All language subtitles for 20240408220452153

Friday April 13th, 1945

America is in shock

The Second World War is not yet over and U

S President Franklin Roosevelt has just died

Roosevelt was a great craftsman of peace

more than anyone else

he embodied the hope of seeing the world rebuild

on a better basis

as the silent crowd watches

the funeral procession go past

the whole planet is asking itself

without Roosevelt will the Soviet block in the west

manage to build bridges and build a lasting peace

April 12th, 1945 the White House in Washington

three hours after Roosevelt's death

Harry Truman

becomes the new president of the United States

he makes his first appearance

in a world written by chaos

in April 1945

America is still at war with Hitler and the Japanese

to add to the complications

Truman has been vice president for just three months

and he never seemed to be predestined

to be the new president of the USA

he's a former shirt and tie salesman from Missouri

he went into politics late in life

and was elected to the Senate for the first time

10 years ago

when Roosevelt selected him as his vice president

it wasn't for his abilities

he left people because he considered him clueless

he chose him purely for electoral reasons

it's very common in the US

vice presidents

are not necessarily selected for their intelligence

it's often because they can win votes

from important areas

overnight the former shopkeeper from Missouri

has been propelled

to the head of the world's biggest superpower

he himself is flabbergasted and doesn't try to hide it

the front pages scream out

what trumanous told journalists

boys if you ever pray

pray for me now

I don't know

whether you've ever had a load of hay fall on you

but when they told me what happened

I felt like the moon

stars and all the planets had fallen on me

even today President Truman's grandson remembers that

his grandfather

never tried to pretend that he was the man for the job

he was not ready for that at all

he actually said there must be a million people

a million men better qualified to do this job than I am

but it's mine to do so I'm gonna do it

he was the kind of man who

when given a job

did it

the task promises to be Herculean

he will have to build the world of tomorrow

on solid basis

but Truman has no experience of international politics

in the three months he has been vice president

Roosevelt has only met him in private twice

Truman has been told nothing

I fault my grandfather

for not trying to bring him more into the picture

I wonder how much energy my grandfather had

I think he was well aware of his diminishing energy

and to bring Truman into the picture

may have been more than he could face

two months before his death

Roosevelt had met with Stalin and Churchill at Yalta

it was there in Crimea

that the Big Three

had laid the foundations for future peace

but the deals concluded were complex

and full of ambiguity

each of the allies having played its own hand

Truman was not privy to these discussions

he needs to familiarize himself with all the dossiers

he is pragmatic and hardworking

so he has countless briefings with his advisors

but will his relentless work be enough

can this small time Thai salesman from Missouri

hold his own against the formidable Stalin

one month after Truman exceeds to the White House

the allies win the war in Europe

all over the continent people are jubilant

outside Buckingham Palace in London

a human tide greets Winston Churchill

the British prime minister is lauded as a hero

but even at this euphoric moment Churchill looks drawn

the smile on his face looks a little forced

in his memoir he writes

weary and warm impoverished but undaunted

and now triumphant we shared a moment that was sublime

yet it may well be

there were few

whose hearts were more heavily burdened with anxiety

than mine

what could seem so terrible

that it could darken such a moment

problem Churchill has goes by the name of Stalin

now the war in Europe is one

the British prime minister is convinced

that Stalin will seize this opportunity

to install communist regimes everywhere he can

already contrary to the pledges made at Ulta

the Soviet leader has established a communist regime

in Romania in Poland

six non Communist ministers have

been allowed to join the government

but they have a little less power everyday

Sterling wanted all of Europe to become communist

it was an ideology

but also because he had the mindset of an emperor

a dictator with an emperor's mindset

the British prime minister tries to warn Truman

but the new American president is not interested

for now Truman has taken the tack

that he will honor the agreements made by Roosevelt

he will not have a word said against his Communist ally

Churchill can only wait and hope

that criminals see the Soviet leader's true colours

for himself

the opportunity soon arises

July 16th, 1945 Berlin airport

the US president's plane has just landed

Truman is in Europe for a peace conference

this is his opportunity to meet his allies

and make up his own mind about them

talks are to take place at potsdale

a few miles from Berlin

in order to get there

Truman has to go through the former capital of a third

right

Berlin is nothing more than a land of ruins

a few bone weary people wander around aimlessly

the scene of desolation upsets Truman

and convinces him

that he needs to help Germany get back on its feet

that evening he writes in his diary

never have I seen such a sorrowful and depressing sight

we saw old men old women

and young women carrying what they could

of what they had left to nowhere in particular

the conference begins on the next day July 17th

here at Sicilian Hofcastle Truman

Stalin and Churchill meet for the first and only time

as Truman expected Churchill seems charming

but his advisers keep telling him

that Stalin is not to be trusted

however the new president

quickly sizes up the man

with whom he'll have to negotiate

I can deal with Stalin he's honest but cunning as hell

Stalin on the other hand

has no concerns about Truman

who he just sees as a small time shopkeeper

from Missouri

Stalin knows very little about Truman

because he was a bit part player

his spies hadn't really spoken about him

and what they had said

LED him to believe that he was insignificant

and weak

and could be made to agree to anything

but Truman is a man who sticks to his guns

for against all expectations

despite his lack of experience

the American president knows how to stand firm

he's in no way cowed by Stalin

a matter of character certainly

but not only that

Truman feels he's in a strong position

because he's waiting for a piece of information

that could make him

the most powerful man on the planet

at that precise moment in the United States

a top secret event is being prepared

while he's negotiating

the president is keenly anticipating some news

on day two of the negotiations

he finally received the telegram in coded language

doctor has just returned most enthusiastically

and confident that the little boy is as husky as his

big brother the light in his eyes is discernible

from here to high hold

and I could have heard his screams from here to my farm

the little boy in question is the first atomic bomb

for the last four years

the planet's finest scientists have been working

in the greatest secrecy

to develop what could be the ultimate weapon

the operation is codenamed Trinity

the first nuclear test in history

is an unqualified success

the explosion is the equivalent of detonating

21 kilotones of TNT

never before has such destructive power been achieved

a single weapon

now has the power to annihilate all of humanity

after hesitating briefly

Truman decides to forewarn Stalin

this is obviously seen as bad news

it means that henceforth

the Soviet Union is in a position of inferiority

everyone was watching out for Stalin's reaction

and Stalin who was a good actor

said oh

well I'm pleased for you

and I hope you'll use it against Japan

but was Stalin really in the dark

despite the drastic measures taken by the Americans

to protect the secrecy of their project

Russian spies have managed to infiltrate the Los Alamos

base where the atomic bomb was being developed

among them is Klaus Fooks

a German physicist who has fled the Nazis

but Fooks a proven communist

is also a spy in the pay of the Soviet Union

for the last two years the scientist

has been passing on

all of the plans for the atomic bomb

to the Russians

thanks to this information

Soviet Union has began to develop its own nuclear bomb

despite this on July 24th

when Stalin finds out that the American bomb is ready

he becomes anxious

there is nothing Stalin hates more

than feeling vulnerable

one push little sub broke across

no shit he called together his entire Potsdam entourage

and he asked them to tell the scientists

and everyone else working on the atomic project

that he wanted them all

to speed up the creation of the Russian atomic bomb

as much as possible

the bomb would become an obsession for Stalin

until he has his own atomic bomb

the supreme leader will not feel confident

facing the Americans

his relationship with Truman is about to become fraud

Potsdam will also

be the backdrop for another conflagation

in mid conference

Churchill leaves the negotiating table

to head for London

to receive the results of the general election

a passionate Democrat the British prime minister

has thrown his hat in the ring once again

he's acclaimed throughout Britain

in the weeks he spends campaigning

but as a day dawns on the morning of the election

he has a feeling of foreboding

I woke suddenly

with a sharp stab of almost physical pain

the power to shape the future would be denied me

Churchill's intuition is correct

and to general amazement he loses the election

rather than their war hero

the British people have opted for a new man

the Labour leader Clement Adley

the day after his triumph

Adley settles into Churchill's still warm seat

around the table there is a general sense that

there's been a casting error

Clemont Ackley is a man who seems truly insignificant

Churchill used to say

he was a sheep in sheep's clothing

or an empty car stops outside Downing Street

and Ackley gets out of it

a modest man with much to be modest about

and this leaves Stalin puzzled

because

he was convinced that Churchill had all he needed

to be able to rig the election

which in Stalin's eyes

is what any politician worth his salt would do

faced with a lost and awkward Adley

Stalin takes matters into his own hands

he's the last man standing of Yelta's Big Three

under Adley Great Britain is now on the sidelines

there are only two superpowers left in the world

the USA and the USSR

Truman and Stalin meet face to face

very quickly

the differences between the two men turn sour

and become genuinely contentious

five days after Pot's done

Truman makes a decision

which will have significant consequences

the USA will use its atomic bomb against Japan

this ratchets up the tension with Stalin

August 6th, 1945

in the early hours of the morning

the American bomber

Enola Gay flies towards the Japanese archipelago

at 8:15 Little boy is dropped on Hiroshima

a huge mushroom cloud billows over the city

the temperature on the ground reaches 4,000 degrees

70,000 people die instantly

the city is

nothing more than a wasteland of ash and dust

three days later on August 9th

it's Nagasaki's turn to be bombed

the whole world is in shock

Stalin sees the atomic bomber's provocation

he's convinced that Truman is trying to intimidate him

he doesn't understand why

America has launched its bombs when

on August 8th as promised

the USSR joined the war against Japan alongside the USA

the way we saw it

was that the US was sending a clear message

in using the atomic bomb against Japan

the aim was

not to achieve a quick victory against the Japanese

but to intimidate the Soviet Union

in order to be able to dictate American conditions

serious case sales

obviously

Truman wanted to end the war as quickly as possible

and save American lives

but it is also a clear message to Stalin

because Truman fully intends to let him know

that he is now in the driver's seat

from then on Stalin wants to know

how much leeway he will get with Truman

and decides to test him

and Yalta Stalin was promised territory

in exchange for joining the war against Japan

Sakhalin Island the Corin Islands

Diren Port Arthur and a Manchurian railway line

but now

Stalin demands to be allowed to occupy Hokkaido Island

in a telegram to Truman Stalin explains

Russian public opinion

would like to see our troops get an occupation zone

in part of the archipelago

anything to the contrary would be seriously offensive

I hope my modest request will be satisfied

he then rethinks and adds in his own hand

we'll meet with no objection

the American president is outraged

his response is unequivocal

no period

Grandpa expected people to be straightforward

and honest he does

the kind of people he that's how he was

he expected people to be truthful with him

to be upfront and when he discovered that they weren't

he discovered that Stalin wasn't

he very quickly got his back up and

and began to deal with Stalin more

more roughly more directly more confrontationally

Stalin has also decided to move things forward

and press his advantage in Europe

rigged elections coups

wherever he can Stalin establishes communist regimes

Poland Czechoslovakia

Hungary and Bulgaria in turn

all fall into Soviet hands

the rampant Stalinization of Europe worries Truman

but he's still unsure how to approach the situation

the telegram

which lands on his desk on February 22nd, 1946

changes everything its author is George Cannon

an ordinary diplomat posted in Moscow

Cannon has had time to observe how Stalin operates

he has seen

that Stalin wants to take control of Eastern Europe

and is convinced that the only way to stop him

is to stand firm

in a long telegram to Washington

he describes the Soviet apparatus

at the bottom of Kremlin's

neurotic view of world affairs

is a traditional and instinctive

Russian sense of insecurity

Russians are impervious to the logic of reason

and very sensitive to the logic of force

Kenan explains

that it's pointless to try and appease Stalin

in any case he cannot and will not be appeased

because that allows him to justify dictatorship

but on the other hand we should be firm with Stalin

because he understands how the balance of power works

and that when the west stands firm

he's ready to back down

Cannon's analysis confirms everything

that the US president had intuitively foreseen

his change of tack is then drastic

Truman jedison's Roosevelt former advisers

whom he considers too lenient

with regards to the Soviet Union

and appoints some new men

Cannon is soon called to the White House

as a special adviser

Truman is still left with a problem

that

of explaining this turnaround to the American public

this will be a delicate operation

as in the eyes of America

Stalin is a great ally

the man who helped win the war against Hitler

the press has consistently hailed him as a hero

they've been exposed to four years of war propaganda

which is shown Stalin as a friend to all children

and a great ally who will help America win the war

don't care

said the propaganda was successful

and Stalin is very popular in the USA

the American president then has an idea

he will make use of the former British prime minister

and let him deliver the bad news

Churchill still has considerable prestige

and no one will dare to doubt his word

also he would surely be delighted to pay a visit

to the States

since losing the election

he's been in a period of deep depression

on March 5th, 1946 everyone in the small town of Fulton

Missouri has hung out their flag

to welcome the former British leader

it's a beautiful sunny day

Truman welcomes Churchill to his home territory

breathed and smiles

Truman is quite aware

that Churchill is about to drop a bombshell

but does not let on that he knows anything

a few minutes later at Fulton University

Churchill gives a speech that will stun his audience

and dismay the whole world

from statine in the Baltic to Treach in the Adriatic

an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent

the Iron Curtain speech provokes an outcry

the Americans are shocked good old Uncle Joe

this strategy of Trumans is very clever

in that he lets Churchill make the speech

where he mentioned the Iron Curtain

because it shows America and the rest of the world

that this change in America's policy

is not just down to Truman

or a few isolated advisors

but that a significant of figure

as Churchill

was thinking the same way as the American president

soon Stalin's former admirers in the US

start to consider him a dangerous tyrant

in the Soviet Union

the Fulton speech is seen as a stab in the back

Stalin is said to be furious

intellectuals and those close to the Kremlin

stand united against Churchill

Churchill owner Churchill was our country's sworn enemy

he was the leader of

the world's most anti Soviet nation in the west

he spent his whole life

trying to put one over on the Soviet Union

say it's gonna save

henceforth

European countries will have to nail their colours

to either the communist or the capitalist masked

in this race to divide up the world

Stalin has a head start

he's already got his hands on countries

in Eastern Europe and is making ground in the West

Communist ministers

have already found their way into the French

and Italian parliament

how far will Stalin manage to extend

his fear of influence

this question Hans Truman

he understands full well that

in this arm wrestle with Stalin

one thing adds weight to his opponent poverty

almost two years after the end of World War 2

Europe is still not got back on its feet

the old continent is staring into the abyss

Truman is perfectly aware that this deparation

makes a perfect breeding ground for communism

but before he can act

he needs a clear view of the situation

in early 1947 Truman sends Montana Senator

Mike Mansfield to Europe with a brief

to evaluate the situation

his report is horrifying

in every country visited

there was evidence of malnutrition

tuberculosis and disease

the greater part of the Italian population

is subsisting on a bread ration

from 75 to 1 25 grams a day

very little in addition is eaten

when he reads the report

a new conviction awakens in Truman

if he does not come to Europe's help

he will leave stall in a free rein on the continent

Truman then decides on a rescue plan for Europe

and entrusts it to secretary of State

General George Marshall

raw materials machine tools

tons of equipment make their way across the Atlantic

but behind this facade of generosity

the Marshall plant is also vital

is a tool to relaunch the US economy

it

was also a way to bring a new vicar to American trade

because you can't be rich on your own in the world

you need rich partners too

so by extension if the USA

who had profited from the war

could not trade with other countries

because

those countries couldn't afford to buy anything

then America's wealth would go into decline

the Marshall Plan is also a political strategy

designed to destabilize Stalin

because

American aid is on offer to all European countries

including those in the east

and of course the eastern nations

who are under the Protection of the Soviet Union

are also in great need like Poland and Czechoslovakia

who are both offered the martial plan

but ultimately the conflict of ideologies wins the day

the Marshall Plan was perceived as an American

imperialistic ploy to subjugate Western Europe

this was completely unacceptable to Stalin

those Eastern European countries

tempted by the idea of American aid

was soon brought into line

in total 16 countries

all western take part in the Marshall Plan France

the United Kingdom and Italy

are the greatest beneficiaries

by mid 1947

Churchill's Iron Curtain has become a reality

one city will bear the brunt of this

new battle of Wales

between the west and the Soviet Union

Berlin

the German capital lies

at the very heart of the Russian zone of occupation

but the city itself is occupied by four Allied powers

the USA Great Britain

France and the Soviet Union

between them

they have the task of putting Germany back on its feet

but

the allies are unable to agree on a course of action

the Soviet priority is to get their war reparations

the USSR is broke

as predicted by the peace agreements

the Russians take their compensation in kind

and dismantle Germany's industry

entire factories are dismantled

and taken to the Soviet Union to be reassembled

meanwhile the Americans rebuild

as promised in the terms of the martial plan

the Americans gave Germany $16 billion

we on the other hand

gave nothing

but we were in no position to give anything

we had nothing we couldn't compete

in the west life gradually goes back to normal

while Berlin's eastern sector goes to rack and ruin

the Americans want to go further

and introduce sweeping reforms

to help revitalize the German economy

but Stalin objects

he wants to maintain the status quo

what Stalin wants is a comparable level of suffering

on both sides of Berlin

and that the isolated inhabitants of West Berlin

end up falling under the influence of East Germany

this capitalist enclave

in the middle of a communist sea is unbearable

in order to get through this impasse

the western powers the only one solution

to merge their occupation zones

this will without a doubt infuriate Stalin

but to what extent

could Stalin start a war

before proceeding the west needs information

and there's only one way to get it

espionage

unfortunately in these early days of the Cold War

the American secret services are

to all intents and purposes non existent

actually

it's worth noting that during World War 2 in 1942

the Roosevelt administration created the OSS

Information Service

but it was no longer active after the war ended in 1945

so between 1945 and 47

the United States had no intelligent services as such

therefore in the summer of 1947

Truman decides to found a new intelligence agency

which will soon be known the world over the CIA

former Admiral Henry Hillencutter is named as its head

he has the difficult task of recruiting

and training spies in a very short space of time

the problem is

that he will need to find Russian speaking spies

and other than the Russians themselves

not many people speak Russian

for this former British secret service operative

this was a major hindrance

the problem was

how far could you trust someone who is Russian born

always a big secrets because

you could never guarantee that they weren't actually

here on the other side working for the Russians

Helen Catter wastes no time

pragmatically

he realizes that it is among recent enemies

that he will find despise

Reinhardt Galen a former Nazi

and the wehrmacht's head of intelligence in the east

is recycled by the CIA

Galen knows the communist world extremely well

he becomes the brains behind American espionage

in Germany

he helps recruit hundreds of former Nazis to the CIA

the Americans have no qualms about this

the only thing that matters to Truman

is blocking Stalin's way

the logistics have changed

in the Cold War the enemy wasn't Germany

but the Soviet Union so ultimately

why not make use of people who are fervently anti

communist and obviously

those former Nazis hated communists with a passion

so why not at this point

we're in the middle of genuine real politic

the CIA's opponents

Russia's GRU and KGB are also very active

but they have a considerable head start

as their intelligence services have existed

since the First World War

Berlin will become the world's espionage capital

in the street the civil service

in the armed forces there are spies everywhere

all of them regardless of which side they're on

have the same objective

to decipher their opponent's plans

and to get one step ahead of them

espionage uh

was almost certainly a new style of warfare uh

because uh

you needed no guns uh

and

it penetrated right into the centre of the other sides

worldview

as Truman has requested

Galen and his men try to discover

what Stalin's reaction

would be if the west merged its various zones in Berlin

in the late spring of 1948

the German spies think they may finally have the answer

on June 9th a telegram from Helen Catter warns Truman

according to the head of the CIA

if the west were to bring

all of their zones of occupation together

as one Stalin's reaction would be

the USSR may be expected to

continuous hindrance of western powers in Berlin

and elsewhere in Germany

by any means short of military force

this is the green light the allies were waiting for

four days after Hillencatter's telegram

the Americans

British and French create a new currency for their zone

the Deutschmark

Stalin sees this currency as a symbol of capitalism

and a provocation

he has to react

as the German spies had predicted

the Soviet leader then decides on economic retaliation

on June 24th, 1948

he cuts off all supply routes to West Berlin

the roads

which link West Germany to West Berlin are blocked

2.5 million inhabitants of Berlin are trapped

without supplies

they will be unable to survive for long

in Washington

some of Truman's advisers urgent to respond with force

but the US president decides on another option

to replenish the city's provisions from the air

he didn't want open warfare

between the US and the Soviets

that was the last thing he wanted

but he also didn't want to appear weak

like we were gonna do nothing

cause if you let the Soviets get away

with closing off Berlin

then they taken they take something else

and I

I don't think that the idea for the airlift was his

but he agreed to it because it made sense

four days after the blockade starts

huge British and American cargo planes fly over Berlin

within their bellies

tons of food and goods and the famous care packages

assembled by the American NGO care

these parcels contain everything

the Berliners need to survive bacon margarine

powdered eggs chocolate the taste of America

what Stalin hadn't accounted for at all

was that the Americans

the English and the French together

had the wherewithal to keep West Berlin supplied

for 11 months to the tune of 6,000 tons a day

everyday a cargo plane

would land on one of Berlin's three aerodromes

every 30 seconds

for a year Berlin citizens live their lives

to the rhythm of the aircraft

flying back and forth over their heads

but despite American aid daily life remains difficult

in order to survive everyone does whatever they can

so we start appearing in the heart of the city

soon vegetables start growing through the tarmac

they also show themselves resourceful

where heating is concerned

the Americans are not sending enough coal

so Berliners find wood wherever it is available

trees are uprooted

not one bench in the city has any slots left

at the market people trade with anything they have

coats bags shoes

Berliners want for everything but they survive

the Americans too

are determined to stand fast whatever the cost

and as predicted by Galen

Stalin does not give the order

to shoot down the American planes

he was unprepared to go to war

because the Americans had the atomic bomb

The Soviet Union

would not have been able to endure another war

when 20 million Russians died during World War two

realising that he had lost the political arm wrestle

Stalin lifts the blockade on May 12th, 1949

all over West Berlin people rejoice

for the Communist leader this is a humiliating defeat

this small time shopkeeper from Missouri

has got the upper hand

over the most feared man on the planet

in his memoirs Truman can barely hide his delight

he knows that he has scored a crucial point

in his battle against Stalin

the blockade that sharply turned them against communism

Germany which have been waiting passively

to see where it should cast it's lot for the future

was veering towards the cause of the western nations

this was the exact opposite of what Stalin wanted

which was to sow discord between the allies

it actually sealed reconciliation

and friendship between the German and American people

they formed a close bond and

we're responsible for ensuring the survival of West

Berlin

15 days after the blockade is lifted

the western powers

create the Federal Republic of Germany

The Soviet Union responds

by founding the Democratic Republic of Germany

the allies of yesterday are now officially enemies

at the White House Cannon is terrified

he's farsighted and writes

all in all

our policy on the continent takes us along the street

to which there are only three outlets

a Russian collapse a disintegration of our own position

or a terrible war

the threat of a terrible war

hangs a little more heavily on the world everyday

Stalin

has still not recovered from the blockade debacle

and wants to regain the upper hand

his efforts eventually allow him to turn the tables

once more

to the horror of the western powers

on August 29th, 1949

the Russians detonate an atomic bomb in Kazakhstan

the information provided by folks and his comrades

who infiltrated Los Alamos

has finally borne fruit

Soviet intelligence services

helped us to accelerate

the creation of a Soviet atomic bomb

and they allowed us to save a lot of resources

our scientists believe that the information

provided by our intelligence services

enabled us to reduce the development time for the bomb

from 10 to five years

this comes as a great shock

determined

he could never have imagined that the Soviets

crippled by war

could develop a nuclear weapon so quickly

Stalin feels empowered again

The Soviet Union is once more

the equal of the United States

the world leaders on the brink of terror

Said Raymond Arroz

summed up this Cold War perfectly when he said

war is impossible

impossible because it would be nuclear

peace is improbable war is impossible

peace is improbable

conflicts are not long and breaking out

but they will remain localized and be fought by proxy

because neither American

nor Soviet blood should ever be spilled

as that would cause widespread chaos

the first of these post World War 2 conflicts to erupt

is in a small country that few Russians

or Americans

would be able to identify on a map of the world

Korea

since 1945 Korea

which formerly belonged to Japan

has been occupied on both sides of the 38th parallel

to the south by the Americans

to the north by the Soviets

since then North Korea's communist leader

Kim Ing seung has sought to reunite his country

he has on several occasions asked Stalin for help

but the Soviet leader has always refused

however on January 12th

the supreme leader changes his mind

and it is all because of a tiny

little sentence uttered by Dean Atchison

the American secretary of state that day

in his speech on America's military ambitions

Atchison writes

this defensive perimeter runs along the illusions

then to Japan then to the ryracuse and the Philippines

he forgot about Korea

the worst mistake he could have made there was Taiwan

Japan the Philippines

everything you like except Korea

it wasn't clever

which is surprising for someone as experiences

actress in

but he made a big blunder

Stalin took this as an encouraging sign

that the Americans had softened again

Stalin then

gives Kim Il Seung a green light to spring into action

at 4:00am on June 25th, 1950

North Korean forces cross the 38th parallel

the news is immediately broken

to Truman

who is spending the weekend in his home in Missouri

the American president does not hesitate for a moment

force must be met with force

his memoirs recall

if this was to go unchallenged

it would mean a Third World War

just as similar incidents had brought about

the Second World War

the Americans were not prepared for an attack on Korea

and they have virtually no troops there

the North Koreans make ground with alarming ease

and seize soul in less than a week

Truman is deeply concerned

how will it all end

he writes to his wife

I hope we can contain it

and not have to order our terrible weapon turned loose

Truman will not need to use the atomic bomb

as he has another secret weapon in the form of a man

General MacArthur

the great hero of the war in the Pacific

is in charge of the occupation of Japan

he knows Asia very well and is a peerless tactician

in just a few months he succeeds

in regaining the advantage over the communists

by November 1950

the Americans have invaded almost all of North Korea

and are close to the Chinese border

The Cold War is suddenly looking

likely to become very hot

because neighbouring China became communist in 1949

Mao sends 500,000 Chinese volunteers

to help his North Korean Brethren

here again you see the prudence of Mao in this conflict

in that he doesn't want China to be seen intervening

as a state

so he uses this strategy of Chinese volunteers

to intervene surreptitiously

yeah

servants are full there is certainly an empirical

rather than theoretical mastery of the Cold War

everyone makes their move

but does so in a controlled way

to ensure that the Cold War doesn't become a general

global and nuclear war in nuclear

for Truman these months of intense tension

are psychologically exhausting

in his journal he writes

it is hell to be the president

of the most powerful nation on earth

I would rather be the leader of my village

the American president

only ever refers to the White House as the white prison

the Korean conflict is becoming a war of attrition

but it is a completely unexpected event

which brings the war to an end

Stalin disappears

March 1st, 1953

Constable Dasha near Moscow

this is where Stalin now lives as a recluse

the man who struck fear in the hearts of the world

has locked himself away

in a cage of delusional paranoia

he fears he's going to be assassinated

when Stalin goes to bed that night

he's had a lot to drink

during the night

he suffers a cerebral hemorrhage for 10 hours

as he lies dying no one dares to open his door

everyone is too afraid of the possible reprisals

he died alone

and all those who could have helped him

such as his doctor well

he was imprisoned he could have made a recovery

but when his cronies arrived

like Khrushchev Beriam Malankov

they didn't do anything in case it's held against them

so doctors were called but those doctors were scared

they didn't even dare make a diagnosis

because the KGB behind them is saying

be careful what you write and what you discover comrade

after four days of death throws

and no adequate treatment

Joseph Stalin dies on March 5th, 1953

as soon as the news is out

5 million people flood towards Moscow

they all want to see the remains of the man who

over a quarter of the century

decided whether they lived or died

many people who hated Starlin said

thank god he snuffed it at last

many others saw him as a kind of demigod

and was stunned

to find out that he turned out to be mortal

the third and the most important concern for everyone

was what happens now

the whole world is reeling from the shock

while Molotov and others close to Stalin

carry the coffin

each of them is thinking about the future

in Moscow just as in London and Washington

people hope that the end of the Soviet dictator

will also mean an end to political tensions

their hopes will soon be dashed

eight years of continual

latent conflict between the USA

and the Soviet Union

have shaped the world in such a way

that there is no easy way to turn back

Stalin and Truman's Cold War will dominate the world

and fill the hearts of humanity for nearly 40 years

February 1945

for the last six years

Europe has been one vast battlefield

millions of men are dead

but now there is a certainty

that Nazi Germany will be defeated

and the allies are already looking to the future

because it is now as the battle still rage

the peace must be broken

therefore Stalin

Roosevelt and Churchill decide to get together

the meeting takes place in a small resort

in the south of the Soviet Union

it is here in Crimea

that these three giants will together

dream up the postwar world

at one of the greatest conferences of all time

the Yelta Conference

this photograph is Yelta's memento of history

but what paths LED to this moment

why are the faces of Churchill

Roosevelt and staling so tense

united and war

the allies will show themselves to be at loggerheads

in peace for eight days

between the 4th and 11th of February 1945

the three greats will engage in a merciless struggle

dictated by their opposing interests and ideologies

Yelta is the last time they will all meet

each one of them

is at a crucial stage of his own destiny

while this conference

will soon plunge the world into a new darkness

February 3rd, 1945 after a seven hour flight

British and American aircraft

which took off by night

land on the frozen runway of Sakhi airport in Crimea

as he alights from the plane

Winston Churchill is stiff and has a raging fever

but the British prime minister puts on a brave face

even unwell he is ready to write a new page of history

US President Franklin Roosevelt is also ready

despite his extreme fatigue

diplomats and servicemen greet each other on the runway

many of those present at Yalta keep logs

thanks to their revelations

we know exactly what happened during the conference

their writings tell the stories

that the official history doesn't

Stalin has not seen fit to come and greet his guest

Itsaki

this absence is an early gambit in his power game

negotiations are well and truly underway

it falls to Molotov Stalin's faithful right hand man

to meet Roosevelt and Churchill off the plane

ravaged by polio Roosevelt can no longer walk

walking beside him

Churchill seems to be in a position of inferiority

this strange scenario

is not lost on Churchill's personal doctor

Lord Moran who protests in his diary

the Prime Minister Walter

alongside the president like an Indian attendant

accompanying Queen Victoria's fate in an old age

but this is not the last time the

Churchill will appear to be Roosevelt's attendant

the war is not yet over and

the British Empire's glory

is already beginning to fade

the USA

and the Soviet Union are the centuries new giants

Yalta will be Churchill's struggle for survival

Yalta is 150 kilometers from Saki

the journey takes no less than five hours

because of the poor state of the winding road

a whole new ordeal begins for Roosevelt

he was paralyzed

so even in an automobile

he sat in the back seat with two cushions behind him

here to

to give to brace his back and some support for his legs

which were useless uh

and so it was a very difficult trip

with the war still ongoing across Europe

the road to Yalta is kept under close surveillance

160 fighter planes patrol the sky

Roosevelt's daughter Anna Betager

who is his travelling companion

is startled to observe how the Soviets operate

in her diary she writes

all along the road from Sakhi Tielta

soldiers were posted every 300 meters

each time a car passed by

those without rifles saluted us

all of these Russian soldiers

women included were smart and erect

through the windows

Roseville and Churchill witness a scene of devastation

Crimea was won back from the Germans

less than a year ago

over 20 million Russians lost their lives

70,000 Soviet towns and villages were destroyed

the USSR is profoundly scarred by the war

and Stalin himself has designed the itinerary

so that his guests do not miss a single detail

of devastation

this allows Stalin very skillfully

to lay the burden of guilt on his two counterparts

mainly Roosevelt we have lost many people

the subjects being that we've lost many people

because you didn't come to help us

after an interminable five hour trip

Roseveld and Churchill finally reach the altar

in the early evening Roseveld is exhausted

his journey started 12 days ago

when he crossed the Atlantic by boat

before catching a plane from Malta

the American president has covered 8,500 km

while Churchill discovered 3,200 kilometers

Stalin's journey by train was a mere 1,500 km

it is as if

there is some significance to the number of kilometers

and that

Roosevelt was prepared to make the greatest effort

and Stalin the least

The Bay of Yalta has lost none of its charm

in the 19th century it was a kind of Soviet Riviera

with SARS and Aristocats came to spend their holidays

the conference delegates will be put up in palaces

that are still intact today

before negotiations began in February 1945

they were completely refurbished

in anticipation of the conference

the palaces were very quickly refurnished

with things brought from Moscow in great convoys

in order to give them a homely feel

they've been terribly neglected for a very long time

it was Stalin

who decided to have the conference at yolter

and he wanted to ensure that his guests had nothing

but good memories

he greets them with opulence

reserving them the two finest Villas

Levadia Palace for Roseveld

where the negotiations took place

and voorunce of Villa for Churchill

it is a clear night over Yalta

each of the Big Three gathers his strength

for the coming Marathon

February 4th, 1945 Day one of the negotiations

before the debates get underway

Staling pays a courtesy visit to his guests

he starts with Churchill

the two men have not seen each other

since they met in Moscow four months ago

they are pleased to see one another

and take stock of the military situation

Stalin's reunion with Roosevelt is just as cordial

the Russian and the American share a martini

Roosevelt guilty pleasure

and there's no lemon Stalin makes a note of this

and the next time he has a huge lemon tree delivered

this makes quite an impression on the British

and the Americans because a lemon tree

in the middle of the war is quite remarkable

the dazzles

and at the same time it shows off Stalin's power

the stallion

because in the field Stalin is in a dominant position

since the spring

the Soviet steam roller has been on the move

and the Red Army is regaining territory

from the Germans

it's time for Stalin's war efforts to pay dividends

negotiations finally begin at five PM

the Lavadious Ballroom has been prepared

for the conference everything is ready

ministers and diplomats talk amongst themselves

as they wait for the three great leaders

Churchill is the first to arrive with his daughter

Sarah

the prime minister is in good spirits

and is wearing a Russian cap in tribute to his host

he feels better after a good night's sleep

his temperature has fallen

Stalin is the next to arrive

in front of the cameras

the two men make a show of their camaraderie

Roosevelt is already at the negotiation table

having made a discrete entrance

this ritual will be repeated for the next eight days

he has banned cameras from filming his arrivals

deeming them to humiliating

he has to get from that wheelchair into a chair

which is not easy

when you are paralyzed from the waist down

each of the Big Three has his advisers around him

they will not be negotiating alone

Churchill is accompanied by Anthony Eden

his foreign minister

along with diplomat Alexander Kadugan

an expert on Poland

Roosevelt leans on Harry Hopkins

his friend and right hand man

the man he trusts more than any other

but also his foreign minister Edward Statinius

Stalin also has two main advisers

Yataslav Molotov is foreign minister

and the diplomat Yvonne Meiski

there are four large dossiers on the table

the fate of defeated Germany

that of Poland

the United Nations and the war against Japan

the positions of the different Allied armies

will have a significant influence on these dossiers

since December the Red Army has liberated Romania

Bulgaria Hungarian Poland

the Russians are a mere 80 kilometers from Berlin

the Anglo American forces however

have been hampered by a German counterattack

and are yet to cross the Rhine

you can certainly say from the military point of view

the Soviets are clearly ahead of their western allies

and that gives them the high ground

from a diplomatic perspective

added to this imbalance in the field

there is also an ideological disparity

Churchill and Roseville are two capitalists

facing a communist

but this is not to say that they will present a united

front to Stalin far from it

in fact the two men espous quite differing ideologies

Rosevelt respects Churchill as an old warhorse

who stood alone in Europe

and admires this fellow

who is still capable of remarkable performances

at the same time he has a degree of contempt for him

because he sees him as an old colonialist throwback

while he himself considers he has modern ideals

such as decolonization of the world

Roosevelt needs Stalin more than he needs Churchill

at this time

the US is fighting a war against Japan in the Pacific

the battles are incredibly violent

and the Japanese have no hesitation in using kamikaze

suicide jets against their foes rather than surrender

without help from the Russians

the war could go on and on

Roosevelt also needs Stalin

to participate in the future

United Nations organization

which is trying to assemble

without the USSR the UN will be just an empty shell

in order to move the project forward

Roosevelt is prepared to jettison Churchill

a long standing ally but with nothing to offer

Churchill takes this very badly

for him it is a disaster to arrive separately

in the knowledge

that Stalin will fully exploit

any divergence between the American

and the Britain

the British prime minister

suspects that

Stalin will try to establish communist regimes

in all of the countries liberated by the Red Army

and he knows that without Roosevelt's help

he will have no chance of stopping him

you can help

during the first day

only military matters are discussed

each watches the others as the tactical game begins

Stalin takes the lead

he suggests that Roosevelt

preside over the plenary sessions

by being made president

he's being ingratiated but also rendered powerless

because

he will be constrained to being master of ceremonies

during which time others will be able to plot

and negotiate behind his back

this is a very clever play on Stalin's part

the first session was just a warm up

with no significant decisions being made

but the Westerners are clearly aware

that it will not be easy to make their voices heard

against Stanley

so come the evening

each of them hones his strategy for the next day

Churchill ponders calmly alone

gazing at the portraits of British aristocrats

that Stalin has thoughtfully had hung on the walls

for his enjoyment

Roosevelt develops his battle plan with Harry Hopkins

Day 2

Churchill is once more first to arrive

while Stalin again is fashionably late

this time serious matters will be discussed

the German question is to be debated

what will be Germany's fate once she has lost the war

how will the country be managed

what reparations will be appropriate

the allies have differing positions

on all of these questions

discussions begin

with the issue of Germany's imminent occupation

as early as 1944 the plan was that once conquered

the country would be divided

and governed in three zones American British and Soviet

but now Churchill requests a fourth zone for France

this time

he no longer wants to stand alone

against these two giants

who have something of an axe to grime

with imperial powers

he wants an alliance with another colonial power

finally Stalin magnanimously says

the French didn't really fight much during the war

so we don't see why they collaborated

they gave up very quickly in 1940

they don't deserve it but I'm a reasonable man

alright then

but you can share your own occupation zone with them

the concession cost him nothing

and Stalin seeds quickly but

he takes the opportunity to demand something

from his allies in return

he wants the maximum reparations possible from Germany

the Soviet Union is ruined the Bosh must pay

this vengeful attitude worries Roosevelt and Churchill

on this occasion the two western leaders stand fast

if Germany is pillaged and starved to appease Stalin

how can she be put back on her feet

it will inevitably be funded by us

so ultimately

we will be the one paying Stalin's reparations

which is clearly a bad thing

this refusal causes Stalin to dig his heels in

he's vexed and becomes suspicious

he's angry with his allies and becomes aggressive

frankly look me in the eye

tell me

why do you not want the Soviet Union to be rebuilt

is there some reason in the back of your western minds

why you would be against the legitimate reconstruction

of our country why do you want to undermine us

first Defiance then the bluff

Stalin is about to play his Trump card

and for that

he will need the support of his Krony Molotov

the two men form a peerless duo

and are both masters of the dark arts of diplomacy

most of is the bad cop Mr Net

he's the one who isn't any fun

and will be immovable on the more difficult issues

and the point where Stalin intervenes

is when he smooths the waters

as if he's saying you're going too far

you don't have to be so harsh

at this point a total figure for reparations

needs to be added to the German dossier

nothing has yet been decided by the Soviet delegation

other than a minimum and a maximum figure

in his journal

Russian diplomat Ivan Meiski describes the scene

Molotov sitting Starlin's right

leans towards him and asks in a worried tone

should I give them a total yes

give them a total reply Starlin

which one five or 10

10 snaps darling

it's a way of demonstrating

that discussions are ongoing

that nothing has been finalized

and

probably seems more reassuring for their counterparts

across the table

10 billion for the USSR it's agreed

no one says anything

Stalin assumes that the total has been accepted

the Westerners haven't dared to react

but

this decision will have severe consequences later on

because Germany is uncapable of paying such a vast sum

the Soviets will take payment in kind and dismantle

Germany's industry

following this first round of negotiations

each of the Big Three will retire to his palace

to recuperate

as usual Stalin buries himself in dossiers

and prepares for the next day's debates

his office desk has been preserved

exactly as it was then

in Livadia Palace

Roosevelt finds a little peace and Serenity

with his daughter Anna

for the last few years she's been his confident

and goes everywhere with her father

she was not only good company

in the sense of a daughter

but she was very bright aware and informed

we were living in the White House so that she was

what should I say like an assistant

not paid very informal

but uh

what we would call an English a right hand man

15km away at the Varonsov

Churchill is with his daughter Sarah

the young woman is an actress

and an auxiliary volunteer in the RAF

Churchill enjoys her cheerful presence at his side

the young women are delighted to be involved

and their fathers are happy

to show off their daughters

in uniform showing that the whole family is taking part

and it makes a good impression on the entourage

and they can do those things that not everyone else can

for example

Churchill tends to get up late to work in bed

spends a lot of time in the bath

so you can't send an ape.com to get him out

that would just be impossible

but you can send in his daughter

most evenings that week

one of the leaders invites the others to supper

this is an occasion for more informal negotiations

the first of these meals takes place at the Livadia

the Americans take care of the service

but the Russians provide the food

and Stalin has made it a point of principle

to make it sumptuous

these are 15 30 course meals with caviar

cream all kinds of thing

cream is rationed in Britain

people have virtually forgotten what it is

meanwhile the Soviet people are starving to death

but Stalin isn't interested in that

he only cares about showing off his power

this is Georgian and Russian hospitality

I'm your host I will do anything for you

you only have to ask psychologically

this gives him the upper hand

I am both your master and your servant

it's marvelous both marvelous and menacing

everything is dependent on Stalin's goodwill

that is one of the defining aspects of Yata

in order to make sure his guests feel at home

and well disposed towards him

Stalin has thought of everything

at supper the alcohol flows freely

it's a well known fact that

if you want successful negotiations

you want the delegates to be at their ease

so food and drink have always been part of the means

at the hosting powers disposal

this is a game in itself seeing who can drink the most

by which I mean that

alcohol clearly played a part of Yata

the first supper brought the allies together

a new sense of trust emerged

negotiations began in a fresh atmosphere

to allow everyone to recover

from these bibulous evenings

the planary sessions were planned for late afternoon

but Stalin Roosevelt

and Churchill's cohorts spend their morning

working on preparation for the debates

they ponder the possible compromises for each dossier

it will then be left to the Big 3 to thrash it out

on day three February 6th

the Polish dossier is on the table

this is the prickliest part of the conference yet

it is also the most symbolic

as it was in Poland that the war began

the allies must set up a new government

but they are unable to agree on anything

Stalin is always considered Poland

a threat to his country

because throughout history

it is always been through Poland

that Russia has been invaded

therefore Stalin wishes Poland to be a friendly state

in fact he wants to build a defensive buffer

all around the Soviet Union

so that she'll never be attacked again

The Soviet Union would have those as buffer states

that was understood

and it was understood that for the Russians

that was an essential part of their foreign policy

and when you think about it

uh you wouldn't want

if you were a big state like the Soviet Union was

to have a hostile state right on your border

no you would want a friendly state me

but what does a friendly state mean

is it a country

whose foreign policy is friendly

towards the Soviet Union

and whose domestic policy is completely free

or is it a country

whose friendliness will be copted into communisation

that's a big question

the British view is that

they certainly did not declare war against Hitler

over Poland

in order for it to become a communist state

Churchill wants post war

Poland to be free and independent

the British had a long tradition of a friendly Poland

the British had a

long standing trading agreements

economic

and they did not want to have a country as big as bond

with its natural resources and human resources

uh

under the influence of communism if they could help it

for Roosevelt far removed from Europe

the Polish question is incidental

but it still has some importance for other reason

yeah

6 million American citizens are of Polish extraction

and these citizens

mostly support Roosevelt's Democratic Party

so he is very conscious of the potential situation

in Poland

these Polish citizens who took refuge in the US

are fervent anti communists

most of them came to America before the First World War

but they've never forgotten

that Stalin and Hitler were in accord

over the invasion of Poland

these Polish Americans along with the British

support Polish President Vadislav Rakkiewicz

who has been in exile in London since 1940

problem is that another government

communist this time opposes him

this Soviet influenced government

is headed by Boluslav Beirut

it has its headquarters in the centre of

Poland at lubling

and calls itself the Lubling committee

the London and Luglin governments detest each other

six months ago an event took place

which damaged their relationship beyond repair

August 1944

at this point in time

the Red Army is at the gates of Warsaw

from London Rakivich decides to trigger an insurrection

he wants the Polish resistance

to liberate their capital

before the communists do

to give him the upper hand in the future government

but the German repost is ferocious

for 63 days the resistance is relentlessly crushed

Stalin coldly allows this to happen

and orders the Red Army to do nothing

the Nazis massacre 200,000 Poles

90% of the Polish capital is destroyed

two months later Stalin reaps the benefits

and installs a Communist government in Warsaw

Stalin's actions

cast a poll over the Yelta negotiations

Churchill has never been able to stomach

the fact that Stalin LED the Warsaw

and surgeons perish without coming to their aid

at this point

he understands that he's not dealing with some funcular

good chap but that he could not be fully trusted

and was actually a dangerous hoodlum

and finally that even if Hitler had to be removed first

they would have similar problems with Stalin

after the war

the speculation is over

which political model it will be based on

obviously the Anglo

American point of view

is that they should build a united national government

from Poland's different anti fascist political groups

the Soviets and Stalin see it simply

as a matter of using the Warsaw government as it is

with the addition of a few members

a political arm wrestle ensues

Stalin does not want to hear about the London

based governments on the other hand

each time Churchill or Roosevelt try to compromise

by suggesting potential members

to bring into the Looplin administration

he refuses and why would he agree

Stalin knows he's in a position of strength

The Soviet Union troops were in those countries

occupying those countries

although the word occupy is not uh used

but nevertheless they were there and there

you know it's a Soviet Union influence you can

in hindsight you can say was inevitable

the allies cannot find a way to agree

and little by little things become heated

Stalin becomes increasingly agitated at his side

even my ski is petrified

he describes the scene in his diary

suddenly Stalin got up

and started gesticulating with his right arm

such behaviour was inappropriate

for a conference of the Big Three

he started talking in an unusually over wrought manner

Stan is a very taciturn and calm character

other than on a few occasions when he gets very angry

these occasions have a mounting influence on the debate

the fact that he will suddenly stand up

and launch an impassioned tirade on a certain subject

is a very clear way of showing his counterparts

that there are matters

on which he's not prepared to compromise

the Soviet leader's tirade floors his allies

Hopkins who witnesses the debacle

flips a note to the presiding Roosevelt

why not end this here for the day

let's say we'll talk further tomorrow it's 7:15

better to leave things as they are

and start a fresh the next day

the skill with which Stalin negotiates

is obvious to everyone

Uncle Joe as the Westerners know him

has a hypnotic hold over the delegations

in his room that night

the diplomat Alexandra Cadogan writes

I must say I think

Uncle Joe is the most impressive of the three men

he's very calm and reserved

when he speaks he never uses a superfluous word

and gets straight to the point

the British secretary of state

Anthony Eden is no less impressed

by more subtle methods

he got what he wanted without having seemed too oburate

however Stalin's success

cannot merely be attributed to his negotiating talents

in fact unknown to Eden and Cadugan

Uncle Joe's upper rat chicks

had been spying on his allies

before the altar conference even begins

he knew everything that was going on

preparations for the auto

conference lasted several months

at the time

Russian information services were well implanted

in England and the USA

our agents were providing us with exhaustive details

of how Churchill

and Roosevelt were preparing for the conference

we knew exactly what they were planning to discuss

and on which positions

they were going to stand firm during negotiations

to ensure they did not miss a thing

the Russian secret service had also bucked the palaces

is that uh Churchill

Churchill and Roosevelt knew this

what they didn't realise a little naively

is that when they went to the park

to discuss confidential matters

everything was being picked up by multi

directional microphones which were everywhere

they were in the trees the bushes

and they capture any conversation

in a radius of several meters

Stalin does not treat this information lightly

he does not want to miss a shred

he even insists that his spies

personally report back to him everything they've heard

Stalin wanted to know how things were said

he even insisted that dialogues were repeated

using the same intonations

that Churchill and Roosevelt had used

the cards used in the Alta poker game are marked

Stalin knows exactly what hands his opponents have

he knows exactly where he's heading

while his allies are feeling their way around

in the dark

Day 4 of negotiations

and the Polish dossier needs to be finalized

thanks to the information gathered the previous day

Stalin knows that his allies are prepared to sacrifice

Poland

in order to get what they want from other dossiers

the UN and Japan are uppermost in Roosevelt's mind

the dossier Churchill cares about most

is not on the table at the Alta

but is an underlying issue it's Greece

Greece is a former British protectorist

it is an important strategic asset for the British

as Greece opens the path to the Suez Canal

which gives them access to their colonies

but for the last two years

Greece has been in the throes of a violent civil war

the communists are trying to overthrow the king

control the countryside

and are on the verge of taking power

if Greece were to fall to the communists

the future of the entire British Empire

could be at stake

Churchill dreads this terrible scenario

in order to avoid this he makes the first move

and becomes embroiled in perilous bargaining

in October 1944 four months before Yalta

the British prime minister meets Stalin

face to face in Moscow

at the time

Roosevelt is in the midst of a reelection campaign

Churchill uses the opportunity

of the American president's absence

to forge a secret pact with Stalin over Europe's future

so when we talk about dividing up the world

it wasn't done at the altar

but when Churchill and Stalin met in Moscow

the document

scribbled on a scrap of paper in Churchill's hand

is annotated by Stalin

like two grocers they have mutually agreed

their shares at the East European Crop

Russia gets 90% of Romania

the Soviets get 75% of Bulgaria

Britain gets 90% of Greece

when he gets to the altar

Churchill

is hoping that Stalin will remember this agreement

in order to ensure

the Soviet leader leaves him a free hand

in Greece the British prime minister

is prepared to hang Poland out

to dry

this agreement on percentages

is in sharp contrast with the

idea of an immovable Churchill

he would never have agreed

to compromise on any European zones

or spheres of influence

to avoid upsetting Stalin

the western powers end up being conciliatory

on the Polish question

on the fourth day of negotiations

the American and the Britain

drop Rakivich's government in exile

and recognise Beirut's communist Lublan government

in exchange Churchill and Roseville win places for non

Communist ministers in the Lublan government

Stalin also commits to organising free elections

in postwar Poland

as well as in all of the other countries

liberated by the Red Army

the phrase

free elections sounds like a victory for the west

even though Stalin has given them no guarantees

whatsoever to skip over

all they managed to get from Stalin

was a declaration of good intentions

and formulas which would allow them to

safe face in their respective parliaments

they only just managed that

but what more could they do

but how were free elections conceivable

when the country was completely

occupied by the Red Army

this is where the western leaders were deluded

for in exchange for these promises

the western leaders have done Stalin a huge favour

they allow him to construct a defensive buffer

by attaching part of Poland to the Soviet Union

in return

Poland will at a later stage gain German territories

allowing the country a gradual transition to the west

Stalin has got full marks for the Polish dossier

the Soviet leader has got everything he wanted

his allies hope that he will not forget this

it's February 8th

and the sun shines brightly in the Crimean sky

Roosevelt is on edge

as the discussions are about to begin about Japan

the American president

desperately needs Stalin's support

to make sure things go in his favor

he invites Stalin to share a martini

just before the planary session

Churchill has not been informed of this twist

and the meeting takes place behind his back

Roseville is afraid that the impetuous

Englishman will stop him negotiating freely

and upset the apple cart

the US president is also a great believer in heart

to hearts

he believed in

having a personal rapport with Joseph Stalin

and I think

FTR felt that he could have influence on Joseph Stalin

with a report that he was developing

no I think you put

but such things do not work with Darling

no

he had no idea how cruel Stalin was

how devoid of human sentiment he was

at this time

the American campaign in the Pacific is suffering

heavy losses against the fanatical Japanese army

the top brass estimates that without Russian help

the war could last for another year

and cost the lives of more than half a million GIS

Roseville is determined to avoid this bloodbath

Stalin knows this and raises the stakes

in return for Soviet canon fodder

he wants territory and he is greedy

he demands Sakhalin Island and the Kurule Islands

but also control of Port Arthur

Diren and the Manchurian Railway

negotiations don't dwell on Kurill and Sakhalin

as they belong to Japan

and the Americans

are more than happy to hand over Japanese territory

to the Soviets but Diren and Port Arthur are troubling

because they belong to China

China means Chankai Shek and he is an ally of the US

and he wasn't invited to Yalta

so Roosevelt could be censured

notably by the Senate for making concessions to Stalin

to the detriment of an ally

it's a very delicate situation

but then Stalin in his turn

tries to mollify Roosevelt

he will use his charm to find a solution

and convince Chanka Shek to accept the situation

Roosevelt interpreter Charles Bohlen reports

in his memoirs

Stalin said that it was clear that

if his conditions were not met

it would be difficult for him and Molotov

to explain to the people why

the Soviet Union was entering the war against Japan

it was obvious

that Roosevelt was bothered by what he was doing

Roosevelt waivers but faced with Soviet and transitants

swallows his gruples

his main name is to bring this war to an end

his Chinese allies are sacrificed

along with Diren and Port Arthur

he'll sort things out with Jankar Shek

once the war is over

the American president can be pleased with himself

he has achieved his objectives

not just over Japan but also the UN

the new organization which Roosevelt wants to see

harbors the ambition for bringing peace to the world

Stalin has agreed in principle

to be a part of this peacekeeping organization

the Ussrs de facto participation is far from in the bag

but it is a start

it's quite a coup

to get Stalin to admit that he'll send Molotov

to Dumbarton Oaks from preliminary negotiations

for Stalin this is a big concession

and Stalin keeps saying so this un thing of yours

can I really send Molotov

I'm not sure

he's playing a game of cat and mouse

and he's good at it

day six of negotiations on February 9th, 1945 Churchill

Roosevelt and Stalin

can display their good humour

for the throng of photographers

the UN Japan

Germany Poland

the Big Three have managed to reach compromises

on each of these dossiers

and each of them has come away with what they wanted

the most

Churchill has proved himself

the equal of his two powerful counterparts

and has hoisted France into the realm of the victors

and got them an occupation zone

in Germany

the American president

has got a green light from Stalin over the UN and Japan

along with Churchill he has also

got Stalin to agree to organise free elections

on Poland and Eastern Europe after the war

but it is the Soviet leader who hits the Jackpot

without question it's the Soviet Union and Stalin

who come out on top in the altar conference

Stalin has got what he wanted regarding Poland

and pretty much what he wanted regarding Germany

certainly where reparations are concerned

this image with perfect harmony between the Big Three

goes around the world

but the image is deceptive

Edjalta Stalin

Roosevelt

and Churchill made a point of trying to get along

they wanted to preserve the alliance

while the war was still going on

but ultimately

each of them defended his own world vision

and his own interests

the Yalta agreements are precarious

they are born of compromise

and rest upon a fragile

unanimity between three exceptional characters

however come the end of negotiations

everyone wants to believe

that evening the delegations drink

toast to friendship between nations

and peace for all humanity

but this hope will be short lived

this antont celebrated by the Big Three

will soon shatter

a mere three weeks after the end of the conference

Stalin rides roughshod over the Yarta agreements

with the Red Army still occupying Romania

he organises a power grab by the communists

in Poland every time

his allies put forward the name of a non

Communist minister to join the government

Stalin declines

they hit the two confident Roosevelt becomes anxious

a preyalta postyalta Roosevelt became disillusioned

he realized that the Stalin he thought he knew

bore little resemblance to the real Stalin

on April 1st the American president

sends a long telegram to his friend Stalin

seeking explanations

I cannot conceal from you

the concern

with which I view the development of events

of mutual interest since our fruitful meeting at Yalta

events in which our common interests were at stake

I frankly

cannot understand why the recent events in Romania

should not be regarded as

not falling within the terms of that agreement

but Roosevelt warnings fall on deaf Soviet ears

Stalin ruthlessly follows through with his plan

and keeps installing communist regimes

in Eastern Europe

Roosevelt dies 11 days after sending the telegram

never to see the full extent of Stalin's betrayal

Churchill

who to widespread shock loses the general election

can only sit powerless

and watch their master plan unravel

the Big Three did not bring a long awaited

global peace into the world at Yalta

the dream of brotherhood

was nothing more than an illusion

soon these former allies would be enemies

fighting a new kind of conflict

the Cold War