1.1.3
Potsdam Conference
The Breakdown of the Grand Alliance at the Potsdam Conference
The Breakdown of the Grand Alliance at the Potsdam Conference
Stalin, Attlee, and Truman met in Potsdam, near Berlin, in July 1945. The context of Potsdam was very different from that of Yalta.
The context of Potsdam
The context of Potsdam
- The context of Potsdam was very different to that of Yalta.
- Germany had already been put under occupation and there were two new leaders at the table (Attlee and Truman).
- The USSR had extended their control over much of Eastern and Central Europe.
- 5 million Germans were expelled from Poland by the USSR and forcibly moved to West Germany.
- Throughout Eastern Europe, communist officials were put into local governments.
- These events worried America and Britain.
The Soviet sphere of influence
The Soviet sphere of influence
- Stalin wanted to protect the Soviet Sphere of Influence after WW2.
- By 1948, 60 Red Army divisions remained in Europe to act as a policing force over satellite states and acted as an enforcer for communist regimes.
- Pro-communist governments were set up in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The USSR placed pressure on these countries to have communist politicians within their government.
- Despite promises to the allies that he would hold free elections within these countries, Stalin did not do so. This caused much distress to the Western Powers.
The atomic bomb
The atomic bomb
- Tensions also grew leading up to Potsdam due to the fact that Truman had dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.
- Stalin was not informed of the dropping of the bombs.
- Truman thought this show of military superiority would make Stalin more amenable to American and British ideas for Europe but instead, it made Stalin hostile and suspicious towards them.
The Postdam Conference Agreements
The Postdam Conference Agreements
The leaders of the Grand Alliance (Great Britain, USSR and USA) met in Potsdam, near Berlin on 17th July 1945.
Germany
Germany
- Despite the conflict of interests, some agreements were made at Potsdam.
- The demilitarising, disarming and de-Nazification of Germany.
- The restoration of freedom of speech, free press and freedom of worship in Germany.
- The treatment of Germany as a single economic unit.
Reparations
Reparations
- The USSR was to receive reparations from its own zone within Germany with an additional 25% coming from the Western controlled zones of Germany.
- The Western powers would take reparations from their zones and receive agricultural produce from the Soviet zone.
Historical interpretations
Historical interpretations
- Historians David Evans and Jane Jenkins in Years of Russia and the USSR 1851-1991 (2001) argue that 'at the time of The Potsdam Conference, it was already clear that the wartime alliance of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union was breaking down.'
- Historians David Evans and Jane Jenkins (2001) argue that “by using diplomatic pressure, infiltration, intimidation and subversion, Stalin began consolidating communist rule across much of Eastern Europe.”
1Origins of the Cold War, 1945-9
1.1Events of 1945
1.2The Collapse of the Grand Alliance
1.3Developing Tensions
1.4US Involvement in Europe
2Widening of the Cold War
2.1US Containment in Asia
2.2The Korean War
2.3Increasing Cold War Tensions, 1949 -1953
3The Global War
3.2Cold War Rivalries
3.3Conflict in Asia
3.4Confrontation Between Superpowers
4Confrontation & Cooperation
4.2Cooperation
4.3Pressures on the USSR
5Brezhnev Era
5.1Detente
5.2Second Cold War
5.3Developments in Africa & Americas
6Ending of the Cold War
6.1Gorbachev
6.2Cooperation between US & USSR
6.3Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe
6.4End of Tensions Across the World
Jump to other topics
1Origins of the Cold War, 1945-9
1.1Events of 1945
1.2The Collapse of the Grand Alliance
1.3Developing Tensions
1.4US Involvement in Europe
2Widening of the Cold War
2.1US Containment in Asia
2.2The Korean War
2.3Increasing Cold War Tensions, 1949 -1953
3The Global War
3.2Cold War Rivalries
3.3Conflict in Asia
3.4Confrontation Between Superpowers
4Confrontation & Cooperation
4.2Cooperation
4.3Pressures on the USSR
5Brezhnev Era
5.1Detente
5.2Second Cold War
5.3Developments in Africa & Americas
6Ending of the Cold War
6.1Gorbachev
6.2Cooperation between US & USSR
6.3Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe
6.4End of Tensions Across the World
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