Transcript Postwar Politics and the Beginnings of the Cold War

Post World War Politics (TOK)
By. Rowan Castellanos
Ending of World War II
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After World War II, Europe and Asia were in ruins
Borders were being redrawn
Homecoming, expulsion, and burial
Before the war, the world population was at about two
billion
About eighty million died during World War II, about four
percent of the entire population
The Allied forces became the new occupiers of Germany,
Japan, and most of the land previously occupied by Japan.
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The Allies, now occupying Germany, now attempted to
permanently disable the war-making abilities of both Germany
and Japan
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Factories were destroyed and the former leadership was removed and
prosecuted
Thousands of war criminal trials were held in Europe and Asia,
resulting in executions and prison sentences
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Millions of Japanese and Germans citizens were expelled from the
places that they had called home
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These post-war actions, among others, taken by both the
Allied Powers and by the United Nations lead to problems
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Tensions create East and West Germany
Divergent plans on the Korean Peninsula lead to North and
South Korea
The Partition Plan for Palestine- recommended a partition with
the Economic Union of Mandatory Palestine to follow the
termination of the British Mandate
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On 29 November 1947, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a
resolution recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan
as Resolution
This led to Israel declaring its independence, 1948, and marked the
start of the continuous Arab-Israel conflict
Post War Politics
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The Soviet Union and United States began to pay attention to
the politics in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, areas which had
previously been disregarded in favor of Europe and North
America
The United States and Soviet Union fought for influence over
the political development of these newly independent countries
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Americans did not want more Communist nations, and the Soviet
Union did not want more Democracies
Tehran Conference
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November twenty-eighth to December first, 1943
Strategy meeting between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the
United Kingdom, and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet
Union
Held in the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran
Was the first of three wartime conferences, the Big Three
As a result of this meeting:
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It was decided to open a second front against Nazi Germany
Relations between the Allies and Turkey were addressed
Iran operations in Yugoslavia were addressed
An envisioned post-war settlement plan was discussed
The “Big Three” pledged the recognition of Iran’s independence
Yalta Conference
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Also known as the Crimea
Conference
Codenamed the Argonaut
Conference
February fourth through eleventh,
1945
World War II meeting of
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin
The purpose:
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To discuss Europe’s post-war
reorganization
Discuss the re-establishment of the
nations of war-torn Europe
Met in the Livadia Palace near
Yalta in Crimea
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Stalin
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Churchill
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Post-war economic assistance for Russia
American and British recognition of a Soviet sphere of
influence in eastern Europe
Protection of the British Empire
Clarify the postwar status of Germany.
Roosevelt
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Consensus on establishment of the United Nations
Gaining Soviet agreement to enter the war against Japan once
Hitler had been defeated
Potsdam Conference
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July seventeenth to August second 1945
Held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam, occupied Germany
Also known as the Berlin Conference of the Three Heads
of the Government of the Soviet Union, United States, and
United Kingdom
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Churchill was later replaced by Clement Attlee and President
Harry S. Truman represented the United States
The three leaders gathered to decide how to administer
punishment on Nazi Germany
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On May eighth, Germany had agreed to an unconditional
surrender
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Conference goals also
included:
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The establishment for
post-war order
Peace treaty issues
Countering the effects of
the war
Introduction to the Cold War
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After World War II, the world entered into a new era
This era was brought on by the decline of old world
powers and rise of two new super powers:
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The Soviet Union, also known as the USSR
The United States
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A bipolar world
The United States and Soviet Union had been temporary
allies during World War II, but turned into competitors on
world stage and ended up engaged in The Cold War
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The Cold War is duly named because it never became open
war; rather, it focused on espionage, political subversion, and
proxy wars
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The world divided in two, the United States-led Western
bloc, and the Soviet Union-led Eastern bloc
Some countries tried to stay neutral through the NonAligned Movement.
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Created in 1961 by the leaders of India, Indonesia, Egypt,
Ghana, and Yugoslavia
 The non-sligned countries were not formally with or against
any major power bloc
The Cold War turned into a nuclear arms race between the United
Stated and Soviet Union
It never became a heated war because of mutual deterrents or
mutually assured destruction
Cold War: Behind the Scenes
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Beginnings: 1945 to 1947
The Cold War lasted just under fifty years
Events during and after World War II aggravated tensions
and led to the Cold War
These include:
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Soviet-German Pact- August twenty-third, 1939, broken when
the German government invaded the Soviet Union on June
twenty-second, 1941
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During the first two years of the war led to subsequent invasions
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The perceived delay of an amphibious invasion of Germanoccupied Europe
The Western Allies' support of the Atlantic Charter, defined the
Allied goals for the post-war world
The disagreement in wartime conferences over the fate of
Eastern Europe
The Soviets' creation of an Eastern Bloc of Soviet satellite
states
Marshall Plan- American initiative to aid Europe, in which the
United States gave economic support to help rebuild European
economies after the end of World War II in order to prevent the
spread of Soviet Communism
Views of Joseph Stalin
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Stalinism- policy on how
to construct socialism and
develop a communist
society
Stalinist policies in the
Soviet Union included:
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State terror- acts of
terrorism conducted by a
state against a foreign state
or people or its own people
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Authoritarianism- form of government, characterized by
absolute or blind obedience to authority
The theory of socialism in one country- given the defeat of all
the communist revolutions in Europe, the Soviet Union should
begin to strengthen itself internally
Collectivization of agriculture- consolidate individual land and
labor into collective farms
Rapid industrialization
A centralized state
Views of Winston Churchill
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Identified with Christianity
and its Anglican expression
Admitted to praying often
during the heat of battle, but
he always knew it was an
unreasonable thing to do
Worldly man- dealt with
governance, war, strategy,
business, and economics
Suggests that religion isn’t
necessary to dictate ethical
and moral behavior for
mankind
Views of Charles de Gaulle
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Gaullism- French political
ideology
Main foreign policy was
independence for France and
maintaining as much control
of as many French colonies
as possible
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France should not have to rely
on any other countries for its
survival
Should refuse subservient roles
to any country
Believed that NATO was a
conspiracy by the AngloSaxons to dominate Europe
Harry S. Truman
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Thirty-third president
Roosevelt’s final running
mate in 1944
April twelfth, 1945,
succeeded to presidency
when Roosevelt died
United States successfully
ended World War II and in
the aftermath, entered the
Cold War
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During few weeks as Vice President, Truman barley saw
Roosevelt
He received no briefing on the development of an atomic
bomb or tensions with Soviet Union
When Roosevelt died, Truman said "I felt like the moon,
the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."
Primary Source Document
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Origin- Cold War anti-communist
propaganda
Purpose- suggests that the rise of
communism brings the deaths of the
named nations, hence the gravestones.
The presents of Uncle Sam
foreshadows that the United States is
coming closer and with it, war. The
iceberg also serves as symbolism, this
is just the tip of the iceberg. If
communism is allowed to continue, it
will only bring about the death of
other nations.
Value- portrays American sentiment
towards communism.
Limit- this is bias, being propaganda,
it is specifically engineered to bring
forth specific thoughts and emotions
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<https://sites.google.com/a/newcanaan.k12.ct.us/goldhawk-coldwar/Home/nato-warsaw/degaulle/charles-de-gaulles-views>.
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