Hi, I am Mr. Williams, and I'm gonna be your history teacher today.

This lesson is part of a series about the origins of the Cold War, and in today's lesson, we are going to be examining the causes of tension between the USA and the USSR by 1945.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today, so let's get started.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain why there were tensions and disagreements between the USA and the USSR at the end of the Second World War.

There are five keywords essential to understanding our lesson today.

They are Cold War, a period between 1945 and 1991 of intense rivalry intention between the USA and the USSR.

USSR, a collection of states known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; also known as the Soviet Union, Ideologies, a set of beliefs or ideas.

Communist, relating to a system of government where all property is owned by the state, and resources are shared equally.

And capitalist, relating to an economic system where businesses and resources are owned privately for profit.

Our lesson today is going to be split into three parts.

In this first part, we're going to be exploring the rising tensions between the USA, Britain, and the USSR at the end of the Second World War.

Before we start, it's important that we understand what is meant by the term, the Cold War.

The Cold War was a period of intense rivalry in tension between the USA and the USSR from about 1945 until about 1991.

It is characterised by political, economic, and military competition, and unlike in a hot war, there was no direct armed conflict between the USA and the USSR.

To defeat Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the USA Britain and the USSR formed an alliance known as the Grand Alliance.

When it became clear that Nazi Germany would be defeated, tensions and rivalries between members of the Grand Alliance increased, and gradually escalated into the Cold War.

One reason for the increase in tension was due to their very different ideologies.

Britain and the USA were catalyst countries, whereas the USSR was a communist country.

In addition, Britain and the USA were also both democracies, whereas, the USSR was a dictatorship.

These very different ideologies meant that it was almost impossible for the leaders of these countries to agree on important decisions about what should happen when the war ended.

Let's take a moment now to review the table on the screen that summarises the difference between communist countries and capitalist countries.

Let's start with politics.

In a communist country, only one political party has all the power, the Communist Party.

People are unable to change their government.

In capitalist countries, there are many political parties, and people can decide which political party has power by voting in democratic elections.

Let's look now at the economy.

In a communist country, there is no private ownership.

Major industries and resources are owned by the government to ensure that there is an equal distribution of wealth.

Whereas in capitalist countries, individuals and private companies own most businesses and resources, and they compete to make profit.

There is a big difference between the rich and the poor in capitalist countries.

Let's look, finally, at rights.

In communist countries, the rights of all workers are considered to be more important than individual rights.

Whereas in capitalist countries, there is a greater emphasis on the rights of the individual.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

On the screen, there is a question which says, "Which countries were members of the Grand Alliance?" Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that the correct answer was Britain, the USA, and the USSR.

Let's move on and let's check your understanding with this question.

Which member of the Grand Alliance was a communist country? Was it Britain, the USA, or the USSR? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said the correct answer was the USSR.

Let's do one more activity to check your understanding.

On the screen is a statement that says, "Tensions between members of the Grand Alliance decreased as it became clear Germany would be defeated." Is this statement true or false? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that the statement was false, tensions increased.

But we need to be able to justify our answer, so we're gonna look at two statements on the screen now.

Statement A says, "Tensions increased as Britain, the USA, and the USSR had different ideas about what should happen when the war ended." And statement B says, "Tensions increased as Britain and the USSR were concerned that the USA wanted to spread communism in Europe." Which of these statements, A or B, provides the correct justification for why the original statement was false? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that it was statement A, tensions increased between Britain, the USA, and the USSR, because they couldn't agree about what should happen when the war ended.

On the screen is a photo of the so-called Big Three.

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin were the leaders of the USA, Britain, and the USSR when the Grand Alliance was formed.

They are often known as the Big Three, because they played such a dominant role in world politics until Roosevelt's death in 1945.

Despite uniting to defeat Nazi Germany, they were suspicious of one another, and this increased as the end of the war grew closer.

Stalin knew that the USA and Britain would not take any action that would lead to the USSR becoming stronger, and he wanted control of Eastern Europe to provide protection against possible future invasion.

Roosevelt and Churchill's concerns about the spread of communism were fueled by Stalin's actions in Eastern Europe.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

Who were the Big Three? Discuss this question with a partner to develop a detailed answer.

Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to see a model answer.

Okay, your answer could have included, the Big Three were the leaders of the USA, Britain, and the USSR when the Grand Alliance was formed.

They were: Roosevelt, leader of the USA, Churchill, leader of Britain, and Stalin, leader of the USSR.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's spend a little bit of time now looking at each of the Big Three in a bit more detail.

We'll start with Franklin D.

Roosevelt.

He was president of the USA between 1933 and 1945.

A strong believer in democracy.

He compromised to form an alliance with Stalin against Nazi Germany.

Roosevelt believed that the USA would need the support of the USSR to defeat Japan.

And he also believed that friendly US-Soviet relations were essential for peace.

Churchill was the British Prime Minister between 1940 and 1945, and then again between 1951 and 1955.

He was determined to stop the spread of communism throughout Europe.

He believed strongly in the British Empire, and clashed with Roosevelt who believed that colonies should be able to rule themselves.

Finally, we have Joseph Stalin, who is leader of the USSR from the 1920s until he died in 1953.

He was a very authoritarian ruler, and he believed that the capitalist democracies of the West wanted to destroy USSR.

He was convinced that the USSR would only be safe if the countries on its western border were communist, too.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

Why did Stalin want control of Eastern Europe? Take a moment now to explain your ideas to a partner.

Pause the video, and press play when you're ready to check your answer against a model answer.

Okay, well done for your work on that question.

Your answer could include Stalin wanted control of Eastern Europe, because he believed that this would protect the USSR against any possible future invasion.

Well done if your answer is similar to the one on the screen.

Let's do another task to check your understanding.

The statement on the screen says, "Churchill and Roosevelt supported the spread of communist ideology." Is this true or false? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that was false, but we need to be able to justify our answers.

On the screen now are two statements.

Statement A says, "Churchill and Roosevelt were concerned about the spread of communism, 'cause of Stalin's actions in Western Europe." And statement B says, "Churchill and Roosevelt were concerned about the spread of communism, because of Stalin's actions in Eastern Europe." Which of these statements provides the best justification for why our original statement was false? Is it A, or is it B? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said the correct answer was statement B, both Churchill and Roosevelt were concerned about Stalin and the USSR spreading communism in Eastern Europe.

We're ready now for the first practise task of this lesson.

On the screen, it says, "Explain how a difference in ideologies led to an increase in tension between the members of the Grand Alliance when it was clear Germany would be defeated." You should answer in one paragraph, and try to include the following words: ideologies, communist, and capitalist.

Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to review your answer against a model answer.

Okay, fantastic effort there on that first practise task.

So you were asked to explain how a difference in ideologies led to an increased in tension between the members of the Grand Alliance when it was clear Germany would be defeated.

Your answer could have included, one reason there was an increase in tension is because the members of the Grand Alliance believed in different ideologies.

Britain and the USA were capitalist countries, whereas the USSR was a communist country.

This meant they found it difficult to agree on what should happen when Germany was defeated.

Very well done if your answer looked similar to the one on the screen.

We're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson now, where we'll be learning about what happened at the Tehran and Yalta conferences.

Before we look at the Tehran and Yalta conferences in detail, this timeline provides a useful overview of the three conferences that took place between the Big Three.

The Tehran and Yalta conferences happened before Nazi Germany surrendered, whereas the Potsdam conference took place after the surrender of Nazi Germany.

We're going to focus on the Tehran and Yalta conferences now, and then we'll look at the Potsdam Conference in more detail during the third and final part of our lesson.

Since being invaded by Germany in 1941, the USSR had suffered huge losses, and Stalin believed that the USA and Britain were delaying their attack on Germany to weaken the USSR.

In 1943, Roosevelt therefore convened the Tehran Conference to improve relations to agree a strategy to end the war, and to start to plan for peace time.

The main agreements made at the Tehran Conference were as follows.

Firstly, the USA and Britain would attack Germany in Western Europe by invading Nazi occupied France in May, 1944.

Secondly, the USSR would support the USA in their fight against Japan once Germany was defeated.

Thirdly, Poland would receive land from Germany, but the USSR could keep land its taken from Poland in 1939.

This was extremely important to Stalin, because he believed it would help keep the western border of the USSR safe from future attacks.

And finally, the Big Three agreed that an international organisation would be set up to help settle future international disputes.

The Tehran Conference was the success for Stalin who secured most of what he wanted.

This was partly because Roosevelt was unwell throughout the conference.

Roosevelt also sided with Stalin against Churchill at key points.

For example, Churchill wanted to stop the USSR from controlling all of Eastern Europe by attacking Germany through the Balkans region, instead of France, but his plan was rejected.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

The question on the screen asks, "Why did Stalin believe that Britain and the USA were delaying their attack on Germany?" Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done for your work on that question.

You were asked, "Why does Stalin believe that Britain and the USA were delaying their attack on Germany?" And your answer could have included, Stalin believed that Britain and the USA were delaying their attack on Germany, so that the USSR would be weakened by having to do most of the fighting.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's do another quick task to check your understanding.

As a result of the Tehran Conference, where and when did Britain and the USA agree to attack Germany? Was it A, in May, 1943 through the Balkans? B, in May, 1944, through the Balkans? C, in May, 1943 through France? Or D, in May, 1944 through France.

Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that it was D, Britain and France agreed to attack Nazi Germany in May, 1944 through France.

Okay, let's do another quick check for understanding.

The statement on the screen says, "During the Tehran Conference, Roosevelt and Churchill always sided together against Stalin." Is this true or false? Pause the video now, press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that the correct answer was false, but as ever, we need to be able to justify our answer.

On the screen, therefore, there's two statements.

Statement A says, "Churchill sided with Stalin, and rejected Roosevelt's plan to attack Germany through the Balkans." Statement B says, "Roosevelt sided with Stalin, and rejected Churchill's plan to attack Germany through the Balkans." Which of these statements, A or B, provides the best justification for why the original statement is false? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that the correct answer was statement B, Roosevelt sided with Stalin, and rejected Churchill's plan to attack Germany through the Balkans.

Let's take a look now at what happened at the Yalta Conference.

By the time Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill next met at Yalta, Germany was on the edge of defeat.

The Soviets had forced the German army out of the USSR, and they were now in control of much of Eastern Europe.

The focus at the Yalta Conference was to decide what would happen to Germany and to Europe once victory had been achieved.

The Big Three agreed that the USSR would join the war against Japan three months after Germany was defeated.

They agreed that Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones with each controlled by a separate power, the USA, the USSR, Britain, and France.

They agreed that countries that had been liberated from the Germans would be allowed free elections to choose the governments they wanted, and they agreed that the United Nations would be established to help ensure peace in the future.

Although some important agreements were made at Yalta, the Big Three disagreed about German reparations, compensation that Germany would be forced to pay, with Stalin arguing for a much larger amount than Roosevelt and Churchill.

The Big Three also disagreed about Poland.

Stalin wanted a communist government in Poland, so that the country would be friendly to the USSR, and help to protect the USSR if it was ever again invaded from the West.

Roosevelt and Churchill believed that a communist government in Poland would mean that the country was controlled by the USSR, and they persuaded Stalin to agree to free elections.

Okay, let's check your understanding now.

So going back to the Tehran Conference, there's a statement on the screen that says, "At Tehran, it was agreed that the USSR would have to return all land it had taken from Poland." Is this statement true or false? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that that statement was false, but let's see now if we can justify this answer.

There's two statements on the screen.

Statement A says, "The USSR would be allowed to keep the land it had taken from Poland in 1939." And statement B says, "The USSR would be allowed to keep the land it had taken from Poland in 1939, and to take over the rest of Poland." Which of these statements provides the best justification for why our original statement was false? Is it A or B? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that the correct answer was statement A, at Tehran, it was agreed that the USSR would be allowed to keep the land it had taken from Poland in 1939.

Let's do another quick activity to check your understanding.

Why did Stalin want there to be a communist government in Poland? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer, and compare what you've written to our model answer.

Okay, so you were asked why did Stalin want there to be a communist government in Poland? And your answer could include, Stalin wanted there to be a communist government in Poland, so that the country would be friendly to the USSR, and help to protect the USSR if it was ever again invaded from the west.

Well done if you wrote something similar to that.

Okay, you are now ready for the second practise task of this lesson.

It's split into two parts.

In this first part, you need to read the information on the screen summarising the agreements that were made at Tehran and Yalta.

You then need to sort it into the table summarising the agreements.

Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to compare your table to a completed version.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that task.

You are asked to sort information into a table summarising the agreements that were made at Tehran and Yalta.

Your completed table should look like this.

At the Tehran Conference, this is what was agreed.

The USA and Britain would attack Germany in May, 1944.

The USSR would support the USA in the war against Japan.

The USSR could keep the land as had taken from Poland in 1939.

And an international organisation would be set up to keep the peace.

At the Yalta Conference, it was agreed that Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones.

Countries liberated from the Germans would be allowed to choose their own governments through free elections.

The USSR would attack Japan three months after Germany was defeated.

And the United Nations would be established to keep the peace.

Well done if you completed that table successfully.

Let's move on to the second part of our practise task.

Okay, in this second part of the practise task, you are asked, what were the main areas of disagreement at the Yalta Conference? And I want you to write one paragraph for your answer.

Pause the video now, press play when you're ready to compare your paragraph to a model paragraph.

Okay, great effort on that question.

Your answer might have included something like this.

One of the main areas of disagreement at the Yalta Conference was regarding reparations.

The USSR wanted Germany to pay a much higher amount of reparations than Britain and the USA.

Another of the main disagreements was about Poland.

Stalin wanted to ensure that the government of Poland was communist, so it helped protect the USSR from future invasion.

Britain and the USA were concerned that this would mean the country's communist government would be controlled by the USSR, and so they argued in favour of free elections.

Really well done if your paragraph looks something like the one on the screen.

We are now ready to move on to the third and final part of today's lesson.

And in this final part of the lesson, we're going to explore what was agreed at the Potsdam Conference, and why it led to an increased in tension between the USA and the USSR.

Just a reminder that the Potsdam Conference happened after the Germans had surrendered in May, 1945.

Germany surrendered in May, 1945, and the Potsdam Conference took place in July when the USSR was in control of most of Eastern Europe.

After liberating countries from German occupation, the USSR did not remove its military presence.

In this way, the USSR was able to set up a communist government in Poland, ignoring the wishes of most polls, and the commitments that Stalin had made at Yalta.

Roosevelt died in April, 1945, and was replaced as US President by Harry S.

Truman.

Then while the conference was in progress, the conservative party lost the British general election, and Churchill was replaced as Prime Minister by the labour leader, Clement Attlee.

Truman and Attlee lacked diplomatic experience, and found it much more difficult to get their way with Stalin.

Moreover, Truman was deeply suspicious of Stalin, and determined to take a tough approach.

The day after the conference began, Truman announced that the USA had successfully developed the world's first atomic bomb.

Stalin was furious and believed that the USA was attempting to intimidate the USSR with this powerful new weapon.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

Who were the leaders of the USA, Britain, and the USSR by the end of the Potsdam Conference? Was it A, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin? B, Truman, Churchill, and Stalin? Or C, Truman, Attlee, and Stalin? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you said that the correct answer was C, Truman, Attlee, and Stalin.

Okay, let's do another quick check of your understanding.

The question on the screen asks, "What had changed between the Yalta Conference in February, 1945 and the Potsdam Conference in July, 1945?" How many things can you think of? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, great effort on that last question.

Your answer could have included the following.

A lot changed between the Yalta and Potsdam.

For example, Truman replaced Roosevelt as US President in April, 1945.

Germany had surrendered in May, 1945.

The USSR was in control of most of Eastern Europe.

And Stalin had broken his promise to allow free elections in Poland.

Very well done if you got any of those.

At Potsdam, despite rising tension, it was agreed that Germany would be divided into four zones.

As had previously been agreed in principle at Yalta, the Soviet zone would be in East Germany, and the American, British, and French zones would be in West Germany.

Berlin would also be divided into four zones, even though it was inside the Soviet controlled zone of Germany.

It was also agreed that democracy would be reestablished in Germany, and governments would be chosen through free elections.

Finally, Germany would pay reparations in the form of equipment and materials.

Most of this would be paid to the USSR as they had suffered the most losses during the war.

It was agreed that the USSR would be given 25% of industrial goods made in the Western occupied zones in return for food and coal from the Soviet zone.

The victorious powers differed in their views about free elections.

Truman wanted free elections in all the countries of Eastern Europe occupied by Soviet troops, but Stalin refused to bow to American pressure.

Truman was furious, and resolved to pursue a tougher policy against the USSR.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

There are statements on the screen about what was agreed at the Potsdam Conference, and they're all incorrect.

I want you to identify and correct the mistakes.

Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answers.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that task.

So the corrected statement should read as follows.

Number one, Germany and Berlin would be split into four zones.

Number two, Germany would become a democracy again with free elections.

And finally, Germany would pay reparations in the form of equipment and materials, and most of this would go to the USSR.

Very well done if you identified and corrected all of those mistakes.

Let's have another quick check of your understanding with this activity.

What was the main area of disagreement between the USA and the USSR at the Potsdam Conference? Was it how Germany and Berlin should be divided, how reparations should be paid, or where the free election should take place in Eastern Europe? Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to find out the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that the correct answer was C, the main area of disagreement between the USA and the USSR was where the free election should take place in Eastern Europe.

We are now ready for the final practise task of this lesson.

I want you to explain two reasons why tensions between the USA and the USSR increased during the Potsdam Conference.

You should answer in two paragraphs, and you might want to include the following words.

Truman, atomic bomb, Eastern Europe, elections, and Poland.

Pause the video now, and press play when you're ready to compare your two paragraphs against some model paragraphs.

Okay, very well done for your hard work on that last practise task.

You were asked to explain two reasons why tensions between the USA and the USSR increased during the Potsdam Conference.

You might have written something like this.

One reason tensions increase between the USA and the USSR at Potsdam is because of the atomic bomb.

The new American President, Harry S.

Truman was deeply suspicious of Stalin and was determined to take a tough approach.

He announced that the USA had successfully tested the world's first atomic bomb at the start of the conference.

This increased tensions, because Stalin believed that Truman was attempting to intimidate him by sharing news of this powerful new weapon.

For your second paragraph, you might have written something like this.

Another reason tensions increased between the USA and the USSR at Potsdam is because by then, the USSR was in control of most of Eastern Europe.

Stalin belief control of Eastern Europe was essential to protect the USSR from future invasions.

To secure control, Stalin wanted to ensure these countries were communist, and he broke promises he had made at Yalta by setting up a communist government in Poland.

This increased tensions because Truman believed that countries in Eastern Europe should be allowed free elections, and not have communism forced on them.

Very, very well done for all your hard work on that final task, and well done if your paragraphs were similar to the model paragraphs we've just gone through.

We're at the end of our lesson, so it's a really good opportunity for us to review our key learning points.

During World War II, the USA and USSR formed the Grand Alliance with Britain to defeat a common enemy, Nazi Germany.

When it was clear that Germany would be defeated, tensions emerged due to differences in ideology and different priorities.

Despite these tensions, the USA, Britain, and the USSR managed to reach important agreements for the post-war world at the Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam conferences.

By Potsdam, there was a significant increase in tension due to Truman replacing Roosevelt, the continued Soviet occupation of Europe, and the development of the first atomic bomb by the USA.

It's been a real pleasure teaching you today.

I hope you've enjoyed the lesson, and I look forward to teaching you again in the future.