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Teacher notes • Teach as double to use resources to complete double-bubble map of Yalta and Potsdam. • Teach single on ‘did attitude change between Yalta and Potsdam?’ – hot seat Truman and Stalin (Berlin split and Atomic Bomb).

The American Way and the Russian Way The American way

The Russian Way

The USA is a …………… country. Industry, agriculture, banks and businesses are all ………… owned. Americans are free to ……….

The Soviet Union was a ………… country. Here the state owned and controlled all ............ There was no such thing as private enterprise. Individuals were also not free to ……

In terms of politics, there are a number of parties to vote for in fair elections, so the people choose or elect their ………… People have rights, there is not control of the media like papers or radio, the people are …………… For example they have ………………..

The leader was a ……… and his word was law. There were no free or fair elections to choose who ruled Russia. There was only …… political party. Russians had no ………… They could not say, read or write what they wanted. The Government controlled all …………

Yalta to Potsdam! L/O: To explain how the Potsdam Conference helped cause the Cold War! To evaluate how things changed from Yalta to Potsdam.

Who: The Big Three at Yalta

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain

Josef Stalin, Leader of Russia (the Soviet Union) Franklin Roosevelt, the President of the USA

The Big Three at Potsdam After the death of Roosevelt and Churchill’s defeat in an election, the Big Three changed.

Clement Atlee

Josef Stalin

The Prime Minister of Britain

Leader of the Soviet Union Harry Truman, The President of the United States

( Russia )

Use the resources around the room and your work from last lesson to help you complete the mindmap about the Yalta conference. What

When

Disagreements

YALTA

Where

Agreements Why

Who

Yalta: February 1945 What was the Yalta Conference? This was a conference between the Big three leaders. When was the conference held? It was held during the war in February 1945 (near the end of WW2). Why was it held? It was held to make plans for the future of Europe once they had defeated Hitler and the Germans. On the surface, the Yalta conference seemed successful.

Who: The Big Three at Yalta

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain

Franklin Roosevelt, the President of the USA

Josef Stalin, Leader of Russia (the Soviet Union)

Stalin. •Leader of the Soviet Union. •Did not fully trust the British or Americans after previous events before and during the war made him think they disliked communism. •Stalin had seen Russia invaded twice by Germany in 30 years and he was determined that this should not happen again. He wanted a buffer zone of friendly countries between Germany and Russia.

Franklin Roosevelt. Winston Churchill. •Led Britain through the tough war time years. •opposed to Nazi and Communist dictatorships. •Did not trust Stalin.

The Big Three at Yalta

•President of the USA since 1933. •Wanted a peaceful world and an end to fascism (Nazism). •Did not want Russia to have a free hand over the future of Poland. •Roosevelt was unhappy over Stalin’s attitude . He thought the Russians did not carrying out agreements made at Yalta.

Yalta: Agreements The Allies

agreed

on plans that would lead to:

•Setting up a United Nations peace keeping organisation that would include Russia. •Dividing Germany into four ‘zones’, which Britain, France, the USA and the USSR would occupy after the war.

•Putting Nazi war-criminals to trial. •Setting up a Polish Provisional or temporary Government of National Unity 'pledged to the holding of free and fair elections as soon as possible'. •Helping the freed peoples of Europe set up democratic (fair) governments. •Russia joining in the war against Japan as soon as Germany was defeated.

Yalta disagreements… But, behind the scenes, tension was growing. The Big Three disagreed over the future of Poland. Stalin wanted Poland to be ruled by the communists, Roosevelt and Churchill wanted a non-communist government. Stalin did agree to have an all-party temporary government in Poland. Stalin also wanted Poland to takeover a part of eastern Germany by moving Poland’s border with Germany further west. After the conference, Churchill wrote to Roosevelt that ‘The Soviet union has become a danger to the free world.’

Now complete a brainstorm for the Potsdam Conference using the resources around the room and your book. What

When

Disagreements

POTSDAM

Where

Agreements Who Why

Compare Yalta and Potsdam Colour similarities in one colour and differences in another. Decide future of Europe Disagreements

Decide future What of Europe

When

When

Disagreements

YALTA

POTSDAM

Where

Where

Agree ments

Agree ments

Why

Churchill Roosevelt Stalin

Atlee Truman Stalin

Who

Look at the agreements and differences; what is similar and different about them?

Why was Potsdam less successful than Yalta? Source B The Russians only understand one language - ‘how many armies have you got?’ I’m tired of babying the Soviets.

President Truman, writing in January 1946

Source C What is surprising about the fact that the Soviet Union, worried about its future safety, wants governments friendly to it in Finland, Poland and Romania?

Stalin, writing in March 1946

Source D In this ‘marriage of convenience’, the thought that a divorce was inevitable had been in the mind of each partner from the beginning.

Written by the historian, Isaac Deutscher,

Resources on each conference

Potsdam What was the Potsdam Conference? This was a conference at Potsdam near Berlin. It was between the Big three leaders. When was the conference held? It was held after the Germans had surrendered and Hitler had been defeated in May 1945. Why was it held? It was held to decide the plans for the how to keep peace after WW2 and what the future of Europe should look like.

The Big Three at Potsdam After the death of Roosevelt and Churchill’s defeat in an election, the Big Three changed.

Clement Atlee

Josef Stalin

The Prime Minister of Britain

Leader of the Soviet Union Harry Truman, The President of the United States

( Russia )

Potsdam: What was it? • America had a new president, Truman, who was determined to ‘get tough’ with the Russians. When President Truman went to the Potsdam Conference, he knew that America had tested the World’s first atomic bomb. It gave the Americans a huge military advantage over everyone else. Despite being allies Truman did not tell Stalin about America’s Atom Bomb something which angered Stalin when the Americans used the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. • Stalin invited the non-Communist Polish leaders to meet him in March 1945 and arrested them. Stalin therefore broke the Yalta agreement. • By July 1945 much of Eastern Europe had been freed or liberated from Nazi control by the Russian Red Army. Russia was therefore in control of Eastern Europe. • At Potsdam, the arguments between the Big Three came out into the open.

The Big Three at Potsdam

Harry Truman •Took over as President of the USA after Roosevelt died in April 1945. He was less trusting of the Russians than Roosevelt . •“ We’ve got to stop babying the Soviets ” •“ We have got to get tough with the Russians they don’t know how to behave ”

Clement Atlee •Took over as prime Minister from Churchill. •Atlee was a bit of an unknown and not an experienced world leader.

Josef Stalin •Powerful dictator and leader of Russia. •By July 1945 he was perhaps the strongest of the Big Three.

•He was determined to make sure Russia was in a much stronger position after the war and that Russia would be surrounded by friendly countries. •His Red Army was in control of Eastern Europe.

Potsdam: Agreements The Conference agreed to : • Split Germany into 4 zones of occupation. • Ban and destroy the Nazi Party, government and laws. Control German education system to eliminate Nazi ideas . • Accept the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity and hold free and fair elections as soon as possible. • Move the Polish border with Germany further west to the rivers Oder & Neisse.

• Allow Russia to take reparations ( compensation ) from the Soviet Zone of Germanry, and also 10% of the industrial equipment of the western zones as reparations. Allow America and Britain to take reparations from their zones if they wished. • Allow Germans living in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia to return to Germany.

Potsdam: Disagreements President Truman said the Potsdam agreement was a compromise. The Allies had disagreed openly about: 1. The details of how to divide Germany. 2. The size of reparations Germany ought to pay. Russia wanted to punish Germany but Truman would not let Russia take huge reparations.

3. Russian influence over the countries of eastern Europe. Britain & America wanted more say over the future. They did not agree that Russia had a right to have a greater influence over the East – they feared he would introduce communism into the countries Russia occupied.

The Big Three Allies agreed to divide Germany into 4 zones after the war

GERMANY DIVIDED INTO 4 ZONES

The Allies also agreed that the German city of Berlin that was in the Russian zone of Germany would also be divided into 4 zones each controlled by Britain , France , America and Russia.

BERLIN DIVIDED INTO 4 ZONES

Why did the USA-USSR relationship breakdown 1945? • • • •

Personalities Actions by the USA Actions by the USSR Misunderstandings

Truman held an ace card that gave him confidence to make demands of the other leaders. America had developed the atomic bomb; the most powerful and destructive bomb ever made. At this point in time the atomic bomb was solely in the hands of the United States government.

At Potsdam America becomes more powerful. • During the Potsdam conference, Truman mentioned to Stalin about an unspecified "powerful new weapon"; Stalin knew what Truman was talking about through Russian spies inside the USA. • Stalin encouraged the use of any weapon that would quickly end of the war.

• Towards the end of the Potsdam conference, Japan was given an ultimatum: prompt and utter destruction or surrender . • After Japan rejected America’s ultimatum two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9 respectively. Truman made the decision to use atomic weapons to end the war while at the conference.

How did the major countries feel at the Potsdam Conference (after the end of WW2)? Attitudes changes between the Yalta and Potsdam conferences because: 1.

The War had ended (and there was more to decide in the future of Europe).

2. Truman was now a more forceful US president (than Roosevelt had been). 3. Stalin had not kept to the agreements made at Yalta, e.g. he said he would allow an election in Poland but it was actually rigged; he started setting up communist governments in the Eastern Countries, but this hadn’t been agree to at Yalta. 4. It was more difficult to come to agreements: they couldn’t agree on how much Germany should pay in reparations; they couldn’t decide how to divide Germany; they couldn’t agree on the types of Governments (communist or capitalist) that should be introduced into previously occupied countries (those that had been captured by the Germans), . 5. Truman held the ‘ace card’ – America had the threat of the Atomic bomb as a bargaining tool.

How did the major countries feels at the Potsdam Conference (after the end of WW2)? Use these words to fill in the gaps - powerful, lenient, communist, American way, fear, free, trust, Eastern Europe.

•America has to stop babying the Soviets. Roosevelt has been too ________ on Russia, I do not _________ Stalin and the Russians. •Me and the other US politicians _______ that France and other countries in Europe will become _________; but this is against the __________ ____, it does not let people be ______. •The Russians are already too _______, they have control of _________ _______, we don’t want them to spread communism. Use these words to fill in the gaps – money, control, west, friendly, communist, blood, protect, invaded.

•Russia needs to be surrounded by _________ countries; too much Russian ______ had been lost in wars that started with us being __________ from the _____. We just want to create other _________ countries around us which we know we can trust and who will __________ us, like a _________ _____. •America just wants to ________ European business by selling goods here; they are greedy and hungry for _______.

What is the meaning of this source?

How would you answer these questions? • Why did the Potsdam Conference signal the end of good relations between East and West? (6)