The Anti-Hitler Coalition is a union of states and peoples who fought in the Second World War of 1939-45 against the countries of the Nazi bloc, also called the Axis countries: Germany, Italy, Japan.

During the war years a synonym anti-Hitler coalition became the term "United Nations", proposed by Roosevelt and first found in the Declaration of the United Nations of 1942 (Washington Declaration of Twenty-Six). The influence of the coalition on the military and post-war political situation is enormous; on its basis the United Nations Organization (UN) was created.

Main stages of formation

Soviet-British agreement on joint actions in the war against Germany July 12, 1941 Moscow

Atlantic Charter of the USA and Great Britain on August 14, 1941, to which the USSR joined on September 24, 1941

Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the USSR, England, USA September 29 - October 1, 1941

The beginning of deliveries to the USSR under Lend-Lease from the USA in 1942.

Signing of the Washington Declaration by 26 states (Declaration of the United Nations) on the objectives of the war against fascism on January 1, 1942.

Soviet-American Agreement on the Principles of Mutual Assistance in the Conduct of War against Aggression June 11, 1942 Washington

The conferences of the great powers, held in 1943, were devoted to the coordination of plans of military action and the policies of the allies in relation to the future Europe. The first meeting of the heads of the three great powers - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchell in November - December 43 in Tehran was of particular importance. The conference finally adopted an agreed decision to carry out the landing of Anglo-American troops in Northern France in May 44 and support it with an operation in Southern France. The Soviet delegation did not confirm its agreement to enter the war against Japan after the end of the war in Europe. At the Tehran conference, contradictions emerged between the allies regarding the post-war fate of Germany. The USSR did not support the proposals of Roosevelt and Churchell to divide Germany into several states. The conference did not make any decisions on this issue. Overall, the overall outcome of the Tehran Conference was positive. It strengthened the cooperation of the heads of the powers of the anti-fascist coalition and the coordination of plans for further military actions against Germany and the opening of a second front.

On May 8, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was signed in the Berlin suburb of Karlsharst. The Potsdam Conference (July 17 – August 2, 1945) was dedicated to the post-war world order. I.V. participated in its work. Stalin, G. Truman, W. Churchill. The central question was German. Germany was viewed as a single, democratic, peace-loving state. The main principles of policy towards Germany were demilitarization and democratization. Berlin was subject to occupation by troops of the USSR, USA, and France in the relevant sectors. It was established that the Western border of Poland would pass along the Oder River, thereby returning its ancestral lands to Poland. Koenigsberg and the surrounding areas of eastern Prussia were transferred to the Soviet Union. The first body was created - the Council of Foreign Ministers, consisting of representatives of the USSR, USA, Great Britain, France, China to prepare a peace treaty with Germany's former allies, as well as the International Military Tribunal for the trial of the main fascist war criminals. The main idea of ​​the Potsdam Conference and the agreement of the three powers is partnership and cooperation for peace without war and violence, based on balance legitimate interests– agreement that the victorious powers will never allow a repetition of aggression on the part of Germany or any other state. The unification of Germany in 1990 made it possible for world society to affirm that 1990 marked the end of the post-war world order, which was determined in Yalta and Potsdam. At the Crimean Conference (February 45), agreements were prepared on the conditions of Germany’s surrender, on the zones of occupation and control of “Greater Berlin,” as well as on the control of the Allied forces in Germany.

56. Post-war development of the country 1945-1953. Exacerbation international relations and the beginning of the Cold War. The creation of the socialist camp and the struggle between two systems. The fourth five-year plan for the restoration and development of the USSR economy, its results. Spiritual life of Soviet society.

The history of many states is a kaleidoscope of heroic and tragic, joyful and sad events associated with the life of peoples, the development of the economy and culture, and the struggle for their present and future. Without knowing the country's past, it is difficult to assess the present and assess the future.

One of the formidable tests for the Soviet people was the Great Patriotic War. Attack Hitler's Germany Our country was interrupted by the peaceful creative work of many of the national family of peoples of the USSR - the first socialist state on the planet. The war unleashed by the Nazis became the most brutal and difficult of all wars in the history of our Motherland.

In the fight against the fascist invaders, in restoring the economy destroyed by the enemy, the Soviet Union relied on the economic base created in the years before the war five-year plans. The relocation of industrial enterprises to the east of the country at the beginning of the war was crucial for strengthening military power, economic development of the country, defeating the enemy, and restoring the national economy.

The scale of restoration work was such that our country has not seen in its entire centuries-old history. As a result of military operations, the temporary occupation of part of the territory, the barbarity and atrocities of the German fascists, our state suffered economic and human resource damage unprecedented in history. The Soviet Union lost about 30% of its national wealth and 20 million people. 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages and hamlets were destroyed. In industry alone, fixed assets worth 42 billion rubles were destroyed. The total economic damage caused to our state amounted to 2.6 trillion. rub.

The headline for the success achieved in restoring the country's national economy was the wise policy of the Communist Party - the initiator, inspirer and leader of all the most important state events; the great friendship of the Soviet peoples, their internationalism and mutual assistance.

The result of the selfless labor of the workers, collective farm peasantry and intelligentsia of all the Union republics was the restoration of cities and villages, factories and collective farms - the entire national economy of our country.

With the end of the Great Patriotic War the country returned to peaceful creative work. The state and the entire Soviet people faced the main tasks of the restoration period - to consolidate the victory, restore the national economy in the shortest possible time, achieve a powerful rise in the economy and culture, ensure the well-being and decent standard of living of the Soviet people. These tasks were to be solved by the fourth five-year plan for the restoration and development of the national economy of the USSR for 1946-1950.

The war, having split the world into two warring camps, united it again with a great victory, clearly demonstrating the priority of universal human interests over class ones. The situation in the world and the very climate of international relations have changed. Temporarily, interstate relations between all the leading powers (Germany and Japan were out of the picture for a long time) acquired a partnership-like, even friendly, character. The creation of the United Nations also inspired hopes for peaceful, harmonious development. For the first time, the USSR became not only a full member of the world community, but also one of its recognized leaders. For tens and hundreds of millions of people, for the first time in many years, the image of an external enemy disappeared. A colossal contribution to the victory Soviet Union caused a surge of sympathy in the West, made people forget about dispossession and the “Great Terror.” Thanks to the selfless fight against fascism and the dissolution of the Comintern (in 11943), the authority of the Communist parties in the West sharply increased (from 1939 to 1946 their numbers increased 2.9 times). They were no longer considered as subversive organizations of the Kremlin, and in some countries they were close to coming to power.

The results of the Second World War opened up the possibility of a democratic renewal of the world, the collapse of despotic regimes, and broad interstate dialogue. But the then political leaders of the leading world powers failed to use this historic chance. With the disappearance of the common enemy, the camp of the winners began to split, and gradually relations between the former allies - the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - began to evolve from cooperation to confrontation. The fight against fascism was replaced by a global confrontation between the socialist and capitalist systems, East and West, which was main feature and the stable trend of post-war world development. The split in the world, which began in 1917, continued to deepen, acquiring a new, bipolar character with the presence of two centers of power - the USSR and the USA.

One of the first manifestations of the Cold War was the election speech (to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR) by I.V. Stalin (February 1946), which spoke about the inevitability of imperialist wars and the growing power of the Red Army, accused the West of aggressive policies. Shortly after the end of World War II, a memorandum was drawn up in the United States on the selection of the 20 most important targets on the territory of the USSR for their (possible) atomic bombing.

One of the most difficult tasks of the post-war five-year plan was the restoration and further development agriculture. It was complicated by the fact that in 1946 the country was struck by a severe drought that affected Ukraine, Moldova, the right bank regions of the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus, and the central black earth regions.

The totalitarian-bureaucratic system in the late 40s - early 50s became more strengthened and finally took shape. As the enthusiasm characteristic of some urban strata faded in the 1930s, the features of a bureaucratic regime with almost absolute control of the party-state apparatus, and Stalin personally, over the bodies, souls and thoughts of citizens became increasingly visible. The cult of Stalin has reached its apogee. Stalin finally turned into a living deity, demanding universal worship. The political atmosphere of the last years of Stalin's life did not allow raising questions about the country's entry into the path of reform.

The struggle for power after the death of I.V. Stalin. N.S. Khrushchev, his domestic and foreign policy. XX Congress of the CPSU. Liberalization of the socio-political system. The contradictory nature of N.S.’s personality Khrushchev and his political course.

The period of “interregnum” was covered by historiography for many years, as if in passing, and was reduced exclusively to personnel changes. However, it was in the spring and summer of 1953 that the struggle for power at the top was most fierce and was closely linked to the determination of the country's development strategy. All members of the political leadership understood the need for change. But everyone determined the priorities and depth of the inevitable changes in their own way. In general, the directions of the upcoming changes were determined by the “pain points” of social development. Of central importance was the reform of the repressive system and punitive bodies, breaking the deadlock in the agricultural sector, and adjusting the foreign policy course.

XX Congress of the CPSU

The convening of the congress was caused by the need to take stock of the changes in the life of the country after Stalin's death and determine a new course.

The report of the Central Committee, presented to the congress by N. S. Khrushchev, confirmed the change in political course, the break with Stalinist traditions, carried out over the previous three years both in the field of international relations and in domestic policy, social and economic.

Khrushchev emphasized the importance of international detente, saying that a clash of blocs was not a historical inevitability and that peaceful coexistence should become the general line foreign policy USSR. In his opinion, thanks to the new balance of forces in the world, favorable for socialism, the conquest of power in “bourgeois countries” could henceforth occur through constitutional means.

Turning to the economy, the speaker outlined the main directions of the Sixth Five-Year Plan. Special attention paid attention to the plan agriculture, the situation in which remained difficult, the production of consumer goods at a faster pace than the means of production, as well as housing construction.

In ideological and political terms, N. S. Khrushchev’s report was quite cautious. The First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee limited himself to a brief mention of the crimes committed by the “Beria clique” and a few critical remarks addressed to V.M. Molotova, G.M. Malenkova and I.V. Stalin. Restore and streamline the Leninist principle of collective leadership - this was the political leitmotif of most speeches at the congress.

February 24 N.A. Bulganin, as head of government, presented an economic report, and then N. S. Khrushchev informed the Soviet delegates that in the evening, after the official closing of the congress, they must appear at a closed meeting, where foreign participants would not be admitted.

Khrushchev's liberalization in social and economic life did not end. One of the reasons is the old type of political thinking of N. Khrushchev and his associates. They were firmly convinced of the advantages of the socialist system and its foundations, such as the monopoly position of state property in the economy and the Communist Party in politics. Therefore, even timid, inconsistent measures to reform state socialism caused alarm. The reforms were actively opposed by the party apparatus, whose power wavered with the introduction of a system of rotation of party personnel. They were joined by the central state apparatus, whose influence noticeably weakened with the abolition of line ministries. But the most important thing was that the reforms of the late 50s - early 60s. were carried out in the absence of actual democracy in society and the development of democratization processes.

The first decade after Stalin's death was marked by significant changes in spiritual life. These years are considered to be the beginning<оттепели>(in the figurative expression of I. Ehrenburg), which came after the long Stalinist winter. The process of re-conservation of society began - the Soviet Union became more and more open to the world, cultural international contacts became more frequent. In 1957 The International Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow.

In September 1953, Khrushchev was elected 1st Secretary of the Central Committee.

N.S. Khrushchev is an extraordinary personality who has gone down in history as the most controversial reformer politician.

During the Khrushchev “thaw”, a serious attempt was made to modernize the totalitarian system. We restored justice to millions of innocently repressed people. N.S. Khrushchev set the impetus for the development of political processes by taking the path of liberalization.

This liberalization was reflected in the flourishing of literature and the arts. The famous Soviet writer I. Ehrenburg called this period the “thaw” that came after the long and harsh Stalinist winter. People then seemed to wake up from hibernation, opened their eyes, straightened their shoulders. And poems and songs began to sound, in which painful reflections on the past and bright dreams of the future began to sound. In the development of culture in the late 50s - 60s. contradictory trends emerged. The general approach to the cultural environment was distinguished by the previous desire to place it at the service of the administrative-command ideology. But the process of renewal itself could not but cause a revival of cultural life.

However, the use of the old political and economic mechanisms during the reforms predetermined their failure. Khrushchev's course was characterized by the absolutization of organizational factors, the solution of economic problems by administrative and political methods. After the failures of the controversial, transformative activities of N.S. Khrushchev, a syndrome of fatigue and a desire for sustainable forms of social and personal life arose in society. Public economy has not reached the level developed socialism, because all the reforms of the 50-60s. were contradictory. The economic situation as a whole was not favorable, the rate of economic growth was declining, the unity of approaches to solving scientific and technical problems was disrupted, grain purchases began abroad, and the alienation of workers from the means of production and the results of labor was not overcome. After rising food prices, purchasing grain from the USA and introducing the rationing system, Khrushchev was doomed.

In October 1964, the Plenum of the Central Committee relieved Khrushchev of his post. The decisive role in the displacement of N.S. Khrushchev was played by the party and state bureaucracy.

Meetings of leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition

The leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition met several times during the Second World War. But the peaks of diplomatic interaction were the meetings in Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam, when decisions were made that radically changed the situation in the war.
The leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain finally managed to overcome mutual mistrust and reach an agreement. Thus, the principles of the post-war structure were laid.

Tehran Conference

The first conference took place in Tehran (1943). The meeting was attended by the leader of the USSR I.V. Stalin, American President F. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill. The main issue for discussion was the problem of opening a second front. Stalin insisted on the speedy introduction of the Allied army into the territory of Western Europe; he openly asked: “Will the USA and England help us in the war?” And although Great Britain’s position was to try to drag out a second front, the leaders managed to come to an agreement. A specific date for the landing of American-British troops was set for May - June 1944.
In addition, questions were discussed about the fate of Germany, the post-war world order, the Soviet Union's declaration of war against fascist Japan, and the creation of the United Nations.

Yalta Conference

At the Crimean Conference (February 1945), which took place in Yalta, the main problems were the issues of the structure of Germany and the whole world after the war. The leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition decided on the basic principles of governing Greater Berlin and on the appointment of reparations from Germany to compensate for the damage caused.
The historical merit of the conference was the decision to create the United Nations (UN), an international institution with the aim of preserving peace.
The adopted Declaration of a Liberated Europe proclaimed that all development issues in Europe after the war should be resolved by the USSR, USA and Great Britain in concert.
The USSR confirmed its promise to start a war with Japan no later than three months after the victory over Germany.

Potsdam Conference

The Berlin (Potsdam) Conference in July–August 1945 showed serious differences in the positions of the winning countries. If the first meetings took place in a fairly friendly atmosphere of cooperation, the conference in Berlin reflected a negative attitude towards the USSR, primarily on the part of Prime Minister W. Churchill, and subsequently C. Attlee, who replaced him in office, as well as the new US President G. Truman.
The German question took center stage in the discussion. Germany remained as a single state, but measures were taken to demilitarize it and eliminate the fascist regime (the so-called denazification). To carry out these tasks, troops of the victorious countries were brought into Germany without limiting the duration of their stay. The issue of reparations from Germany in favor of the USSR as the most affected country was resolved. New borders were established in Europe. The pre-war borders of the USSR were restored, and the territory of Poland expanded at the expense of German lands.

In general, the meetings of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in Tehran, Yalta and Berlin went down in history as major international events. The decisions adopted at the conferences helped in mobilizing forces to defeat fascism in Germany and militaristic Japan. The decisions of these conferences determined the further democratic structure of the world after the war.

Understanding the danger of fascist enslavement pushed aside traditional contradictions and prompted the leading politicians of the time to join forces in the fight against fascism. Immediately after the start of the aggression, the governments of England and the United States issued statements of support for the USSR. W. Churchill made a speech in which he guaranteed support for the USSR by the government and people of Great Britain. A US government statement on June 23, 1941 stated that fascism was the main danger to the American continent.

The formation of the anti-Hitler coalition was the beginning of negotiations between the USSR, Great Britain and the USA. which ended with the signing of a Soviet-British cooperation agreement on July 12, 1941. The agreement formed two basic principles of the coalition: assistance and support of all kinds in the war against Germany, as well as the refusal to negotiate or conclude an armistice and a separate peace.

On August 16, 1941, an economic agreement on trade and credit was concluded. The allies of the USSR pledged to supply our country with weapons and food (supplies under Lend-Lease). Together, pressure was put on Turkey and Afghanistan to achieve neutrality from these countries. Iran was occupied.

One of the main steps in creating the anti-Hitler coalition was the signing on January 1, 1942 (at the initiative of the United States), of the United Nations Declaration on the Struggle against the Aggressor.

The agreement was based on the Atlantic Charter. The declaration was supported by 20 countries.

The main problem of the anti-Hitler coalition was disagreement between the allies about the timing of the opening of a second front. This issue was first discussed during Molotov's visit to London and Washington. However, the Allies limited themselves to fighting in North Africa and landing troops in Sicily. This issue was finally resolved during a meeting of the heads of the Allied powers in Tehran in November-December 1943.

In the agreement between Stalin, US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill, the deadline for opening a second front was determined, and the problems of the post-war development of Europe were also discussed.

One of the most important stages The Crimean Conference of Heads of Allied States, which took place in Yalta in February 1945, helped strengthen the anti-Hitler coalition.

Before the start of this conference, on the orders of Stalin, a powerful offensive was launched on the fronts.

Using this factor and playing on the contradictions between the allies, Stalin managed to achieve confirmation of Poland’s borders along the “Curzon Line” and a decision to transfer East Prussia and Koenigsberg to the USSR.

A decision was made to completely disarm Germany and the size of reparations was determined. The Allies decided to take control of Germany's military industry and banned the Nazi Party.

Germany was divided into four occupation zones between the USA, USSR, England and France. At the conference, a secret agreement was adopted, according to which the USSR pledged to declare war on Japan.

On July 17, 1945, a conference of heads of state of the anti-Hitler coalition took place in Potsdam. Issues of the post-war structure were being resolved. The USSR delegation was headed by Stalin, the British delegation by Churchill, and the American delegation by Truman.

The USSR demanded an increase in reparations and the transfer of Poland's borders along the Oder-Neisse line, to which it received consent. The conference participants decided to bring Nazi criminals to the International Court.

Fulfilling its allied obligations, on August 8, 1945, the USSR denounced the neutrality treaty with Japan and declared war on it.

The Tehran Conference and its decisions were of great international significance. The principles of cooperation between the great powers of the anti-Hitler coalition, aimed at the victorious, early completion of the Second World War and the establishment of lasting peace. The declaration signed by the leaders of the three allied powers emphasized that the USSR, the USA and England “will work together both during the war and in subsequent peacetime.”

The results of the Tehran conference were highly appreciated by its participants. President Roosevelt viewed the meeting in Tehran "as an important milestone in the progress of mankind." December 4, 1943 he wrote to J.V. Stalin that he considered the conference “very successful” and expressed confidence that it was “a historical event confirming not only our ability to wage war together, but also to work for the cause of the coming world in complete harmony.”

December 6, 1943 the head of the Soviet government replied that after the conference “there is confidence that our peoples will act together in harmony both now and after the end of the war.”

This meeting also had a positive impact on inter-allied relations, strengthening trust and mutual understanding between the leading powers of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The second front was opened on June 6, 1944. The landing of expeditionary forces began in northern France, in Normandy. They did not encounter significant enemy resistance. By the end of June, 875 thousand allied troops were concentrated in Normandy; They captured a bridgehead about 100 km along the front and 50 km in depth, and in August captured almost all of northwestern France. On August 15, 1944, American and French troops landed in the south of France and launched a successful offensive to the north.

As a result of the opening of the second front, this extremely painful issue, which for three long years had seriously complicated relations between the USSR, England and the USA, was finally removed from the agenda.

The Rome Conference of the leaders of the USA, USSR and Great Britain was of great historical significance. It was one of the largest international meetings of wartime, an important milestone in the cooperation of the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition in waging war against a common enemy. Adoption of agreed decisions at the conference on important issues again showed the possibility international cooperation states with different social systems.

The bipolar world created in Yalta and the rigid division of Europe into East and West survived for half a century, until the 1990s, which indicates the stability of this system.

The Yalta system collapsed only with the fall of one of the centers that ensured the balance of power. In just two or three years at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, the “East” that personified the USSR disappeared from the world map. Since then, the boundaries of spheres of influence in Europe have been determined only by the current balance of power. At the same time, most of Central and Eastern Europe quite calmly survived the disappearance of the previous demarcation lines, and Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Baltic countries were even able to integrate into the new picture of the world in Europe.

The conference, which was attended by I. Stalin (USSR), F. Roosevelt (USA), W. Churchill (Great Britain), began its work at a time when, thanks to the powerful attacks of the Red Army on the Eastern Front and the active actions of the Anglo-American troops in western Europe, the Second World War entered its final stage. This explained the agenda of the conference - the post-war structure of Germany and other states that took part in the war, the creation international system collective security, which would prevent the emergence of global military conflicts in the future.

The conference adopted a number of documents that determined the development of international relations for many years.

It was stated, in particular, that the goal of the conference participants was “to disarm and disband all German armed forces and permanently destroy the German General Staff; seize or destroy all German military equipment, liquidate or take control of all German industry that could be used for war production; to subject all war criminals to fair and speedy punishment; wipe out the Nazi Party, Nazi laws, organizations and institutions from the face of the earth; eliminate all Nazi and militaristic influence from public institutions, from the cultural and economic life of the German people,” i.e. to destroy German militarism and Nazism so that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace.

It was decided to create the United Nations as a system of collective security, and the basic principles of its charter were determined.

In addition, with the goal of ending World War II as quickly as possible, an agreement was reached on the Far East, which provided for the USSR's entry into the war with Japan. The fact is that Japan - one of the three main states that unleashed the Second World War (Germany, Italy, Japan) - had been at war with the USA and England since 1941, and the allies turned to the USSR with a request to help them eliminate this the last source of war.

The conference communiqué recorded the desire of the Allied powers to “preserve and strengthen in the coming peace period the unity of goals and actions that made modern warfare victory is possible and certain for the United Nations."

Unfortunately, it was not possible to achieve unity of goals and actions of the allied powers in the post-war period: the world entered the era of the Cold War.

The Yalta Conference of 1945 predetermined the structure of the world for almost half a century, dividing it into East and West. This bipolar world existed until the early 1990s and collapsed along with the USSR, thereby confirming the fragility of the world order based on the right of the victors over the vanquished.

At the Potsdam Conference, it was decided to create a permanent body - the Council of Foreign Ministers (CMFA) consisting of representatives of the USSR, USA, Great Britain, France and China. The council was charged with preparing and proposing to the upcoming peace conference draft peace treaties with Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland, developing proposals for resolving unresolved territorial issues arising from the end of the war in Europe, and also outlining the terms of a peace settlement for Germany . Subsequently, this council became the prototype of the Security Council, a permanent body of the United Nations.

The most important thing in the decisions of the conference was the question of Germany. In making its decision, the conference participants proceeded from the position that Germany during the period of occupation, despite the presence of various occupation zones, should be considered as a single economic and political whole (later, however, due to the outbreak of the Cold War and increased contradictions between the superpowers, the integrity of Germany would be preserved failed). The objectives of the political and economic activities of the Allies in Germany, the Potsdam Conference proclaimed its denazification, demilitarization, democratization and decentralization, as well as the abolition of all military and paramilitary organizations and institutions (including the General Staff), the liquidation of the armed forces (including the air force and navy) and the prevention of production in Germany all types of weapons.

The conference also resolved some territorial disputes in post-war Europe. In Potsdam, in particular, the transfer to the Soviet Union of one third of East Prussia with the city of Königsberg was approved. A small part of these territories - part of the Curonian Spit and the city of Klaipeda - in 1945, by decision of the leadership of the USSR, became part of the Lithuanian SSR.

At the Potsdam Conference, the USA, England and China approached the Soviet Union with a proposal to join the war against Japan. As a result, Stalin confirmed the Soviet Union's commitment to declare war on Japan no later than three months after Germany's surrender.

On April 25, 1945, the United Nations Conference opened in San Francisco - the largest international forum of that time, bringing together more than 800 delegates from 50 countries. The war was still raging, Soviet troops stormed Berlin, but humanity stood on the threshold of peace. Representatives of many countries that participated in the war against fascist Germany and militaristic Japan came together to decide on the creation of an international organization that would help ensure peace and security for all peoples after the war. The San Francisco Conference was the final step in the creation of the United Nations. It summed up the results of a long and complex diplomatic struggle, which reflected the fundamental changes on the world stage during the Second World War.

The initiators of the creation of an international organization for maintaining peace and security were the great powers of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. The Soviet Union was the first to speak out for the need to unite peace-loving states in the post-war period on new, truly democratic principles.

The foundations of the new international organization were laid during the war. Already in the statement of the Soviet government on July 3, 1947, the goals of the war were defined - not only the elimination of the danger looming over the Soviet country, but also assistance to the peoples of Europe groaning under the yoke of fascism. A clear statement by the USSR about the goals of the war prompted England, which was at war, and the United States, which had not yet fought, to also speak out on this matter.

In August 1941, US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchel, taking into account the scope of anti-fascist sentiment, formulated in the Atlantic Charter some principles of the post-war world order: respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, the liberation of enslaved peoples and the restoration of their sovereign rights, the right of every nation avoid your social system, equal economic cooperation. The Soviet government, in the Declaration of September 24, 1941 at the inter-union conference in London, announced its adherence to the basic principles of the Atlantic Charter, adding to it a significant addition on the right of every people not only to choose, but also to establish a social system at its own discretion. In the same document, the Soviet Union decided to “determine the way and means for the organization of international relations and the post-war order of the world.” Developing this program, the USSR proposed the creation of a general international organization. The Soviet-Polish Declaration of Friendship and Mutual Assistance of December 4, 1941, which put forward this idea, stated: “Ensuring a lasting and just peace... can only be achieved by a new organization of international relations based on the unification of democratic countries in a lasting union "

The Declaration of the United Nations (as those who declared war on the fascist “Axis” were named at the suggestion of F. Roosevelt), signed by 26 countries on January 1, 1942, confirmed the principles of the Atlantic Charter and institutionalized the anti-fascist coalition - the core of the future organization.

At the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers on October 30, 1943, a joint Declaration of the three powers (which China also joined) on the need to create an international security organization was adopted for the first time. Paragraph 4. The Declaration of the Four States on the Question of General Security stated that they “recognize the necessity of establishing as soon as possible a general International Organization for the maintenance of international peace and security, founded on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace-loving States, of which all such States may be members - big and small."

The decisions of the Moscow Conference became the starting point in the formation of the UN, and Moscow was the actual place of its birth. “After this,” the then US Secretary of State K. Jell emphasized in his memoirs, “there was no doubt left that an international organization to maintain peace... would be created after the war.”

First discussion of the future organization's plans for top level took place during the Tehran Conference of the Leaders of the Three Powers in December 1943. After Tehran, the allies began active practical development of the foundations of the future organization. To condemn and develop a common project, it was decided to create a conference of representatives of the three powers in Dumbarton Oaks, an ancient estate in the Washington area. The Dumbarton – Ona meeting, held from 21 August to 7 October 1944, was a decisive step in determining the structure of the future organization. The draft charter was chosen here new organization, defining its structure, goals and principles, membership, functions of the main bodies. A number of questions, however, remained unresolved. The main one - on the voting procedure in the Security Council - was of great importance. The resolution of this issue and a number of other issues was postponed until the Yalta meeting.

At a meeting in Yalta in February 1945, the leaders of the three Allied powers approved the draft charter developed at Dumbarton-Onse. The knot in the voting problem in the Security Council was finally untied. The United States, yielding to the demands of the Soviet Union, proposed a compromise option, according to which all the most important decisions in the Council could be made only with the complete unanimity of all its permanent members. In Yalta, the issue of joining the UN as independent members of two Soviet republics - Ukraine and Belarus, which made a huge contribution to the defeat of fascism, was resolved. The leaders of the USSR, USA and England stated: “We have decided in the near future to establish, together with our allies, a general international organization to maintain peace and security.” The convening of the founding conference was scheduled for April 25, 1945 in San Francisco, and all members of the United Nations plus those states that declared war on the Axis countries before March 1, 1945 were eligible to participate.

After the opening ceremony of the San Francisco Conference, long and complex debates on the draft charter began in various committees. The participating countries were familiarized with the project in advance, and by the time of the opening, 36 of them had managed to propose a total of about 1,200 amendments. At the last stage, the Soviet Union did not stop fighting for the democratic principles of the UN Charter.

On June 25, conference delegates met for a final meeting to approve the final draft of the Charter. Due to the great historical importance of what was happening, the chairman of the conference deviated from the usual voting procedure and expressed his consent by standing. In response, all the delegates rose from their seats as one. The announcement of the unanimous adoption of the document was met with thunderous applause.

The UN Charter came into force on October 24, 1945, when it was ratified by the majority of member countries. This date is considered the official day of the creation of the organization and is celebrated everywhere as UN Day.

Related information.

o November 28–December 1, 1943 – Tehran conference (J.V. Stalin, W.S. Churchill and F.D. Roosevelt).

o 4–11 February 1945– Crimean(Yalta) Conference (J.V. Stalin, W.S. Churchill and F.D. Roosevelt).

o July 17–August 2, 1945 – Berlin(Potsdam) Conference (J.V. Stalin, G. Truman and W. Churchill).

Results of the Great Patriotic War:

· Defeat of fascism.

· Expansion of the country's borders.

· The beginning of the creation of a world system of socialism.

The price of victory for the Soviet people in the war:

· Total human losses – 27 million people, including

· - 11.4 million people – losses in combat operations.

· - 15.6 million people – civilian population.

“THAW” - MANAGEMENT BY N. S. KHRUSHCHEV

The beginning of the de-Stalinization of Soviet society is associated with the activities N.S. Khrushchev (1894-1971 ), Soviet statesman and party leader. In 1938-1947 – First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine. During the war years he was a member of the Military Councils of a number of directions and fronts. In 1939-1964. – member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, then the CPSU. In 1953-1964. First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. At the same time, since 1958 - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Relieved of all his posts in 1964.

Activities of N. S. Khrushchev:

1. Industry.

· Decentralization of economic management and restructuring of industry management from a sectoral principle to a territorial one.

· Elimination of 10 major industrial ministers and replacing them with territorial departments - economic councils, which managed local enterprises.

2. Agriculture.

· Writing off debts from collective farmers and reducing taxation.

· Expanding the economic independence of collective farms.

· Strengthening the material and technical base of collective farms.

· Development of virgin lands.

3. Social policy.

· Increase the minimum wage by 35%.

· Increasing the size of the old-age pension and halving the retirement age by five years.

· Expanding mass housing construction and encouraging the creation of housing construction cooperatives.

· Introduction of cash wages for collective farmers.

· Establishment of a 7-hour working day.

May 1955 – creation of the Warsaw Pact Organization.

February 1956 – XX Congress of the CPSU.

October–November 1956- entry of Soviet troops into Hungary.

THE YEARS OF "STAGNATION" - THE LEADERSHIP OF L. I. BREZHNEV

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich (1906-1982 ) - Soviet party and statesman. In 1964, as secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, he took part in a conspiracy against N.S. Khrushchev. After his dismissal, he took the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (since 1966 - General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). In 1977 he also took the post of Chairman Supreme Council USSR. He was the first person in the party and state for 18 years.

Features of “stagnation”:

· Rigid administrative planning and distribution system for managing the country.

· Extensive methods of running the national economy.

· Significant expenditures on the Military-Industrial Complex.

· Development of the shadow economy.

· Slow development of innovative technologies.

· The main scientific and technical achievements were concentrated in the military-industrial complex.

· Raw material orientation of exports.

August 1968- entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia to suppress resistance to the communist regime.

1977 – adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR.

1979 – entry of Soviet military contingent into Afghanistan.

1980 – XXII Olympic Games in Moscow.

6. “PERESTROYKA” - M. S. GORBACHEV’S GUIDE

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich(genus. 1931) – party and statesman. Since 1955 - in the Komsomol, since 1962 - in party work, since 1978 - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, member of the Politburo, from 1985 to 1991 - General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1988-1989 – Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, then Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1990 he was elected President of the USSR. In 1991, after the August putsch and the beginning of the collapse of the USSR, he resigned from the post of President of the USSR.

Perestroika- the process of renewal of Soviet society, begun by a group of leaders of the CPSU in the spring of 1985.

Perestroika tasks:

ü overcoming significant shortcomings V various fields life of the state and society,

ü further strengthening of socialism through the implementation of measures of a political, socio-economic and ideological nature.

Overall, this program for reforming socialism was a failure.

Main stages of restructuring:

1. 1985-1986 – tasks of “improving socialism”, accelerating development, openness.

2. 1987-first half of 1988– the task of liberalizing the economy, introducing market elements while maintaining the essence of the socialist economy.

· Granting enterprises independence and transferring them to self-financing.

· Reduction of planned indicators.

· Law “On Individual Labor Activity”.

· Law “On Cooperation”.

3. Second half of 1988 -1989– tasks of deepening market reforms, reforming the political sphere.

o July 12, 1989– Adoption of the declaration of state sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

COLLAPSE OF THE USSR

Reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union:

1. The decline in the role of the central government.

2. The crisis of communist ideology.

3. The economic crisis has affected all sectors of the national economy.

4. Separatist sentiments of regional elites.

5. Interethnic conflicts.

· 1986 – Rally and demonstration in Almaty.

· 1988 – Nagorno-Karabakh is a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

· 1988 the creation of popular fronts in the union republics, which turned into centers of separatist movements.

· 1989 – Armed clashes in Abkhazia.

· 1989 – Unrest in Uzbekistan as a result of the confrontation between Meskhetian Turks and Uzbeks.

· 1989 – Interethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan.

After the August events 1991 The leaders of most republics refused to sign a new union treaty. The leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - the founding republics of the USSR, announced the termination of the Union Treaty of 1922 and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States ( December 8, 1991, Belarus, Belovezhskaya Pushcha). The Soviet state, held together by the strength of the CPSU, communist ideology and social system, collapsed as soon as the political center, the core of the entire system, the CPSU, lost its strength. USSR President M.S. Gorbachev became only a decorative figure (the USSR did not exist) and was forced to announce that he was leaving his post.

COLD WAR

Cold War– global geopolitical, economic and ideological confrontation between the USSR and the USA and their allies.

The Soviet Union and the USA led arms race– improvement, development and distribution of new types of weapons. The emergence of nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, jet aircraft, etc.

Balance of Fear– the parties do not use nuclear weapons due to the danger of a nuclear retaliatory strike. The number of nuclear warheads on the opposing sides in the event of an unrestricted nuclear war could lead to the total destruction of both opponents. Guarantee of mutual destruction.

NATO– North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A military-political alliance directed against socialist countries. USA, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany.

ATS– Organization of the Warsaw Pact. Created in response to the aggressive actions of NATO, with the aim of protecting socialist countries. USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Albania (withdrew from the treaty in 1968).

The essence of the conflict:

1. Different ideological models.

2. The desire to dominate the world.

3. The desire to impose its development model on third countries.

Cold War periods:

1. 1945–1953 – Beginning of the Cold war.

· March 5, 1946- W. Churchill’s speech in Fulton (USA, Missouri), in which he called for a military alliance of Western countries in order to fight communism. The actual beginning of the Cold War.

· 1949 - division of Germany into Western (FRG) and Eastern (GDR).

· 1950 – 1953 – The Korean Civil War.

2. 1953–1962 – Exacerbation of relations.

· 1956 –Suppression of the anti-communist rebellion in Hungary.

· 1961 – Berlin crisis. Start of construction " Berlin Wall"between the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany.

· 1962 – Caribbean Missile Crisis. The Soviet leadership decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. The United States established a military blockade of Cuba. The armed forces of the opposing military blocs were brought into combat readiness. A new World War was avoided thanks to mutual concessions by the leaders of the countries ( N. S. Khrushcheva And D. F. Kennedy) – The USSR exported missiles from Cuba, and the USA from Turkey.

3. 1962–1979 – Relief of international tension.

· Achieving military parity with the United States.

· August 5, 1963– signing of a treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, space and under water.

· 1968 – suppression of the anti-communist rebellion in Czechoslovakia.

· 1972 And 1979 – Treaties between the USSR and the USA on the limitation of missile defense systems.

· 1972–1975 – Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

4. 1979–1985 – New aggravation of relations.

· 1979 – entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.

· A new round of the arms race.

5. 1985–1991 – The final stage of the Cold War.

· M. S. Gorbachev proclaimed “New Political Thinking.”

· 1989 - withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

· 1989 - “Velvet Revolutions”. The fall of pro-Soviet regimes in Eastern Europe.

· 1989–1990 - unification of Germany.

· December 1991– Collapse of the USSR. The end of the Cold War.

Results of the Cold War:

· Reduction of conventional and nuclear weapons.

· Transition from a bipolar to a multipolar system of international relations.

· The collapse of the world socialist system.

· Strengthening US influence in the world.

· NATO expansion to the East.

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Introduction

History of the creation of the Anti-Hitler Coalition

2. Material assistance

Military cooperation

Political cooperation (Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam conferences)

5.Tehran Conference

6. Yalta (Crimean) conference

7.Potsdam Conference

Conclusion

References

Introduction

The anti-Hitler coalition was a powerful weapon in the fight against the aggressive bloc.

What distinguished it from previous military-political alliances was that it united states with different social systems. The consequence of this was the presence of two contradictory trends: the allies were united by a common goal - the defeat of fascism, and at the same time, they were divided by their approach to solving such a complex task.

This was explained by the desire of the Allied powers to subordinate the conduct of the war and the solution of post-war problems to their own goals.

These contradictions were especially clearly reflected in the resolution of the main issue - the opening of a second front in Europe. After the disappearance of the common enemy, relations between the countries began to deteriorate and ultimately resulted in the Cold War.

1. History of the creation of the Anti-Hitler Coalition

Initially, Great Britain and the USA viewed the USSR as anything but as an ally in the war with Germany. Communism is no closer to the leaders of the leading capitalist powers than National Socialism. As for the tempting idea of ​​pitting Hitler and Stalin against each other, initially directing the vector of fascism’s aggressiveness to the east, it failed when, on September 17, Soviet troops entered Poland from the east and moved towards the German Wehrmacht not at all in order to fight it, but to in order to divide Poland in two. Having entered the war on September 3, Great Britain could only rely on France. The Soviet Union was soon expelled from the League of Nations for attacking Finland. The Western powers seriously discussed the possibility of sending expeditionary forces to support the Finns, while simultaneously supplying them with weapons and equipment. The supplies were quite modest, but it was enough for the small Finnish army. In addition, there were no problems with the supply of tanks and other heavy weapons - for example, a significant part of the tank fleet of the Finnish army were trophies taken during the same Winter War with the USSR. In response to all these demonstrative actions, the USSR was in no hurry to help Western democracies when, on May 10, 1940, the Germans launched a “blitzkrieg” against them. The temptation was great to strike in the rear of Hitler while his beauty and pride - tank and motorized divisions were making their way to Paris, but two serious arguments against it outweighed.

First, the campaign in the West was going very well for the Germans. The famous Belgian forts were captured by paratroopers with incredible speed, the British expeditionary force, rushing to repel a false offensive in Belgium, was cut off and pressed to the sea. Another blow was aimed at bypassing the fortifications of the impregnable Maginot Line, through the Ardennes (an area on the border of Belgium and France). The Allies had less and less chance of victory (Already on June 22, a truce was signed with France).

The second argument against is the USSR's own unpreparedness for war. If, as V. Suvorov asserts in his book “Day M,” the Soviet Union was preparing to start a war in July 1941, then starting it a year before this date would have promised complete failure. In addition, the German capture of Denmark and Norway in April 1940 further indicated Hitler's intentions to continue expansion to the West. The subsequent campaign of the German army in the Balkans, the capture of Crete and the landing of the German corps in Africa confirmed this. Hitler tried to deprive the British of all footholds in Europe and the Mediterranean. Since the industrial power of the occupied countries was small, and in the case of Africa it was practically zero, these actions were in the hands of Moscow. While Germany spent human and material resources on their capture, the USSR could prepare for war further and even help Germany a little, exactly as it did.

And the war with Germany and the allies at the end of 1940 - beginning of 1941 required significant efforts. Hitler’s favorite, the brave and talented General Rommel, who received the Knight’s Cross for the breakthrough to Cherbourg, went to Africa to save the defeated Italians (It’s unpleasant to think what would have happened if Rommel had been on the Russian front in 1941, if he fought on land with rather weak forces against Great Britain and the USA until May 1943 and did this far from unsuccessfully). German paratroopers dropped on Crete fell into a terrible massacre. They nevertheless captured the island, but with such large losses in people and equipment (transport aircraft) that the German command was forced to abandon such operations (again, it’s unpleasant to think what happened if several thousand paratroopers died along with their living comrades weapons in transport aircraft somewhere near Moscow in December 1941). Finally, the 1,773 aircraft lost by the Germans in the aerial “Battle of Britain” in 1940 could no longer take to the air, controlled by experienced pilots who died in this battle. (But the total number of German aircraft concentrated against the USSR on June 22, 1941 was about 3,500 aircraft, including reconnaissance, communications and transport aircraft, as well as aircraft of Germany’s allies. Those lost over England were mainly fighters and bombers, that is, they were real impact force).

After all the battles of 1940, German industry continued to operate in peacetime, some German divisions were disbanded, and some were transferred to peacetime positions. If a war against the USSR was in Hitler’s plans, then its preparation was not noticeable to an outside observer. There were no benefits for Stalin from concluding an alliance with the British, the British understood this very well, and therefore were not intrusive in such proposals. Moreover, Churchill, an old-school conservative, a man who hated communism no less than fascism, if not more, came to power in England. In his own words, until June 22, 1941, he was not sure that the USSR would enter the war on the side of Great Britain.

By the beginning of the summer of 1941, it became completely clear that the war between Germany and Great Britain was in the same phase as it was during the Napoleonic Wars. Figuratively speaking, “the battle of the lion and the crocodile.” Like Napoleonic France, Germany won victory after victory in the land theaters of war, but the English fleet continued to dominate at sea. Submarines became the only means of fighting the British after the failure of the air offensive against England in the fall of 1940 (“Battle of Britain”). If built in sufficient quantities they could cut off military, industrial and food supplies from the British dominions. Subsequently, Churchill recognized German submarines as the only serious threat to Britain during the entire war. On September 1, 1939, the Germans had only 57 submarines, but their production increased significantly during the war, and by May 8, 1945, 1,113 submarines entered service (Out of a total of 1,170, 863 took part in hostilities). Thus, Hitler set out on the same path as Napoleon, only Napoleon introduced a “continental blockade”, trying to stop the import of British goods into European countries, and Hitler began unrestricted submarine warfare, trying to cut off supplies to England. The main thing is that in both cases the ground army remained uninvolved (with the exception of the Afrika Korps, which in the summer of 1941 contained only 2 German divisions - 1 light and 1 tank). Its use suggested itself (as in the case of Bonaparte) - Russia, but no sane person could imagine that Hitler would decide on such an adventure as an attack on the USSR. A war on two fronts was familiar to the Germans, and few wanted a repeat of the disasters of 1917-1918. However, spurred on by easy victories in Europe and the zeal of his staff generals (like Jodl and Keitel), Hitler nevertheless decided and on June 22 pushed Stalin and Churchill, who were indifferent to each other (at least), into an allied embrace. The Japanese attack on the American naval base in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 made it impossible for the United States to further withdraw from World War II. Churchill did not hide his joy upon learning of the Japanese attack. Now at his service was both the “arsenal of democracy”, the USA, and enough Soviet “cannon fodder” in the service of the same “democracy”. The backbone of the anti-Hitler coalition was finally formed.

Financial assistance

Lend-Lease (English lend - to lend and lease - to rent)

In general, the idea of ​​​​assisting countries opposing Nazi Germany arose in the US Department of the Treasury in the fall of 1940, when the department's legal advisers E. Foley and O. Cox discovered in the archives a law of 1892, adopted under President Benjamin Harrison. Having blown the dust off it, they read that the US Secretary of War, "when in his discretion it is in the interests of the state, may lease property to the army for a period of not more than five years, if the country does not need it." Based on their findings, Foley and Cox prepared a bill, that is, a Lend-Lease bill, which they introduced into the US Congress in January 1941. Surprisingly quickly, the House of Representatives and the Senate approved it, and on March 11, 1941, it was signed by the president. So this project became US law.

Lend-Lease deliveries were carried out by the United States to allied countries in the anti-Hitler coalition during the Second World War. Assistance was provided to the governments of 42 countries (including Great Britain, the USSR, China, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand etc.) and by the end of the war amounted to approximately 48 billion dollars in monetary terms.

Lend-Lease negotiations with the USSR officially began on September 29, 1941. US President Franklin Roosevelt sent his representative Averell Harriman to Moscow. On October 1, 1941, Harriman signed the first protocol for supplies to the Soviet Union worth $1 billion for a period of nine months. On November 7, 1941, Roosevelt signed a document extending Lend-Lease to the USSR. The first deliveries to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease began in October 1941.

One of the most important components of Western assistance to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease was large-scale supplies of automotive equipment from the USA, Canada and Great Britain. At the beginning of the war, the Red Army had more tanks, aircraft, and artillery pieces than the Wehrmacht. But there was clearly a lack of such technical means as cars, radio equipment, engineering weapons, mechanical means traction for artillery, means of repairing equipment, transporting and refueling. And without all this, a huge mass of tanks, aircraft and artillery became uncombat-ready or ineffective. The first batches of cars arrived in the USSR in the fall of 1941. The Technical Committee of the Main Automobile Directorate (GAU) of the Red Army, with the assistance of NAMI, organized tests to clarify issues of suitability various brands for service in the Red Army and the specifics of their operation in different conditions. From July 18, 1942 to May 15, 1943, in the conditions of logistical support for the front-line needs of the Red Army, control operation of 74 vehicles was carried out: 11 models from 8 American companies and 5 models from 3 English manufacturers. The conclusions drawn from the data obtained determined further deliveries. In 1942, the Red Army lost 66,200 cars and received 152,900, while the domestic industry produced only 35,000 new cars and the USSR received 79,000 under Lend-Lease. In 1943 -1945. 387,300 cars were sent to the army, and 398,785 were received under Lend-Lease. The vast majority of imported cars were sent directly to the front.

In addition to weapons, ammunition and various military equipment, the United States, Great Britain and Canada supplied a huge amount of industrial and agricultural goods to the Soviet Union, which was fighting Nazi Germany. One of the weakest points of the Soviet economy on the eve of a war of enormous scope was the production of aviation and, to a somewhat lesser extent, motor gasoline. There was a particular shortage of high-octane gasoline. In the Soviet Union, imported aviation gasoline and light gasoline fractions were used almost exclusively for blending with Soviet aviation gasoline to increase their octane number, since Soviet aircraft were adapted to use gasoline with a much lower octane number than in the West. Aviation gasoline supplied under Lend-Lease, together with light gasoline fractions, amounted to 46.7% of Soviet production in 1941-1945.

An extremely important contribution of the Western allies in the Anti-Hitler Coalition to our common victory was their Lend-Lease supplies for the needs of Soviet railway transport. Under Lend-Lease, 622.1 thousand tons of railway rails were supplied to the USSR. Even more noticeable was the role of Lend-Lease supplies in maintaining the required level of the size of the Soviet fleet of locomotives and railway cars. Under Lend-Lease, a total of 11,075 cars were delivered, or 10.2 times more than Soviet production of 1942-1945. American supplies also played a significant role in supplying the USSR with tires. Under Lend-Lease, 3,606 thousand tires were supplied to the Soviet Union (Jones R.H. Op.cit. Appendixes), while Soviet production in 1941-1945 amounted to 8,368 thousand units (of which only 2,884 were produced of large “Giant” tires thousand), and in 1945 the production of tires amounted to 1,370 thousand compared to 3,389 thousand in 1941. In addition, the UK supplied 103.5 thousand tons of natural rubber.

Exclusively important for the Soviet Union in general, for the Red Army in particular, they had Lend-Lease food supplies. The most acute food crisis erupted in 1943, when the already extremely meager food distribution standards were secretly reduced by almost a third. Therefore, food supplies by mid-1944 significantly exceeded the total food imports during the period of validity of the First and Second Protocols, displacing metals and even some types of weapons in Soviet requests. In the total volume of cargo imported under the latest Protocols, food products accounted for over 25% of the tonnage.

It is difficult to overestimate the Lend-Lease supplies of complex machine tools and industrial equipment for the Soviet Union. Back in 1939-1940, the Soviet leadership placed orders for imported equipment for the production of artillery weapons. Then these orders, placed mainly in the USA, were delivered to the USSR under Lend-Lease. Namely, there was the greatest need for special machines for artillery production during the war in the USSR. Western supplies of non-ferrous metals were of great importance for the national economy of the USSR and, in particular, for military production. From mid-1941 to mid-1945, Soviet industry produced 470 thousand tons of copper. Under Lend-Lease, 387.6 thousand tons of copper were supplied from the United States to the Soviet Union, which amounted to 82.47% own production copper during the war. A situation similar to the situation with copper has developed in Soviet aluminum production.

A particularly difficult situation at the beginning of the war arose with the production of artillery ammunition and small arms cartridges. At the end of 1941, vigorous measures were taken to regularly supply from abroad the main components for explosives and gunpowders, as well as equipment for the daily production of 10 million 7.62 mm cartridges. The supply of various types of gunpowder became very significant. However, due to the high caloric content of imported gunpowder, carbon deposits formed in gun and weapon barrels. Soviet experts proposed mixing imported and domestic gunpowder and only then making shells and cartridges from it. Only in the manufacture of rocket projectiles could English nitroglycerin gunpowder be used almost without impurities.

The supply of communications equipment and fire control systems by the Western Allies was truly of exceptional importance for the conduct of armed struggle. 956.7 thousand miles of field telephone cable, 2100 miles of sea cable and 1100 miles of submarine cable were delivered to the USSR. In addition, 35.8 thousand radio stations, 189 thousand field telephones and 5899 receivers were supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease.

By the end of the war, the share of allied communications equipment in the Red Army and Navy was 80%. A large amount of imported communication equipment was sent to the national economy.

In the first, defensive period of the war, supplies were very valuable barbed wire- 216 thousand miles.

Of no small importance for offensive operations The ground forces had support from the sea. The role of the naval forces increased even more with the advance of the Red Army to the west and the expansion of the operational zone of the fleet. However, the war-torn Baltic and Black Sea fleets required large replenishment. The Northern, but most importantly, the Pacific Fleet and river flotillas were in dire need of further strengthening. Therefore, in the second half of the war, the Soviet Navy also received significant assistance under Lend-Lease - 596 warships and vessels, including 28 frigates, 89 minesweepers, 78 large submarine hunters, 202 torpedo boats, 60 small hunters (sentry boats) boats), 106 landing craft. Of these, 80% of ships and vessels took part in hostilities against the fleets of Germany and Japan. In addition, only in 1944, as reparations from Italy, Great Britain transferred a battleship, 9 destroyers, 4 submarines to the USSR Navy, and the USA - a cruiser. These types of items received under Lend-Lease required military equipment and equipment such as landing craft, non-contact trawls, powerful radar stations, a number of models of hydroacoustic equipment, diesel generators and emergency rescue equipment were not produced in the USSR.

In a letter from Stalin to US President Truman dated June 11, 1945, it was noted that “the agreement on the basis of which the United States supplied the USSR with strategic materials and food through Lend-Lease throughout the war in Europe played an important role and significantly contributed to the successful ending the war against the common enemy - Hitler's Germany"

3. Military cooperation

In December 1941, a powerful counteroffensive of Soviet troops began near Moscow, which lasted until the end of March 1942. During the winter offensive, the Red Army defeated up to 50 selected enemy divisions and threw the enemy back to the west. On the approaches to the Soviet capital, the Wehrmacht suffered its first major defeat in the Second World War, and here the myth of the “invincibility” of Hitler’s Germany was dispelled. New stage opened up in negotiations on a second front. The importance of opening a second front in Europe was understood both in the USSR, and in England and the USA. Molotov's visit took place in May 1942 to Great Britain. Molotov arrived in London on May 20, making a risky flight through German-occupied territory. Churchill explained to the Soviet People's Commissar that Great Britain could not accept the Soviet proposals in full.

However, he added that after the war, the USSR, Great Britain and the USA would cooperate in the post-war world order. Molotov had to be satisfied with this and sign a Soviet-British treaty on May 26. It contained obligations of mutual assistance, as well as an obligation not to conclude a separate peace. The second part of the treaty, which was to remain in force for 20 years, laid the foundations for post-war cooperation, both in preventing possible aggression and in post-war settlement. Both sides pledged not to seek territorial gains or interfere in the affairs of other countries. This treaty became the formal basis for cooperation between Great Britain and the USSR. Partners became allies.

Molotov, however, told Churchill that he considered the question of a second front more important than the treaty. To this, Churchill, listing a number of reservations, stated that the British government was going to open a second front in 1943, when for this purpose, both England and the United States would have from one to one and a half million American and British troops, and further said that “ there are no differences in the views of both governments on this issue.”

After a visit to London, Molotov and his entourage arrived in Washington on May 29, 1942 for negotiations. The Soviet delegation rightly considered the main issue at the negotiations to be the opening of a much-needed second front for the USSR. However, it was not possible to obtain an exact answer to this question from the United States. Roosevelt referred to the need to discuss this problem with English side. On June 1, 1942, during a farewell conversation, on the eve of their departure, the Soviet delegation again asked the president a question regarding the second front, to which he replied: “we hope to open a second front.”

In the summer of 1942, the military situation of the USSR deteriorated sharply. The German offensive in the south put the Soviet Union in its most difficult situation during the entire year of the war. Churchill had to support his ally and at the same time convince him that a second front was impossible.

By this time, the United States, having succumbed to the persuasion of the British side, agreed to land in North Africa. This was not what Stalin wanted, and everyone understood this. The Allies decided to act in their own personal interests. But this was a significant intensification of military operations in the Mediterranean area.

On August 16, Churchill held negotiations with Stalin, which did not remove Stalin's fundamental demands, but, as Churchill had hoped, established personal contact and eased mutual suspicion. At the same time, Stalin became convinced that the Allies were waiting until Germany was exhausted in the fight against the Soviet Union, so that they could then enter the war on the European continent at the last stage.

Churchill promised to open a second front in 1943 and begin devastating bombing of Germany as early as 1942. Churchill moved on to a planned expedition in North Africa, which he said would pose a serious threat to Germany. All of North Africa was to be under British-American control by the end of 1942, which, combined with the landings in France in 1943, promised to deal a heavy blow to the Reich. The British prime minister called North Africa “the soft underbelly of Hitler’s Europe.” He stated that Great Britain, alone or together with the United States, could send an air force to the southern end of the Soviet-German front. The British Prime Minister tried in every possible way to prove that the Soviet-British and Soviet-American negotiations on a second front in the spring of 1942 were of a purely preliminary nature and that the very message about the agreement reached had already played its part positive value by misleading the enemy. In fact, the Wehrmacht command concentrated on the Soviet-German front in the summer of 1942 maximum quantity of their troops. If on January 1, 1942, 70% of the ground forces of Hitler’s army were concentrated on the Soviet-German front, then by July 1 of the same year, German troops already accounted for 76.3% of the total number of ground forces of Hitler’s Germany. Never before or since has this percentage been as high as in the summer of 1942. Under such conditions, the Soviet Union had to fight one-on-one with Germany in the difficult and critical year of 1942.

In 1942, the opening of a second front in France became a pressing issue. The USSR had difficulty resisting the forces of the Wehrmacht, so Stalin hoped for a second front, especially since the allies had promised to open it in 1942. However, England decided to focus its efforts on the North Africa it needed, fighting for influence in this region. This front was secondary and Hitler did not transfer a single division from the Eastern Front, but only increased pressure on the USSR.

The Allies' promise to open a second front was not fulfilled in 1943 either. The delay in opening the second front was due to the fact that the Anglo-American coalition counted on the weakening of the USSR, on the fact that after a grueling war the USSR would lose its importance as a great power. The second front was opened only on June 6, 1944 with the landing of Anglo-American troops in Normandy (Northern France) and American troops in southern France on August 15. By this time, the Germans had Army Group West consisting of 50 divisions in France, Belgium, and Holland; more than 200 divisions and the vast majority of enemy tanks and aircraft were against the USSR. The opening of the second front had little effect on the position of the Eastern Front, since the allies immediately switched to protracted combat operations. The activity of the Anglo-Americans increased only after they realized that the USSR would soon independently defeat Nazi Germany, take Berlin and liberate the countries of Western Europe. The Anglo-Americans began to urgently occupy Austria, Western and Southern Germany, but by the beginning of the Berlin operation of the Soviet troops they had not even reached the river. Rhine.

Political cooperation (Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam conferences)

The conferences of the great powers, held in 1943, were devoted to the coordination of plans of military action and the policies of the allies in relation to the future Europe. The first meeting of the heads of the three great powers - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchell - was of particular importance.

Tehran Conference

Held in Tehran from November 28 to December 1, 1943. The main issues were military issues, especially the question of a second front in Europe, which, contrary to the obligations of the United States and Great Britain, was not opened by them either in 1942 or 1943. In the new situation that emerged as a result of the victories Soviet Army, the Anglo-American allies began to fear that the Soviet Armed Forces would liberate Western Europe without the participation of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain. At the same time, during the negotiations, differences in the points of view of the heads of government of the United States and Great Britain about the place, scale and time of the Allied invasion of Europe were revealed. At the insistence of the Soviet delegation, the Tehran Conference decided to open a second front in France during May 1944. The Tehran Conference also took into account the statement of J.V. Stalin that Soviet troops would launch an offensive around the same time in order to prevent the transfer of German forces from the East to the Western Front. In Tehran, the Soviet delegation, meeting the requests of the governments of the United States and Great Britain, and also taking into account Japan's repeated violations of the 1941 Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty and in order to reduce the duration of the war in the Far East, declared the USSR's readiness to enter the war against Japan after the end of hostilities in Europe. At the Tehran Conference, the United States raised the question of the dismemberment of Germany after the war into five autonomous states. England put forward its plan for the dismemberment of Germany, which provided for the isolation of Prussia from the rest of Germany, as well as the separation of its southern provinces and their inclusion, along with Austria and Hungary, in the so-called Danube Confederation. However, the position of the Soviet Union prevented the Western powers from implementing these plans. At the Tehran Conference, an agreement was reached on establishing the borders of Poland along the “Curzon Line” of 1920 in the east along the river. Oder (Odra) - in the west. The “Declaration on Iran” was adopted, in which the participants declared “their desire to preserve the full independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran.” Other issues were also discussed at the conference, including those related to the post-war organization of the world. Overall, the overall outcome of the Tehran Conference was positive. It strengthened the cooperation of the heads of the powers of the anti-fascist coalition and the coordination of plans for further military actions against Germany and the opening of a second front.

Yalta (Crimean) Conference

The “Big Three” (Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill) gathered on February 4-11 at the Livadia Palace near Yalta at a time when, as a result of the offensive of the Soviet Army and the landing of allied troops in Normandy, military operations were transferred to German territory and the war against Nazi Germany entered final stage. At the Yalta Conference, plans for the final defeat of Germany were agreed upon, the attitude towards Germany after its unconditional surrender was determined, the basic principles of general policy regarding the post-war world order were outlined, and a number of other issues were discussed.

In Yalta, as in 1943 at the Tehran Conference, the question of the fate of Germany was again considered. Churchill proposed separating Prussia from Germany and forming a south German state with its capital in Vienna. Stalin and Roosevelt agreed that Germany should be dismembered. However, having made this decision, the Allies did not establish either approximate territorial contours or a procedure for dismemberment.

The Soviet side raised the issue of reparations (removal of equipment and annual payments) that Germany must pay for the damage caused. However, the amount of reparations was not established, because The British side opposed this. The Americans favorably accepted the Soviet proposal to determine the total amount of reparations at 20 billion dollars, of which 50 percent were to be paid to the USSR.

Great Britain and the USSR, again in accordance with the October agreements, confirmed parity in Yugoslavia, where the leader of the Yugoslav communists, Josip Broz Tito, negotiated with the pro-Western Yugoslav leader Subasic about control of the country. But the practical settlement of the situation in Yugoslavia did not develop as Churchill wanted. The British were also concerned about issues of territorial settlement between Yugoslavia, Austria and Italy. It was decided that these issues would be discussed through normal diplomatic channels.

A similar decision was made regarding the claims of the American and British sides due to the fact that the USSR did not consult with them in solving the problems of the post-war structure of Romania and Bulgaria. The situation in Hungary, where the Soviet side also excluded the Western allies from the political settlement process, was not discussed in detail.

Without any enthusiasm, the conference participants began to discuss the Polish question. By this time, the entire territory of Poland was controlled by Soviet troops; A pro-communist government was formed in this country.

Roosevelt, supported by Churchill, proposed that the USSR return Lviv to Poland. However, this was a ruse; the Polish borders, already discussed in Tehran, were not of concern to Western leaders. In reality, another issue was on the agenda - post-war political structure Poland. Stalin repeated the previously agreed position: the western border of Poland should be moved, the eastern border should pass along the Curzon line. As for the Polish government, the Warsaw government will not have any contacts with the London government. Churchill said that, according to his information, the pro-Soviet government represents the views of no more than a third of the Poles; the situation could lead to bloodshed, arrests and deportations. Stalin responded by promising to include some “democratic” leaders from Polish emigrant circles in the provisional government.

In fact, decisions on the Polish issue and on other European states in Yalta confirmed that Eastern Europe remains in the Soviet, and Western Europe and the Mediterranean - in the Anglo-American sphere of influence.

At the Yalta Conference, an agreement was concluded on the USSR's entry into the war against Japan two to three months after the end of the war in Europe. During separate negotiations between Stalin and Roosevelt and Churchill, agreements were reached to strengthen the position of the USSR in the Far East. Stalin put forward the following conditions: maintaining the status of Mongolia, the return of Southern Sakhalin and adjacent islands to Russia, the internationalization of the port of Dalian (Dalniy), the return to the USSR of the previously Russian naval base in Port Arthur, the joint Soviet-Chinese ownership of the CER and SMR, the transfer of the Kuril Islands to the USSR islands. On all these issues, on the Western side, the initiative for concessions belonged to Roosevelt. The brunt of military efforts against Japan fell on the United States, and they were interested in the speedy appearance of the USSR in the Far East.

The decisions of the Yalta Conference largely predetermined the post-war structure of Europe and the world for almost fifty years, until the collapse of the socialist system in the late 1980s - early 1990s.

On May 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was signed in the Berlin suburb of Karlsharst.

Potsdam Conference

It took place from July 17 to August 2 at the Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam. The Soviet delegation was headed by J.V. Stalin, the American by G. Truman, the British by W. Churchill, and on July 28, his successor as Prime Minister, C. Attlee. The German question occupied a decisive place on the agenda of the Potsdam Conference. The heads of the three powers agreed to implement a coordinated policy during the occupation of Germany. Its essence was formulated in the form of the principles of demilitarization, democratization and denazification of the country. The purpose of this agreement, it was emphasized in the final document of the conference, “is the implementation of the Crimean Declaration on Germany.” The three powers affirmed that "German militarism and Nazism will be eradicated" so that Germany will never again threaten its neighbors or the preservation of world peace. It was envisaged that the supreme power in Germany would be exercised by the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces of the USSR, USA, England and France, each in its own zone of occupation, according to the instructions of the respective governments.

An agreement was reached on the complete demilitarization and disarmament of Germany: the abolition of all its armed forces, the SS, SA, SD and Gestapo with all their organizations, headquarters and institutions, educational institutions, military and paramilitary organizations, the liquidation of or control over its entire military industry, as well as the destruction or surrender of all weapons and ammunition to the allies. Specific measures were outlined to restructure political life in Germany on a democratic basis, including: destroying the fascist party, its branches, controlled organizations and institutions so that they would not be revived in any form; repeal all Nazi laws that served the interests of the Hitler regime; bring to justice war criminals and all those who participated in the planning and execution of Nazi atrocities; remove all active Nazis from public and semi-public positions, as well as from positions of responsibility in private firms; reorganize, in accordance with the principles of democracy, the education, justice and local government; allow and encourage the activities of democratic political parties; ensure respect for freedom of speech, press and religion. Economic principles regarding Germany included: a ban on the production of weapons, military equipment, military aircraft and sea vessels of all types; restriction and strict control of the production of metals, engineering products, chemical products and other items necessary for the war economy. The conference decided to treat Germany as a single economic entity. When discussing economic principles, the Soviet delegation managed to overcome the stubborn resistance of the Western powers, who sought to prevent the elimination of Germany's military-economic potential. The US and British delegations did not agree, however, with the proposals of the USSR delegation to establish joint control of the four great powers over the Ruhr region - the military-economic base of German militarism. A sharp struggle was waged at the Potsdam Conference, but on the issue of reparations. The delegations decided that all four powers would receive reparations from their zones of occupation and from German investments abroad; The USSR, in addition to this, 25% of all industrial equipment seized from the western zones, of which 15% in exchange for equivalent supplies of coal, food and other materials. From its share of reparations, the USSR satisfied Poland's reparation claims. All reparations were to be paid in kind in the form of industrial equipment and supplies of goods. At the proposal of the USSR delegation, a decision was made to divide the surface military, as well as merchant ships of Germany equally between the USSR, the USA and England. Submarine, boats, at the suggestion of England, were to be sunk. The division of the ships was to be completed no later than February 15, 1946. The Potsdam Conference agreed with the Soviet proposal to transfer the city of Koenigsberg and the surrounding area to the USSR. An agreed decision was also made to bring the main German war criminals to trial. By decision of the Potsdam Conference, Germany's eastern borders were moved west to the Oder-Neisse line, which reduced its territory by 25% compared to 1937. Most of the territories seized from Germany became part of

The USA and England again raised the question of entering the war against Japan before the USSR. The Soviet delegation confirmed the USSR's readiness to fulfill its obligations adopted at the Crimean Conference. The decisions of the Potsdam Conference were aimed at ensuring peace and security in Europe. The Soviet government consistently implemented the decisions of the Potsdam Conference; they were fully implemented in the eastern part of Germany. However, soon after the Potsdam Conference, the Western powers began to violate the accepted agreements, pursue a separate policy towards West Germany, and encourage the development of militarism and reaction in it.

In Potsdam, many contradictions between the allies emerged, which soon led to the Cold War.

anti-Hitler coalition front

Conclusion

The anti-Hitler coalition was not a formal association, and the contribution of its participants to the fight against fascism was extremely uneven: some participants carried out active military operations with Germany and its allies, others helped them with supplies of military products, and others participated in the war only nominally.

Thus, military units of some countries - Poland, Yugoslavia, as well as Australia, Belgium, India, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Ethiopia and others - took part in military operations. Individual states of the anti-Hitler coalition (for example, Mexico) helped its main participants mainly with supplies of military raw materials. The number of coalition participants increased during the war; By the time the war with Japan ended, 53 states of the world were at war with Germany and its allies.

References

1. Kulish V.M. History of the second front - M.: 1971.

Zemskov I.K. Diplomatic history of the second front in Europe - M.: 1982.

Suprun M.N. Lend-Lease and northern convoys, 1941-1945" - M.: 1997.

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