Naughty Document: Since FDR care very little about Europe it appears Winston was hoping this one on one agreement would hopefully draw some stronger lines in the sand on what Stalin would actually demand or take in Europe. Once America left Europe, W knew he was alone again and nothing could be done
This document was another cue for Winston showing how powerless Britain had become after the war. I wonder where this document is right now ? On Mon, Jul 22, 2013 at 9:42 AM, Chris Sterling <[email protected]> wrote: > The gist of the story is absolutely true . . .the so-called "naughty" > piece of paper story shows up in many respected sources. Churchill, of > course, was negotiating with little leverage as the Red Army was already > moving into Eastern Europe. WSC's chief concern was to protect Turkey and > especially Greece where Communist underground forces were already > gathering. And he worried about Poland, the invasion of which had begun the > European war in September 1939. He "won" with Greece and Turkey, and "lost" > with Poland and Czechoslovakia--but the latter were likely lost causes with > or without any agreement, even one as totally informal and nonbinding as > this one was. > > Chris Sterling > > Chris & Ellen Sterling > [email protected] > > > > On Jul 22, 2013, at 12:24 PM, Daniel Ibarra wrote: > > Members of the list, is this a true story? Thank you. Daniel > > Churchill and Stalin’s Secret Agreement > [image: > chruchill-stalin]<http://cdn1.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/chruchill-stalin.jpg> > The so called ‘Percentages Agreement’ was an outcome of a secret meeting > between the leaders of Britain and Russia that effectively sealed the fate > of millions living in Eastern Europe. > The meeting occurred in October 1944 as the realisation that the war was > all but won dawned on the allied forces. Both Churchill and Stalin realised > that it was imperative to secure a future whereby Germany would be unable > to attack its neighbours and thus, potentially avoid a future world war. > However the fear of invasion petrified Stalin. After two German invasions > since 1914, Stalin knew that a military weak Germany and an array of > ‘buffer’ states – that have also been referred to as Soviet ‘satellite’ > states due to their sub-ordinance to Moscow, and the Eastern bloc- were > necessary for his country. He also knew that due to the amount of fighting > the Soviets had engaged in, he was entitled to serious reparations and > influence in the outcome of Europe. > During the meeting, Churchill slipped a piece of paper to Stalin with a > list of European countries on it, followed by the percentage of influence > he believed Britain and Russia were entitled to. The percentages proposed > indicated Britain’s loss of power in world affairs, with the Soviet Union > given far larger stake in the affairs of the Eastern European nations – > barring Greece, a traditional British sphere of influence. > What Churchill perhaps did not realise at the time was that conceding > Eastern Europe to Stalin would create a vast communist empire, that’s > expansionist tendencies would be a pivotal issue of the Cold War that would > dominate European affairs for the best part of the next half-century. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "ChurchillChat" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "ChurchillChat" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
