Yalta Conference
Date:4-11 Feb 1945
Purpose: Decide future of post-war world and show solidarity of Grand Alliance. Grand Alliance was
weak, only stayed together due to common enemy of Germany.
Objectives:
Roosevelt and Churchill:
• Collective security founded in UN.
• National self-determination, no spheres of influence.
• Germany reconstruction as democratic nation, Roosevelt wanted Soviets to aid them in attack
against Japan.
Stalin:
• Improve USSR security via spheres of influence in Europe by creating a “buffer zone.”
• Germany to remain weak for indefinite future to prevent future attack
• Preserve Lublin government in Poland.
What was decided?
• Germany to be split up into 4 zones, USA, USSR, Britain and France
• Berlin also divided into 4 sections
• UN set up
• USSR gain land from Poland
• Poland would be expanded into the north and west, taking land from Germany
• Stalin agreed to free elections in Europe
• Stalin agreed to enter Asian war against Japan in exchange for land which he lost in the Russo
Japanese war in 1904-1905
• Declaration of Liberated Europe meant that allies will:
1. Ensure peace in Europe
2. Provide Charity
3. Form temporary “broadly representative” democratic governments.
4. Hold elections where needed
Problems:
• Roosevelt and Churchill did not want Stalin to enter war because they believed he may become
greedy and want to take more land
• In 1944 Churchill and Stalin made percentages agreement. Different countries would have
different amounts of control over other European countries e.g., In Romania, Stalin had 90%
influence and Britain would have 10%. In Greece, Britain had 90% and USSR had 10%. Stalin
thought percentages agreement entitled him to create Sphere of influence all over Eastern
3Europe. This meant he broke the promise of free elections and installed governments
dominated by the Soviet Union. Installed them via manipulation of elections and killed non-
prominent governments or capitalists.;
, • Yalta effectively split Europe into 2 zones. West under US Sphere of influence, East under soviet
sphere of influence
• Roosevelt and Churchill both criticised for selling out East European nations to rule of Soviets,
however it is argued that Soviets were in a strong position due to taking land during war
however, Britain had just gotten into Germany at this point, so Churchill and Roosevelt were
unable to make a deal that didn't give soviets majority of aims.
Stalin's long term aims:
• Build security; they had lost 25 million men and masses of land, agriculture, and industry during
war. Aimed to protect and build up Soviet Union
• Stalin and Molotov viewed Grand alliance as fundamentally anti-communist. Wanted to keep a
vague sense of cooperation because it would be practical for them.
• Ensuring Eastern Europe lay within Soviet Sphere of influence
• Wanted to turn Germany into a fully communist state in future so it had to keep them weak to
do so.
Roosevelt long term aims:
• Set up of international peace keeping organisation (UN)
• Co-operated with USSR to maintain Grand alliance
• Post-war should represent democratic views that US have. Was sure he could secure a non-
communist future for eastern Europe.
Often criticised for being naive about Stalin. At this time Roosevelt was ill and died soon after
conference (before Potsdam)
Churchill long term aims:
• Form a close alliance with the US to fight against threat USSR had on Britain's colonial interests
• Wanted to protect British interests in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. That is why he introduced
Percentages agreement (to control soviet expansion and spheres of influence)
Weary of Stalin and thought he wanted to expand the USSR throughout Europe
Post-Yalta:
• Significantly deteriorating relationships
• Main cause of this was “Liberated Europe” was vague
• During the war, a Polish government was in exile in London and the USSR supported the set-up
of a pro-communist government in Lublin
• Non-communist government also returned to Poland, but they were eliminated so they
• not be set up
• Stalin kept communist government
• Roosevelt disagreed with this and believed that new governments should be allowed alongside
Lublin
• This was a fundamental relationship problem between the 2 countries
Potsdam Conference
Date:17 July-2 August 1945
Changes in personnel:
,Truman:
• New US President
• Little knowledge of international affairs
• Less co-operative with USSR than Roosevelt
• Believed USSR was a major threat to national interests of USA
• Wanted to promote US to global superpower status
Attlee:
• Churchill lost election and was replaced by Labour’s Clement Attlee on 26th July
• Mistrusted Stalin, as did Churchill
• Believed continued alliance with US was the answer to protecting Western Europe
• Did not attend Potsdam, was elected during it.
Context:
• Day before Potsdam, there was the first ever successful detonation of an atomic bomb by USA
(16 July 1945)
• Increased Truman’s confidence
• Thought it would ensure Stalin’s loyalty to Yalta agreements
• However, it just made Stalin more anxious over security of Soviet Union
• This meant Stalin wanted more influence over Eastern Europe to create buffer zone of satellite
states
• Stalin refused any allied interference in Eastern Europe in which the governments of Bulgaria,
Hungary and Romania were already communist controlled
During Potsdam:
• Truman was extremely harsh on Stalin
• Stalin and Molotov (Foreign minister of USSR) refused to be intimidated by US Nuclear
monopoly
What agreements were made?:
• Germany was to be completely disarmed and demilitarised
• Denazification to be carried out over all of Germany including removing Nazi members from
public office and removing it from education
• Freedom of speech to be restored
• Decentralisation (making several local offices instead of just one) of political system
• Stalin requested $10 Billion in reparations, but Britain and America knew that the economic
recovery of Germany would allow future prosperity in Western Europe, so they granted USSR
reparations from his own zone and 25% from western zone.
• Soviets were to receive a part of Poland while Poland were allowed to gain lots of Eastern
Germany
No long-term decisions on Germany or international relationships between the countries
Did not introduce any foundations of a non-confrontational relationship between East and West which
led to a division of East and West
Truman’s aims:
• Wanted a post-war world based on self-determination and open world trading system based on
international co-operation
, • Wanted to create IMF and World Bank
Trumans worries:
• Growth of Soviet power in Eastern Europe
• Removal of anti-communist leaders
• Rise of Pro-communist governments which had been set up throughout the world
Trumans methods:
• Prone to using confrontation instead of co-operation
Stalin’s attitudes:
• Was certain that US and allies were rivals in his quest for European domination
• Happy with situation in Germany
• Believed that the whole of Eastern Europe was to form the base of security for the USSR
Stalin’s Actions:
• Kept the Red Army as a dominant force within Europe
• Installed many communist regions in liberated states that Red Army liberated after WW2
Attlee’s attitudes:
• More interested in rebuilding Britain
• Believed Germany had significant importance within Europe
• Believed they need USA to help defend Western Zones from Soviet threat
• Foreign Policy was to keep USA on his side
Stalin in Eastern Europe
Cause:
• Wanted power and a defensive system to protect USSR
• Due to 1944 Percentages agreement with Churchill (saying how much influence they have over
Eastern European states), Stalin believed that the countries he liberated would belong to Soviet
Sphere of Influence
• Influence was Stalin’s main priority
• Also wanted to defend USSR
• After WW2 it was vital for USSR to be able to defend themselves
• Wanted to create a buffer zone out of satellite states (an independent country under heavy
economic, political and military control of another country)
• Many countries post-war were very poor which led to struggling people turning to communism
to solve their problems
• Some countries with prominent farming communities became pro-agrarian.
• Stalin wanted countries to be STALINIST not just communist
• Stalin’s ideology meant that countries couldn’t be independent of Soviet Influence and had to be
loyal to Moscow
• This would give USSR power and security
, Stalin’s Actions:
POLAND:
•Stalin had planned his actions in advanced by establishing Lublin Government whilst Polish
Government took exile in London
• Lublin Government was a communist government that relied on USSR
• Due to “free” elections agreed on at Yalta (Stalin actually rigged elections), the role of the Lublin
government was preserved in Poland
• In June 1945, Provisional Government of National Unity was formed by a mixture of communists
and groups like peasant party, led by Mikolyjac.
• This government was recognised by US, UK and other allies, appeared to be a decent solution
• Stalin didn’t give any other parties any real power
• In 1946, Stalin outlawed all right-wing parties
• In these “free” elections he ensured he got the outcome that he wanted
• To weaken Peasant party, a very popular party, as popular as communist party, He merged the
communists and socialists to make Polish United Workers party in 1947
• Communists were dominant group in this sector so in rigged elections in January 1947,
communists won.
• Problem was that many communists weren’t fully pro-Moscow e.g. Gomulka (communist and
deputy PM of Poland)
• Attempted to defeat opposition to communism and supported rigged election in 1947, seems
like a useful person to Stalin
• However, he believed that Polish people should be able to determine their own future, opposed
Soviet policies despite being communist
• In 1948, he was accused of national deviation and was replaced by a Pro- Stalinist
• These Pro-Stalinist Actions made Poland extremely reliant on USSR
ROMANIA:
• Soviets had already been given 90% influence over Romania
• Many people in Romania already wanted Pro-communist regime
• Red Army already occupied Romania (used unrest as an excuse) so they had very little choice
• Stalin faced very little opposition.
• Communists and socialists joined parties and won election in 1946 with 80% of the vote
• Anyone critical of USSR was removed after 1946
BULGARIA:
• In 1941, They allied with Nazis
• In 1944, Communist Coup removed Bulgarian monarchy.
• In 1945, Stalin forces communists to include 2 opposition politicians into their government
• Manipulation of elections
• Largest opposition was agrarian party led by Petkov
• In 1946 Communists formed a broad-based labour party to hide reality of communist
dictatorship (and look like he is following the Declaration of Liberated Europe)
• In October 1946 elections, Agrarian Party won 20% of vote and communists won 75%
• Stalin ended up falsifying accounts and Petkov was faced with false accusations and
eventually executed
• Agrarian party was absorbed into Bulgarian Communist Movement
, • In April 1947 all other opposition had been banned
HUNGARY:
• Relatively free elections
• In 1947, there was still freedom of speech and press.
• In 1947, Soviets dominated allied Control Commission
• Allied with parties to combat main opponent (Small Holders Party)
• Arrested political opponents e.g. Kovaks (Small Holders Party Leader)
• Many communists didn’t show enough loyalty to Stalin and formed close link to
Yugoslavia and sign a treaty in 1947/8
• In 1949 Rajk, a communist leader, was executed for being “anti-Soviet”
• In 1949 there was no more opposition to Moscow in Hungary
Czechoslovakia:
• After war, communists were popular in Czechoslovakia especially with rural peasants
• Czech communist party leader Clement Gottwalt became PM in December 1945
• Soviet troops also withdraw in December 1945
• In 1946 Communists win 38% of vote in truly free elections
• Czech was poor and Stalin denied them the right of aid from the Marshall plan to keep
them under his control in 1947
• This led to growing opposition from non-communist groups
• To gain control, Moscow encouraged demonstrations throughout Prague and non-
communists in government resigned soon after in protest in 1948
• To prevent civil war, Benes, Czech President, succumbed to communist pressure and
allowed Gottwald to form a new government with close ties to Moscow
• Benes resigned in June 1948
• Communists arrested people, fired people and important figures like the foreign
minister found dead in suspicious circumstances
Yugoslavia:
• Only area in Eastern Europe where Stalin was unable to gain full control due to Tito
• Tito was one of the founder members of Cominform in 1948
• Soviets had limited influence in Yugoslavia despite them being communist
• Stalin was determined to enforce Soviet economic and foreign policies over European
states and Tito didn't want to be Stalinist puppet
• Weren't liberated by USSR so they weren't under any military pressure to follow Soviet
orders (their own anti-nazi, pro-communist government was set up in 1943)
• 1945, People’s Front won 90% of vote
• In June 1948 Yugoslavia expelled from Cominform
• Able to survive due to economic aid from US
• US gave them money because they were an enemy to USSR because Tito always went
against Stalin e.g. helping Greek communists and wanted to organise Bulgaria Albania
and Yugoslavia in Land of south Slavs against Stalin's commands
Speeches
Date:4-11 Feb 1945
Purpose: Decide future of post-war world and show solidarity of Grand Alliance. Grand Alliance was
weak, only stayed together due to common enemy of Germany.
Objectives:
Roosevelt and Churchill:
• Collective security founded in UN.
• National self-determination, no spheres of influence.
• Germany reconstruction as democratic nation, Roosevelt wanted Soviets to aid them in attack
against Japan.
Stalin:
• Improve USSR security via spheres of influence in Europe by creating a “buffer zone.”
• Germany to remain weak for indefinite future to prevent future attack
• Preserve Lublin government in Poland.
What was decided?
• Germany to be split up into 4 zones, USA, USSR, Britain and France
• Berlin also divided into 4 sections
• UN set up
• USSR gain land from Poland
• Poland would be expanded into the north and west, taking land from Germany
• Stalin agreed to free elections in Europe
• Stalin agreed to enter Asian war against Japan in exchange for land which he lost in the Russo
Japanese war in 1904-1905
• Declaration of Liberated Europe meant that allies will:
1. Ensure peace in Europe
2. Provide Charity
3. Form temporary “broadly representative” democratic governments.
4. Hold elections where needed
Problems:
• Roosevelt and Churchill did not want Stalin to enter war because they believed he may become
greedy and want to take more land
• In 1944 Churchill and Stalin made percentages agreement. Different countries would have
different amounts of control over other European countries e.g., In Romania, Stalin had 90%
influence and Britain would have 10%. In Greece, Britain had 90% and USSR had 10%. Stalin
thought percentages agreement entitled him to create Sphere of influence all over Eastern
3Europe. This meant he broke the promise of free elections and installed governments
dominated by the Soviet Union. Installed them via manipulation of elections and killed non-
prominent governments or capitalists.;
, • Yalta effectively split Europe into 2 zones. West under US Sphere of influence, East under soviet
sphere of influence
• Roosevelt and Churchill both criticised for selling out East European nations to rule of Soviets,
however it is argued that Soviets were in a strong position due to taking land during war
however, Britain had just gotten into Germany at this point, so Churchill and Roosevelt were
unable to make a deal that didn't give soviets majority of aims.
Stalin's long term aims:
• Build security; they had lost 25 million men and masses of land, agriculture, and industry during
war. Aimed to protect and build up Soviet Union
• Stalin and Molotov viewed Grand alliance as fundamentally anti-communist. Wanted to keep a
vague sense of cooperation because it would be practical for them.
• Ensuring Eastern Europe lay within Soviet Sphere of influence
• Wanted to turn Germany into a fully communist state in future so it had to keep them weak to
do so.
Roosevelt long term aims:
• Set up of international peace keeping organisation (UN)
• Co-operated with USSR to maintain Grand alliance
• Post-war should represent democratic views that US have. Was sure he could secure a non-
communist future for eastern Europe.
Often criticised for being naive about Stalin. At this time Roosevelt was ill and died soon after
conference (before Potsdam)
Churchill long term aims:
• Form a close alliance with the US to fight against threat USSR had on Britain's colonial interests
• Wanted to protect British interests in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. That is why he introduced
Percentages agreement (to control soviet expansion and spheres of influence)
Weary of Stalin and thought he wanted to expand the USSR throughout Europe
Post-Yalta:
• Significantly deteriorating relationships
• Main cause of this was “Liberated Europe” was vague
• During the war, a Polish government was in exile in London and the USSR supported the set-up
of a pro-communist government in Lublin
• Non-communist government also returned to Poland, but they were eliminated so they
• not be set up
• Stalin kept communist government
• Roosevelt disagreed with this and believed that new governments should be allowed alongside
Lublin
• This was a fundamental relationship problem between the 2 countries
Potsdam Conference
Date:17 July-2 August 1945
Changes in personnel:
,Truman:
• New US President
• Little knowledge of international affairs
• Less co-operative with USSR than Roosevelt
• Believed USSR was a major threat to national interests of USA
• Wanted to promote US to global superpower status
Attlee:
• Churchill lost election and was replaced by Labour’s Clement Attlee on 26th July
• Mistrusted Stalin, as did Churchill
• Believed continued alliance with US was the answer to protecting Western Europe
• Did not attend Potsdam, was elected during it.
Context:
• Day before Potsdam, there was the first ever successful detonation of an atomic bomb by USA
(16 July 1945)
• Increased Truman’s confidence
• Thought it would ensure Stalin’s loyalty to Yalta agreements
• However, it just made Stalin more anxious over security of Soviet Union
• This meant Stalin wanted more influence over Eastern Europe to create buffer zone of satellite
states
• Stalin refused any allied interference in Eastern Europe in which the governments of Bulgaria,
Hungary and Romania were already communist controlled
During Potsdam:
• Truman was extremely harsh on Stalin
• Stalin and Molotov (Foreign minister of USSR) refused to be intimidated by US Nuclear
monopoly
What agreements were made?:
• Germany was to be completely disarmed and demilitarised
• Denazification to be carried out over all of Germany including removing Nazi members from
public office and removing it from education
• Freedom of speech to be restored
• Decentralisation (making several local offices instead of just one) of political system
• Stalin requested $10 Billion in reparations, but Britain and America knew that the economic
recovery of Germany would allow future prosperity in Western Europe, so they granted USSR
reparations from his own zone and 25% from western zone.
• Soviets were to receive a part of Poland while Poland were allowed to gain lots of Eastern
Germany
No long-term decisions on Germany or international relationships between the countries
Did not introduce any foundations of a non-confrontational relationship between East and West which
led to a division of East and West
Truman’s aims:
• Wanted a post-war world based on self-determination and open world trading system based on
international co-operation
, • Wanted to create IMF and World Bank
Trumans worries:
• Growth of Soviet power in Eastern Europe
• Removal of anti-communist leaders
• Rise of Pro-communist governments which had been set up throughout the world
Trumans methods:
• Prone to using confrontation instead of co-operation
Stalin’s attitudes:
• Was certain that US and allies were rivals in his quest for European domination
• Happy with situation in Germany
• Believed that the whole of Eastern Europe was to form the base of security for the USSR
Stalin’s Actions:
• Kept the Red Army as a dominant force within Europe
• Installed many communist regions in liberated states that Red Army liberated after WW2
Attlee’s attitudes:
• More interested in rebuilding Britain
• Believed Germany had significant importance within Europe
• Believed they need USA to help defend Western Zones from Soviet threat
• Foreign Policy was to keep USA on his side
Stalin in Eastern Europe
Cause:
• Wanted power and a defensive system to protect USSR
• Due to 1944 Percentages agreement with Churchill (saying how much influence they have over
Eastern European states), Stalin believed that the countries he liberated would belong to Soviet
Sphere of Influence
• Influence was Stalin’s main priority
• Also wanted to defend USSR
• After WW2 it was vital for USSR to be able to defend themselves
• Wanted to create a buffer zone out of satellite states (an independent country under heavy
economic, political and military control of another country)
• Many countries post-war were very poor which led to struggling people turning to communism
to solve their problems
• Some countries with prominent farming communities became pro-agrarian.
• Stalin wanted countries to be STALINIST not just communist
• Stalin’s ideology meant that countries couldn’t be independent of Soviet Influence and had to be
loyal to Moscow
• This would give USSR power and security
, Stalin’s Actions:
POLAND:
•Stalin had planned his actions in advanced by establishing Lublin Government whilst Polish
Government took exile in London
• Lublin Government was a communist government that relied on USSR
• Due to “free” elections agreed on at Yalta (Stalin actually rigged elections), the role of the Lublin
government was preserved in Poland
• In June 1945, Provisional Government of National Unity was formed by a mixture of communists
and groups like peasant party, led by Mikolyjac.
• This government was recognised by US, UK and other allies, appeared to be a decent solution
• Stalin didn’t give any other parties any real power
• In 1946, Stalin outlawed all right-wing parties
• In these “free” elections he ensured he got the outcome that he wanted
• To weaken Peasant party, a very popular party, as popular as communist party, He merged the
communists and socialists to make Polish United Workers party in 1947
• Communists were dominant group in this sector so in rigged elections in January 1947,
communists won.
• Problem was that many communists weren’t fully pro-Moscow e.g. Gomulka (communist and
deputy PM of Poland)
• Attempted to defeat opposition to communism and supported rigged election in 1947, seems
like a useful person to Stalin
• However, he believed that Polish people should be able to determine their own future, opposed
Soviet policies despite being communist
• In 1948, he was accused of national deviation and was replaced by a Pro- Stalinist
• These Pro-Stalinist Actions made Poland extremely reliant on USSR
ROMANIA:
• Soviets had already been given 90% influence over Romania
• Many people in Romania already wanted Pro-communist regime
• Red Army already occupied Romania (used unrest as an excuse) so they had very little choice
• Stalin faced very little opposition.
• Communists and socialists joined parties and won election in 1946 with 80% of the vote
• Anyone critical of USSR was removed after 1946
BULGARIA:
• In 1941, They allied with Nazis
• In 1944, Communist Coup removed Bulgarian monarchy.
• In 1945, Stalin forces communists to include 2 opposition politicians into their government
• Manipulation of elections
• Largest opposition was agrarian party led by Petkov
• In 1946 Communists formed a broad-based labour party to hide reality of communist
dictatorship (and look like he is following the Declaration of Liberated Europe)
• In October 1946 elections, Agrarian Party won 20% of vote and communists won 75%
• Stalin ended up falsifying accounts and Petkov was faced with false accusations and
eventually executed
• Agrarian party was absorbed into Bulgarian Communist Movement
, • In April 1947 all other opposition had been banned
HUNGARY:
• Relatively free elections
• In 1947, there was still freedom of speech and press.
• In 1947, Soviets dominated allied Control Commission
• Allied with parties to combat main opponent (Small Holders Party)
• Arrested political opponents e.g. Kovaks (Small Holders Party Leader)
• Many communists didn’t show enough loyalty to Stalin and formed close link to
Yugoslavia and sign a treaty in 1947/8
• In 1949 Rajk, a communist leader, was executed for being “anti-Soviet”
• In 1949 there was no more opposition to Moscow in Hungary
Czechoslovakia:
• After war, communists were popular in Czechoslovakia especially with rural peasants
• Czech communist party leader Clement Gottwalt became PM in December 1945
• Soviet troops also withdraw in December 1945
• In 1946 Communists win 38% of vote in truly free elections
• Czech was poor and Stalin denied them the right of aid from the Marshall plan to keep
them under his control in 1947
• This led to growing opposition from non-communist groups
• To gain control, Moscow encouraged demonstrations throughout Prague and non-
communists in government resigned soon after in protest in 1948
• To prevent civil war, Benes, Czech President, succumbed to communist pressure and
allowed Gottwald to form a new government with close ties to Moscow
• Benes resigned in June 1948
• Communists arrested people, fired people and important figures like the foreign
minister found dead in suspicious circumstances
Yugoslavia:
• Only area in Eastern Europe where Stalin was unable to gain full control due to Tito
• Tito was one of the founder members of Cominform in 1948
• Soviets had limited influence in Yugoslavia despite them being communist
• Stalin was determined to enforce Soviet economic and foreign policies over European
states and Tito didn't want to be Stalinist puppet
• Weren't liberated by USSR so they weren't under any military pressure to follow Soviet
orders (their own anti-nazi, pro-communist government was set up in 1943)
• 1945, People’s Front won 90% of vote
• In June 1948 Yugoslavia expelled from Cominform
• Able to survive due to economic aid from US
• US gave them money because they were an enemy to USSR because Tito always went
against Stalin e.g. helping Greek communists and wanted to organise Bulgaria Albania
and Yugoslavia in Land of south Slavs against Stalin's commands
Speeches
