1. Essential Question: How did the relationship between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. change?

2.  As the last days of WW2 were coming to an end the allies held another meeting  They met to talk about what to do with Germany and Europe after the war  The goal was to prevent another world war from taking place

3.  The allied powers agreed to split Germany into four sections  France, Britain, the U.S., and the Soviet Union would split the country  These four countries would also divide up Berlin the same way

4.  Tensions so begin to rise between the Soviet Union and the U.S.  The Soviet Union pushed small European countries to become communist  The United States did not agree with communism and did not think it should spread

5.  Communism and Capitalism are two different economic systems  Communism: The government controls all business and decides how much people make  Capitalism: Private companies control business and decide pay based on amount of work or difficulty of job

6.  Many people in America feared another great depression  They knew that Hitler was only able to come to power because of the depression  President Truman believed that Democracy and capitalism were the best ways of keeping the world economy strong

7.  Government leaders believe that democratic countries better protected people’s individual rights  Therefore democratic countries were better suited at preventing another Hitler like leader  The Soviet Union however felt differently

8.  Stalin and the Soviets believed that Germany should pay for the war  The Soviet economy was suffering after WW2  Truman however was against this idea because he feared the German economy was not strong enough and would look to resort to communism

9. Essential Question: How did the relationship between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. change? Monday April 30 th 2012 Today: Notes on the Iron Curtain Thursday: Quiz on all material from after WWII

10.  From 1941 to 1945 the goal of the U.S. was to hurt Germany anyway it could  Now our goal was to save the German economy  Truman knew that if the German economy collapsed all of Europe would be dragged back into peril

11.  Truman and Stalin met at Potsdam, which is in the Soviet Zone  Truman wanted to give aid and build up German industry  The Soviet Union wanted to cripple Germany and use its goods

12.  Truman and Stalin vocally opposed each other over the future of Germany  Neither could agree with how to move forward with each others plan for Europe  Truman began to question Stalin's true intentions

13.  At the conference Truman also told Stalin America had developed more powerful atomic weapons  Stalin felt that Truman was trying to intimidate the Soviet Union  He felt that Truman was threatening the Soviets if they didn’t agree to help Germany

14.  Despite Stalin feeling the U.S. was harassing him he had no choice but to agree to their demands  The U.S. and Britain controlled the industrial heartland  It was also the only way Russia could get some money from Germany

15.  The Potsdam Conference is where the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union fell apart  Stalin had respected FDR as a real leader, but felt Truman was weak  In return Truman hated communism and thought Stalin was ruthless

16.  Even though Truman had won the battle over industry he lost other points  The Soviets refused to up hold free elections in eastern Europe  This made many Americans upset and angry with the Communists

17.  Stalin ordered his troops to stay in their wartime posts all across eastern Europe  This ensured that pro-soviet communist governments would be set up in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungry and Czechoslovakia.  “This war is not in the past. Whoever occupies a territory also imposes his own social system….It cannot be otherwise.”

18.  The new Communist Countries in Eastern Europe became known as satellite states  This is because they were controlled by the Soviet Union even though they were considered separate countries.  This meant that the soviet influence was extending past the Soviet boarder

19.  Winston Churchill came up with a new term to describe Eastern Europe  He said in a speech that an “iron curtain” has fallen over eastern Europe  This iron curtain came to symbolize the “communist threat” and American demanded action.

20.  The Potsdam Conference was one of the last places the United States and the Soviet Union would meet to discuss working together  With the Iron Curtain also came the Cold War  For the next 45 years Americans would be ready to go to war at any minute