Before the end of the war; the big 3 meet
up in Yalta (on the coast of the black sea)
on the 12th of February to discuss what
would happen to Germany after the war.
Although there were tensions about Poland they agreed on things such as:
Splitting Germany into four zones
USSR agrees to join the war against Japan
USSR could take some land from Poland
(which would become Eastern Poland
To hunt down nazi war criminals
To create democratic
institutions of their
choice
Germany's reparations
Potsdam Conference [July 1945]
After Germany had been
defeated, Roosevelt died
and Churchill lost the
election. This meant the
new leaders would have lots
of disagreements with Stalin
There were many disagreements
Truman was different to Roosevelt; he hated
communism and was suspicious of Stalin
Truman drops the atomic
bomb so that Japan would
surrender before Russian
troops could go into
Japan. America had the
bomb in July but didn't
tell Stalin about it;
making him furious
Arguments over the number of reparations Russia wanted to take.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings
To end the war quickly; the USA dropped 2
atomic bombs on the Japanese cities
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The US dropped the 2
bombs to boast towards the
USSR about how powerful
weapons they had
They tested them in New Mexico to
see if they worked first.
It was easier to nuke Japan
and kill 100,000 civilians than
to invade it and cause further
death
Stalin was jealous
Pre-WWII
1917 - the tsar in Russia (Nicholas II) is
overthrown by communists.
USA sends troops to support the tsar, to battle
communists. Stalin sees this and will not trust
the West again
Communism vs Capitalism
Communism: -only 1
political party, -everyone
must work for the, -we
should make as many
products as we need,
-fairness and equality for
all
Capitalism: -there
should be a variety
of political parties,
-People should be
free to start a
business and make
a profit, -Freedom of
Speech, -Freedom
and opportunity for
all