The military-political alliance of states and peoples headed by the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, directed against the Axis countries (Germany, Italy, Japan) and their satellites, which existed during the Second World War.
At the origins of the coalition
The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR on June 22, 1941 led to a fundamental change in the international situation. On the evening of the same day, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, speaking on the radio, stressed that, despite his rejection of communist ideas, Great Britain was ready to support the USSR in its fight against German aggression. The government of the United States at the beginning of the war between the USSR and Germany remained neutral and in the first days of June 1941 did not express its unambiguous attitude towards the German aggression against the Soviet Union. However, after the visit of the Soviet military delegation to Great Britain and the USA and the return visit of Roosevelt's aide G. Hopkins to Moscow, Washington was convinced of the USSR's determination to wage the war to a victorious end. An agreement was reached between Moscow, London and Washington to hold a meeting on the issue of military supplies.
August 14, 1941 on about. Newfoundland hosted the first meeting of W. Churchill during the war years, which strengthened the allied relationship between the two powers. As a result of the meeting, a document called the Atlantic Charter was adopted. The document proclaimed the absence of the intentions of Great Britain and the United States to carry out any territorial seizures contrary to the will of the peoples living in these territories, recognized the right of these peoples to determine their own destiny, their access to the world's natural resources and international trade, and the need for general disarmament after the war. Moscow expressed its support for the principles laid down in the charter.
The first joint actions of the allies. Strengthening inter-allied relations
On July 12, 1941, an agreement was signed in Moscow between the USSR and Great Britain, which fixed the obligations of both parties on mutual assistance in the fight against Germany and on the rejection of the idea of a separate peace with Berlin. Like this agreement, this agreement served as the legal basis for the further formation of an allied coalition against Germany. In addition, Great Britain in August of the same year began to provide the Soviet side with financial support, providing the USSR with a 3% loan for 10 million pounds sterling for a period of 5 years. In turn, the United States provided the USSR with a loan of 10 million dollars.
One of the first joint military actions of the allies was the entry of Soviet and British troops into Iran. One of the important strategic routes ran through this country, along which military cargo could be delivered to the USSR through the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. But during this period, German propaganda became more active in Iran, using the sympathies of the Iranian Shah Reza Pahlavi for Hitler. After diplomatic measures to influence the Shah failed, the USSR and Great Britain decided to temporarily send troops to Iran. On August 25, 1941, Soviet and British troops entered the territory of Iran. In September, an agreement was signed with the Iranian government, which determined the number of allied troops in Iran and the obligations of the Iranian side to ensure the transit of military cargo.
The Soviet Union strengthened cooperation not only with Great Britain and the USA, but also with other forces in Europe that fought against Nazism. The leader of the Fighting France movement, the general, immediately after the German attack on the Soviet Union, said that the French in this war "unconditionally together with the Russians." In September 1941, de Gaulle received official recognition from Moscow as "the leader of all free French." The USSR concluded an agreement on mutual support in the war with the governments of Czechoslovakia and Poland in exile. These governments granted their permission for the formation of Czechoslovak and Polish military units on Soviet territory for their subsequent participation in the battles on the Soviet-German front.
The issue of military supplies (lend-lease)
On September 29 - October 1, 1941, a conference of representatives of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain was held in Moscow on the issues of mutual military and economic assistance. This was the first trilateral meeting of the Allies during the war years. The US was the main supplier. Cargo destined for the USSR was supposed to be delivered by several routes: through Iran, along the Black Sea, across the Pacific Ocean and with the help of Arctic convoys to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. On November 7, 1941, the US Congress approved the issue of extending the program to the USSR.
However, for a long time, the assistance of the Western allies of the USSR was insignificant, supplies were carried out in insufficient volumes. The first delivery protocol (there were four in total) was completed by only 40%. In the autumn and winter of 1941, when the fate of Moscow and the Soviet state as a whole was being decided, only $541,000 worth of supplies came from the United States under Lend-Lease. Problems with the fulfillment of allied obligations arose in the United States and Great Britain in the future. In 1942, as the German armies advanced towards the Volga and the Caucasus, the British and American governments completely cut off Lend-Lease supplies to the Soviet Union via Arctic convoys. Western deliveries of goods to the USSR began to increase and be carried out in full only in 1944-1945, when a radical turning point in the war had already occurred.
In total, in 1941-1945. The USSR received from the Western allies 18 million tons of cargo for various purposes, including over 4.5 million tons of food, metals for aircraft construction and rails (3.6 million tons). From Great Britain and the USA, 22,206 aircraft of various types, 12,980 tanks, 14,000 guns, 427,386 trucks and 51,000 jeeps, 6,135,638 rifles and machine guns, 8,000 tractors and prime movers, 345,000 vehicles were delivered to the USSR. tons of ammunition, as well as a significant amount of industrial equipment, fuels and lubricants, explosives and chemical raw materials. As part of the lend-lease program, the United States received from the USSR for the entire period of the war 300 tons of chromium ore, 32 thousand tons of manganese ore, a significant amount of platinum, gold and other precious metals totaling $ 2.2 million.
Further interaction of the allied powers. The problem of opening a second front in 1941-1943.
One of the most painful issues in the relationship between the Western allies and the USSR was the opening of a second front in Europe. It could be created by landing Anglo-American troops on the coast of France, which would significantly complicate the position of Nazi Germany and ease the position of the USSR, which bore the brunt of the war on its shoulders. Back in the summer of 1941, the Soviet government raised the question of opening a second front before London, but did not find understanding among the British. At the first stage, this issue was discussed only between the USSR and Great Britain, President F. Roosevelt began to take an active part in the discussion of this topic only after the US entered the war in December 1941. Long negotiations that took place during 1941 and the exchange of messages between I. Stalin and W. Churchill did not lead to anything.
At the beginning of 1942, the diplomatic activity of all states fighting against the Axis countries intensified. On January 1, 1942, in Washington, diplomats from 26 countries signed the Declaration of the United Nations, which developed the provisions of the Atlantic Charter. During the visit of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. Molotov to London in May 1942, a Soviet-British alliance treaty was signed, and in June in Washington, a Soviet-American agreement. In the communiqué of both meetings, the US and Britain made a public promise to open a second front in Europe as soon as possible. But in 1942 the second front was not opened. Instead, Anglo-American troops landed in North Africa, which was part of the traditional zone of British interests.
Moscow and Tehran conferences. The opening of a second front and the liberation of Eastern Europe
The radical turning point on the Eastern Front, the victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad and the Kursk Bulge, the capitulation of fascist Italy in the summer of 1943 raised the question of the need to discuss the post-war reorganization of the world before the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. October 19-30, 1943 was held by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, USA and Great Britain. It, in particular, discussed the issue of the post-war reorganization of Germany and the idea put forward by W. Churchill of the dismemberment of the German state, as well as the post-war fate of Italy, France and Austria. An important outcome of the conference was the signing of a protocol by the United States and Great Britain, according to which the Americans and the British confirmed (albeit with reservations) their intentions to carry out an offensive in northern France in the spring of 1944.
The Moscow conference became the basis for holding a meeting of the leaders of the three allied powers in Tehran on November 28 - December 1, 1943. The question of opening a second front became the main one. W. Churchill put forward a proposal to land the Allied troops not in France, but in the Balkans. Thus, the Anglo-American troops would have occupied the countries of Eastern Europe earlier, to the borders of which the Soviet troops advanced. However, the position of the Soviet delegation was supported by F. Roosevelt. As a result, the decision to open a second front in northern France in 1944 was finally made.
The second front in France was opened on June 6, 1944. Anglo-American troops under the command of D. Eisenhower landed in Normandy and already on August 25, together with French partisans, entered Paris. At the same time, the liberation of the southern part of France took place, where the Allied troops also landed. The German counteroffensive in the Ardennes in December 1944 ended in failure. By the beginning of 1945, the Allied forces were already at the borders of Germany. In parallel, the Soviet troops were liberating Eastern Europe. The Soviet command attracted foreign military units created on the territory of the USSR (the French Normandie-Niemen squadron, the Polish division named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko and others) to combat operations. The result of the offensive of the Red Army was the complete collapse of the fascist bloc in Eastern Europe.
Yalta conference. Defeat of Germany.
At the meeting of I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill on February 4-11, 1945 in Yalta, it was not so much about military cooperation as about the further reorganization of Europe. It was decided not to establish the United Nations and to hold its founding conference in San Francisco in April. Contradictions between the allies were caused by the question of the political structure of the liberated countries: if the United States and Great Britain advocated the restoration of pre-war regimes, then the USSR relied on anti-fascist movements in these countries and their leaders. The Declaration on a Liberated Europe recorded the right of the peoples of Europe to decide their own fate and get rid of the legacy of fascism and Nazism. It was decided on the post-war occupation of Germany by the Allied forces. The USSR took upon itself the obligation to enter the war with militaristic Japan.
At the beginning of March 1945, Anglo-American troops began to fight in Germany. In April, a historic meeting took place on the Elbe between the troops of the USSR and the USA. At the same time, a large-scale Berlin operation began, culminating in the capture of the capital of Nazi Germany. On May 2, the Berlin garrison capitulated. On May 7, 1945, a preliminary protocol on the surrender of the German armed forces was signed at the headquarters of D. Eisenhower in Reims. The act of signing the surrender was repeated in Karlshorst in a solemn atmosphere on the night of May 8-9, 1945.
Potsdam conference. Destruction of Japan.
The last meeting of the "Big Three" took place in the United States represented by the new President G. Truman (F. Roosevelt died in April 1945), and Great Britain, who replaced Churchill as Prime Minister, C. Attlee. The goal of the unity of Germany was proclaimed, which was occupied by the Allies, and parts of its territory were transferred to Poland and the USSR. The question of Germany's reparations to the war-affected peoples and the preparation of peace treaties with Germany's former allies in Eastern Europe was resolved.
The USSR, fulfilling its allied obligations, on August 9, 1945 began military operations against militaristic Japan. During the military operation, the southern part of Sakhalin was liberated, the territory of the Kuril Islands and Manchuria was occupied. At the same time, the United States carried out the first atomic bombing in history, destroying the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. September 2, 1945 Japan capitulated. World War II is over.
When planning attacks on the Soviet Union, fascist Germany saw the enemy's weak point in his international political isolation. The totalitarian regime established by Stalin sharply contradicted the democratic worldview of the strongest countries in Europe and the United States.
Creation of an anti-fascist coalition
Hitler understood that not a single democratic state would take the side of the USSR in the event of an attack on non-German armed forces. The German attack on Soviet territory evoked the exact opposite reaction from the West.
Already in mid-July 1941, the first agreement on mutual assistance in the fight against the fascist invaders was signed between the governments of the USSR and England. It was from this moment that the formation of the anti-Hitler coalition began.
By mid-autumn 1941, the United States joined the allies. USSR diplomacy managed to establish ties with the leadership of Poland and Czechoslovakia, which at that time was in exile.
In October, during a government meeting, an agreement was concluded between the USSR, England and the USA on the technical equipment of the Red Army, in exchange for the Union providing strategic raw materials to these states.
However, the Allies did not take an active part in the hostilities. The troops of Great Britain and the United States entered the war only after a radical change in military operations, when the fascist troops began to retreat.
Expansion of the anti-Hitler coalition
At the second stage of hostilities, the composition of the anti-Hitler coalition expanded significantly. The states of Africa, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and Canada joined the fight against the Nazis. In 1944, according to the old tradition of a radical change in political dislocation, Italy went over to the side of the anti-fascist alliance.
The contribution of the allies to the fight against German fascism was uneven, some countries actively took part in the hostilities, the help of others was nominal. The replenishment of the ranks of the anti-Hitler coalition was rather a chain reaction of some states that occurred after the accession of Great Britain and the USA to the USSR, rather than an objective desire to fight the aggressor.
The results of the war
The Second World War brought huge material and demographic losses to humanity. Military operations unfolded in the territories of 42 countries, 80% of the world's population was drawn into the confrontation. The total costs that were spent on the conduct of hostilities reached 4 trillion dollars.
More than 30 million people did not return from the fronts of the Second World War, 40 million died in the rear. The war made adjustments to the alignment of the international authority of states: Europe completely lost its dominant position, leadership was divided between the USSR and the USA.
The main volume of the Second World War is the creation of the United Nations, an organization of the world community, which still functions today. During the Nuremberg Trials, fascism was recognized as an unacceptable ideology, contrary to all norms of democracy, and de jure eradicated from public life.
ANTI-HITLER COALITION, military-political alliance led by the USSR, the USA and Great Britain against the "axis" countries (Germany, Italy, Japan) during the Second World War.
After the German attack on the Soviet Union, British Prime Minister W. Churchill on June 22, 1941, declared support for the USSR in its fight against fascist aggression; On June 24, US President F.D. Roosevelt made the same statement. On July 12, the USSR and Great Britain signed the Moscow Agreement on Mutual Assistance and Joint Action against Germany with an obligation not to enter into separate negotiations with it. On August 14, W. Churchill and F. D. Roosevelt promulgated the Atlantic Charter, proclaiming as their goal the restoration of the sovereignty of the conquered peoples and ensuring their right to a free choice of form of government. On August 16, the British government granted Moscow a loan of 10 million pounds. Art. to pay for military purchases in the UK. In September, the London Inter-Allied Conference of the USSR, Great Britain and representatives of the exiled governments of the German-occupied European countries approved the Atlantic Charter. At the Moscow Conference of the Three Powers on September 29 - October 1, an agreement was reached on the amount of British and American military assistance to the USSR. At the end of 1941, the United States extended the Lend-Lease regime to the Soviet Union (the leasing of weapons, industrial equipment, and food); in 1942–1945, deliveries totaling $10.8 billion were made to the USSR.
The anti-Hitler coalition officially took shape on January 1, 1942, when 26 states that had declared war on Germany or its allies issued the Washington Declaration of the United Nations, declaring their intention to direct all their efforts to the struggle against the Axis countries. It was signed by the USSR, the USA, Great Britain, its dominions Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa, the British Indian Empire, China, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and also the emigrant governments of Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Greece. In January 1942, the Joint Chiefs of Staff was created to coordinate the actions of the British and American troops. The principles of relations between the leaders of the coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain - were finally established by the Soviet-British Union Treaty on May 26, 1942 and the Soviet-American agreement on June 11, 1942.
During the war, the coalition expanded significantly. In 1942, the Philippines, Mexico and Ethiopia joined it, in 1943 - Brazil, Iraq, Bolivia, Iran and Colombia, in 1944 - Liberia and France in the person of the National Liberation Committee, in 1945 - Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela , Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia. The former allies of Germany, who declared war on her, became its actual participants - Italy (October 13, 1943), Romania (August 24, 1944), Bulgaria (September 9, 1944) and Hungary (January 20, 1945).
The activities of the anti-Hitler coalition were determined by the decisions of the main participating countries. The general political and military strategy was worked out at the meetings of their leaders I.V. Stalin, F.D. October 1943), Tehran (November 28 - December 1, 1943), Yalta (February 4-11, 1945) and Potsdam (July 17 - August 2, 1945).
The Allies quickly reached unanimity in determining their main adversary: although the command of the US Navy insisted on concentrating the main forces against Japan, the American leadership agreed to consider the defeat of Germany as a paramount task; At the Moscow Conference, it was decided to fight against her until her unconditional surrender. However, until the middle of 1943 there was no unity on the question of the opening of a second front by the United States and Great Britain in Western Europe, and the Red Army had to bear the burden of the war on the European continent alone. The British strategy envisaged the creation and gradual compression of the ring around Germany by striking in secondary directions (North Africa, the Middle East) and the destruction of its military and economic potential through the systematic bombing of German cities and industrial facilities. The Americans considered it necessary to land in France already in 1942, but under pressure from W. Churchill they abandoned these plans and agreed to conduct an operation to capture French North Africa. Despite Stalin's insistent demands, the British managed to convince the Americans to land in Sicily and Italy instead of opening a second front in 1943 in France. It was only at the Quebec Conference in August 1943 that F.D. Roosevelt and W. Churchill finally made a decision on a landing operation in France in May 1944 and confirmed it at the Tehran Conference; for its part, Moscow promised to launch an offensive on the Eastern Front to facilitate the Allied landings.
At the same time, the Soviet Union in 1941-1943 consistently rejected the demand of the United States and Great Britain to declare war on Japan. At the Tehran conference, I.V. Stalin promised to enter the war in it, but only after the surrender of Germany. At the Yalta Conference, he obtained from the allies, as a condition for the start of hostilities, their consent to the return of the territories to the USSR lost by Russia under the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, and the transfer of the Kuril Islands to it.
Since the end of 1943, the problems of post-war settlement came to the fore in inter-allied relations. At the Moscow and Tehran conferences, it was decided to establish, after the end of the war, an international organization with the participation of all countries for the preservation of world peace and security. At Yalta, the great powers agreed to convene in June 1945 a founding conference of the United Nations; its governing body was to be the Security Council, acting on the basis of the principle of unanimity of its permanent members (USSR, USA, Great Britain, France, China).
An important place was occupied by the question of the political future of Germany. In Tehran, I.V. Stalin rejected F.D. Roosevelt’s proposal to divide it into five autonomous states and the project developed by W. Churchill to separate North Germany (Prussia) from South and include the latter in the Danube Federation together with Austria and Hungary. At the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the principles of the post-war structure of Germany (demilitarization, denazification, democratization, economic decentralization) were agreed upon and decisions were made to divide it into four occupation zones (Soviet, American, British and French) with a single governing body (Control Council), about on the amount and procedure for paying reparations by it, on the establishment of its eastern border along the Oder and Neisse rivers, on the division of East Prussia between the USSR and Poland and the transfer of the latter to Danzig (Gdansk), on the resettlement of Germans living in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary to Germany.
Serious disagreements were caused by the Polish question. The demand of the Soviet Union to recognize the "Curzon Line" as the Soviet-Polish border and the entry of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus into its structure in September 1939 ran into resistance from the allies and the Polish government in exile; On April 25, 1943, the USSR severed relations with him. In Tehran, the American and British leadership were forced to accept the Soviet solution to the Polish question. In Yalta, W. Churchill and F. D. Roosevelt also agreed to territorial compensation for Poland at the expense of German lands and to the official recognition of the pro-Soviet Provisional Polish government of E. Osubka-Moravsky, provided that several moderate emigrant figures were included in it.
Other important political decisions of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition were the decisions to restore the independence of Austria and the democratic reorganization of Italy (Moscow Conference), to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran and to provide large-scale assistance to the partisan movement in Yugoslavia (Tehran Conference), to create an interim Yugoslav government based on the National Liberation Committee headed by I. Broz Tito and on the transfer of all Soviet citizens liberated by the Allies to the USSR (Yalta Conference).
The Anti-Hitler Coalition was instrumental in achieving victory over Germany and its allies and became the basis of the United Nations.
Ivan Krivushin
42. Anti-Hitler coalition: stages of formation, directions of interaction.
Anti-Hitler coalition- an association of states and peoples who fought in the Second World War of 1939-45 against the countries of the Nazi bloc, also called the Axis countries: Germany, Italy, Japan and the allies.
During the war years, the United Nations was synonymous with the anti-Hitler coalition. The influence of the coalition on the military and post-war world order is enormous; the United Nations (UN) was created on its basis.
Members of the anti-Hitler coalition
Poland, France, Great Britain and its dominions (the Anglo-Polish military alliance of 1939 and the Franco-Polish alliance of 1921).
During 1941, the USSR, the USA and China joined the coalition.
As of January 1942, the anti-Hitler coalition consisted of 26 states: the Big Four (USA, Great Britain, USSR, China), the countries of Central and Latin America, the Caribbean. The number of coalition members increased during the war.
By the time hostilities with Japan ended, 53 states were at war with the countries of the fascist bloc.
War on the "Axis" at the final stage of the confrontation was also declared by Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Finland, which were previously part of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis.
Before the German attack in 1941, the USSR was not part of the anti-Hitler coalition.
At the same time, the United States until the end of 1941 (before the Japanese attack) was not at war - providing military and economic assistance to the warring countries of the coalition.
The most significant events during the operation of the coalition: the Moscow meeting (1941), the Atlantic Charter (August 1941), the Declaration of the United Nations (January 1942), the Tehran Conference (1943), the Bretton Woods Conference (1944), the Yalta Conference (February 1945), Potsdam conference.
The contribution of the participants of the anti-Hitler coalition to the fight against the enemy is extremely uneven: some participants conducted active hostilities with Germany and its allies, others helped them with the supply of military products, and still others participated in the war only nominally.
The main stages of formation
1) Soviet-English agreement on joint actions in the war against Germany July 12, 1941 Moscow
2) The Atlantic Charter of the USA and Great Britain on August 14, 1941, to which the USSR joined on September 24, 1941
3) Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the USSR, England, USA September 29 - October 1, 1941
4) The beginning of deliveries to the USSR from the USA in 1942.
5) The signing of the Washington Declaration by 26 states (Declaration of the United Nations) on the aims of the war against fascism on January 1, 1942
7) Soviet-American agreement on the principles of mutual assistance in the conduct of war against aggression June 11, 1942 Washington
43. Post-war world (1945-1955): main trends in political development.
The victory of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition over the bloc of fascist states led to radical changes in the international arena.
1) the growth of the authority and influence of the Soviet Union in solving geopolitical issues. To coordinate the activities of the Communist parties in the countries of people's democracy in 1947, the Communist Information Bureau (Cominformburo) was created. In his documents, the thesis was formulated about the division of the world into two camps - capitalist and socialist.
2) the influence of the communists increased.(were elected to parliaments and entered the governments of a number of Western European countries.) The relations of the USSR with the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition are changing dramatically. From cooperation they move to "cold war. W. Churchill in his speech in March 1946 Speaking at the American College in Fulton in the presence of US President G. Truman, he called on "a fraternal association of peoples who speak English" to unite and resist "communist and neo-fascist states" that are a threat to "Christian civilization."
3) US claims to world domination. After the end of the Second World War, the United States became the most powerful country with a huge economic and military potential. Policy proposed "Truman Doctrine - "policy of containment".In the conditions of growing international tension and political confrontation, the USSR was forced to join in the arms race.
Changes in the international arena determined the main tasks of the foreign policy of the Soviet state. These primarily include the conclusion of peace treaties with the former satellites of Germany and the formation of a "security sphere" near the western borders of the USSR.
In the course of the post-war peace settlement in Europe, significant territorial changes took place, including on the western borders of the USSR. East Prussia was liquidated.
In 1945 - 1948 bilateral treaties between the Soviet Union and Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and Yugoslavia were signed.
In the Far East, on the basis of the agreements reached at the Crimean Conference (January 1945), the southern part of Sakhalin was returned to the Soviet Union and all the Kuril Islands were transferred.
Also signed with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
If in 1941 diplomatic relations with the USSR were maintained by 26 countries, then in 1945 - already 52 states.
One of the most important issues in international politics is the question of the post-war order of the world.
In countries of Eastern Europe- evolved socio-political system, similar to the Stalinist model "state socialism. (impact of the USSR)
Western Europe-the foundations of the socio-economic and political structure according to the model "Western democracies". (US and British influence)
Until the summer of 1949, there were meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (FMD) of the USA, England, France, China and the USSR, at which the former allies tried to find a compromise.
The Soviet government, realizing that, under the guise of economic assistance, the United States created a powerful barrier in Europe against "Soviet expansion", refused to participate in this project. The USSR refused to participate and the countries of Eastern Europe, too. Subsequently, the Marshall Plan helped stabilize the European economy, but fixed the division of the world into two parts - East, West.
there are two military blocs:
in April 1949 - North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) - USA, UK, France, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, later Turkey, Greece and Germany.
in May 1955 - Warsaw Pact Organization (OVD)). entered the European countries of people's democracy, except for Yugoslavia.
The basis of confrontation in the post-war world for a long time was the relationship between the two superpowers - the USSR and the USA.
The formation of other military blocs contributed to the strengthening of the US position in various regions of the world:
AT 1951 a block appeared ANZUS in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
AT 1955. formed a bloc CENTO, which included the US, UK, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan.
AT 1954 the creation of the bloc was announced SEATO, uniting the US, UK, France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines and Pakistan.
The USSR had neither the strength nor the means to participate in a possible war, so for it the struggle for world becomes the most relevant. One of the main peacekeeping mechanisms was the United Nations (UN) formed in October 1945 by decision of the winning countries. It includes 51 states. The situation changed somewhat after the appearance of atomic weapons in the USSR (August 1949). In 1947, at the initiative of the USSR, the UN General Assembly nevertheless adopted a resolution condemning any form of war propaganda.
AT August 1948 an international peace movement emerges. The Soviet Union provided constant assistance to this movement.
German question. Divided into four zones of occupation (American, British, French and Soviet) and without a single government, Germany remained an important subject of international relations. The balance of power in post-war Europe depended on its future structure.
In 1948, the occupation zones of the United States, England and France merged into Trizonia, where a Western-style socio-economic system was being formed, and the construction of a model of Stalinist socialism began in the occupation zone of the USSR.
1949G. in the western zone was formed Federal Republic of Germany with its capital in Bonn. As a response, in the eastern occupation zone, German Democratic Republic with its capital in Berlin.
In the Asia-Pacific region, similar processes took place in China and Korea. In Korea, divided along the 38th parallel, forces oriented towards "Soviet socialism" have strengthened in the north, and "American capitalism" in the south. As a result, the struggle between the USSR and the USA for influence in Korea developed into an open war (1950-1953). Starting the war, the troops of the Soviet-backed North Korean government overwhelmed the South Korean army within a few weeks and occupied almost the entire Korean peninsula. The United States sends its troops to Korea, operating under the flag of the UN, which condemned the aggression of North Korea.
The world is on the brink of a global war. The armistice signed on July 27, 1953 ended the Korean War.
civil war in China in 1945-1949. was an indirect military clash between the United States and the USSR, which actively and comprehensively (in political, military and economic terms) supported their allies - respectively, the Kuomintang and the Communists.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was proclaimed. (Same way: North Korea and North Vietnam.)
In February 1950. between it and the USSR was signed Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance.
USSR- establishing friendly relations and maintaining close ties with the countries of Eastern Europe who took the path of socialism. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) was established in order to expand economic cooperation and trade between the socialist countries. It included Albania (until 1961), Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, the USSR and Czechoslovakia.
Unlike Western countries, the states of Eastern Europe until the middle
united 50s. did not form a single military-political union. The Stalinist system of relations with the allies was so tough and effective that it did not require the signing of multilateral agreements and the creation of blocs.
In 1949, the USSR severed diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia. This example was followed by all the people's democracies.
Results The foreign policy activities of Soviet diplomacy in the postwar period are quite contradictory: strengthening positions and expanding spheres of influence in the world, but failed to overcome confrontations with the West, which largely led to the growth of international tension.
Soviet foreign policy after Stalin's death. inconsistency and hesitation. normalization of relations with some countries, including Yugoslavia, in the foreign policy of the USSR, Stalin's attitudes were largely preserved. an example of anti-government and anti-socialist speeches in the GDR in July 1953
To a large extent, the international situation in Europe was complicated by the Austrian question.
In 1945, Austria, like Germany, was, in accordance with the agreements signed in Yalta and Potsdam, divided into three zones of occupation: the USA, England and the USSR. By 1949, Austria was still an occupied country. A way out of the situation was outlined only in 1955.
Some softening of the confrontation in Europe and the Far East was combined with increased support from the USSR for communist insurgent movements in Southeast and South Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Mid 50s. was a period of one rise in the insurgency in Asia. The position of the USSR in the "third world" had a negative impact on international relations in general and on the relations of the USSR with developed countries.
Nazi Germany began to look for allies even before the start of the war in Europe. Italy, led by Mussolini, entered into an alliance with Hitler, as well as Japan, in which the power of the military was increasing. In such a situation, it became clear that in order to protect their own interests, Germany's potential adversaries also needed to unite. However, political contradictions between the allied countries became an insoluble problem. Although the USSR entered the League of Nations, it could not become a real ally for Great Britain and France. The United States did adhere to a policy of non-intervention in European problems.
The creation of an anti-Hitler coalition was also hampered by the public opinion of Great Britain and a number of other countries - the Europeans did not want a repeat of the First World War and believed in the possibility of a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
The situation changed with the outbreak of World War II. As the conflict progressed, it became clear that Germany had to significantly expand its territories using its large and well-armed army. It became clear that Great Britain and other states could not cope with fascism alone.
Countries that are part of the anti-fascist coalition
The unification of countries opposing fascism began after the German attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941. A few days later, US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill came out with support for the Soviet Union, despite all past disagreements with this. Soon, a non-aggression pact was signed between Great Britain and the USSR, and England and the United States issued the Atlantic Charter, which emphasized the need not only to protect their territories, but also to liberate other peoples from fascism.
After the signing of the declaration, practical assistance to the USSR became possible, for example, the supply of weapons and food under Lend-Lease.
As the war progressed, the anti-Hitler coalition expanded. At the beginning of the conflict, in addition to the USSR, Great Britain and the USA, the coalition was supported by the governments in exile of those European countries that were already Hitler. The British dominions - Canada and Australia - also joined the union of states. After the overthrow of Mussolini's power, the republican government of Italy, which controlled part of the country's territory, also took the side of the allies.
In 1944, part of the countries of Latin America, in particular Mexico, came out in support of the USSR and the USA. Although it did not directly affect these states, joining the anti-Hitler coalition was a confirmation of the political position of these countries regarding the inadmissibility of the actions of Nazi Germany. France was able to support the coalition only after the overthrow of the Vichy government in 1944.
