Early Tensions Between East and West Flashcards
(33 cards)
Describe the Differences Between the Leaders of the Grand Alliance
-Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin are often referred to as ‘The Big Three’ since it was their beliefs and ambitions that dominated world politics from 1941 until Roosevelt’s death in 1945.
-The suspicions that Roosevelt and Churchill had about Stalin and the suspicions Stalin had about Roosevelt and Churchill played a major role in shaping relations from 1941.
-The differences between the leaders’ personal political beliefs reinforced these suspicions and were a significant factor in the breakdown of relations as the Second World War ended.
Describe Roosevelts’ Attitudes Towards the Grand Alliance
-Roosevelt believed strongly in democracy but compromised and formed an alliance with Stalin.
-After Japan bombed Pearl Harbour in 1941, Roosevelt thought he would need Soviet support against Japan.
-His desire for Soviet support explains why he was not always as tough with Stalin as Churchill would have liked.
-Roosevelt believed any long term settlement would only be possible if the Soviet Union was accepted as a superpower and partner in peace.
Describe Churchill’s Attitude Towards the Grand Alliance
-As a conservative from an aristocratic family, Churchill had very traditional values.
-He believed very strongly in the British Empire at a time when many others (including Roosevelt) thought colonies should be allowed freedom to rule themselves.
-His political attitudes made him deeply suspicious of Stalin. Throughout the time of the Grand Alliance, he saw his role as trying to stop Soviet expansion.
Describe Stalin’s Attitudes Towards the Grand Alliance
-Stalin strengthened one party rule in the Soviet Union and cut back on people’s individual rights.
-He was convinced that the West wanted to destroy communism.
-This meant the Soviet Union would have to stand firm in any negotiations with the Western ‘superpower’, the USA, and its close ally, Britain.
Describe the Differences Between the Nations of the Grand Alliance
-Both the USA and Britain had been critical of the methods used by Stalin to industrialise the Soviet Union and the terrible cost in human lives that the reforms brought about.
-Stalin was a strong opponent of German fascism though so it suited the USA and Britain to work with the Soviets to defeat Hitler.
-Once the war ended, however, it was clear that relations between the three countries were likely to become strained.
-The ideological differences between them meant it was almost impossible to agree on how post war Europe should be governed.
Describe US Attitudes After the Second World War
-The USA believed defeating fascist Germany was a victory for their capitalist political system.
-They thought that to keep the peace in the future, they needed to support capitalism and democracy and prevent communism from spreading.
-The USA wanted people in European countries to have the same rights and freedoms as Americans.
-That way, those countries were more likely to support the USA and become their allies.
Describe Soviet Attitudes After the Second World War
-The Soviet Union believed that victory over Germany was a victory for communism.
-The Soviet people made enormous sacrifices during the war so believed that gave them the right to introduce communism to Eastern Europe and eventually throughout the world.
-The Soviet Union wanted to make these countries into Soviet Satellite states, under its control.
-The satellite states would provide the Soviet Union with raw materials and help to protect it against future attacks from the West.
Describe the Purpose of the Tehran Conference
-The Tehran Conference was held in November 1943.
-The Grand Alliance first met in Tehran to plan a winning strategy to end the war.
Describe the Agreements Made at Tehran
-The USA and Britain would open up a ‘second front’ by launching an attack in Western Europe. This would ease pressure on the Eastern Front where the Soviets were suffering heavy losses.
-Stalin would declare war against Japan and supply Soviet troops to help the USA with the war against Japan- but only once the war in Europe was over.
-There was a general agreement that an international body should be set up to settle disputes through discussion and negotiation rather than war.
Describe the Discussions About Eastern Europe Held at Tehran
-There was no formal agreement but it was agreed in principle that the aim of the war was to bring about the unconditional surrender of Germany and it should remain weak after the war.
-It was also agreed that Poland should receive land from Germany, but the Soviet Union could keep land it seized from Poland in 1939.
-This was very important for Stalin, whose ultimate aim was to secure his western border after the war.
Describe the Impact of the Tehran Conference on International Relations
-Stalin arrived at the conference believing the USA and Britain were delaying opening a ‘second front’ so that the Soviet Union could be weakened by having to fight Germany alone.
-He was pleased with the agreement to open a ‘second front’ in the West. Churchill was less pleased because he wanted the new front in the Balkans but Roosevelt had sided with Stalin.
-There was some tension between the USA and Britain- especially as Roosevelt seemed to view British colonialism as a bigger threat to world peace than the Soviet Union.
-It seemed that good relations between the USA and Soviet Union would create a position where the Big Three was becoming the Big Two and after 1945, the USA and Soviet Union would be the only global superpowers.
Describe the Purpose of the Yalta Conference
-The Yalta Conference was held in February 1945.
-Two years after the Tehran conference, the Big Three held a second meeting to discuss winning the war and the government of post war Europe at Yalta in the Soviet Union.
-By then, the ‘second front’ had been launched in France and British and American led forces were pushing the Germans back to Berlin.
-The Soviets had defeated the Germans in the Soviet Union and now had control of most of central and Eastern Europe.
-Stalin was determined to keep this territory he had won between the Soviet border and Germany as a cushion against future German invasions.
Describe the Agreements Made at Yalta
-Germany would be split into four zones. They would each be controlled by a different power, the USA, Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
-Germany would pay $20 billion in reparation, half of which would go to the Soviet Union. The Nazi Party would be banned and war criminals prosecuted.
-A United Nations would be set up, with the first meeting on 25 April 1945. All nations could join.
-The USA and France did not agree with Stalin’s suggestion that all Soviet republics should be given membership. Instead, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus were admitted.
-Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan, three months after the defeat of Germany.
Describe the Discussions About Eastern Europe Held at Yalta
-Stalin agreed that future governments of countries in Eastern Europe would be decided in free elections.
-Poland proved to be a stumbling block at the conference though.
-It was agreed that the borders of Poland would be returned to their position in 1921 (which would give the Soviet Union significant gains) and that there would be free elections.
-However, Stalin expected those elections to bring about a pro-communist government, whereas the British supported the non-communist London Poles.
Describe the Purpose of the Potsdam Conference
-The Potsdam Conference was held between July and August 1945.
-Although the conference at Potsdam only took place a few months after Yalta, a number of crucial events during that time influenced the mood of the conference:
-Germany had surrendered in May 1945 and a month later in June, the UN was created in the Treaty of San Francisco.
-The USA, France, Britain, China and the Soviet Union were made permanent members of the UN security council with the power to veto resolutions.
-Scientists in the USA had also developed an atomic bomb (tested successfully the day after the conference began).
Describe the Tension Between Leaders at the Potsdam Conference
-Compared to Roosevelt and Churchill, Truman and Atlee were new to diplomatic discussions. It was much harder for them to get their way with Stalin.
-Truman was determined to take a ‘tough’ approach with Stalin and deliberately delayed the date of the conference until the atomic bomb was ready. He thought this would give him an edge in discussions.
-The development of the atomic bomb soured relations and the defeat of Germany meant there was no longer a common enemy.
-As the new prime minister, Atlee’s main concern was to return to Britain to take charge. He did not want talks to drag on.
Describe the Agreements Made at Potsdam
-Germany would be divided into four zones administered by the Soviet Union, USA, Britain and France, but the German economy would be run as a whole.
-Berlin would be divided into four zones, controlled by different countries.
-The Soviet Union wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations, but Truman was concerned that this would make it harder for the German economy to recover.
-It was agreed that each administering country should take reparations from its own zone.
-As the Soviet Union controlled the poorest zone, it was allowed to take a quarter of the industrial equipment from the other zones.
Describe the Discussions About Eastern Europe Held at Potsdam
-Agreement was not reached over the government of Eastern Europe. Truman objected to the control that the Soviet Union had over the countries it had liberated from Nazi rule.
-He was beginning to see the Red Army as an army of occupation. However, without risking further war, there was little Truman could do.
-Truman also objected to the arrangements for Poland and the borders that had previously been agreed. He wanted to see a new government with less communist influence.
Explain why Tension Between East and West Increased Immediately After the Second World War Ended
-Although the members of the Grand Alliance agreed on many issues at the conferences, by the end of Potsdam, it was clear that there were now significant issues they could not agree on.
-Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe to ensure the security of the Soviet Union. In his view, getting control of Eastern Europe was a reasonable defensive measure.
-However, Truman believed that Stalin was trying to spread communism and looked upon Stalin’s ambitions as examples of communist aggression.
-In the years 1945-46, the basic disagreement and mutual suspicion turned the wartime alliance into peacetime hostility.
Describe the USA’s Use of the Atomic Bomb
-On 6 August 1945, the USA exploded an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A second was released over Nagasaki on 9 August.
-It is estimated that over 120,000 Japanese civilians were killed by the two bombs.
Describe the Purpose of the Atomic Bomb to the USA
-Some historians argue that the USA could have won the war against Japan without really using nuclear weapons.
-They say the USA really used the bomb to establish a stronger bargaining position with the Soviet Union.
-Knowing the USA could make atomic bombs made Truman feel more confident and determined at the negotiations at Potsdam.
-Also the development of the atomic bomb made the countries of Western Europe feel more secure about placing themselves under American protection, rather than looking to reach an agreement with the Soviet Union.
Describe the Soviet Reaction to the Atomic Bomb
-Stalin now felt even more determined to make the Soviet Union secure.
-His immediate aim was to create a buffer zone of countries sympathetic to communism between Germany and the Soviet Union’s western borders.
-Overall, the effect the development of the atomic bomb had on US-Soviet relations was completely opposite to what the Americans had hoped for.
Describe the Impact of the Atomic Bomb on Tensions Between the USA and the Soviet Union
-The USA’s nuclear monopoly did not last. Soviet scientists were already working on their own version of the atomic bomb and their first successful test was on 29 August 1949. By 1964, Britain, France and China also had an atomic bomb.
-The atomic bomb dramatically increased Cold War tensions A war that used atomic weapons could kill millions of people and destroy the world many times over.
-Equally, the terrible consequences of using an atomic bomb may have made both the USA and the Soviet Union reluctant to go to war.
-Instead, they entered an arms race, in which each side tried to make sure their nuclear weapons were more powerful than those of their rival.
Describe Soviet Attitudes Towards the USA Expressed in Kennan’s Long Telegram
-In February 1946, George Kennan sent a telegram discussing US-Soviet relations. His views were taken seriously by the US government as it contained a message that they had long feared was true.
-Kennan reported that Stalin wanted to see the destruction of capitalism and that he felt the world outside the Soviet Union was hostile and looked to destroy communism.
-However, Kennan also believed that the Soviet Union was not suicidal so if faced with strong resistance would back down.
-This was an important message which played a key role in American policy towards the Soviet Union in the coming years.
-The US government believed there should be a determined policy of ‘containment’ to stop communism spreading.
