The end of the Grand Alliance

• Despite agreeing at Yalta that free elections would be held in Eastern Europe after the defeat of Nazi Germany, there was little evidence at Potsdam that Stalin intended to allow them. In fact, the Red Army was in control Poland and the USSR was in the process of setting up a Communist Government
• The USA dropped atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945. This gave them a huge military advantage over other countries.
• Roosevelt was prepared to work with Stalin but he died in April 1945 and was replaced by Truman. Truman trusted Stalin much less, as he had broken the promises he made over Poland at Yalta. He felt that, thanks to the atomic bomb, he could push Stalin around at the Potsdam Conference.
• Stalin disliked the way in which Truman had tried to push him around at Potsdam in 1945. This Increased tension between the superpowers and the start of the cold war.
• Britain had finished on the winning side in 1945 but was economically exhausted by the war. It was therefore unable to stand up to the Soviet Union on its own and became only an ally of the United States. The Cold War therefore became increasingly about the relationship between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.
• How the conferences caused tension:

  • Control over Eastern Europe - USA wanted free elections whereas Soviet union wanted communist control (for poland)
  • Borders of Germany / Berlin - Disagreements about where the borders should be
  • Reparations - Soviet Union wanted harsh reparations on Germany but USA was worried about this