Yalta and the Potsdam Conferences free essay sample

When the war was going on, Britain and the USA were allies of the Soviet Union, but the only thing that united them: Hatred for GER. In 1945, the Big three held two conferences i. e. Yalta and Potsdam, in Feb and Jul respectively. Tensions became obvious after them. Yalta: seemed successful, they agreed to a Protocol of proceedings. 1. RUS would UN 2. Divide GER into four zones for I-JK, FRA, USA, and RUS. 3. Bring Nazi War Criminals to trial 4. Set up a Polish democratic government or a Provisional government of National Unity. 5. Help the freed peoples of Eastern Europe setup a democratic government, by helping them to maintain law and order, carry out emergency relief measures, set up governments, and be able to hold elections. 6. Set up a commission to take care of reparations But behind the scenes, tension was growing, Churchill wrote to Roosevelt about the threat of the Soviet Union. We will write a custom essay sample on Yalta and the Potsdam Conferences or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Potsdam: July 1945 At Potsdam, the allies met after GER surrendered, to decide upon a Post-War peace. But many changes had been made: America had an anti-communist President Truman, after Roosevelt died. When he ent to the conference, Truman had learn that the US had Just tested an atomic bomb, and gave the US a huge military advantage; but Truman did not tell Stalin about this, and when the Americans did use it Stalin got very upset. Woodrow Wilson had Just lost the elections to Attley. Salami Tactics During 1945-47 Stalin made sure that all the countries in Eastern Europe that communist governments would come to power i. e. the countries which RUS had captured in WWII. Directly copied from www. ]ohndclare. net The Hungarian Communist Rakosi described this process as slicing salami gradually getting rid of all opposition, bit-by-bit. In this way, Russia gained control of: Albania (1945) the Communists took power after the war without opposition Bulgaria (1945) a left-wing coalition gained power in 1945; the Communists then executed the leaders of all the other parties. Poland (1947) a coalition government took power in 1945, but Stalin arrested all the non-communist leaders in 1945, and the Communists forced the other non- Communists into exile. Romania (1945-1947) a left-wing coalition was elected in 1945; the Communists gradually took over control. Hungary (1947) Hungary was invaded by the Russians, and in 1945 the allies agreed that Russian troops should stay there. Stalin allowed elections, in which the non- communists won a big majority. However, some communists were elected, led by a pro-Russian called Rakosi. Rakosi now started demanding that groups which opposed him should be banned. If not, he hinted, the Russians would take over the country. Then he got control of the police, and started to arrest his opponents. He set up a sinister and brutal secret police unit, the AVO. BY 1947 Rakost had complete control over Hungary. Czechoslovakia (1945-48) a left-wing coalition was elected in 1945. In 1948, the Communists banned all other parties and killed their leaders.