Yalta Potsdam
The period following WWII was a period of tension characterized by conflict at diplomatic, economic and all levels short of actual armed conflict between the principals on either side. The origins of the Cold War can be traced to conclusion of World War II and the disagreements between the USSR and the Western Powers. It was a direct result/consequence of the inability of the left and center to co-exist after the disappearance of the right. Beginning with the Yalta Convention in 1945, and continuing with the Potsdam Conference later that year, the United States and the United Soviet Socialist Republic became disillusioned with each other over the division of Europe. Mutual mistrust and conflicting interests prevented the Big Three from reaching a compatible agreement. The Soviet Union needed security, especially in Eastern Europe, to eliminate the threat posed by Germany. American feared another economic depression and required the European market. With the Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe the US might loose the market. Therefore, the United States sought free flow of capital and the "open door" economy. The communist ideology and the western reaction to it had not changed by the end of the World War II. Americans still believ
· Germany was to pay reparations ‘to the greatest possible extent’ of which half would go to the Soviet Union. $20,000 million (as proposed by Stalin) accepted as the sum of reparations for future discussions. "To form interim governmental authorities broadly representative of all democratic elements of the population and pledged to the earliest possible establishment, through free elections, of governments responsive to the will of the people [and] to facilitate, where necessary, the holding of such elections." The Potsdam Declaration issued by the conference presented an ultimatum to Japan, offering that nation the choice between unconditional surrender and total destruction. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima two days after the conference had ended. Russia's declaration of war on August 8, and immediate drive into Manchuria the next day seems to have been effective. Attacks on the Japanese held territories in Manchuria hastened action by the emperor himself to surrender before having his country fully swallowed up. Soviet intervention was necessary to bringing the war against Japan to a quick end. The ensuing occupation of Manchuria surrounded the Japanese from two fronts and forced surrender on their part. It was agreed that countries occupied by Germany, including her allies, were to be free to elect their own governments. Most of the other East European countries were also left to Stalin's, but this did not appear so at the time. Stalin agreed to the "Declaration on Liberated Europe" – based on the "Atlantic Charter"(Newfoundland, August 1941), promising free elections. The Declaration on Liberated Europe, signed by Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at Yalta reaffirmed the principles of the Atlantic Charter:
Some topics in this essay:
Soviet Union,
Eastern Europe,
National Unity”,
Socialist Republics,
Atlantic Charter,
Yalta Conference,
National Socialism,
United Nations,
Bolsheviks Soviets,
Conference Roosevelt,
soviet union,
free elections,
yalta conference,
eastern europe,
world war,
world war ii,
war ii,
balance power,
soviet socialist,
polish government,
united soviet,
declaration liberated europe,
union soviet socialist,
military balance power,
soviet socialist republics,
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Approximate Word count = 3287
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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