Beating Germany held the Allies together; once it was defeated, their disputes over Germany and Eastern Europe came to the surface.
The USA, Britain and USSR worked together to beat Germany. They did not agree on how the world should run. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was also angry that the West took so long to open a major front against Germany.
At the Yalta and Potsdam conferences in 1945, leaders planned the peace. Hard questions stayed open. How much should Germany pay in reparations, or compensation? Could Eastern Europeans freely choose their governments? Rebuilding Germany could help Europe recover, but it could also revive a country the USSR feared.
Soviet-backed communists took control in Eastern Europe and silenced opponents. The West said this broke promises that freed peoples could choose their future. Soviet leaders, in turn, distrusted Western plans for Germany and feared losing control of neighbouring states. On 5 March 1946, Winston Churchill spoke of an Iron Curtain across Europe. It was an image for division, not a real wall. His speech described a split that already existed.
- Yalta and Potsdam, 1945
- Conferences to plan the postwar settlement.
- Reparations
- Payments for war damage.
- Iron Curtain, March 1946
- Churchill's image for Europe's division.
Worked example: Why old differences mattered more after victory
The USA and USSR had different systems during the war. Why did cooperation get harder after it?
- During the war, both needed to beat Germany, so they cooperated.
- After victory, they disagreed about Germany and Eastern Europe.
- With the common enemy gone, these disputes took over.
Watch out for this
Churchill's Iron Curtain speech created the division of Europe.
The speech described a division that already existed. It did not create it.
Check your understanding
Why did the alliance break down after 1945?
- Churchill's speech ordered the building of a wall.
- Their shared enemy was gone, and disputes over Germany and Eastern Europe grew.
- They had agreed on everything at Yalta.