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Hello Delegates, It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you to the Crisis Committees of LUMUN 13. We at LUMUN have always given great importance to the crisis committees we have and this year is no different. The USG, Committee Directors, ACDs and the crisis staff have been working tirelessly to make sure your experience in the crisis cabinets is unlike any other. The crisis committees have always had a very special place in the functioning of a successful MUN conference. Once one has done a certain number of general MUN simulations there are only a few opportunities to truly use your acquired MUN skills over the years and think on your feet, this is where crisis committees come into play. This year we have three crisis committees which truly defines LUMUN’s commitment of bringing to the delegates an enriching MUN experience where the committees are authentic and the Committee Directors are well versed in running them. This year we are introducing LUMUN’s version of a Joint Crisis Committee which aims to define how such committees are to be run in the future. With our commitment in making sure the Pakistani MUN circuit evolves with the changing times we have introduced new Rules & Procedure which we have seen at international conferences and have adjusted them to the Pakistani committee setting. Make sure you go through the study guide and relevant ROP carefully but also know that the study guide at a crisis cabinet is just to let you understand how the committee will start, the power to carry forward the committee is in your hands. Best of Luck Ali Hassan Secretary General – LUMUN 13 Soha Hamid Baig , currently Under-Secretary General in LUMUN, is a third year majoring in Political Science at LUMS. Not surprisingly, as the former should entail, she takes an avid interest in the diplomatic tenet of international relations. She will be overseeing the Crisis Cabinets and the Press CoR committee. MUN-enthusiast and gregarious of nature, she loves meeting new people, bringing up contentions in debate and then eventual conflict resolution. At Model United Nations Turkey 2016, she was awarded the Outstanding Diplomacy reward. Brownie points for anime-fanatics, B. Cumberbatch fans and foodies (she may have a harmless bias there). An idealist at heart, she still believes there is enough money for everyone, enough food for a feast and enough good in the worst of us. Hello Delegates! My name is Muhammed Saad Kamil and I’d like to welcome you all to the USSR Politburo of the Joint Crisis Cabinet this year at the 13th edition of LUMUN. I am a Sophomore at LUMS enrolled in a joint major in Economics and Mathematics and trying to minor in Political Science (up till now at least). Having been part of Model UN for a few years now, while applying as chair I wanted to do something very innovative this year at LUMUN, and a Joint Crisis was the way to execute the latter. Other than Model UN and being a member of LUMUN, I also work as a development consultant in the LUMS Consultancy Group, I absolutely love music - Coldplay being my all-time favorite band and being a LUMS student, you are bound to revere sleeping (because you hardly get to sleep otherwise). The topic I have chosen for the Joint Crisis Cabinets is the Berlin Blockade. Now one would ask as to why choose a topic that was not highly mainstream during the Cold War years, simple answer; LUMUN is unique in its ways and wants delegates to experience completely new aspects of international issues and historical instances. The Berlin Blockade is something that is ignored completely when the Cold War is even thought about whereas it is one of the prime and first instances where two completely different ideologies (the USA and the USSR) clashed amongst each other after being ironically tied up in an alliance. That is exactly what I want delegates to realise and understand, and the JCC will be highly helpful in understanding the intricacies of Stalin and Truman’s mindset, and how it would have played out in real life. With close to real life situations and crises on going at every moment, tensions and happening of both committees being shared constantly, the JCC will be an experience you will not forget. See you all this December. Sincerely, Muhammed Saad Kamil Committee Director – Joseph Stalin’s Politburo LUMUN 13 Table of Contents Introduction to the Politburo of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ....................................... 7 Joseph Stalin’s Politburo; .............................................................................................................................. 8 Committee Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... 10 Germany (1918 – 1945) ............................................................................................................................... 10 Germany Post World War 1..................................................................................................................... 10 The Last Years of the War........................................................................................................................ 11 The "Stab in The Back" And Post World War One Hardships .............................................................. 11 Hitler's Rise to Power and the Road to War ............................................................................................ 12 Introduction to World War II ................................................................................................................... 14 Operation Barbarossa – Soviet Union’s Inclusion in WW II................................................................. 15 The Soviet Union and the Allied Powers ............................................................................................. 15 Yalta Conference (February 1945)....................................................................................................... 16 Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945) and the Aftermath ............................................................. 17 The Present Situation (1948) ....................................................................................................................... 20 London Power 6 Conference ................................................................................................................... 20 HOW DID IT COME ABOUT? ................................................................................................................ 20 WHAT HAPPENED AND THE IMPACT? ..................................................................................................... 21 SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPLICATIONS ..................................................................................................... 22 WHAT IS NEXT? .................................................................................................................................... 23 Who was Joseph Stalin? .......................................................................................................................... 24 General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1952) .................................... 24 Premier of the Soviet Union (1941-1953) .................................................................................................. 24 Stalin – A Radical Socialist ................................................................................................................... 24 The Ideology: Imperialism (territorial or political?) ............................................................................ 24 The Executive: From pluralism to totalitarianism ............................................................................... 25 The Socio-Economic Backdrop: discrepancies and disasters .............................................................. 25 Appendix ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 USA AND USSR ......................................................................................................................................... 27 THE MARSHALL PLAN .............................................................................................................................. 28 ALLIED CONTROL COUNCIL...................................................................................................................... 29 ROLE OF THE UNITED NATION AND OTHER COUNTRIES......................................................................... 29 5 UNITED KINGDOM ................................................................................................................................... 29 FRANCE .................................................................................................................................................... 30 POLAND ................................................................................................................................................... 30 CZECHOSLOVAKIA .................................................................................................................................... 30 NORWAY .................................................................................................................................................. 30 ALBANIA................................................................................................................................................... 31 BULGARIA ................................................................................................................................................ 31 ROMANIA................................................................................................................................................. 31 TURKEY .................................................................................................................................................... 32 6 Introduction to the Politburo of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) The USSR Politburo, formally known as the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, came into existence in October 1917 as the most important authority working in the Soviet Union in terms of policy making and running of in-state and out of state orders. It was originally formed by Vladimir Lenin and the original members of the Politburo were Lenin himself, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev and Nikolai Krestinsky. The Politburo played an absolutely important role in upcoming state affairs – characterized by charismatic however tyrannical leadership throughout its life, the party was gradually made highly centralist and monolithic by Joseph Stalin ruling out democracy in many instances. Where members had the chance of voicing their thoughts, however confine to the ways of Stalin with the best of their abilities, otherwise expulsion was inevitable, and never justified. The Politburo nevertheless declined and was eradicated with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, however till date it remains as one of the prime examples of a totalitarian rule and a single communist ideology forcibly imposing itself on others – in a namely democratic setting. 7 Joseph Stalin’s Politburo; Dias 1. General Secretary of the Politburo – Joseph Stalin Delegates: 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Alexander Nikolaevich Poskrebyshev; Personal chancellor of Stalin Georgy Malenkov; Personal chancellor of Stalin Minister of Defense - Anastas Mikoyan Minister of Finance - Alexei Kosygin Minister of Foreign Trade Minister of Foreign Affairs - Vyacheslav Molotov Minister of State Security and Head of KGB - Viktor Abakumov Minister of Culture Policy – Andrei Zhdanov Marshal of the Soviet Union’s Red Army - Kliment Voroshilov Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army- Alexander Ilyich Yegorov Chief Marshal of Aviation of the Soviet Union Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union (Navy) Minister of Agriculture - Andrey Andreyev Chairman of Gossnab (State Committee for Material-Technical Supply) - Lazar Kaganovich Leader of Ukraine - Nikita Khrushchev Prosecutor General – Commission of Planning and Construction Minister of Propaganda - Pyotr Pospelov The USSR Politburo in this particular incarnation will convene in the immediate aftermath of the London Power 6 Conference being held in 1948. All events beyond this point are to be treated as fictitious for the purposes of the timeline. 8 Topic Area: The Cold War – The Battle for Berlin 9 Committee Synopsis The Joint Crisis Cabinet this year at LUMUN 13 is set 3 years after the Allies bombed Berlin; a historic mark that initiated the occupation of Berlin as a state controlled by The Big Four. Nevertheless the four states were now confused as to what to do with the city itself because the joint alliance that had won the war was now breaking apart. With the western side of Berlin run by the United States, France and the United Kingdom agreeing to revamp economic conditions of the city and get business going, the eastern Soviet side had other plans which entailed communist planning throughout their zone and in turn, all over Berlin. The Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union will be simulated keeping in retrospect the situation of Berlin itself and will continue on from that point onwards. The Politburo will be headed by Joseph Stalin (the committee director) and will convene on 15th of January 1948 following the announcement of the London Power 6 conferences and will follow a timeline lasting up till 12th May 1949. The committee will run in close correspondence with the happenings in the United States National Security Council run by Harry Truman; henceforth laying out an accurate and interesting representation of the bipolar hegemony between two powerful nations that overruled the world back then, and continues to do so today. The Joint Crisis Cabinet this year at LUMUN 13 will concentrate vividly on Germany and Berlin to be exact, for the latter delegates need to understand the state of Germany with deep insight, consequently this insight involves a deep understanding of Germany’s position following the First World War Germany (1918 – 1945) Germany Post World War 1 On the 11th of November, 1918, after more than four years of conflict, world war one finally came to an end when Germanys beleaguered government signed an armistice. The victorious allies celebrated the end of war and return to normalcy and stability, however for Germany, the problems had not yet ended. 1 0 The Last Years of the War As the German spring offensive of 1918, the last hope that the Germans had of winning the war, withered the Allies, now reinforced by new units from America, began the hundred day’s offensive. The successes of the offensive put tremendous pressure on Germany, and as defeat seemed inevitable, the morale of the German armies plummeted. A mutiny by German sailors in Kiel, the loss of the Balkans and the oil and food they provided, evaporation of confidence in the Kaiser and a collapsing military, all forced Germany to finally begin negotiations with the Americans. On 9th November Germany was declared a republic after widespread unrest and protests following the Kiel mutiny, and the Kaiser had to flee to exile in the Netherlands. The new revolutionaries, though socialist leaning, had preferred making Germany a parliamentary republic rather than handing over power to workers soviets who had been an instrumental part of the revolution. However, soon socialist uprisings erupted across the country which had to be crushed by the new republic. Admits all this chaos, on 11th November, the new government signed the armistice with the allies, effectively ending the First World War. The "Stab in The Back" And Post World War One Hardships The German High command was determined that blame for defeat in the war should not go to the aristocratic elite or the military, instead the majority parties in the Reichstag were tasked with carrying out humiliating negotiations with the victorious allies. The final terms of the treaty of Versailles (1919) were catastrophic. Germany was to lose its colonial empire; it lost vast swathes of land in the east and much of its Prussian heartland. In the west Alsace Lorraine was lost, the Saar region occupied by the League of Nations, the Rhineland permanently demilitarized and land also lost to Belgium. The German army was reduced to a mere 100 thousand men and could not operate most modern weaponry like tanks. Furthermore, the prospect of an Anschluß with Austria was also dashed when such a union was expressly forbidden by the treaty. Germany was also ordered to pay annual reparations to the victorious Allies, as Germany was to shoulder much of the blame for starting the war. For example, 40 million tons of coal was to be paid annually to the Allies. Not surprisingly, many in Germany were appalled by the terms of this treaty, yet nothing could be done about it. Economic conditions grew worse, before World War One Germany was one of the most prosperous nations in Europe, however the wartime focus on military goods over civilian necessities and the naval blockades that Germany had to face meant that the economy was now crippled and no longer the industrial juggernaut that it once was. When the Germans could not pay these reparations, French troops invaded the country in 1921, annexing capital goods and raw materials from the Ruhr region. Amidst all this chaos, hyperinflation in 1923 made the savings of millions of Germans worthless and put a severe strain on the already battered economy. 1 1 Many in Germany hated the new Weimar Republic for this new reality, often believing that it was not the military that lost the war but instead the civilian government that had betrayed the empire and its valiant army by negotiating the treaty when enemy soldiers had not even entered German land. They failed to realize that it was the military that lost the war and the civilian government had to take over at the last moment. Even more so many failed to remember that they themselves had supported the end of the war and the establishing of the Weimar republic but instead blamed the members of the Left and the Jews for surrendering German honor. These "stab in the back" rumors became common as the new republic became filled with distrust. Consequently people distrusted the government, the Jews, the socialists and often each other. After 1924 however, the economy was improving and most of the immediate post war problems were being solved. The "Dawes Plan" was instrumental to this recovery as it reduced both the reparations Germany had to pay while simultaneously led to the United States loaning large amounts of money to Germany. The currency was reorganized. This new stability of the German economy led to foreign investment which fuelled economic growth, but also made the German economy more dependent on foreign countries and their markets, particularly that of the United States. Hitler's Rise to Power and the Road to War Of course it did not help that many retired Imperial military leaders further fanned these rumors, only to pin the blame for their own failures on someone else. However one man who devoutly believed that these "November Criminals" (Reichstag elected party officials) stabbed the army in the back was Adolf Hitler. Right wing parties such as Hitler's Nazi party appealed to many people in Germany. Even more so after Hitler became a hero after a failed coup attempt in Bavaria in 1923; during his short imprisonment after the coup, he wrote his political manifesto "Mein Kampf" (My struggle). His popularity further surged due to his attacks on the treaty of Versailles and the Pan German and anti leftist and Jewish rhetoric of his party's propaganda machine. By 1929 the effects of the American stock exchange crash were being felt across the world. Weimar Germany in particular was crippled by the consequences. Unemployment numbers rose to six million in German. By 1930, disastrous policies had reduced wages, unemployment benefits and 1 2 government spending. This deepened the economic crisis. furthered Hyperinflation crippled the German economy, with the Mark devalued to such an extent that children often played with stacks of now worthless notes on the streets of Berlin. The resulting social fallout led a disillusioned populace eager to swing either to the left or to the right. Many did turn to the left and communism, but the wealthy elites in Germany, frightened by the prospect of a red takeover like in the Soviet Union, supported and financed Hitler's Party as an alternative. These new developments coupled with the effective propaganda machine of the Nazi party soon bore results; in 1932 the party had 230 seats and was the largest party in the Reichstag. Hitler was made chancellor in 1933, Hitler soon turned the Weimar republic into a totalitarian one party state. The mysterious burning of the German parliament in 1933 allowed Hitler to blame the communists and led to massive arrests including of Communist members of the Reichstag. With their seats empty, the Nazis now had a majority in parliament, giving them virtual control to pass any laws they please. The Nazis did not waste this opportunity and "The Enabling Act" of 1933 soon transformed the Weimar republic into a defacto Nazi dictatorship. The short lived Weimar republic had come to an end. Soon Germany’s economic fortunes improved under the Nazi party, massive infrastructure projects were initiated such as roads, damns, factories etc. Germany hosted the 1936 Olympics which were seen as a major success. Hitler commissioned architecture on a massive scale in order to reinterpret Germanys very culture. Unemployment fell to just 1 million by 1936. German wages were now only very slightly lower than what they were in the predepression period. Not surprisingly this made cemented Hitler's popularity amongst the German people. Such projects were financed through printing new money and seizing assets and property from Jews and those deemed enemies of the state. Germany also developed more modern weaponry, much of which was tested in the Spanish civil war. Furthermore the entire economy was now directed towards war with civilian necessities being cut for military rearmament. Average German work hours increased as they worked longer to produce weapons and military supplies. Hitler now talked openly about the need for a German Lebensraum. Anti-Semitism increased substantially in Germany as attacks on Jews and other minorities increased. New alliances were now made, as an axis was declared between Germany, Italy and Japan. Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy adding territory after territory to Germany. 1935 the Saarland was reunited with Germany, in 1936 the demilitarized zone was reoccupied. In 1938 Hitler united Germany and Austria, finally fulfilling many Germans dream of an Anschluß. In defiance of the treaty of Versailles, Hitler increased the size of the military to a vast force consisting of six hundred thousand men. Soon this new army invaded and annexed parts of Czechoslovakia. Soon plans were being drawn up to invade Poland. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union intended to partition Poland between the two countries and serve as a non-aggression pact. In these circumstances Britain and France 1 3 announced an alliance with Poland, vowing to defend it in case of German aggression. the initial war years to make territorial advances for the Soviets. Europe was at the brink of another war. In order to delay the inevitable, on August 23, 1939, The Soviet Union signed a secret nonaggression pact with Germany dividing up Poland into Eastern and Western fronts respectively. This pact acted as a buffer period which gave Hitler time to focus on his conquest in Western Europe. Just days after the formation of British-Polish military alliance, on September 1st, 1939, Germany openly attacks on Poland. Britain and its allies declare war on Germany and World War II officially begins. Introduction to World War II Despite the outcome of World War 1, Adolf Hitler swore to regain the lands Germany had lost. He dreamed of expanding his empire to provide living space and colonies for his people. The Nazi’s deep-rooted resentment towards the Soviet Union was not an unknown fact since Hitler’s ideologies, as expressed in ‘Mein Kampf’, looked at Communism as the world’s biggest evil. War between Germany and the Soviet Union was imminent nevertheless; The Premier (Joseph Stalin) used Meanwhile, The Soviet Union attacked and invaded Finland and the Baltic states in 193940. The Soviets also signed a neutrality pact with the Japanese on the Manchurian border (Border between Modern day N.E China and Far East Russia) allowed the Soviets to move 1 4 their forces towards the west. By the end of September, Poland is dismembered and large parts of it are incorporated into the Soviet Union and Germany. This ‘apparent’ coalition was short lived as on 18th December, 1940, Hitler issued the infamous Directive Nr.21 which decreed that, “German forces must be prepared to subject the Soviet Union to a crushing defeat.” Operation Barbarossa – Soviet Union’s Inclusion in WW II After months of planning and strategizing, on 22 June, 1941, the Germans broke their agreement and attacked the Soviet Union under the code name, ‘Operation Barbarossa’. Soon thereafter, Italy and Romania declared war on the USSR followed by Hungary, Slovakia, and Finland. The Germans believed that the Soviets could be defeated within 3 months and that all of European part of Russia would be conquered. “For the campaign against the Soviet Union, the Germans allotted almost 150 divisions containing a total of about three million men.. It was in effect the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history” (Britannica). The initial months were very costly for the Soviets as the invasion along a 2900 kilometer front took the Soviet leadership by surprise (Fig 1). The Soviet forces were on the back foot for nearly 5 months and victory for the Germans seemed in sight as they were able to reach into the close proximity of Moscow. However, German intelligence underestimated the reserve capabilities of the Red Army as The Premier, Joseph Stalin was able to mobilize staggering 10million reservists (which totals as 200 fresh divisions). Furthermore, the punishing Russian winters also played a major hindrance in the German advances as their armies were not properly equipped to deal with the extreme weather. On December 6th, 1941, the Soviet counter-offensive hits the unsuspecting Germans and results in a disappointing end to Operation Barbarossa for the Germans. The failure of German forces to defeat the Soviet Union marked a significant turning point in the war against Germany. The Soviet Union and the Allied Powers With the Japanese bombing of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, The United States officially enters the World War II. Soon thereafter, Hitler declares war on the United States and from there onwards two distinct sides emerge: the Allied Powers primarily led by; USA, Britain, USSR and France and on the other hand, the Axis Powers comprising of; Germany, Japan, Italy and Hungary. A series of intense battles and skirmishes occur between 1941 and 1943 across the globe with the balance of power tilting in favor of the Allied forces. The famous Casablanca Conference of January, 1943, between Roosevelt and W. Churchill, set the demand of ‘unconditional surrender’ for the main Axis powers. Victory for the Allies became even more imminent with the Tehran Conference of November, 1943, where the leaders of the Big Three (US, Britain, Soviet Union) met to discuss post-war order of 1 5 Europe but more importantly to strategize a Two-front offensive on Europe. Yalta Conference (February 1945) Figure 1; Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Premier Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference’45 One of the most major World War II conferences was the Yalta Conference where the three chief Allied leaders; President. Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, met at Yalta in Crimea to plan the final defeat and occupation of Nazi Germany. Some of the main implications/decisions of this conference are as follows: The Allies had no responsibility towards Germany apart from providing minimum subsistence. Reaffirmed the former decision to divide Germany into occupied regions administered by U.S., British, French, and Soviet forces. Decided that all German military industries would be obliterated or seized. Agreed that all major war criminals will be tried before an International Court. Poland’s future borders were also discussed. The ramifications of the Yalta Conference expand beyond the War in Europe. One of the major points of discussion at the conference revolved around the terms of agreement for the accession of the Soviet Union to join the Allied forces in the war against Japan. It was agreed in a secret protocol that, within two to three months of Germany’s surrender, the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan. “In return the Soviet Union would obtain from Japan the Kuril Islands and regain the territory lost in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 (including the southern part of Sakhalin Island), and the status quo in pro-Soviet Outer Mongolia would be maintained” (Britannica). In compliance with this agreement, the Soviet Union agreed to sign a pact of alliance and friendship with China. The agreements reached at the Yalta conference were announced to the public in 1946. These agreements were subject to a lot of criticism because as events turned out, apparently the Soviet Union did not keep its promise to hold free elections in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Instead, The Great Premier and his administration felt that it was in the best interest of all to incorporate a Communist system of politics. 1 6 Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945) and the Aftermath Defining the role of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, Determination of reparations from the primary Axis power, and The next steps of the war against Japan. The atmosphere at the Potsdam Conference was unlike any other former wartime conference. The sense of amity that was present in all previous conferences was over shadowed by an air of suspicion and an internal struggle to preserve the self-interests of each nation. Figure 2; The Premier Joseph Stalin, President Harry Truman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Potsdam Conference 1945. The Allied forces begin their final offensive on Berlin and within a few months after the Yalta Conference the Axis resistance in Europe collapses. With Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 7th, 1945, the European conflict in World War II officially came to an end. The Allied powers met at Potsdam, Berlin where the chief participants were the head of states of the Big Three (US, UK, Soviet Union). The crux of the Potsdam Conference revolved around deciding the details of the post war order and to cement the division of Europe into two spheres of influence. The primary concerns of the Big Three and their ministries were as follows: The immediate administration of defeated Germany, The demarcation of the boundaries of Poland, The occupation of Austria, The damage to Germany’s infrastructure was enormous. One-fourth of the country’s housing was estimated to be destroyed while the numbers crossed 50% in some of the major cities. Germany’s economy was in shambles as their economic infrastructure and transportation systems had been obliterated and became dysfunctional. Inflation, which was at an all-time high, coupled with severe shortage of food reduced the diet of many citizens to the level of malnutrition. These problems were further exacerbated by a huge influx of refugees from previously held German territories. Germany was divided into four zones each to be administered by the commander in chief of the British, Soviet, US and French occupation army (Refer to Fig 4). Furthermore, Berlin was also divided amongst the four powers (Refer to Fig 5). The Allied powers decided that the German people will be given the opportunity to rebuild their lives on a peaceful and democratic basis. Vienna and Austria were also each divided into four occupation zones. A council under the control of the Allies was formed to deal with matters affecting Germany 1 7 and Austria as a whole. The council’s policies functioned on the ‘five D’s’ (demilitarization, denazification, democratization, decentralization, and deindustrialization) principle that was decided in the Yalta Conference. The Oder and the Neisse Rivers demarcated Poland’s boundary in the West. It also received a part of former East Prussia (Refer to Fig 6). As a result of this, millions of Germans living in those areas were made to migrate back to Germany. Tensions between the Allies and the Soviet Union began to surface when the Premier refused the Allies to interfere in Eastern Europe where majority governments in place were controlled by Communists. It was at Potsdam where President Truman informed the Allies and the Soviet Union that it intended to use the Atomic bomb against Japan. “The protocols of the Potsdam Conference suggested continued harmony among the Allies, but the deeply conflicting aims of the Western democracies on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other in fact meant that Potsdam was to be the last Allied summit conference” (Britannica). “Final ultimatum was given to Japan from the conference demanding their unconditional surrender and threatening them of heavier attacks” (Britannica). Japan refused to comply and as a result, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. Immediately the Soviet Union advances into Manchukuo and Kuriles regions and put further pressure on the Japanese. Ultimately, on August 9th, 1945, the U.S drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki shaking the Japanese empire to its core. Thus, one day later the Japanese Emperor sends a capitulation offer to the Allied Command and consequently, the dreadful war comes to an end on August 10th, 1945. 1 8 1 9 The Present Situation (1948) London Power 6 Conference HOW DID IT COME ABOUT? The division of Berlin began in 1945 after the downfall of Germany. The country was divided into four zones, with each superpower controlling one. In 1946, reparation agreements broke down between the Soviet Union and Western zones. Soviets had repeatedly shown stress over a revivified Germany. The damage caused to the USSR by the invasion and scorched-earth retreat of the Wehrmacht was so massive that Russia felt justified in demanding massive reparations from Germany. Where they could, the Soviet Union dismantled factories they seized and transported the all of it by train to the USSR. The Americans and the British never put their trust in a policy of reparations. They knew what the punitive and vast reparations demanded by France after the First World War had done to keep the devastated German economy from recovering and to encourage the climate in which Nazism was to flourish. In January 1947, the United Kingdom and the USA joined their two zones together to try to get the German industries going. They called the new zone Bizonia. Friction newly started by the Marshall Plan put even greater strain on the situation in Germany. The Foreign Ministers met again in London from 25 November 1947 to 15 December 1947. Again there were major disagreements over the same issues of reparations and control over the industries of the Ruhr as well as the German unity. The meeting ultimately ended in accusation and counter accusation. Secretary of State Marshall summed up his conclusion during an announcement to the American people: "We cannot look forward to a reunified Germany at this time. We must do our best in the area where our influence can be felt." If the Americans could not attain Soviet support for their policy towards Germany, then they would go through with it alone in the Western zones. In January 1948 the British cabinet discussed the situation. Bevin presented a paper that argued for gradual movement towards a West German government, and for action on currency reform to undercut the rampant black-market. Bevin thought of Britain as an intermediary between the French, who were still daunted by the possibility of German recovery, and the Americans, who were increasingly frustrated by what they viewed as the French obstructionism. For the United 2 0 States, matters of national security were starting to focus almost solely upon the Soviet Union. The French were daunted by an ancient rivalry with Germany and bitter memories of recent defeat and occupation. The West wanted to combine the three western zones into one and revive the German economy. Soviet Union dreaded this union because it gave the one combined zone that much more power than its occupied zone. While on the other hand the recent Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia added to the urgency for the western allies to help create a democratic West Germany. In light of the increasing tensions between the U.S and the Soviet Union, the U.S decided that the current quadripartite occupational control of Germany with the Soviet Union was no longer possible. Following this, the U.S. and the other western countries occupying Germany (Great Britain and France), as well as the BENELUX nations (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), decided on a number of discussions to be held in London from February to June of 1948 known in combination as the London Conferences. This came at a strategic time because the other occupying countries of Germany were also realizing that cooperation with the Soviet Union was increasingly difficult to maintain, and all three nations were beginning to reexamine their policies. This was when the three nations of the United States, United Kingdom and France came together in what was the London Power 6 conference. The Soviet Union was not invited. WHAT HAPPENED AND THE IMPACT? Despite initial plans of cooperation, the London Power 6 conference took place as a result of deteriorating relations of the west and USSR. This was due to several factors resulting in tension building up. After the occupation of Berlin, the Soviet Union, whose land had suffered terribly at the hands of the Germans, demanded large scale compensation. The Western Allies initially agreed to allow for reparations but soon came to regret the Soviets’ seizures of all the German factories as well as its current production. Under the terms of inter Allied agreements, the Soviet zone of occupation, which comprised of much of German agriculture and was less densely populated than those of the other Allies, was to provide food to the rest of Germany in return for a percentage of reparations from the Western occupation zones. But when the Soviet Union failed to deliver the requisite food, the Western Allies found themselves forced to feed the German population in their zones at the cost of their own taxpaying civilians. The Americans and British therefore came to favor a revival of German industries to enable the Germans to feed themselves, a step the Soviet Union opposed. In 1946, when the Western powers refused to permit the Soviets to claim further reparations from their zones, cooperation among the allies of the war deteriorated sharply. On the other hand, mutual cooperation also suffered with reference to political improvements in Germany. The occupying powers nearing 1946, approved the formation of regional 2 1 governmental units called Länder in Germany. By the year 1947 the Länder in the Western zones had freely elected their parliamentary assemblies. Institutional developments followed an apparently similar pattern in the Soviet zone, but there the political process remained far from free to the extent that it became apparent by 1947 that the Soviet Union would not permit free and multiparty elections throughout the whole of Germany. As daily cooperation became more difficult, the management of the occupation zones gradually started moving in separate directions. They were in particular concerned about the rapidly deteriorating economic conditions throughout occupied Germany, which burdened their countries and awakened fears of renewed political extremism amongst Germany. This was followed by the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France meeting in London first from 23 February to 6 March and then from 20 April 1948 to 2 June 1948 in the London Power 6 Conference. The outcome of these discussions was the London Program. The main goal of the London Program was to form a West German government, with the means to achieving this goal being the combination of the three Western zones of occupation and a reform of the currency. The Western powers therefore decided to extend to their occupation zones, American economic aid, which had been provided elsewhere in Western Europe a year earlier under the Marshall Plan. To enhance the effectiveness of that aid, the Americans, British, and French started a currency reform in their zones that replaced Germany’s badly inflated currency, called the Reichsmark with a new deutsche mark, or DM. Western Germany’s economy reacted quickly, as goods unavailable previously for nearly worthless money came onto the market. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPLICATIONS The London Power 6 marked historically one of the major events which contributed to the future blockade of Berlin by the USSR. The news of the conference was carried to the Soviet intelligence via spied within the Foreign office. On 12 March, Foreign Minister Molotov was advised that the "Western powers are transforming Germany into their strongpoint" and including it into a "military political bloc" targeted at the Soviet Union., who then went on and accused the United States of America, United Kingdom and France of violating the agreements of Potsdam, and announced that decisions made at the London conference were invalid. This was followed by what become the last meeting of the Allied Control Council on the 20 March 1948, where USSR walked out of the conference. The London Program was viewed as an attempt by the West to undermine the establishment of the Soviet rule on Berlin. As a sense of betrayal settles in the USSR after the actions of the Western Powers, the implications of the London Power 6 can be dangerous for the cooperation the four countries have been trying to achieve and for Berlin. 2 2 WHAT IS NEXT? With a deep sense of betrayal settling in Soviet Union, the first course of action right now is to see the best next step fit. However it is also to be kept in mind that what may seem to be the most obvious and effective attack could have implications and drawbacks for everyone involved, hence it is very important to use the influential position the Soviet Union currently holds in Berlin to its best benefits and to the progress of the soviet hold over Germany. While it may look like a workable option to use the strong hold over Berlin as a way of getting the USA, UK and France to withdraw the results of the London Program; it can have several implications. Firstly, any signs of the Soviet Union trying to strengthen its hold on Western Berlin would mean serious reaction from the three Western allies; mostly due to the fact that if the Western Berlin is to be a country on its own then having its capital miles away set in the heart of the Soviet Germany was already not ideal for the Western Powers and they would definitely come with full force to prevent it from completely falling into the hands of the Russians. Especially as evidence of the very strong anti- communist sentiments Harry Truman had, it was clear that the USA would take any measures from preventing a communist control over Germany. As well as the fact that the USA has now stepped up to a position from where they cannot possibly withdraw or go back without putting their position in the global community up for ridicule and damaging its own prestige. Seeing as the three powers together are strong enough to potentially resist against any attempts of the Soviet Union to take over Berlin; the Soviet Union would be putting itself in a very testing position by taking this route. Following this the mere task of getting the Western Berlin to abandon its allies in the Western Powers would be a task that would require the Soviet Union to resort to many unfavorable acts. These acts would firstly put the Soviet Union in a very antagonized position in face of the West and put USA and the Soviet Union in much farthest positions of the post-world war scenario, who now united with France and the UK have strong chances of putting up an opposition to the USSR that is on equal footing and now have a stronger control on Germany as well after merging the zones. It will also put the Soviet Union in a very compromising diplomatic position with the rest of the world. Making it look like the enemy and oppressor of West Berlin. The choice of the next course of action in the face of the London Program by the USSR has to be very calculated. The job at hand for Premier Stalin’s Politburo is not just to ensure that the best decision is taken but to carry through a thorough cost benefit analysis of whether maintaining control over Berlin and the hopes of reparations are enough an incentive to take a drastic next step and if the demands are worth it or if there is an alternate more preferable method presenting itself which will protect the interests of the socialists better. 2 3 Who was Joseph Stalin? leadership, following Lenin, had contrasting slants towards the Leninist-Marxist ideals. General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1952) Premier of the Soviet Union (1941-1953) “I used to think of Joseph Stalin as a tyrant and butcher who jailed and killed millions, betrayed the Russian revolution, sold out liberation struggles around the world, and ended up a solitary madman, hated and feared by the people of the Soviet Union and the world. Even today I have trouble saying the name “Stalin” without feeling a bit sinister. But, to about a billion people today, Stalin is the opposite of what we in the capitalist world have been programmed to believe. The people of China, Vietnam, Korea, and Albania consider Stalin one of the great heroes of modern history, a man who personally helped win their liberation.” – Bruce Franklin Stalin – A Radical Socialist The Ideology: Imperialism (territorial or political?) Leon Trotsky, as an avid supporter of The Permanent Revolution stressed upon the universal nature of socialism; directed by the conception of an international social class fraternity, it could not be concentrated and bred within a singular precursory center. In other words, Trotsky embraced the expansionist disposition of the socialist ideology. Stalin, in contrast, contrary to common belief, was diametrically opposed to the orthodox aggressive-expansionist ideals. In fact, the guiding thread of a Stalinist model is National Vanguardism – “Socialism in One Country” which rests upon the primacy of USSR as the herald and harbinger of modern socialism. Stalin’s devise for the worldwide consolidation of communism was to establish diplomatic alliances with collectivist nationstates. He didn’t believe in territorial aggrandizement for the purpose of ideological imperialism; accordingly, his foreign policy stipulated a political solution – i.e. a sociopolitical hegemony by means of international agreements and coalitions, as observed in the case of the Warsaw Bloc in the Cold War history. The complexion of Stalin’s belief system and attitude towards socialism can only be understood in relation to a popular contemporary rival approach – Trotskyism. The two competing candidates for Soviet 2 4 The Executive: From pluralism to totalitarianism In context of the administrative affairs of the country, Trotsky vouched for democratic centralism, an organizational methodology that is governed by the principle of “freedom of discussion, unity of action." It is built around the practice of free debate and dialogue, within the communist party, on matters of policy, constitution and foreign relations. Decisions were to be collectively made and unanimously exercised. Under Stalin, the Communist Party was increasingly bureaucratized – decisionmaking was concentrated within the top hierarchy of the party, particularly the Politburo. In effect, the egalitarian culture of the communist party soon translated into a dictatorial one. Disagreement – initially an intrinsic element of the party’s democratic and pluralistic character – no longer had an acceptable bearing within policy making. And soon enough an artificial consensus, representing the absence of contradiction and a snowballing conformism, characterized the executive make-up of the Politburo in the 1930s. Political repression rapidly escalated to The Great Purgative of 1936-38, a nationwide purge of government officials. Marked by a climate of surveillance, arbitrary sentences and murders, at least 18 per cent of the Party's 3.2 million members were expelled during The Purge. An end to the Ryutin Affair in 1932 marked the expiry of democratic centralism in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. “A regime unheard of terror and colossal spying, achieved through an extraordinarily centralized and ramified gigantic apparatus, concentrating in its hands all the material resources...this is the main basis of Stalin's dictatorship...[Stalin] has placed himself on a pedestal like an infallible pope and cannot admit either the criminality of his policies or even the slightest mistake... The most evil enemy of the party and the proletarian dictatorship, the most evil counterrevolutionary and provocateur could not have carried out the work of destroying the party and socialist construction better than Stalin has done.” – From Stalin and the Crisis of the Proletarian Dictatorship by Martemyan Ryutin In contrast, Revisionists claim that “Stalin sanctioned the use of violence to settle political disputes, within the chaotic and erratic environment of the Party’s regional leaders, and that Stalin’s role was a reactionary to events rather than planning.” (Ibid) Unfortunately, the United States officials, Harry Truman in particular, read actions over intentions. The complexity of Stalin’s political personality inhibited an empathetic inclination towards the motivators that guided his extreme exploits. Stalin’s search for national security within the post-war environment, for example, was read as hard-lined imperialist agendas; thus, rearing skepticism in the US parliament and leading to a breakdown of trust and confidence within the Soviet-US alliance. The Socio-Economic Backdrop: discrepancies and disasters Lacking in steadiness and rational foresight, Stalin’s stance on the economic affairs lead to great socio-political disasters; the New 2 5 Economic Policy (NEP), branded by headways towards State Capitalism and mixed economy, benefited from Stalin’s continuous support. While Trotsky stressed upon a hyperindustrialization and an acute agrarian collectivization program, Stalin led the opposing bloc in favor of the NEP. The year 1928 was met with the grain procurement crisis and the obliteration of NEP in favor of the Five Year Plan. This was an antithesis of Stalin’s initial attitude towards the economic policy of the Soviet Union and resulted in an opposition bloc within the Politburo Left. The paradoxical shift in Stalin’s approach arguably demonstrates an intrinsic inconsistency in the political domain. The Trotsky economic philosophy he vehemently opposed at one point was soon adopted as a national policy. Early traditionalists have accused Stalin of maintaining a similar temperamental stance within his international affairs. Despite accepting The Declaration of Liberated Europe at Yalta, he was capable of changing his standpoint to suit the circumstances. rise to detrimental misunderstandings during the early Cold War years. He never explained himself. “Omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, infallible, and he remained such until his death in1953” – Richard Pipes Additionally, the absence of the accountability factor is pronounced. Stalin did not demonstrate a concern for the explicit implications of The Five Year Plan – an absolute and radical change within the economic climate, as well as the risk of hurting his political personality by appearing unpredictable and inconsistent. An opposition was inevitable. However, Stalin met with criticism and disagreement with the might of The Purge. Rather than employing the forces of dialogue to justify and defend his position, he assumed a repressive role. This attitude, defined by a lack of lucid explanations, gave 2 6 Appendix USA AND USSR DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR Wartime relations between the Soviet Union and the United States can be considered one of the highest points in the age long interactions between these two great powers. Although not without tensions, such as differing strategic goals and ideological goals and lingering suspicions, the collaborative relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States nonetheless was maintained. Moreover, it was crucial in the defeat of Germany in 1945. The United States reacted to the democratic Russian Revolution of February 1917 with great enthusiasm, which cooled considerably with the advent of the Bolsheviks in the October of 1917. The United States, along with many other countries, refused to recognize the new rule, arguing that it was not a democratically elected or a representative form of government. The policy of nonrecognition ended in November 1933, when under President Franklin Roosevelt, the United States, established full diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, it still being the last major power to do so. Despite outwardly cordial relations between the two of these countries, American mistrust regarding the Soviet Union’s international behavior grew in the latter part of the 1930s. The August 1939 Nazi Soviet Pact, which paved the way for Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland in that September, followed by the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland’s Eastern provinces of Western Ukraine and Western Byelorussia, caused panic in Washington. The Soviet Union’s approach to Finland in November 1939, followed by Premier Stalin’s absorption of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in 1940, further worsened relations. The Nazi invading the Soviet Union in June 1941, however, led to changes in the American attitudes. The United States began to see the Soviet Union as an embattled nation being overrun by the fascist forces, and this attitude was further reinforced after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Under the Lend Lease Act, the United States sent massive quantities of war material to the Soviet Union, which was crucial in helping the Soviets resist the Nazi onslaught. By the end of the year 1942, the Nazi advance into the Soviet Union had stalled; it was finally reversed at the epic battle of Premier Stalingrad in 1943. Soviet forces then began a massive counteroffensive, which eventually forced the Nazi forces out of the Soviet territory and beyond. This Soviet effort was helped by the cross channel allied landings at Normandy in June 1944. These coordinated military actions came about as the result of intensive and prolonged diplomatic negotiations between the three Allied leaders, Premier Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. These wartime conferences, which also sought after to address problems related to the postwar world, included the November 1943 Tehran Conference. At Tehran, Premier Stalin ensured confirmation from Roosevelt and Churchill of the launching of the crosschannel invasion. In turn, Premier Stalin promised his allies that the Soviet Union would 2 7 eventually enter the war against Japan. In February 1945, they met at Yalta in the Crimea. The Yalta Conference was the most important and by far the most controversial of the wartime meetings. Understanding the strong position that the Soviet Army held on the ground, Churchill and an ailing Roosevelt agreed to a number of things with Premier Stalin. At Yalta, they granted territorial concessions to the Soviet Union, and outlined punitive measures in the face of Germany, including the principle of reparations and Allied occupation. Premier Stalin guaranteed that the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan within six months after the end of hostilities within Europe. While the politicians and diplomats engaged in trying to change the postwar world, Soviet forces from the east and Allied forces from the west continued to move onto Germany. After a costly and fierce battle, Berlin fell to the Soviet Union forces on May 8, 1945, after Allied and Soviet troops had met on the Elbe River to negotiate and congratulate each other on a hard won impending victory. Although the war in Europe was over, it would take many more months of substantial losses and hard fighting for Allied forces to defeat the Japanese in September 1945, including the first time the atomic bomb was used. In accordance with the Yalta agreements, the Soviet Union announced war on Japan in early August 1945, just prior to Japan’s surrender in the same September. The alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States during World War II flourished out of necessity, and out of a shared realization that each country needed the other to ensure defeating one of the most destructive and dangerous forces of the twentieth century. Ideological differences were mitigated, be it temporarily, to the common goal of defeating fascism. The need however ended with the World War II and the cooperation over running a divided Germany suffered as a consequence of several differences between the two countries. THE MARSHALL PLAN The Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program) was the USA’s initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States of America gave over $12 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European countries economies after the end of World War II. The plan began in April 8, 1948. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war effected areas, remove trade hindrances, modernize industries, make Europe prosperous and flourish again, and prevent the spread of communism in it. The Marshall Plan required a lessening of interstate barriers, a dropping of numerous regulations, and promoted an increase in productivity, labor union membership, as well as the adoption of modern business mythologies. The Marshall Plan was seen as an extension of the Truman doctrine’s design to aid in creating political and economic buffers to prevent the growth of the Soviet Union. The aid package were deliberately arranged so that they would be rejected by Premier Stalin due to their requirements of multilateral economic conditions which the Premier Stalin had previously frequently and consistently rejected as he considered them to be incompatible with the Soviet Union’s economy. 2 8 ALLIED CONTROL COUNCIL For the reasons of occupation, the Soviet Union, Americans, British and the French divided Germany into four zones. The American, British, and French zones combined made up the Western two thirds of Germany, while the Soviet Union’s zone comprised of the Eastern third. Berlin, the former capital, which was surrounded by the Soviet Union’s zone, was placed under joint four power authority but it was then partitioned into four sectors for administrative and controlling purposes. An Allied Control Council was to practice overall joint authority over the country. However following the London Program of 1948, when the new currency was introduced into Berlin without the Soviet Union’s permit, in anger the USSR boycotted the Allied Control Council and removed itself from it. ROLE OF THE UNITED NATION AND OTHER COUNTRIES The end of the Second World War saw the establishment of the United Nations (this was the body replacing the League of Nations which dissolved 20 April 1946) as a global body to maintain peace in the region and be a mediator between different countries especially in times of conflict. Following the introduction of the London Program, the conditions of the relations of the USA and the USSR deteriorate which seeing the momentum of the problem would call upon the United Nations to step in. This would however also put the United Nations in a very tough position to come up with a solution considering that both the major powers involved in the potential will both be permanent members of the United Nations. It can however use its position to firstly diplomatically pressure any involved party into not taking up arms and negotiating and can also protect the West Berlin using its own abilities considering the compromised position of Berlin in the conflict that will most probably follow the London Program. UNITED KINGDOM The end of the Second World War (1939-1945) brought massive change. There had been a genuine dissatisfaction with the Conservative government before the war and the voters were determined to being a change. The 1945 General Election swept Churchill from his rule and brought in a Labour Party led by Clement Attlee. United Kingdom was exhausted and virtually bankrupt from the prosecution of the war. Without the massive injection of American war materials and food through the Lease Lend Act it is questionable whether the United Kingdom would have been able to go on. In 1945 all this stopped in the worse way. Food shipments on the high seas were stopped and turned round. The United States immediately demanded payment for goods and food supplied. With a damaged infrastructure and an industry geared to war materials the United Kingdom could only go on with profound loans from the United States. The United Kingdom was also one of the three 2 9 members of the London Program and was equally threatened by the growing influence of communism on Germany. FRANCE At the end of the Second World War France though a victor, bore the scars of defeat and occupation, and was confronted by serious political and economic problems. A provisional government, headed by General Charles de Gaulle, had been set up in August 1944, and this held power until a new constitution announcing the Fourth Republic was made in December 1946. Under this constitution, the National Assembly was strengthened at the expense of the presidency, the empire was renamed the French Union. Daunted by the Soviet threat at home, France was the third member of the London Program. POLAND Soviet powers removed the Germans from Poland amid 1944-1945. The Western Allies pulled back their acknowledgment of the Polish Government in Exile and rather perceived the socialist overwhelmed "Lublin" government established by the Soviet Union in 1945. The principal post war parliamentary decisions were held in 1947 yet had been so painstakingly orchestrated that they viably finished multi party legislative issues. Soviet style political, monetary, and social hypotheses were then an imminent part of Polish life. The problems of 1948 saw Poland under the influence of the Soviet Union. CZECHOSLOVAKIA Czechoslovakia came out of the second World War under the influence of the Soviet Union, this was mostly due to the fact that the Red Army liberated Prague, its capital in May’ 1945. The communist party of the country took control of the government in 1948, this was followed by purging of several politicians, until Soviet advisors stepped in and re-equipped the army with weaponry. This was perhaps one of the key motivations for the London program to be presented in the first place, the Western powers been intimidated and threatened by the control of the Soviet Union on parts of Europe. NORWAY Lack of bias and the British certification had both neglected to shield Norway from German hostility in 1940, bringing about years of occupation; in certainty numerous German fighters were still in Norway. From 8 May 1945 Norwegian Resistance troops started to assume control from the Germans and were helped with this by British and Swedish warriors. The banished government and government returned, King Haakon cruising into Oslo on 7 June 1945. In the prompt post-war years Norway kept up a position of safety in remote arrangement. The nation would have liked to stay outside the power squares and likely regions of contention. Norway put extraordinary trust in the United Nations and in actuality the UN's first Secretary General, Trygve Lie was a Norwegian. 3 0 Worldwide governmental issues kept this and as strain between the East and the West developed Norway was compelled to come immovably down in the western military camp. Albeit moderately unscathed, Norway still profit by the American Marshall Program. ALBANIA In November 1944 German possessing powers pulled back from the nation. They had gone under expanding weight from the Communist guerrillas under Enver Hoxha yet the essential reason was the Soviet push into the Balkans which debilitated to remove their line of withdraw into Austria and parts of Hungary. Toward the end of 1944, amid the resulting power vacuum, Hoxha seized power and after two years the nation was pronounced the People's Republic of Albania. Hoxha was a slavish supporter of Premier Stalin and immediately followed the Soviet leader's tactics in producing a totalitarian communist state. In August 1944 Bulgaria singularly pulled back from the war and requested German troops to leave Bulgaria. In the meantime Bulgarian troops pulled back from Greece and Yugoslavia. In September Bulgaria announced war on Germany, yet this did not keep the Soviet Union proclaiming war on Bulgaria. On 16 September 1944 Soviet troops possessed the capital Sofia. In September 1946 the government was nullified and the Communists moved to assume control. Vasil Kolarov got to be President and Dimitrov got to be Prime Minister. The guaranteed free decisions in 1946 were fixed and boycotted by the restriction parties. In June 1947 the Agrarian Party pioneer Nikola Petkv was captured and afterward executed. By the harvest time of that year the Communist administration was solidly introduced in Bulgaria and the sum total of what resistance had been squashed. ROMANIA BULGARIA By 1944 it was evident to the Bulgarians that the Germans were losing the war and the legislature searched for an exit from their organization together with Germany. Endeavors were made to start arrangements with the Western Allies. However the genuine politic was that the Soviet armed force was quickly progressing on the outskirts of Bulgaria and any peace negotiation with the Allies would need to be made on the Soviet Union’s terms. Amid the Second World War Romania aligned itself with the Germans. However as Soviet powers progressed into the nation in August 1944 an upset removed the rightist pioneer Antonescu and Romania changed sides. It endured extra misfortunes while battling nearby the Soviet strengths. Soviet occupation taking after the end of the Second World War. Taking after the example set up in other eastern alliance countries restriction pioneers were captured or banished and by 1947 a Communist People's Republic had been announced. 3 1 TURKEY Toward the end of the Second World War the Soviet Union started to apply weight in the Balkans and the Middle East trying to access the Mediterranean. Turkey specifically was imperative to the Soviets, controlling as it did the Dardenelles, the ocean path between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. In 1947 the Truman Doctrine reported US help and potential military backing for the nations here; bringing them under the Western range of prominence. 3 2