9781422285954

The Cold War

10

Allies or Adversaries? During World War II (1939–45), the United States and the Soviet Union had been allies in the fight against Nazi Germany. But cracks in the rela- tionship appeared even before the war was over. By February 1945, Germany’s defeat was all but certain. The Soviet Red Army was pushing in on Germany from the east. American, British, and other Allied forces were closing in from the west. Against this backdrop, the leaders of the three main Allied nations met at Yalta, a Soviet resort town by the Black Sea. The so-called Big Three— President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States; Winston Churchill, prime minister of the United Kingdom; and Joseph Stalin, premier of the Soviet Union—discussed a variety of issues at the Yalta Conference. Among the most important was the future of Europe. The Big Three agreed to jointly oversee Germany after its surrender.

The Soviet Union, marked in red on this map, was the largest country, by area, in the world. As World War II ended, American leaders feared the Soviets would spread their Communist ideology throughout Europe and Asia.