The end of World War II left the US, Britain, Russia, and the rest of the Allied Powers to decide the fate of Germany and Japan. Reaching consensus among the Allies was not an easy task. The US and Britain had extremely different ideological values from the USSR, which would prove disadvantageous in the nations’ hopes for maintaining positive relations. Without a common goal to defeat Germany, the US and the USSR began to clash. Within only a few years of the completion of World War II, the Cold War had begun. While the war never featured any direct combat, strong diplomatic tensions between the USSR and the US set the stage for an Arms Race and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although the US aggravated the USSR with its containment policies in Europe,
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Stalin and the USSR were willing to use military force to achieve their goal of a communist Europe, which was particularly evident in Poland. There, Soviet troops had taken control and installed their own Lublin communist government, disposing of the pro-Western, London-based government-in-exile. On the other hand, the US and Britain sought to establish democratic institutions across Europe and therefore favored the government-in-exile to return to power as the group, in the eyes of Britain and the US, more directly represented the beliefs of Polish citizens. When the three powers met at Yalta, Britain and the US endeavored to negotiate, along with other pressing subjects, the status of the Polish government. The parties reached a formal agreement that outlined the procedure the USSR must take regarding Poland. The accords dictated that the USSR was permitted to retain its control of Poland but was responsible for admitting a number of pro-Western Poles to their pre-existing communist regime and holding “free and unfettered elections” within the region to further assure representation of the Polish citizens. However, Stalin neither admitted any pro-Western Poles into government nor held any sort of election for 40 years (Patterson 106). Hence, the USSR was the instigator of tensions. The USSR directly
Stalin and the USSR were willing to use military force to achieve their goal of a communist Europe, which was particularly evident in Poland. There, Soviet troops had taken control and installed their own Lublin communist government, disposing of the pro-Western, London-based government-in-exile. On the other hand, the US and Britain sought to establish democratic institutions across Europe and therefore favored the government-in-exile to return to power as the group, in the eyes of Britain and the US, more directly represented the beliefs of Polish citizens. When the three powers met at Yalta, Britain and the US endeavored to negotiate, along with other pressing subjects, the status of the Polish government. The parties reached a formal agreement that outlined the procedure the USSR must take regarding Poland. The accords dictated that the USSR was permitted to retain its control of Poland but was responsible for admitting a number of pro-Western Poles to their pre-existing communist regime and holding “free and unfettered elections” within the region to further assure representation of the Polish citizens. However, Stalin neither admitted any pro-Western Poles into government nor held any sort of election for 40 years (Patterson 106). Hence, the USSR was the instigator of tensions. The USSR directly