THE COLD WAR:

WHO IS TO BLAME?
Year 9

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 THE YALTA AND POSTDAM
CONFERNCES
Lesson objective:
By the end of the lesson, we will be able to
describe the Yalta and Postdam conferences.

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Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash
Recap of previous lesson

Rosevelt's Different
Superpowers Ideas differ stance USSR Ideas
■ USA and ■ USA – ■ USA will ■ Joseph ■ Private
USSR Capitalist actively (Josef) Stalin ownerships
■ Former world ■ USSR - participate in has resent as against
powers were Communist the world against community
in the second affairs Capitalists for ownership
division. ■ USA will condemning ■ High
effectively communism. standard of

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oppose the ■ Will like to living as and
spread
communist against low
communist
standard of
ideas
living
 In this lesson:
■ We will talk about the Yalta Conference of February 1945 first.

■ We will then talk or look at the Potsdam Conference of July

1945

■ We will also talk about what changed in the two conferences

last.

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■ We will have a homework or an assignment after the lesson.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE
YALTA
CONFERENCE.

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 Introduction
■ By early 1945, it was clear that Germany would be defeated.
■ The minds of the Allied leaders turned to the “problems that
peace would bring”.
■ They held conferences at Yalta and Potsdam to discuss the
challenges:
• what to do with Germany and its leaders after the surrender
• what was to happen to the occupied countries after they
had been liberated, especially the countries of Eastern Europe
• how to bring the war with Japan to a speedy end

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• how to create and maintain a peace that would last.
 The peace of the
world depends
THE YALTA upon the lasting
friendship of the

CONFERENCE, FEBRUARY three Great

Powers…
- Winston Churchil
1945.
■ In February 1945 it was clear that Germany was losing the European
war, so the Allied leaders met at Yalta in Ukraine to plan what would
happen to Europe after Germany’s defeat.
■ The YALTA CONFERENCE went well.
■ Despite their differences, the BIG THREE – Stalin, Roosevelt, and
Churchill – agreed on some important matters.

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What was agreed at Yalta?
■ Stalin agreed to ■ They agreed that as
■ They agreed
enter the war countries were
that Germany
against Japan liberated from
would be occupation by the
once Germany
divided into four German army, they
had surrendered
in return for zones: would be allowed to
territory in American, hold free elections to

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Manchuria and French, British choose the
Sakhalin Island. government they
and Soviet.
wanted.
Division of Germany

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And…
■ As Allied soldiers advanced
■ The Big Three all
through Germany, they were
agreed to join the new
revealing the horrors of the
UNITED NATIONS Nazi CONCENTRATION
organisation, which CAMPS. The Big Three agreed
would aim to keep to hunt down and punish war
peace after the war. criminals who were

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responsible for the genocide.
 Also…
■ The Soviet Union had suffered terribly in the war.
An estimated 20 million Soviet people had died.
■ Stalin was therefore concerned about the future
security of the USSR and specifically the risk of
another invasion from Europe.
■ The Big Three agreed that Eastern Europe should

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be seen as a ‘SOVIET SPHERE OF INFLUENCE’.
Disagreement over Poland ‘conquered’
■ Stalin wanted the border ■ Churchill did not approve of
of the USSR to move Stalin’s plans for Poland,
westwards into Poland but he also knew that there
hence he argued that was not very much he
Poland, in turn, could could do about it because
move its border Stalin’s RED ARMY was in

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westwards into German total control of both Poland
territory. and eastern Germany
Lastly…
■ Roosevelt was also unhappy about Stalin’s
plan, but Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to
accept it, as long as the USSR agreed not to
interfere in Greece where the British were
attempting to prevent the communists from
taking over.

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■ Stalin accepted this.
 Rating their success

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- Extract from President Roosevelt’s report to the US Congress on
the Yalta Conference
Also from Stalin…

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GREAT IDEA!
IS IT NOT?

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The new order!
The Potsdam Conference, July- August
1945
■ A second conference of the
■ In May 1945, three months Allied leaders was arranged for
after the Yalta Conference, July 1945 in the Berlin suburb of
Potsdam.
Allied troops reached Berlin.
■ However, in the five months
■ Hitler committed suicide.
since Yalta a number of
Germany surrendered.
changes had taken place which

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■ The war in Europe was won would greatly affect
relationships between the
leaders.
AT THE POSTDAM CONFERENCE…
For example:
However, there were
The discussions • The Nazi Party was
disagreements on
from the Yalta to be banned and its
other issues.
Conference were leaders would be tried
continued at as war criminals.
There were clear
Potsdam. • The Oder- Neisse
signs that Stalin did
(two rivers) line was to
not trust the USA and

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There was form part of the border
Britain and that they
agreement on some between Poland and
did not trust him.
points. Germany.
Potsdam Conference
The Allied conference of World
War II held at Potsdam, a suburb
of Berlin.

The chief participants

were U.S. President Harry S.
Truman, British Prime
Minister Winston
Churchill (or Clement Attlee, who
became prime minister during the

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conference),
and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.
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The leaders at Postdam
Photo by Terry Vlisidis on Unsplash
The Disagreement was that…
■ Britain and the USA ■ Stalin wanted more ■ Stalin had set up a
denied Stalin a reparations from Germany Communist government
in Lublin, then the capital
naval base in the than Britain and the USA did.
of Poland.
Mediterranean. ■ The USA and Britain did not
■ Britain preferred the
wish to cripple Germany;
■ They saw no need non-Communist Polish
they had seen the results of
for Stalin to have Government, which had
harsh reparations after the lived in exile in Britain
such a base. First World War. throughout the war.
■ Stalin saw this as ■ Stalin was suspicious about ■ Truman and Attlee were
why his allies seemed to

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evidence that his very suspicious of
allies mistrusted want to protect Germany Stalin's motives in setting
and even help it recover. up a Communist
him. government.
 What has changed since Yalta?
■ The Allies had tested
■ Stalin’s armies were ■ America had a new
president On 12 April an atomic bomb.
occupying most of
1945, President ■ On 16 July 1945 the
eastern Europe. Americans
Roosevelt died.
■ Soviet troops had successfully tested
■ He was replaced by his
liberated country vice-president, Harry an ATOMIC BOMB at
after country in Truman. a desert site in the
eastern Europe, but ■ Truman was a very USA.
instead of different man from ■ At the start of the
withdrawing his Roosevelt. He was POTSDAM

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much more CONFERENCE,
troops Stalin had left
anticommunist. Truman informed
them there. Stalin about it.
WHO WILL WIN THIS CONTST?
80%

Is it the Allies?

60%

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Or the Soviets?
THIS IS OUR PROCESS.

1 2 3 4 5 6

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