GCSE History: Superpower Relations: 1943-72
Key:
SU- Soviet Union
S Korea- South Korea
N Korea- North Korea
WG- West Germany
EG- East Germany
K- Khrushchev
Gov- government
WP- Warsaw Pact
B- Brezhnev
v- very
w- with
w/o- without
n- and
j- just
yrs- years
bc- because
The grand alliance
Between 1941-5 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin joined an agreement called the Grand Alliance
Although USA n SU were allies, they were v suspicious of each other
Differences between nations
Soviet Union USA and Britain
Politics Single party rule Free elections with a choice of
parties to vote for
Social structure Classless society everyone equal Some ppl have more power than
others (family background, wealth,
education, personal achievements)
Economy All property owned by the state no Private ownership and a
individual ownership competition between business
Rights Rights of all workers more Individual freedoms valued but
important than individual rights limited by majority opinion
Early conflict:
The revolution
SU resented the actions of Britain and France who tried to prevent communists ruling in
Russia
Oct 1917 there was a revolution in Russia and a Bolshevik (communist) gov took over
They made a peace treaty w Germany and dropped out of WW1
Britain France n USA were furious bc of the peace treaty n w their communist beliefs
They sent grieves to Russia to support opposition to the Bolsheviks
They failed but now the Bolsheviks knew the west wanted to see them overthrown
Deteriorating relations 1920s n 30s
1938- Britain’s France n Italy agreed to allow Hitler to take over parts of Czechoslovakia
which contained large numbers of ethnic Germans- Soviet Union n Nazi Germans were bitter
enemies and Czechoslovakia was close to borders of Soviet Union
, Stalin realized western powers had no interest in a friendly relationship w his country n
thought they’d be happy if his country were attacked n communist gov destroyed
1939- Nazi-Soviet pact agreed to split Poland between them – Britain n France betrayed by
his actions
Sep 1939- Soviet Union n German forces enter Poland n take control- Britain n France
declare war on Germany
Not until June 1941 that SU n west came together on one side
Tensions n disagreements during WW2
Churchill n Roosevelt feared Stalin wanted to install communism in Eastern European
counties that Germany had conquered
Stalin feared Churchill n Roosevelt wanted to c Nazis n Soviet’s fight a long war, destroying
all their resources n making them weak
Stalin saw this as the reason why Britain’s n USA had delayed opening a second front until
1944
This was needed to take pressure of SU on eastern front
Stalin thought delay was deliberate so they would be made weaker having to fight Nazis on
their own
Aug 1945- USA dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan- kept these developments secret from
Stalin until v last moment
Skating thought it was USA was thinking of using them on the SU in the future
Ideological differences n loss of trust between them meant it was impossible to decide how
post war Europe should be governed
Tehran November 1943
USA n Britain would open a second front by lunching and attack on Germany in Western
Europe- would ease pressure on the eastern front where Soviets were suffering heavy
losses
Stalin would declare was again at Japan n supply Soviet troops to help the USA win war
against Japanese- only once war in Europe was over
discussed what would happen to Germany n eastern countries after war- agreed that
general aim of war was to get Germany to completely surrender and remain weak and
could keep land it seized from Poland in 1939- this was v important to Stalin whose aim
was to secure his western border after the war
General agreement that international body should set up to settle disputes w discussion n
negotiation rather than war- laid ground for future creation of the UN
Stalin was pleased w agreement bc of second front, Roosevelt sided w him
Churchill not happy bc he wanted to set up second front in Balkans not west
Some tension between US n Britain- Roosevelt seemed to view British colonialism as
more of a threat to peace than SU, seemed like good relations between Roosevelt n Stalin
might create Big Two
Yalta February 1945
Discussed how to end war against Germany n the gov of post-war Europe
By then, second front had been launched in France, British n US led forces pushing Germans
back towards Berlin, Soviets defeated Germans in the SU n now had control over most of
central n Eastern Europe
Stalin determined to keep territory he won between Soviet border n German as a cushion
against future German invasions
Agreed after war Germany would split in 4 zones controlled by US, Britain, France, Soviet
Union
Germany would pay $20 billion in reparations- half would go to SU
Nazi party banned; war criminals prosecuted
, United Nations set up, all could hound but the US and France didn’t agree w Stalin's
suggestion that all 16 Soviet republics should be given individual membership- instead
Russia, Ukraine n Belarus were admitted
Stalin agreed to join war against Japan, 3 months after defeat of Germany
Stalin agreed future govs of Eastern European countries would be decided in free elections
Poland was a big issue- agreed borders of Poland would be returned to their position in 1921
(would give SU significant gains) n that there would be free elections
Stalin expected those elections to bring abt a communist gov, British supported
noncommunist London Poles (Polish gov in exile set up in France that moved to London after
German capture in 1940)
Roosevelt n Stalin pleased to get agreement on free elections and UN, Poland was still an
issue
Potsdam July-August 1945
Roosevelt died in April 1945, replaced by Harry Truman
Churchill lost 1945 British general election, replaced by Clement Atlee
Germany surrendered May 1945
USA developed atomic bomb
UN created in Treaty of San Francisco June 1945
New leaders meant different relations at this conference- Truman and Atlee new to diplomatic
discussions, harder for them to get their way w Stalin
Truman determined to get tough w Stalin- more suspicious of his motives than Roosevelt n
believed Soviet’s wanted to spread communism globally n defeat capitalism
Truman deliberately delayed date of conference until atomic bomb was ready- though it’d
give him an edge in discussions
Atlee's main concerns was Britain n didn’t want conference to drag on
Germany would be divided in 4, administered by Soviets, US, Britain, France but German
economy would be run as a whole
Berlin also divided in 4, controlled by diff countries even though it was based inside Soviet
controlled Germany
SU wanted heavy reparations for Germany, Truman was concerned that would make it harder
for Germany economy to recover. It was agreed each administering country should take
reparations from its own zone, as SU controlled the poorest zone it was allowed to take a
quarter of industrial supine to from other zones.
Agreement not reached over Eastern Europe- Truman didn’t want soviets to have control over
the countries it liberated from German rule, beginning to think bc SU wasn’t leaving countries
it liberated, Stalin was using them as an army of occupation, nothing he could do though-
risking war
Truman didn’t like arrangement for Poland and the borders that had previously been agreed,
wanted to see a new gov w/ less communist influence
After conferences, by Aug 1945, it was clear there were significant issues they couldn’t agree
on- Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe to ensure security of SU. Truman thought he was
trying to spread communism n saw his ambitions as examples of communist aggression.
Impact of atomic bomb on US-Soviet relations
Aug 6-1945, USA exploded atomic bomb over Hiroshima, n then Nagasaki on the 9th,
estimated 120,000 Japanese civilians were killed by the 2 bombs
Some ppl claim USA used bombs to establish a stronger negotiating position with the SU
Knowing that USA could make atomic bombs made Truman feel more confident n
determined at Potsdam
Development of atomic bomb made Western European countries more secure abt placing
themselves under US protection, rather than trying to reach agreement w/ SU.
Key:
SU- Soviet Union
S Korea- South Korea
N Korea- North Korea
WG- West Germany
EG- East Germany
K- Khrushchev
Gov- government
WP- Warsaw Pact
B- Brezhnev
v- very
w- with
w/o- without
n- and
j- just
yrs- years
bc- because
The grand alliance
Between 1941-5 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin joined an agreement called the Grand Alliance
Although USA n SU were allies, they were v suspicious of each other
Differences between nations
Soviet Union USA and Britain
Politics Single party rule Free elections with a choice of
parties to vote for
Social structure Classless society everyone equal Some ppl have more power than
others (family background, wealth,
education, personal achievements)
Economy All property owned by the state no Private ownership and a
individual ownership competition between business
Rights Rights of all workers more Individual freedoms valued but
important than individual rights limited by majority opinion
Early conflict:
The revolution
SU resented the actions of Britain and France who tried to prevent communists ruling in
Russia
Oct 1917 there was a revolution in Russia and a Bolshevik (communist) gov took over
They made a peace treaty w Germany and dropped out of WW1
Britain France n USA were furious bc of the peace treaty n w their communist beliefs
They sent grieves to Russia to support opposition to the Bolsheviks
They failed but now the Bolsheviks knew the west wanted to see them overthrown
Deteriorating relations 1920s n 30s
1938- Britain’s France n Italy agreed to allow Hitler to take over parts of Czechoslovakia
which contained large numbers of ethnic Germans- Soviet Union n Nazi Germans were bitter
enemies and Czechoslovakia was close to borders of Soviet Union
, Stalin realized western powers had no interest in a friendly relationship w his country n
thought they’d be happy if his country were attacked n communist gov destroyed
1939- Nazi-Soviet pact agreed to split Poland between them – Britain n France betrayed by
his actions
Sep 1939- Soviet Union n German forces enter Poland n take control- Britain n France
declare war on Germany
Not until June 1941 that SU n west came together on one side
Tensions n disagreements during WW2
Churchill n Roosevelt feared Stalin wanted to install communism in Eastern European
counties that Germany had conquered
Stalin feared Churchill n Roosevelt wanted to c Nazis n Soviet’s fight a long war, destroying
all their resources n making them weak
Stalin saw this as the reason why Britain’s n USA had delayed opening a second front until
1944
This was needed to take pressure of SU on eastern front
Stalin thought delay was deliberate so they would be made weaker having to fight Nazis on
their own
Aug 1945- USA dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan- kept these developments secret from
Stalin until v last moment
Skating thought it was USA was thinking of using them on the SU in the future
Ideological differences n loss of trust between them meant it was impossible to decide how
post war Europe should be governed
Tehran November 1943
USA n Britain would open a second front by lunching and attack on Germany in Western
Europe- would ease pressure on the eastern front where Soviets were suffering heavy
losses
Stalin would declare was again at Japan n supply Soviet troops to help the USA win war
against Japanese- only once war in Europe was over
discussed what would happen to Germany n eastern countries after war- agreed that
general aim of war was to get Germany to completely surrender and remain weak and
could keep land it seized from Poland in 1939- this was v important to Stalin whose aim
was to secure his western border after the war
General agreement that international body should set up to settle disputes w discussion n
negotiation rather than war- laid ground for future creation of the UN
Stalin was pleased w agreement bc of second front, Roosevelt sided w him
Churchill not happy bc he wanted to set up second front in Balkans not west
Some tension between US n Britain- Roosevelt seemed to view British colonialism as
more of a threat to peace than SU, seemed like good relations between Roosevelt n Stalin
might create Big Two
Yalta February 1945
Discussed how to end war against Germany n the gov of post-war Europe
By then, second front had been launched in France, British n US led forces pushing Germans
back towards Berlin, Soviets defeated Germans in the SU n now had control over most of
central n Eastern Europe
Stalin determined to keep territory he won between Soviet border n German as a cushion
against future German invasions
Agreed after war Germany would split in 4 zones controlled by US, Britain, France, Soviet
Union
Germany would pay $20 billion in reparations- half would go to SU
Nazi party banned; war criminals prosecuted
, United Nations set up, all could hound but the US and France didn’t agree w Stalin's
suggestion that all 16 Soviet republics should be given individual membership- instead
Russia, Ukraine n Belarus were admitted
Stalin agreed to join war against Japan, 3 months after defeat of Germany
Stalin agreed future govs of Eastern European countries would be decided in free elections
Poland was a big issue- agreed borders of Poland would be returned to their position in 1921
(would give SU significant gains) n that there would be free elections
Stalin expected those elections to bring abt a communist gov, British supported
noncommunist London Poles (Polish gov in exile set up in France that moved to London after
German capture in 1940)
Roosevelt n Stalin pleased to get agreement on free elections and UN, Poland was still an
issue
Potsdam July-August 1945
Roosevelt died in April 1945, replaced by Harry Truman
Churchill lost 1945 British general election, replaced by Clement Atlee
Germany surrendered May 1945
USA developed atomic bomb
UN created in Treaty of San Francisco June 1945
New leaders meant different relations at this conference- Truman and Atlee new to diplomatic
discussions, harder for them to get their way w Stalin
Truman determined to get tough w Stalin- more suspicious of his motives than Roosevelt n
believed Soviet’s wanted to spread communism globally n defeat capitalism
Truman deliberately delayed date of conference until atomic bomb was ready- though it’d
give him an edge in discussions
Atlee's main concerns was Britain n didn’t want conference to drag on
Germany would be divided in 4, administered by Soviets, US, Britain, France but German
economy would be run as a whole
Berlin also divided in 4, controlled by diff countries even though it was based inside Soviet
controlled Germany
SU wanted heavy reparations for Germany, Truman was concerned that would make it harder
for Germany economy to recover. It was agreed each administering country should take
reparations from its own zone, as SU controlled the poorest zone it was allowed to take a
quarter of industrial supine to from other zones.
Agreement not reached over Eastern Europe- Truman didn’t want soviets to have control over
the countries it liberated from German rule, beginning to think bc SU wasn’t leaving countries
it liberated, Stalin was using them as an army of occupation, nothing he could do though-
risking war
Truman didn’t like arrangement for Poland and the borders that had previously been agreed,
wanted to see a new gov w/ less communist influence
After conferences, by Aug 1945, it was clear there were significant issues they couldn’t agree
on- Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe to ensure security of SU. Truman thought he was
trying to spread communism n saw his ambitions as examples of communist aggression.
Impact of atomic bomb on US-Soviet relations
Aug 6-1945, USA exploded atomic bomb over Hiroshima, n then Nagasaki on the 9th,
estimated 120,000 Japanese civilians were killed by the 2 bombs
Some ppl claim USA used bombs to establish a stronger negotiating position with the SU
Knowing that USA could make atomic bombs made Truman feel more confident n
determined at Potsdam
Development of atomic bomb made Western European countries more secure abt placing
themselves under US protection, rather than trying to reach agreement w/ SU.
