1. Post World War II and The Cold War Yalta Conference Potsdam Conference

2. Yalta Conference Churchill, FDR and Stalin meet in Yalta (in the Crimea) on the Black Sea to discuss what to do with Germany when war ends. This meeting was in February of 1945. Stalin wanted harsh treatment for Germany and demanded it be divided among the allies at war’s end. Churchill strongly disagreed and FDR acted as a mediator between the two men. FDR realized that the U.S. and Britain still needed the Soviet Union’s help to fight Japan. Stalin promised free elections in Poland following the war if Germany would be divided.

3. Harry S Truman, the 33 rd President of the United States. He was FDR’s 3 rd Vice President and took office on April 12, 1945 on the death of Roosevelt. He had been a judge and a haberdasher in Missouri before becoming a U.S. Senator. His motto appeared on his desk: “the buck stops here” It was Truman who learned about, and then decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan.

4. Potsdam Conference A meeting held in Berlin, Germany (a section called Potsdam) in July 1945. The purpose was for the “Big Three” to ask for the immediate surrender of Japan. Also discussed were issues dealing with post-war Europe. No official agreements were made except to get reparations from each section of Germany by the Allied occupier. By this time, FDR had died, Churchill had been replaced and new world leaders took their places. Truman was now President of the U.S. Clement Atlee was now Prime Minister of Great Britain. Truman and Atlee now knew that Stalin would not keep his promise of free elections in Poland.

5. The United Nations The United Nations was formed after a meeting in San Francisco on April 25, 1945 when representatives of 50 nations met there. The purpose was to avoid future wars and conflicts by becoming a peacekeeping body. The Charter was signed on June 26, 1945 and eventually moved to New York City. Over the years the biggest issues usually involved disputes between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Both used it as a forum to spread their influence.

6. Stalin breaks his promise… He doesn’t allow free elections in Poland. He installs Communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Poland. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (the Baltics) fell to Communism earlier. Yugoslavia will also fall to Communism (it is now Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia). Finland and the rest of Europe worry about what will be next.

7. Germany and Berlin were divided into four Sectors: British, American, French and Soviet. These sections were governed by the occupying nation. To this day, the U.S. still has military bases in Germany, primarily in Frankfurt.

8. American Policy to stop the spread of Communism… Containment: Containing the spread of Communism so that it won’t spread to other parts of Europe. The Truman Doctrine: Truman asked Congress for $400 million to help out countries that were threatened by outside powers or armed minorities. The purpose was to keep Communism from spreading. Marshall Plan: Provided aid to European nations that needed it to fight poverty, hunger, desperation and chaos. 16 countries received $13 Billion in aid. Soviet satellite nations could have taken advantage of it but Stalin called it “Dollar Imperialism.” NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Ten western nations joined NATO: Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. These joined the U.S. and Canada on April 4, 1949. Greece and Turkey joined in 1952 and W. Germany in 1955. NATO kept over 500,000 troops in Europe. The purpose was to join forces to contain Communism.

9. The Berlin Airlift

10. In June 1948, Stalin decided to shut off the free western part of Berlin that was controlled by Britain, France and the U.S. He was hoping that it would make all of Berlin fall into Communist hands. It was called the Berlin Blockade. The Truman Administration reacted by flying in much needed supplies for over a year. The dates were June 1948 to September 1949. Stalin decided to lift the blockade in May of 1949. There were 277,000 flights altogether. 2.3 million tons of supplies were flown in constantly. Supplies included food, medical supplies and fuel. There were so many flights that the runways couldn’t handle it so more runways had to be built. Berlin’s Templehof Airport is where the landing strip was and is still used today.