Why did Roosevelt gave half of Europe to Stalin in 1945?

Question

After Wilson created the base for WW2 with the peace threaty of Versailles in 1919, the USA and Western Allies tried to be more practical with its peace threaty in 1945, creating an Ally in Germany instead of an Enemy. That was good. But why in the world, was Stalin, already a threat, given the means to be a super power? Was it the same reason, Islamic Terror States like Saudi Arabia nd Pakistan are supported by Bush, to make sure, we can justify a 1 Trillion a year military?

Roosevelt promised Stalin already in 1944 half of Europe, against advice of Churchill. The the Allies waited on the Rhine for 9 month, until the Russians made it into Berlin.

Answer 1

That's a great analogy. FDR did give away half of Europe at Yalta in 1943, about 18 months before the bomb was operational. At Potsdam in 1945, Truman mentioned to Stalin, that the US had a secret weapon that would bring the Pacific war to a close. Stalin replied, "use it well, comrade!"

Indeed we should have used it on the USSR after defeating Japan. Truman should not have honored FDR's agreement. The USSR was in ruins and had yet to acquire even the jet airplane. We held all the cards and we could've saved Eastern Europe four decades of misery.

I believe FDR wanted a swift victory in Europe, and was willing to go more than half way to satisfy Stalin. The (conspiracy) theory that the division was used to start an arms build up to profit the defense industry is plausable.

Again, your analogy between FDR and Bush both willing to satisfy our enemies at a high price is a good one. Bush is prudent to assist Pakistan, but he's too close to Saudi Arabia for our good.

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Answer 2

Although it was agreed in the Teheran conference which spheres of influence the allies would have after the war, Stalin got there first anyway.
The western forces did not wait on the Rhine for 9 months.
The advance through France and Belgium after July 1944 overstretched their lines of communication and supply.
Operation Market Garden to cross the Rhine in September was a failure and then winter conditions favored the Germans as the weather was unsuitable for allied air superiority.
The Germans also made one last attack in the west in the Ardennes offensive at Christmas which pinned down the western forces until January when they at last managed to cross the Rhine at Remagen by the only bridge that the Germans had forgotten to destroy.
It should be remembered that the best of the German Army was beaten by the Russians, so you could say they earned the territory the finished up with.

Answer 3

The British knew that they could not defeat both Germany AND the Soviet Union, so they felt they had to make an ally out of one of them at the beginning of the war. When the war ended, Britain and the U.S. did not feel that they could really stop the Soviets from basically taking what they wanted anyway. In the hopes of keeping the Soviets as an ally, they did not check Soviet gains made during their advance to Berlin. We were trying to make them both allies.

Also, though there was much diplomacy between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin during the war, Roosevelt would not have been involved in the final treaty, as he was dead before Germany surrendered. However, it wouldn't surprise me if he had made promises to Uncle Joe that weren't a good idea to keep.

I also like your shot at Bush simply because your reasoning is a little silly. The U.S. supports Saudi Arabia for oil. Bringing up Russia again, I'd like to see a deal with them for their oil so we can tell the Saudis to **** off. Pakistan...well, I think it is because of Bin Laden. Not exactly sure.

Answer 4

It's not like he "gave" it to Stalin. The Red Army was already occupying those areas. Basically it boiled down to two choices: Let the Russians keep it and end the war. Or they could demand the Russians vacate those areas, and the Russians would have refused. If pushed hard enough it could have let to a new war with the Soviets. And after a long a bloody war with Germany, nobody wanted to take on the Russians right away.

Answer 5

Roosevelt didn't "give" Stalin anything. He already had it! It was his by right of conquest, just as Western Europe was ours for the same reason. Remember, at that time the US and Russia were allies (hard to believe, but true!) and Roosevelt thought cooperation would help bring "Uncle Joe" into the international fold (Russia had been treated as a pariah prior to WW II because of its Communist government). Unfortunately, FDR's attitude was way ahead of the times. The world was 50 years from "glasnost", FDR didn't survive the war (Harry Truman was president when Germany and Japan finally fell), and Stalin, who'd already been betrayed by Hitler, was suspicious of anybody and everybody. It didn't take long for the allied tensions to erupt into the Cold War.

Answer 6

Winston Churchill hated the idea of Russia's influence over Eastern Europe after WWII.

He was the one who coined the famous phrase "iron curtain". But communist Russia & Red China were America's allies vs Germany & Japan.

America did not enter the war until they were attacked personally in the Allusion Islands off Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands in the south, and feared an invasion of California.

The US was isolationist, and not wanting to shed more blood fighting communism in eastern Europe.

In fact, they didn't even continue as Germany was collapsing, by moving up to Berlin, as they could and should have done!

Instead the "isolationist" Yankees stopped to licked their wounds, with the war not yet won (like the first war of Iraq), allowing the Russians to encircle the German capital completely, and loot the city.

The U.S.A. had not yet become the "policeman of the world", but the British powerhouse was virtually bankrupted by two World Wars defending Europe's freedoms.

Eventually the USA had to step into Britain's shoes as "policeman of the world", but communists were our "allies" in 1945.

The Americans were on the verge of perfecting atomic weapons, and communist spies were right up to speed on all that dangerous weaponry.

Who wanted an atomic war vs Russia, while America was getting very weary from war casualties, and still facing the Japanese?

Without the A bomb, would the US have "won" any wars???

They did not have a blood thurst for Hitler's end, let alone Stallin.

In Viet Nam, Korea, Cuba and Somalia, America's enemies were left standing!!!

Later Bush senior let Saddam off the hook in original (defensable due to Iraq invading Quait) "Dessert Storm" Iraqw War.

Bush jr isn't really "closing the coffin" on the Iraq War either!!!

All America has is "Hollywood & media influence" and the treat of atomic war, neither of which made Russia fearful.

Answer 7

Roosevelt was recognizing the reality that the Soviet Union was already on the ground in Eastern and some of Central Europe with a huge army. The European theater of World War Two was won largely by the Soviet Army killing the bulk of the Wehrmacht at great cost to itself.

There was no mechanism for taking back what the Soviet Union already had, so the fait accompli was acknowledged.

Answer 8

The triumvirate had an agreement that the US would control all of North and South America while the Soviet Union would have Asia and Eastern Europe. Britain would control the rest of Europe, the Isles, and Australia. Fortunately, we had a Constitution that stood in Roosevelt's way. In his biography, Cardinal Spellman of New York revealed that he asked Roosevelt, "Why would you enslave half of Europe to atheistic communism." The President replied, "They are just going to have to get used tom it." Roosevelt is remembered for getting us out of the depression, but his foreign policy was treacherous to say the least!!

Chow!!

Answer 9

Well, the truth is: there wasn't much he could do about it, they were already there; and, the American people would not support another war to get them out, not at that point and time. The American people were tired and exhausted after years of war, and most of them did not see Stalin as that big a threat anyway. The cold war came later.

Answer 10

as far as I know -- because lands in question were already occupied by Soviet forces -- not just 'given to' Soviets arbitrarily, i.e Roosevelt probably didn't want to aggravate an already-sensitive area; in the fall of the Axis, as we know, Allies pushed from the West & Soviets from the East passing Poland etc. up to Berlin itself. so Roosevelt (& Churchill by the way -- don't forget, there were 3 at Yalta etc.) probably said: since you're already there, (for better or worse) we'll let these countries be under your jurisdiction