B. Investigation
The Yalta Conference took place from February 4 – February 11, 1945. During the Yalta Conference, the territorial division of Germany was discussed, and this caused Germany to have a political divide. Originally, Germany was to be divided into East and West Germany between the Yalta Big Three – Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States), Winston Churchill (United Kingdom), and Josef Stalin (Soviet Union). This territorial division resulted in Germany being separated politically. The German Democratic Republic, commonly referred to as East Germany, was under the Soviet Union’s influence, and they were ruled under communism. The Federal Republic of Germany, commonly referred to as West Germany, was under the Allies’ influence, and …show more content…
Germany, divided territorially, also experienced different reparations for both sides, which divided Germany economically. During the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union was intent on receiving reparations for the damage that had been done to them during the World War II. According to historian Johnson, “the Soviet Government expected to receive reparations in kind from Germany.” In fact, Russian estimates have “claimed that the USSR suffered direct losses of as high as $128,000,000,000 as a result of German invasion.” The Russians wanted reparations in terms of resources, such as coal, and currency. According to historian Pogue, “this figure is undoubtedly exaggerated”, however, the Russians did have losses that “had been so large that no reparations could cover their loss.” Thus, the Soviet Union proposed a plan that would require Germany to pay 20 billion dollars in reparations – 10 billion dollars to the USSR, 8 billion dollars to the US and UK, and remaining 2 billion dollars to other countries. The Soviets knew that a defeated Germany would not be able to meet these demands, thus it would cripple Germany further. This way, the Soviets could ensure that instead of turning to fascism, German citizens would turn to communism. Since the citizens already have so little due to the poor economy, communism is the most appealing, as it would provide them with some stability. According to historian Walter Johnson, who wrote a book with Edward Stettinius Jr., America’s Secretary of State from 1944-1945, the Soviet Union wanted to “deplete German manufacturing capacity…but at the same time insure German ability to make large payments at a later date.” This contradicted what America and Britain wanted, which was to redevelop Germany, thus it resulted in a clash of ideologies. The consequence of
The Yalta Conference took place from February 4 – February 11, 1945. During the Yalta Conference, the territorial division of Germany was discussed, and this caused Germany to have a political divide. Originally, Germany was to be divided into East and West Germany between the Yalta Big Three – Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States), Winston Churchill (United Kingdom), and Josef Stalin (Soviet Union). This territorial division resulted in Germany being separated politically. The German Democratic Republic, commonly referred to as East Germany, was under the Soviet Union’s influence, and they were ruled under communism. The Federal Republic of Germany, commonly referred to as West Germany, was under the Allies’ influence, and …show more content…
Germany, divided territorially, also experienced different reparations for both sides, which divided Germany economically. During the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union was intent on receiving reparations for the damage that had been done to them during the World War II. According to historian Johnson, “the Soviet Government expected to receive reparations in kind from Germany.” In fact, Russian estimates have “claimed that the USSR suffered direct losses of as high as $128,000,000,000 as a result of German invasion.” The Russians wanted reparations in terms of resources, such as coal, and currency. According to historian Pogue, “this figure is undoubtedly exaggerated”, however, the Russians did have losses that “had been so large that no reparations could cover their loss.” Thus, the Soviet Union proposed a plan that would require Germany to pay 20 billion dollars in reparations – 10 billion dollars to the USSR, 8 billion dollars to the US and UK, and remaining 2 billion dollars to other countries. The Soviets knew that a defeated Germany would not be able to meet these demands, thus it would cripple Germany further. This way, the Soviets could ensure that instead of turning to fascism, German citizens would turn to communism. Since the citizens already have so little due to the poor economy, communism is the most appealing, as it would provide them with some stability. According to historian Walter Johnson, who wrote a book with Edward Stettinius Jr., America’s Secretary of State from 1944-1945, the Soviet Union wanted to “deplete German manufacturing capacity…but at the same time insure German ability to make large payments at a later date.” This contradicted what America and Britain wanted, which was to redevelop Germany, thus it resulted in a clash of ideologies. The consequence of