Yalta was the first event in the time period, and was where ‘the big thee’, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met and discussed the reorganization of Germany and Eastern Europe after WWII. Divisions over Europe became apparent as there were disputes over the Polish border, and Germany was to be divided into four zones. This ended reasonably, though shortly after, Roosevelt died and Truman acceded to the presidency. This came as a shock to the system and was where relations began to deteriorate. The allies met at Potsdam in July 1945, where the German division was agreed, though there were still disagreements over Poland.
America then created the Hydrogen bomb. Both countries steadily built their nuclear weaponry in secret which prompted both sides to send spies to collect information of the other country’s progress. This caused a feeling of mistrust and contempt and caused a strong dislike between the two. Another incident that affected the relationship was the Berlin Blockade in 1948 that lasted into 1949. The Soviets cut off the western side of Berlin and prevented the Americans, British and French from accessing the city.
Why were the Germans defeated in World War Two between 1941 and 1945? By Katie Goodwin The Germans (along with Japan) were defeated in World War two by the allied forces; the USA, the UK and the USSR. These were not natural allies, they have different political beliefs, the USA and the UK were Capitalists with USSR as communists, and they only became allies because they had a common enemy, the axis. The war stretched between 1st September 1939 when Hitler and the Nazis invaded Poland causing the UK and France to declare war, until the Russians reached Berlin causing Hitler to commit suicide and Germany to surrender on 7th May 1945 then Atomic Bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 14th August causing the final surrender of Japan. The mistakes that occurred by the Germans assisted the axis empire to be defeated, some examples of these errors are attempting to fight the war on multiple fronts, deciding to attack Russia as well as being at war with the USA as both of these countries could easily outnumber and surround the Nazis although Germany may have had little choice in fighting the USA as Britain was their closest ally and they would have got involved to defend their friend and Russia was planning to enter the war a few months after she was attacked anyway.
This was also the motivation behind Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill’s cooperation during the Yalta conference of February 1945, as the war against Germany, although in its final stages, was still raging. This changed at the Potsdam conference of July, by which time Germany had already surrendered; the common enemy was no longer a binding force, the old allies were left to fall apart. This disintegration continued from 1945 until its climax at the Berlin Blockade of 1948. The orthodox reason for the change from allies to enemies, incessantly campaigned in IGCSE textbooks, is that, as the Wehrmacht retreated between the Yalta conference in February and the Potsdam conference in July 1945, the Red Army remained mobilised. Stalin, apparently defying decisions made at Yalta, did not liberate the countries in Eastern Europe, but instead occupied them with his troops, much to the vexation of the Western allies.
Another reason to why America is to blame is after the success of the atomic bomb the members of the Grand Alliance began to see changes in Truman’s behaviour as he started to control the meetings they had and Stalin refused to be bossed around so arguments between Stalin and Truman started, they started. The USSR is to blame for the breakdown of the Grand Alliance for many reasons. One reason is that the USSR wanted to impose big respirations on Germany but America and Great Britain refused as they knew how it would affect Germany and could cause another war. A second reason is that Stalin wanted most of Europe to become communist, Roosevelt and Churchill didn’t agree. After Truman became Americas new President there was a lot of tension at the Potsdam Conference.
World War II left Europe in a distraught and confused state, and although The United States, Soviet Union, and allies had won, it seemed as if the United States and Soviet Union had not yet settled all of their differences. Germany was left in a completely disastrous state , and desperately needed the aid of some of the worlds super power countries , The United States and Soviets came to their aid, and at the Yalta Conference they decided to split Germany and Berlin . As the differences in Ideologies grew , the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall to physically separate themselves and their occupation zone from the United States. into occupation zones. The Berlin Wall was a physical symbol of the political and emotional differences between East Germany and West Germany.
the Cold War was a contest between the USA and the Soviet Union. It led to the existence of thousands of nuclear weapons, two universal ideologies in conflict, and two different self-images, the United States championing a world made safe for democracy. Its opponent, the Soviet Union advocated world Communism. The United States prides itself on its heritage of freedom, a refuge for persecuted religious groups, a land of liberty that successfully rebelled against the imperial power of Britain in 1776. Its guiding principles were the protection of the individual’s life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and the establishment of a constitution that embodied the best political idea of modern times, a system of checks and balances so that the president,
In what ways did spies during the cold war try to gain information? What did they do with this information and was it beneficial to our country? Tension after World War 2 between the Western world and the Communist world. The largest tension was between the US and the Soviet Union. After the debatable “success” of the atomic bomb there was talk of using it again Every country now wanted to know who had one, where it was kept, and when/if they would be using it Causes Differences between the US and the Soviet Union were intensified by suspicions after the war.
The Second World War ended in 1945 with the victory of ‘the Grand Alliance’ of the USSR, the USA and Britain. Although on the surface it appeared the West and the Soviets had reached a mutual understanding in their quest to defeat the Axis powers, strains in their relationship during the war and in the years preceding it suggests that conflict was imminent. Thus, certain actions by both the USA and the USSR can be interpreted as prompting the Cold War as early as 1945. As the Cold War did not involve direct conflict between the USA and USSR, locating its origin is a topic of contention. However, the breakdown in relations between the emerging superpowers during the war and the consequences of the disbandment of the Grand Alliance can be interpreted as the start of the Cold War.
Karan Agarwal 12 E To what extent was the cold war a result of World War II? ESSAY PLAN Introduction v What was the Cold War? v Differences between USA and USSR Yes, it was a result of the Second World War: v v v v The question of a ‘second front’ during the war had worsened relations between USSR and USA USA had used the Atomic bomb without informing USSR (distrust) The USSR had suffered enormously from the war while the US emerged stronger (threat to USSR). The was a power vacuum in the heart of Europe was filled by The Red Army, that controlled Eastern Europe, which increased the USSR’s sphere of influence (threat to USA). v v Yalta conference agreements resulted in Germany being divided into zones of occupation and Berlin was to have a western zone.