Early Tension

• The beginning of the cold war

  • Before the Cold War Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union worked together as members of the Grand Alliance
  • The Grand Alliance was created in 1941 to defeat Nazi Germany
  • The leaders of these countries met three times at Tehran-1943, Yalta-1945 and Potsdam-1945
• Britain- a democracy led by Churchill, had been at war with Germany since 1939
• The USA- a democracy led by Roosevelt-had been at war with Germany and Japan from December 1941
• The Soviet Union- a communist one-part state led by Stalin-had been at war with Germany since 1941
• The Grand Alliance was a “marriage of convenience“ in which the three countries shared the aim of defeating their common enemy Nazi Germany
• The Tehran Conference

  • November-December 1943
  • The USA and Britain agreed to open up a second front by invading Nazi-occupied Europe
  • The Soviet Union would then declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated
  • The boundaries of Poland would be moved westward
  • Poland would then gain territory from Germany to then lose it to the Soviet Union
  • During the conference, it was agreed that an international body would be set up to settle future disputes between countries
  • This set the scene for the future United Nations
• The Yalta Conference

  • February 1945
  • Germany when defeated would be reduced in size, divided and demilitarised and would have to pay reparations
  • Europe would be rebuilt along the lines of the Atlantic Charter-countries would have democratic elections
  • The UN would be set up
  • The Soviet Union would still declare war on Japan
  • Poland now would be in the “soviet sphere of influence”, run on a broader democratic basis
  • Meaning more free elections and non-communist leaders
  • But in reality Stalin never kept this promise, he installed a communist-dominated regime and elections were manipulated
• The Potsdam Conference

  • July-August 1945
  • A council of foreign ministers were set up to rebuild Europe
  • Nazi part was banned and war criminals were to be prosecuted
  • Germany was to be reduced in size and divided into 4 zones
  • Run by Britain, France, the USA and the Soviet Union
  • Berlin was also to be divided up into zones of occupation
  • The Soviet Union was to receive 25% of the output from other three occupied zones
• Outcome of conferences

  • Though the Grand Alliance was working
  • Tensions were rising between the wartime allies
  • Differences were emerging over the future of Germany and Eastern-Europe
  • Moreover, the death of Roosevelt led to Truman becoming president who was more distrustful of the Soviet Union
• End of Grand Alliance

  • After Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Grand Alliance came to an end
  • Roosevelt was a key figure holding the alliance together
  • He believed the United States could work with the Soviet Union after the war came to an end through the United Nations
  • Truman like Churchill was more suspicious of the Soviet Union
  • This would increase tension between the Allies.