Comparison Between The Yalta And Potsdam Conferences

Conclusion:

In conclusion the Yalta and Potsdam conferences of 1945 had been a pinnacle point of rebuilding Europe but also in causing the spread of communism through out Eastern Europe namely Poland by Roosevelt desperate to defeat the Japanese out of pride giving into the demands of the soviets in exchange for their involvement which would never materialize due to President Truman (the atomic bomb) and the results of the first conference. This ultimately would lead to tensions between the two ideologies. The ideological tension being the difference in communism and capitalism that led to the Cold War seemed inevitable for the two superpowers to some due to already existing tensions between them however the tensions that sparked the Cold

War were those created during the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences. These tensions were namely the conflicting personalities of the ‘big three’, the degeneration of the USSR and USA wartime co-operation and lastly the conflicting ideologies of the ‘big three’ in regards to reparations and expansion. Therefore The Cold War was largely based off of the tensions and differences at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences.

The intentions of the research task were tackled and met, after long hours of scouring the internet for sources and research topics I managed to find sources linking to the arguments I intended to make, proving that indeed the tensions and differences at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences were in fact to a large extent contributors to the start of the Cold War. I found it fairly easy to get multiple sources of information on this particular topic as it is so widely discussed and still effects people’s lives today. However I did find it challenging to suss out a counter argument that was not biased or limited by its personal feelings toward the subject or topic. I found myself rereading paragraphs and looking at multiple different sources until I found the correct amount of background information to help me fully understand the argument I wanted to make. After my research I was surprised to see how much I identified with Joseph Stalin, I saw that the reason he took so much and used the Yalta conference to his advantage was probably because he felt left out, Churchill and Roosevelt had allied against him and he was seen as a threat due to his ideological beliefs – he was discriminated against and thus was only looking out for himself and his territories.

The One Research Task was a task I initially underestimated – I had looked at it as a simple source based essay instead of a heavy weighting task I would eventually spend hours, days, weeks and months over. If I could give future ORTO students a piece of advise it would be to make use of all the time they have and to constantly summarize their sources to understand them in a greater sense so that they link to the other sources they have researched.

The Yalta and Potsdam conferences held large amounts of pressure over the ‘Big Three’ as they were looked to in order to rebuild an economy consisting of an entire continent.

They weren’t seen as people who had opinions but not all the answers. In the end although they tried to do what was best for a majority they realized they could not please everyone and ended up trying more to help their own countries than to rebuild an entire economy all due to their own pride and selfish desires as leaders. It has furthermore proved to me that with great power comes great responsibility and I think that is a lesson that often gets overlooked when studying history but it is a lesson that comes through time and time

again.

Reference list:

• Websites:

Bbc.co.uk. (2018). BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Yalta and Potsdam - the basics. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir2/yaltaandpotsdamrev1.shtml [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

dobbs, m. (2018). The Inevitability of the Cold War. [online] Historynewsnetwork.org. Available at: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/148999 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Potsdam Conference | World War II. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Potsdam-Conference [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

HISTORY.com. (2018). Yalta Conference - World War II - HISTORY.com. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

plaschke, p. (2018). Yalta and Potsdam. [online] Johndclare.net. Available at: http://www.johndclare.net/cold_war4.htm [Accessed 8 Feb. 2018].

War, Y. (2018). Yalta Conference foreshadows the Cold War - Feb 04, 1945 - HISTORY.com. [online] HISTORY.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yalta-conference-foreshadows-the-cold-war [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

woodrow, w. (2018). Yalta Conference#rockpaperscissors #rochambeau #art #sketch #sketchbook #draw #drawing #illustrati - woodrowdrawspictures. [online] SocImage. Available at: http://www.socimage.net/media/1407402718977132220_1247204767 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

• Pictures:

Cdn.history.com. (2018). [online] Available at: https://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2013/11/Yalta-Conference-Hero-H.jpeg [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

List of sources:

Source A – is a cartoon drawn of the ‘Big Three’ at the Yalta Conference on in February 1945 by W.Woodrow.
woodrow, w. (2018). Yalta Conference#rockpaperscissors #rochambeau #art #sketch #sketchbook #draw #drawing #illustrati - woodrowdrawspictures. [online] SocImage. Available at: http://www.socimage.net/media/1407402718977132220_1247204767 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source B – is an extract from history.com commenting on the events at the Yalta conference.
HISTORY.com. (2018). Yalta Conference - World War II - HISTORY.com. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source C – is an extract from history.com commenting on how Poland would be run as discussed at the Yalta conference.
War, Y. (2018). Yalta Conference foreshadows the Cold War - Feb 04, 1945 - HISTORY.com. [online] HISTORY.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yalta-conference-foreshadows-the-cold-war [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source D – is an extract from the Britannic Encyclopaedia commenting on the events at the Potsdam conference.
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Potsdam Conference | World War II. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Potsdam-Conference [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source E – is a cartoon by P.Plaschke on the Yalta conference.
plaschke, p. (2018). Yalta and Potsdam. [online] Johndclare.net. Available at: http://www.johndclare.net/cold_war4.htm [Accessed 8 Feb. 2018].

Source F – is an extract from an article about the inevitability of the Cold War written by Michael Dobbs.
dobbs, m. (2018). The Inevitability of the Cold War. [online] Historynewsnetwork.org. Available at: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/148999 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source G – is a photograph taken at the Yalta conference in 1945.
Cdn.history.com. (2018). [online] Available at: https://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2013/11/Yalta-Conference-Hero-H.jpeg [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source A

A cartoon drawn by Wilson Woodrow from woodrowdrawspictures.com on the ‘Big Three’ at the Yalta conference.

woodrow, w. (2018). Yalta Conference#rockpaperscissors #rochambeau #art #sketch #sketchbook #draw #drawing #illustrati - woodrowdrawspictures. [online] SocImage. Available at: http://www.socimage.net/media/1407402718977132220_1247204767 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source B

An extract from history.com commenting on the events after the Yalta conference.

HISTORY.com. (2018). Yalta Conference - World War II - HISTORY.com. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source C

An extract from history.com commenting on how Poland would be run as discussed at the Yalta conference.

“It was over the issue of the postwar status of Poland, however, that the animosity and mistrust between the United States and the Soviet Union that would characterize the Cold War were most readily apparent. Soviet troops were already in control of Poland, a procommunist provisional government had already been established, and Stalin was adamant that Russia’s interests in that nation be recognized. The United States and Great Britain believed that the London-based non-communist Polish government-in-exile was most representative of the Polish people. The final agreement merely declared that a “more broadly based” government should be established in Poland. Free elections to determine Poland’s future were called for sometime in the future. Many U.S. officials were disgusted with the agreement, which they believed condemned Poland to a communist future. Roosevelt, however, felt that he could do no more at the moment, since the Soviet army was occupying Poland.”
War, Y. (2018). Yalta Conference foreshadows the Cold War - Feb 04, 1945 - HISTORY.com. [online] HISTORY.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yalta-conference-foreshadows-the-cold-war [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source D

An extract from the Britannica Encyclopaedia depicting the events at the Potsdam conference.

“Poland’s boundary became the Oder and Neisse rivers in the west, and the country received part of former East Prussia. This necessitated moving millions of Germans in those areas to Germany. The governments of Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria were already controlled by communists, and Stalin was adamant in refusing to let the Allies interfere in Eastern Europe. While in Potsdam, Truman told Stalin about the United States’ “new weapon” (the atomic bomb) that it intended to use against Japan. On July 26 an ultimatum was issued from the conference to Japan demanding unconditional surrender and threatening heavier air attacks otherwise. After Japan had rejected this ultimatum, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The protocols of the Potsdam Conference suggested continued harmony among the Allies, but the deeply conflicting aims of the Western democracies on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other in fact meant that Potsdam was to be the last Allied usmmit conference.”

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Potsdam Conference | World War II. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Potsdam-Conference [Accessed 9 Feb.

2018].

Source E
A cartoon by P.Plaschke on the Yalta conference.

plaschke, p. (2018). Yalta and Potsdam. [online] Johndclare.net. Available at: http://www.johndclare.net/cold_war4.htm [Accessed 8 Feb. 2018].

Source F

An extract from an article about the inevitability of the Cold War written by Michael Dobbs.

dobbs, m. (2018). The Inevitability of the Cold War. [online] Historynewsnetwork.org. Available at: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/148999 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Source G

A photograph taken at the Yalta conference in 1945.

Cdn.history.com. (2018). [online] Available at: https://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2013/11/Yalta-Conference-Hero-H.jpeg [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].