Attitudes in 1945
The Soviet Union and the USA
had very different and
contradictory attitudes in 1945
and this caused stress and
tension.
Clearly there were lots of potential
Attitudes in 1945
conflicts.
Stalin and the Soviets:
Wanted Security for the USSR
Wanted a sphere of influence in
Eastern Europe.
Wanted back land lost in 1917
under the Peace Treaty.
Wanted limits on Germany’s
power.
Wanted reparations from
Germany
Wanted aid with economic
reconstruction.
The USA:
Wanted International Cooperation
via the United Nations.
Wanted to stop any spheres of
influence in Eastern Europe.
Wanted to spread Democracy and
Freedom.
Open door trade policy.
World reconstruction via the IMF
and World Bank.
Changing US Attitudes
Roosevelt died – Truman much
harder and disliked the the Soviets.
Developed the Iron Fist approach.
Anti-communist politicians in the
USA were becoming more forceful
and demanding action.
US diplomats and politicians feared
that the USA was Appeasing the
Soviets and this would lead to a
Hitler-style situation.
US industry wanted to stop
communism and wanted new
markets in Europe to replace the
lost war production.
US soldiers and diplomats had met
the Soviets at the end of the War
and were now very worried about
the reality of Soviet thinking.
The USA did not understand the
Soviets’ demand for security.
A much more
aggressive and
intolerant approach
to the Soviets grew
up.
Yalta: February 1945
The War was still
on.
Stalin, Churchill
and Roosevelt
met in the Soviet
Union.
They reached an
agreement – but
it was open to
interpretation.
Yalta: February 1945
lagreement on the establishment of the United
Nations;
lthe division of Germany, Berlin and Austria
into temporary zones of occupation controlled
by the USSR, USA, Britain and France;
lthe principle of free elections in eastern
Europe.
lthe Soviet Union also agreed to join the war
against Japan, which was still going on, in
return for receiving some of Japan’s islands in
the Far East.
Yalta: February 1945
Poland remained a problem
lthere was a Free-Polish government waiting in
London – this was sympathetic to the West
lwhen the Soviets liberated Poland at the end
of the war – a new Soviet-friendly communist
government in Lublin.
Yalta: February 1945
An agreement was reached:
lStalin would allow members of the London-based
government into the new Lublin administration to work
alongside the Communists.
lFree elections would be held as soon as possible. The
West hoped that this would reduce the influence of the
communists in the government.
lThe USA and Britain would allow the Soviet Union to
keep areas of Poland gained in 1939 at the start of the
Second World War. Poland was to be given some land
new land to compensate for these losses.
Yalta: February 1945
In order to try and ensure the rights of the newly liberated
countries in Eastern Europe, Roosevelt pushed Stalin to sign
a Declaration on Liberated Europe to commit the three
governments to:
jointly assist the people in any European liberated state or
former Axis satellite state in Europe where in their judgment
conditions require (a) to establish conditions of internal
peace (b) to carry out emergency measures for the relief of
distressed peoples; (c) to form interim governmental
authorities broadly representative of all democratic elements
in the population and pledged to the earliest possible
establishment through free elections of governments
responsive to the will of the people; and (d) to facilitate
where necessary the holding of such elections.
Yalta: February 1945
In order to try and ensure the rights of the newly liberated
countries in Eastern Europe, Roosevelt pushed Stalin to sign
a Declaration on Liberated Europe to commit the three
governments to:
jointly assist the people in any European liberated state or
former Axis satellite state in Europe where in their judgment
conditions require (a) to establish conditions of internal
peace (b) to carry out emergency measures for the relief of
distressed peoples; (c) to form interim governmental
authorities broadly representative of all democratic elements
in the population and pledged to the earliest possible
establishment through free elections of governments
responsive to the will of the people; and (d) to facilitate
where necessary the holding of such elections.
Potsdam: July 1945
The War against Germany was over, but the war
with Japan was still on.
Stalin, Churchill (later replaced by Atlee) and
Truman met in the Soviet Union.
Stalin came with a new list of demands,
including control of parts of North Africa and
Turkey.
These discussions were more bitter.
Potsdam: July 1945
The main areas of debate disagreement were:
Free Elections for Eastern Europe: The West wanted free elections,
Stalin wanted pro-Soviet governments on his border.
The Future of Germany: Germany had been divided into four zones at
Yalta, but the USA wanted the rebuilding of Germany as a driver for
general European economic recovery. Stalin saw a rebuilt Germany as a
threat to his security.
Reparations: The USA wanted massive reparations to compensate for
her losses in the war.
Economic Reconstruction: The USA wanted to rebuild Europe as a
capitalist powerhouse. The Soviet Union wanted to see communist
economics at work to provide for the ordinary people. Stalin also
wanted a huge loan from the USA, the USA was reluctant and lost the
application before turning it down altogether.
Potsdam: July 1945
The Atomic Bomb
The USA used the atomic bomb against Japan in
August 1945.
Stalin was angry at the lack of consultation.
Stalin was also worried about the USA being a nuclear
power.
However, Stalin was not cowed by the atomic and
remained hard line.
Kennan’s Long
Telegram, 1946
The USA had tried to do a deal with
the USA – this was pointless and
could not carry on.
The Soviets had a policy making
process that could not be influenced
by external factors – the Soviets
needed to scare their people with an
external enemy to stop them
revolting. The USA was that enemy
and the demand for a buffer zone
was part of creating the fear.
The Soviets were too attached to
Communist ideology to compromise
on anything.
The Soviets would always try and
use their influence over Western
Communist parties to strengthen
their position.
Truman liked the
assessment and started to
act upon it. He was tired of
“babysitting the Soviets”
and started to adopt the
“Iron Fist” approach. The
aggressive Soviets needed
tough handling.
Move to Containment
The following year Kennan named the policy that flowed from his Telegram
as one of “containment”. The ideas caught on in the USA for a number of
reasons:
The policy of Appeasement towards Nazi Germany was seen as
being a major cause of the Second World War, they did not want
to repeat the error.
The US was feeling insecure militarily, it feared it was overstretched
and facing a new war – the analysis backed this up.
Economic worries also occupied the American mind. They feared
another depression in Europe and the USA and economic hardship
would be a breeding ground for communism. A solution was a
strong free-trade bloc with Western Europe.
The new policy would stimulate military spending; this pleased both the
armed forces and business.
The Policy of Containment
lConflicts with the Soviets would
be done in the open and with no
promise of concessions.
The Policy of Containment
lThere would be no attempt to
liberate Eastern Europe, but there
would a line drawn beyond which
Soviet expansionism would be
resisted.
The Policy of Containment
lNegotiations would continue with
Moscow, but only to make the
World see that the USA was
reasonable and to leave Stalin with
no doubt about the US position.
The Policy of Containment
lIt was hoped that the USSR would
realise that the USA was strong and
determined and therefore some
form
of
fair
and
equitable
settlement would be sensible.
The Policy of Containment
lAmerica must speak the language
of military might and make the
containment of communism the
policy goal.
The Policy of Containment
lThose outside the Soviet sphere of
influence should be extended
economic aid, trade agreements and
technical help to show them the
benefits of capitalism and an
alliance with the USA.
Where
necessary, military aid should not
be rules out.
The Policy of Containment
lLaunch a propaganda and media
campaign in the USA to convince the
public of the merits of the new policy.
Key
figures
within
the
Truman
administration published articles in
magazines and newspapers. The media
obliged
with
sympathetic
articles
showing how Russian expansionism
could threaten world peace.
Iron Curtain Speech, 1946
An iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that
line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern
Europe. All these famous cities, and the populations around them
lie in the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or
another, not only to Soviet influence, but to a very high and
increasing measure of control from Moscow. The Russiandominated Polish Government has been encouraged to make
enormous and wrongful inroads upon Germany, and mass
expulsions of millions of Germans on a scale grievous and
undreamed of are now taking place. The Communist parties,
which were very small in all these Eastern States of Europe, have
been raised to leadership and power far beyond their numbers,
and are seeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian control. Police
governments are prevailing in nearly every case, and so far,
except in Czechoslovakia, there is no true democracy.