The Foundations of the Peace

Section 21.108

Introduction• WWI ended with no clear-

cut settlement (unlike WWI and Versailles)

• Peace terms came gradually during war

• Atlantic Charter (8/1941) called for sovereign rights of nations, free trade, 4 freedoms (derived from Wilson's 14 pts.)

Unconditional Surrender• Casablanca Conference (1/43) Big

Three decided on unconditional surrender of Axis– Adopted at Americas urging without

thought of its political ramifications• Teheran Conference (12/43)

– Discussed post war Germany and strategy

– FDR avoided big questions of territory and government in E. Europe in order to keep the Allies together

– Churchill wanted to invade Balkans (in order to head off Soviets and out of fear of cross channel invasion)

– Agreed to open 2nd front by spring of ’44 in France

– This agreement would win the war but all but guaranteed Soviet domination of E. Europe

The Agreements at Yalta• 2/45• Met in Tsars Crimean summer

resort in Crimea on Black Sea• FDR saw himself as the

mediator and tried to make himself seem neutral to Stalin

• FDR actually distrusted Churchill devotion to imperialism

• Agreed on Poland, E. Europe, Germany division, and creation of UN

Poland and Eastern Europe (Yalta)• Soviets controlled Poland by the time Yalta occurred • Stalin viewed Poland as anti-Soviet and even

aggressive (1920), and as historical pathway of invasion (Nap, Hitler)

• Curzon line– Allies agreed on Russian Polish border as it was

originally set in 1919 (before Poles took more)– Poles would be compensated with German

territory• Germany would be disarmed and divided in 4

occupations zones• Soviet proposal of heavy reparations was rejected

(20 billion with half going to USSR)– Said reparations should be paid but never set a

figure• Declaration on Liberated Europe

– At Yalta Stalin ‘promised’ to that democratic provisional government be established & free election would occur at ‘earliest possible date’

• This never happened

The United Nations• FDR felt it important that all Great

Powers join international body• Act as a police to prevent future wars• Great Powers would be permanent

members of Security Council who would have veto power on important decisions

• Soviets wanted 16 votes in General Assembly (said USSR was 16 sovereign nations)– Churchill convinced FDR and Stalin

to 3• USSR agreed to enter Pacific war 2-3

months after Germany fell• Would be compensated with territories

lost in Russo-Jap war (1905) and Kurile Islands

• FDR gave in to this because he believed that “diplomacy of friendship” could continue after war

Potsdam Conference• 7/1945• Suburb of Berlin• New Faces• Truman, Clement Attlee

(replaced Churchill in middle of Conference), and Stalin

• US and USSR relations were starting to chill

• But they did agree on:– German disarmament,

demilitarization, denazification, punishment of war criminals

– Allies could take reparations from their zones and Soviets would receive further compensation

Germany Divided• Poland got German territory east of

Oder-Neisse rivers• Further westward than originally

proposed• Got German E. Prussia in the South

– Stettin and Breslau became Szczecin and Wroclaw

– Danzig renamed Gdansk• Soviets took N. Prussia

– Teutonic Knight cities of Knigsberg became Russia Kaliningrad

• Millions of Germans were driven or fled from homes in these areas

• Other treaties were later signed with Italy, Japan

• No treaty ever signed with Germany• Crisis of WWII was over but new

storm was freezing over Europe