History 485

Devine

Fall 2015

Robert L. Messer, “World War II and the Coming of the Cold War”

1. How did Stalin understand the war? What was its purpose?  What kind of a peace did he envision?

2. How did Churchill understand the war?  How did his understanding of it lead him, an ardent anticommunist and no friend of Stalin, to accept an alliance with the USSR?

3. Why did Churchill have little sympathy for Stalin’s losses during the war?

4. How did Stalin and FDR differ in their views of the Second Front and Lend Lease?

5. How did Truman’s understanding of the war differ from FDR’s?  Why was this the case?

6. How did Truman’s handling of the Soviets differ from FDR’s?  Did Truman’s lack of duplicity (i.e. unlike FDR, he did not say one thing and do another) contribute to the breakdown in relations between the two superpowers?