The Yalta Conference shaped post-World War II Europe, dividing Germany and establishing the UN. Allied powers agreed on free elections in liberated countries, but differing interpretations led to tensions. This pivotal meeting set the stage for the Cold War.

Ideological differences between the US and Soviet Union fueled post-war tensions. Economic systems, political structures, and views on individual rights clashed. The division of Europe and breakdown of wartime alliances further strained relations between the superpowers.

The Yalta Conference

Decisions at Yalta Conference

• Division of Germany resulted in four occupation zones controlled by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, with Berlin also divided into four sectors despite being located within the Soviet zone
• Germany required to pay war reparations to the Allied powers, with the Soviet Union receiving the majority of reparations from their occupation zone as compensation for their immense wartime losses
• Agreement reached to establish the United Nations as a successor to the League of Nations, with the Soviet Union, United States, Great Britain, France, and China serving as permanent members of the Security Council wielding veto power
• Poland's borders redrawn, with the Soviet Union gaining territory in the east (Kresy region) and Poland receiving German territory in the west (Recovered Territories) as compensation
  • Czechoslovakia forced to cede Carpathian Ruthenia to the Soviet Union, which was incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
• Allied powers agreed to support free elections in countries liberated from Nazi control, but the Soviet Union's interpretation of "free elections" differed significantly from that of the Western Allies, leading to future tensions

Post-World War II Tensions

US vs Soviet ideological differences

• Economic systems diverged sharply, with the United States embracing a capitalist, free-market economy and the Soviet Union adopting a communist, centrally planned economy
• Political systems differed, as the United States maintained a democratic, multi-party system while the Soviet Union established an authoritarian, one-party rule under the Communist Party
• Attitudes towards individual rights and freedoms contrasted, with the United States emphasizing individual liberties and human rights while the Soviet Union prioritized collective interests over individual rights
• Expansionism and spheres of influence became contentious issues, with the United States pursuing a containment policy to limit the spread of communism and the Soviet Union seeking to expand communist influence and create a buffer zone in Eastern Europe

Division of post-war Europe

• Germany divided into East Germany (Soviet-controlled) and West Germany (controlled by the United States, Great Britain, and France), with Berlin also divided into East Berlin and West Berlin, despite West Berlin becoming an island of democracy within East Germany
• Winston Churchill coined the term "Iron Curtain" to describe the division of Europe into Western and Soviet spheres of influence, with countries in Eastern Europe (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany) falling under Soviet control
• United States provided economic aid to Western European countries through the Marshall Plan to help rebuild their economies and prevent the spread of communism, which the Soviet Union viewed as an attempt to undermine its influence in Europe
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed in 1949 as a collective defense alliance among Western powers, while the Warsaw Pact was established in 1955 as a Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern European countries

Breakdown of wartime alliance

• Competing interests and ideologies strained the wartime alliance, which was based on a common enemy (Nazi Germany) rather than shared values and goals, with differences in political and economic systems leading to mistrust and suspicion
• Disagreements arose over the future of Europe, as the Soviet Union sought to create a buffer zone of friendly states in Eastern Europe while the United States and Great Britain aimed to promote democracy and self-determination in liberated countries
• United States' development and use of atomic weapons at the end of World War II (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) changed the balance of power, with the Soviet Union viewing the American atomic monopoly as a threat and accelerating its own nuclear program
• President Harry Truman's policy of providing aid to countries threatened by communist expansion (Greece and Turkey) marked the beginning of the Cold War, characterized by ideological rivalry, proxy wars (Korean War, Vietnam War), and an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union