Origins of the Cold War

Russia, U.S., Great Britain

- Held in Nov. 1943
- The high point of Goodwill among the Big Three
- Crucially important in determining subsequent events.

- Threat of Nazi Germany disappeared
- US and Britain avoided discussion of Stalin's war aims and the eventual shape of the peace settlement

- February 1945 on the Black Sea in southern Russia
- Soviet armies were w/i 100 miles of Berlin
- The Red Army occupied Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, part of Yugoslavia and much of Czechoslovakia
- American-British forces had yet to cross the Rhine into Germany and US had yet to defeat Japan
- SU's position was strong and America's was weak
- Germany would be divided into zones and they would pay reparations to the S.U.
- Couldn't agree on Poland and eastern Europe
- Compromise: eastern European governments were to be freely ELECTED, but pro-Russian

- Broke down almost immediately

- July 1945 held postwar
- Differences over Eastern Europe finally surged to the fore
- Roosevelt had died, and Truman was now President
- Truman demanded immediate free elections
- Stalin refused, "a freely elected govt. in eastern Europe would be anti-Soviet, and cannot be allowed"
- Key to much debated origins of the Cold War

- Stalin lived through 2 enormously destructive German invasions, wanted absolute military SECURITY, from Germany and its potential Eastern allies
- Stalin was suspicious by nature and believed that only communist states could be truly dependable allies
- Free elections would result in independent and possibly hostile govts. on his western border.
- The U.S. could not determine political developments in Eastern Europe and war was out of the question
- Stalin was bound to have his way