The Cold War – How it all started. Part One
1939 –
1945:
- Lessons from WW2.
- How Germany and Japan
conquered the world:
- Germany defeated France in
six weeks!
- Japan controlled major parts
of east and Southeast Asia.
- Great Britain got more and
more dependent on the Commonwealth and on the USA.
- Holocaust became a horrible
remainder on what horrible things one regime can cause. Genocide became a
new word in international politics.
- The Soviet victory over
Germany on the eastern front meant a tremendous triumph for the Soviet
state. It also meant that the Red Army was holding a firm grip on Europe.
- The Japanese had conquered the
French and British colonies and kicked out the USA from the Philippines.
- The French and the British
wants to keep their colonies and the Americans wants free, democratic
countries after the war.
- When Germany and Japan was
defeated it meant that the world would never be the same again:
- The Grand Alliance between the
British, the Americans and the Russians had defeated Germany and Japan.
In the words of Elvis “What now, my love?”.
- A horrible Genocide had
taken place, how should the world cope with that? The UN will be the
answer.
- The USA wanted all liberated
countries to be free democratic countries, the British and the French
wanted to keep their colonies and the USSR wanted to have a
“buffert-zone” as protection against future aggressions.
- It is nothing new that
countries change strategies after a major conflict, it also not new that
alliances stand during the conflict but falls after the end of it.
- Territory = power. Both Stalin
and Churchill saw this as an absolute truth. Churchill wanted to preserve
the British Empire and Stalin wanted to gain back the Czarist Russian
borders of pre-1914. Roosevelt was more of an idealist and a true believer
in free democratic countries.
- This is why it is Churchill
who wants the American army to move onwards Berlin and Prague and
Roosevelt who wants them to halt and honor the agreement with the
Americans.
- It is wrong to say that the
Cold war started with an alliance between the British and the Americans
against the USSR. It was three countries that agreed and disagreed on many
different issues. The British and the Americans agreed on some issues and
strongly disagreed on other.
- For Roosevelt and the Americans
it was obvious that Stalin would be a much more important international
politician than Churchill after the war, and they tried to please Stalin
and give in to his demands. Churchill also understood the importance that
the USSR would play after the war and agreed on Stalin’s demands of a “protective-zone”. It was all about
dividing the world into “spheres of interest”. Churchill wanted the
Soviet part to be as little as possible and the British to be as big as possible.
- The Americans were Anti-imperialistic,
strongly supporting India’s independence, and Churchill was a strong
believer in the Empire.
- This meant that Stalin could
sit and wait for the best offers.
1945, The year of the conferences:
- The Yalta Conference February 4
– 11 1945 (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill):
- One of the longest toughest
myths in history is that it was at this conference that the three leaders
met to divide the world.
- They did no such thing.
Neither Germany nor Japan was defeated.
- It was of outermost importance
that the Grand Alliance would hold. Hitler was still hoping for it to
break down.
- The conference was about four
things:
- How to organize UN.
- How to come to an agreement
on a common policy against Germany in concern of reparations and
occupying zones.
- How to deal with Polish
borders and government.
- On what terms and when the
USSR would join the war against Japan.
- The result of the Yalta
conference:
- The UN: Members should the
countries at war with Germany and Veto should be given to members of
the Security Council. Stalin gave in to American demands (originally
Stalin wanted all the Soviet Republics to be members but agree only
that Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine would be members).
- Germany:
- In Casablanca January 1943
GB and USA agreed on unconditional surrender from Italy, Germany and
Japan. No separate peaces should be made. Stalin joined this
immediately.
- East Prussia and the city
of Königsberg should be annexed by the USSR.
- The border to Poland was to
be along the rivers Oder and Neisse (not mentioning if it was West or
East Neisse).
- Germany should be divided
into occupying zones, GB insisted on that France would be given one
zone.
- Reparations were agreed on.
Stalin wanted it in natura at a value of 20 billion USD of which half
would go to the USSR. The British and the Americans opposed this
claiming that the lesson from the Versailles Peace Treaty must be
learned. USA and USSR agreed on postponing the question and putting
together a committee that should meet in Moscow and discuss the issue,
with the figure 20 billion as a base for the discussion. A big step towards accepting the
Russian demands were met.
- Poland:
- The eastern border was set
a long the Curazon Line, leaving the the western to be decided at
Potsdam.
- In Lublin Stalin had set up
a Soviet controlled government and in London the Exile government was
sitting, ready to take over. The result became a compromise. The two
governments should cooperate and be “Friendly to the Soviet Union”.
The Lublin government were given the most power, they should form a provisional
government and hold free election, taking into consideration the
desires of “polish abroad”.
- Japan:
- Roosevelt wanted to make
sure that the Russians would join the war against Japan. The simple
reason was that without the help of USSR the war would be long, bloody
and expensive.
- In order to get the USSR
involved he paid with land.
- Manchuria was recognized as
Chinese territory but USSR would control the railway, and Outer Mongolia was to be a
independent state, but under Soviet influence. USA sold out it’s ally
China.
- USSR agreed to join the war
three months after the German surrender.
- Declaration on Liberated
Europe:
- The Three agreed on that
free elections should be held in Europe.
- Future problems and unsolved
issues:
- Churchill was dismayed at
the idea that Stalin had got to much influence over Europe.
- Roosevelt had spoken
beautifully of free elections and liberated Europe, but had sold out
China, given in of reparations and not solved the future government of
Poland.
- Stalin didn’t trust his
allies and was afraid of a separate peace.
- BUT the Grand Alliance was
still standing. Compromises always take place at conferences and this was
no exception.
- So the World was not divided,
not even Europe was divided. Poland was definitively put in the Communist
sphere. But the Grand Alliance survived and nobody anticipated the coming
of a Cold War.