History- Yalta and Potsdam
agreements at potsdam
Germany and Berlin to be divided as previously agreed. Germany to be demilitarised. To re-establish democracy in Germany including free elections, free press and free speech. Germany to pay reparations to the Allies in equipment and materials. Most would go to the Soviet Union because it had suffered the most. Soviet Union would be given ¼ of industrial goods made in the western zones in return for food and coal from the Soviet zone. Nazi Party to be banned. Leading Nazis to be put on trial for war crimes at Nuremberg in 1946. Full participation in the United Nations Organisation. Poland's frontier to be moved westwards to the rivers Oder and Neisse.
disagreements at yalta
How much Germany was to pay in reparations - Stalin wanted a much higher figure. The decision was delayed until the next meeting. Poland: Stalin wanted the Polish/German border to be much further west than either Roosevelt of Churchill. Plus Stalin wanted a 'friendly' Polish government so that the USSR would have protection from Germany. The western powers feared this would be a Soviet-controlled government - they persuaded Stalin to agree to free elections.
disagreements at potsdam
Over what to do about Germany. 20 million Russians had died during the war and so Stalin wanted massive compensation so that Germany would be permanently crippled. Plus he wanted Germany disabled so that the Soviet Union was protected from future threats. In contrast Truman did not want Germany punished in the way that it had been by the Treaty of Versailles. Truman wanted free elections in the countries of eastern Europe that were occupied by Soviet troops, but Stalin refused to submit to US pressure. Truman was furious and began a 'get tough' policy against the Soviet Union.
Basics of Potsdam conference
Potsdam - July 1945: Germany had been defeated, Roosevelt had died and Churchill had lost the 1945 election - so there were open disagreements. Truman came away angry about the size of reparations and the fact that a communist government was being set up in Poland. Truman did not tell Stalin that he had the atomic bomb.
agreements at yalta
Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan once Germany was defeated. Germany to be divided into 4 zones (US, British, Soviet and French.) Berlin to be divided into 4 zones in the same way. Nazi war criminals would be hunted down and tried in an international court of justice. Countries liberated from occupation by the German army to have free elections. To join the new United Nations Organisation in order to maintain peace once the war ended. Eastern Europe would be a Soviet 'sphere of influence.
Why was the dropping of the first atomic bomb significant
Truman attempted to assert his authority at the conference. His first move was to postpone the meeting in order to give American scientists more time to test the first atomic bomb - this occurred in July. Truman believed this was his 'master card' at the conference because America now had the power to destroy entire cities without risking American lives. Stalin was furious that he had not been told sooner of the existence of the bomb. He was well aware of the significance of this weapon and had in fact told his own scientists to develop their own - this was as early as 1940. News of the bomb made Stalin more determined to protect the interests of the USSR. His plan was to create a 'buffer zone'. This would involve a communist area in Eastern Europe between the USSR and capitalist west.
Basics of the Yalta conference
Yalta - February 1945: Germany was not yet defeated, so, although there were tensions about Poland, the big three - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill - managed to agree to split Germany into four zones of occupation, and to allow free elections in Eastern European countries. Russia was invited to join the United Nations, and Russia promised to join the war against Japan when Germany was defeated.
