Conferences & Aftermath World War II Conferences & Aftermath

The Big Three VIDEO Soviet Union U.S.A Great Britain Joseph Stalin Winston Churchill Franklin D. Roosevelt For the Film: Scroll down to “Famous Figures Of WWII: Allied Powers” on the page, and show that clip.

The Atlantic Charter August 14, 1941 Churchill and Roosevelt met aboard the U.S.S. Augusta in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland U.S. confirmed support for the allies without joining the war. Roosevelt and Churchill laid out shared vision for the post war world It was here that the plans for the United Nations were laid out, as well as belief in free trade, colonial self-determination, and Roosevelt affirmed the continuation of the Lend-Lease Program. Churchill had hoped to get the U.S. into the war, but public opinion was firmly against it at that time. This was also the beginning of the famous friendship that developed between Churchill and Roosevelt. The Atlantic Charter

THE ATLANTIC CHARTER Vision Late in 1941, FDR and Churchill met secretly and agreed on a series of goals for the war Among their goals were collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation and freedom of the seas This “Declaration of the United Nations” was signed by 26 nations FDR, left, and Churchill met aboard the battleship U.S.S. Augusta in Newfoundland waters

Tehran Conference November-December, 1943 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin Met in Iran Agreed to open a second front in Europe to take pressure off the Soviets The three met in Tehran so that Stalin, who had a fear of flying, wouldn’t have to. The Soviets had been struggling to fight the Nazis on their own, and Stalin was looking for relief through the Americans and the British opening up a second front.

Yalta Conference February, 1945 Big Three Met in Crimea (USSR) Agreed to postwar terms: Germany divided into zones USSR pledge Free Elections for Eastern Europe VIDEO

Death of Roosevelt April 12, 1945 New vice president Harry Truman became president. Image in the Public Domain VIDEO

Potsdam Conference July-August, 1945 Truman, Stalin, & Churchill Met in Germany Unconditional surrender of Japan Truman found out about the A-Bomb Stalin announces no free elections in Eastern Europe At Potsdam, Stalin agreed to help in the fight against Japan, Truman also learned of the successful trinity test in the U.S. Stalin already knew about it because he had spies in the U.S. The fact that Stalin would go against his Yalta promise and not hold free elections in eastern Europe would be a catalyst for the cold war.

Churchill, Truman, and Stalin at the Potsdam Conference

Post War Germany Germany divided into zones. The west was democratic. The east was Communist. The capital of Berlin, in the Soviet zone, was also divided. West Berlin=democratic; East Berlin=Communist

Germany Image in the Public Domain

Berlin Image in the Creative Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Occupied_Berlin.svg

United States Tries to Contain Soviets The Marshall Plan Much of Western Europe lay in ruins after World War II Marshall Plan—U.S. program of assisting Western European countries Congress approves plan after Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia

Marshall Aid cartoon, 1947

U.S. ESTABLISHES A POLICY OF CONTAINMENT Faced with the Soviet threat, Truman decided it was time to “stop babying the Soviets” In February 1946, George Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, proposed a policy of containment Containment meant the U.S. would prevent any further extension of communist rule

CHURCHILL: “IRON CURTAIN” ACROSS EUROPE Europe was now divided into two political regions; a mostly democratic Western Europe and a communist Eastern Europe In a 1946 speech, Churchill said, “An iron curtain has descended across the continent” The phrase “iron curtain” came to stand for the division of Europe Churchill, right, in Fulton, Missouri delivering his “iron curtain” speech, 1946

Iron Curtain cartoon, 1946

THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE The American policy of “containment” soon expanded into a policy known as the Truman Doctrine” This doctrine, first used in Greece and Turkey in the late 1940s, vowed to provide aid (money & military supplies) to support “free peoples who are resisting outside pressures” By 1950, the U.S. had given $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey

BERLIN AIRLIFT – 1948 When the Soviets attempted to block the three Western powers from access to Berlin in 1948, the 2.1 million residents of West Berlin had only enough food for five weeks, resulting in a dire situation Like the whole of Germany, the city of Berlin was divided into four zones

AMERICA & BRITAIN AIRLIFT SUPPLIES TO WEST BERLIN Not wanting to invade and start a war with the Soviets, America and Britain started the Berlin airlift to fly supplies into West Berlin For 327 days, planes took off and landed every few minutes, around the clock In 277,000 flights, they brought in 2.3 million tons of food, fuel and medicine to the West Berliners Candy Bomber

On Christmas 1948, the plane crews brought gifts to West Berlin SOVIETS LIFT BLOCKADE Realizing they were beaten and suffering a public relations nightmare, the Soviets lifted their blockade in May, 1949 On Christmas 1948, the plane crews brought gifts to West Berlin

Post War Japan 1945-1952, U.S. occupation Demilitarization Occupied Japan • MacArthur takes charge of U.S. occupation of Japan • Starts process of demilitarization—disbanding Japan’s armed forces • Also launches democratization—creating democracy in Japan • Japanese people adopt new constitution in 1947 • MacArthur puts economic reforms in place Demilitarization Image in the Public Domain