaders like each other- Churchill develops affectionate nickname “Uncle Joe” for Stalin.

  • Yalta Conference- February 4th, 1945

    • Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt meet in Yalta. They discuss:

    • What to do with Germany after it is defeated.

      • only unconditional surrender is deemed acceptable

      • there is to be no separate peace

      • Germany (and Berlin) will be temporarily divided into four occupation zones.

      • Its eastern border will be moved westwards.

      • Reparations will be repayments in kind, totalling $20bn (half of this going to the USSR).

    • Establishment of the UN

      • Initially it consists of all states at war with Germany

      • The Security Council has five permanent members, each with the power of veto.

      • Arrangements are made for it to convene in San Francisco in June 1945.

    • Getting the USSR to fight Japan

      • Stalin agrees to do this after Germany’s defeat

      • The USSR is given territory lost to Japan during the 1904-5 Russo-Japanese war. Outer Mongolia and Manchuria are set to become Soviet “spheres of influence”.

    • Poland

      • A provisional government will be set up. This will include Soviet (“Lublin”) Poles, and exiled (“London”) Poles.

      • Free and fair elections will be held ASAP.

  • Potsdam Conference- July 1945

    • This is two months after Germany’s unconditional surrender.

    • Roosevelt is dead. His replacement Truman is inexperienced and doesn’t trust Stalin.

    • The Labour Party has been voted in. Churchill has been replaced by Clement Attlee.

    • The Soviet Union has ‘liberated’ Eastern Europe and starts to install sympathetic governments. No free elections have yet been held.

    • They day before the conference starts, Truman informs Stalin about the Manhattan Project. This was kept secret during the war, but Stalin already knows about this due to espionage in the British Intelligence and American agents working on the project.

    • Stalin is the only leader to attend both conferences, and this one marks a deterioration in relationships between the allies. They disagree over:

      • Poland. The Soviet-controlled government continues to run it.

      • Germany. Stalin wanted to prevent it from developing its own industry.

      • The Ruhr. Stalin’s request for access to it is rejected.

      • Japan. Stalin wants to gain a foothold, which is also rejected (by Truman).

    • However, they are able to agree on:

      • Denazification of Germany. War crime trials will also be held in Germany and Japan.

      • Government of Germany. It will be governed by an Allied Control Council where each decision requires a unanimous verdict. Germany is to be treated as a single economic unit.

      • Reparations. Each power may take reparations from its zone of occupation. The USSR is allowed to take some equipment from the western zones.

      • Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). It will deal with defeated European countries.

    • The council clarifies the differing views of the UK/US and the USSR. Some important decisions are put off by passing them to the ACC and the CFM.

    • As Germany starts to be rebuilt, there are differing views on what its future will look like.

    • Stalin prioritised reparations to aid its rebuilding programme; Britain and the USA trade theirs for agricultural produce for Germany. Britain even introduces bread rationing in 1946 to pay for this.

    • In May 1946, General Clay stops delivering reparations to the Soviets and two months later he merges the American and British zones into one economic unit (‘Bizonia’).

    • Political divisions emerge. The Soviets create one party but France, America and Britain install a multi-party system.