Yalta, Potsdam and the end of the alliance Cambridge IGCSE History revision
Not started
Learn it
In plain words
In February 1945 Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill posed for photographs as friends and allies. Five months later, with their common enemy dead, they could hardly agree on anything. The Cold War began at the conference tables of 1945.
8 things to know
- The USA and the USSR had fought together against Hitler, but they had little else in common. The USA was a capitalist democracy. The USSR was a communist, one-party state. Each believed that the other wanted to destroy its way of life.
- At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met with Germany close to defeat.
- They agreed at Yalta to divide Germany, and Berlin, into four zones of occupation. They agreed to hold free elections in the countries freed from German rule, to set up the United Nations, and that the USSR would join the war against Japan.
- They disagreed over Poland. Stalin wanted to move the Soviet border westwards into Poland, and to have a government there that was friendly to the USSR.
- By the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, much had changed. Germany had surrendered. Soviet troops occupied eastern Europe. Roosevelt had died, and the new president, Truman, was far more suspicious of Stalin. During the conference Churchill was replaced by Attlee.
- The USA had also tested an atomic bomb. Truman told Stalin about it at Potsdam.
- At Potsdam they confirmed the zones in Germany, and agreed to ban the Nazi Party and put its leaders on trial. They disagreed over reparations, which Stalin wanted to be heavy, and over Soviet control of eastern Europe.
- In March 1946 Churchill said in a speech in the USA that an "iron curtain" had descended across Europe, dividing the free West from the communist East.
Worked example
Explain why relations were worse at Potsdam than at Yalta. This is a 6-mark question.
- The enemy had gone: with Germany beaten, the reason for the alliance had disappeared.
- The leaders had changed: Truman distrusted Stalin, and took a harder line than Roosevelt had.
- The facts had changed: the Red Army held eastern Europe, and the USA had the atomic bomb, so each side now feared the other's power.
Tips and tricks
- Yalta: February 1945, with Roosevelt, the war still on, mostly agreement. Potsdam: July 1945, with Truman, the war in Europe over, mostly disagreement.
- Three changes between the conferences: a new president, an atomic bomb, and the Red Army in eastern Europe.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Yalta, Potsdam and the end of the alliance: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
Who represented the USA at Potsdam?
Roosevelt had died in April 1945.
Into how many zones was Germany divided?
American, British, French and Soviet.
What did Truman tell Stalin about at Potsdam?
The USA had just tested it successfully.
Which country caused the most disagreement at Yalta?
Stalin wanted its borders moved and its government friendly to him.
Why did the defeat of Germany make the alliance weaker?Stretch
Once Hitler was gone, their differences came to the surface.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 14 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Yalta, Potsdam and the end of the alliance
Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 14 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What was agreed at the Yalta Conference?[4]
Show answerHide answer
Any four: Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones; free elections would be held in the liberated countries of eastern Europe; the United Nations would be set up; the USSR would join the war against Japan; Nazi war criminals would be put on trial.
Why did the USA and the USSR distrust each other in 1945?[6]
Show answerHide answer
They had opposing ideologies: the USA was capitalist and democratic, and the USSR was communist with one party. Each feared that the other wanted to spread its system. Stalin wanted control of eastern Europe for security, which the USA saw as expansion. The USA had kept the atomic bomb secret, which increased Stalin's suspicion.
What did Churchill mean by the "iron curtain"?[4]
Show answerHide answer
He used the phrase in a speech in March 1946. He meant that Europe was now divided in two. In the East were the countries under Soviet, communist control. They were cut off from the free, democratic countries of the West.
Answers: Yalta, Potsdam and the end of the alliance
- 1. Any four: Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones; free elections would be held in the liberated countries of eastern Europe; the United Nations would be set up; the USSR would join the war against Japan; Nazi war criminals would be put on trial.
- 2. They had opposing ideologies: the USA was capitalist and democratic, and the USSR was communist with one party. Each feared that the other wanted to spread its system. Stalin wanted control of eastern Europe for security, which the USA saw as expansion. The USA had kept the atomic bomb secret, which increased Stalin's suspicion.
- 3. He used the phrase in a speech in March 1946. He meant that Europe was now divided in two. In the East were the countries under Soviet, communist control. They were cut off from the free, democratic countries of the West.