Yalta and Potsdam: agreements that exposed divisions

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge which causes mattered most in turning the wartime allies into Cold War rivals after 1945.

    Syllabus 9174, Paper 1, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the causes of the Cold War

Make a guess

At Yalta in February 1945, the Big Three signed a promise of free elections in liberated Europe. What do you think happened in Poland?

  1. Free elections were held, and Poland chose a Western-style democracy.
  2. Britain and the USA sent troops to oversee the voting.
  3. Each side read the promise differently, and Soviet-backed communists kept control.
Show the answer

Each side read the promise differently, and Soviet-backed communists kept control.

Stalin took the deal as approval for a friendly government; the West expected genuine elections. Poland's 1947 election was rigged.

At Yalta and Potsdam the Big Three agreed on general principles but split over Poland, Germany and reparations.

At Yalta in February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreed that Germany would be divided into zones of occupation. Stalin promised to join the war against Japan after Germany's defeat. They signed a Declaration on Liberated Europe that promised free elections.

Poland showed the gap. The Western leaders accepted that the Soviet-backed government would be widened "on a broader democratic basis", with free elections to follow. Stalin read this as approval for a friendly government. The West expected genuine elections.

At Potsdam in July and August 1945, the mood was colder. Truman had replaced Roosevelt, and Attlee replaced Churchill during the conference. The leaders agreed to disarm Germany and remove Nazis. But they could not agree on a common policy for Germany's economy.

Reparations were settled zone by zone: each power would mostly take reparations from its own zone. This was a practical compromise, but it pushed the zones apart. Truman also told Stalin about a powerful new weapon. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 changed the balance of power and fed Soviet suspicion.

Yalta
February 1945: zones for Germany, Declaration on Liberated Europe, Polish compromise.
Potsdam
July-August 1945: disarm and denazify Germany; reparations zone by zone.
Hiroshima
6 August 1945: the atomic bomb changes the balance of power.

Real examples to use

Declaration on Liberated Europe, February 1945

Stalin signed a promise of free elections, but the words were vague enough for each side to read them its own way.

Truman tells Stalin, 24 July 1945

At Potsdam Truman mentioned a powerful new weapon. Stalin showed little surprise, because Soviet spies had already told him about the atomic bomb.

Polish elections, January 1947

The communist-led bloc claimed about 80 per cent of the vote in a rigged election. Use it as the Western case that the Yalta promise was broken.

Worked example: Using Yalta as evidence in a source question

A source shows Stalin claiming that the West broke the Yalta agreement on Poland.

  1. Context: the Yalta wording on Poland was vague.
  2. Each side could claim the other broke it: Stalin pointed to the agreed reorganisation; the West pointed to the promise of free elections.
  3. So the source shows a real disagreement over meaning, not simply Soviet lies or Western bad faith.

Watch out for this

At Yalta the West handed Eastern Europe to Stalin.

The Red Army already occupied the region. Yalta promised free elections; the problem was that the vague wording let each side interpret it differently.

Check your understanding

Why did the reparations agreement at Potsdam increase division over Germany?

  1. Germany was let off reparations, which angered the USSR and France.
  2. Each power took reparations mainly from its own zone, so zones ran separately.
  3. The USA took the largest share of reparations from the western zones for its own recovery.
Show the answer

Each power took reparations mainly from its own zone, so zones ran separately.

Right. A practical compromise that pushed the zones apart.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • An American diplomat explains Soviet conduct

    Paraphrase of George Kennan's "Long Telegram" from the US embassy in Moscow to the State Department, 22 February 1946.

  • A Soviet ambassador describes American policy

    Paraphrase of a telegram from Nikolai Novikov, Soviet ambassador in Washington, to Foreign Minister Molotov, 27 September 1946.

  • Truman asks Congress for aid

    Paraphrase of President Truman's address to a joint session of Congress, 12 March 1947.

  • Marshall proposes European recovery

    Paraphrase of Secretary of State George Marshall's speech at Harvard University, 5 June 1947.

  • The North Atlantic Treaty

    Paraphrase of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, 4 April 1949.

  • the Yalta promise, February 1945

    Extract from the Declaration on Liberated Europe, agreed by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin at the Yalta (Crimea) Conference, 11 February 1945, as published by the US State Department on 24 March 1947. A US government publication in the public domain; text from the Avalon Project.

  • Truman meets Molotov, 23 April 1945

    Extract from a memorandum of conversation by Charles Bohlen, interpreter and assistant to the Secretary of State, recording President Truman's meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov at the White House, 23 April 1945, eleven days after Truman became president. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945, volume V, document 196. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Kennan explains Soviet conduct, February 1946

    Extract from George Kennan's "Long Telegram" from the US embassy in Moscow to the Secretary of State, 22 February 1946. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, volume VI, document 475. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Cominform declares two camps, October 1947

    Extract from a telegram from the US Charge d'Affaires in Moscow, Elbridge Durbrow, to the Secretary of State, 6 October 1947, summarising and quoting the declaration issued by the meeting in Poland that set up the Cominform. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, volume IV, document 412. A US government document in the public domain.

  • a Soviet view of American policy, 1947

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a Soviet magazine cartoon of 1947, after the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. It is not a copy of a real cartoon.

The Wise Otter

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