The Soviet Union during the Second World War put forward a program aimed at combating fascism. It rallied the progressive forces of the whole world around the USSR. However, England and the United States were not in a hurry to decide on their policy, in connection with this they were in the last positions on the issue of participation in the events. The governments of these countries decided nevertheless to correct the current situation.
Signing the Atlantic Charter
In the first year of the war, the leaders of the governments of the non-belligerent United States and the fighting England met to discuss and proclaim the objectives of the battle. The battleship "Prince of Wales" became the place of their meeting. He delivered Winston Churchill to Argentia Bay, where he met with Roosevelt.
What is the Atlantic Charter? This document was a joint statement by the leaders of the two countries. It was made public on August 14, 1941. Ten days later, on August 24, the Soviet Union joined in.
Main Tasks
The Atlantic Charter of 1941 was supposed to determine the future structure of the world after the Allies won the war. Discussionwas carried out, despite the fact that the United States at that time did not participate in the hostilities. The Atlantic Charter became the basis for the creation of the UN, as well as the formation of the economic and political world order.
Document structure
The 1941 Atlantic Charter included the following clauses:
- Resolve territorial disputes according to people's opinion.
- Reducing trade barriers.
- No territorial claims from the UK and America.
- The right of the existing peoples of the world to self-determination.
- Freedom from fear and want.
- Global prosperity and economic cooperation.
- Freedom of the seas.
- Post-war disarmament of the aggressor countries and the general decline in military power in the world as a whole.
The item on economic cooperation and global prosperity was proposed to Roosevelt and Churchill in London by John Gilbert Wynant, who did not attend the meeting.
Adoption of regulations by other countries
The next meeting was held in the same 1941, on September 24th. The conference was held in London. Representatives of the governing apparatus of other states agreed with the principles that reflected the Atlantic Charter. In particular, Belgium, Greece, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, the USSR, Free France, Poland, Norway joined the document.
Guidelines
The Atlantic Charter of 1941 reflected the main direction of US and British policy. On the basic principles of the document, as the representatives of the governments of these countries expressed themselves, they based their hopes for a better future for the whole world. Churchill and Roosevelt pointed out that their states had no desire to conquer new territories. They also objected to geographical changes contrary to the freely expressed desires of the peoples concerned. In addition, leaders noted that they respect the right of other states to choose their own form of government.
Churchill and Roosevelt advocated equal opportunities for all states in the issue of access to trade, as well as to the world's raw materials. Global economic engagement, according to government representatives, was supposed to be aimed at providing a higher standard of living for all.
Document feature
The Atlantic Charter was quite democratic. Its principles corresponded to the spirit of the time, reflecting the liberating nature of hostilities. The proclamation of the document had a very positive meaning at that time. However, the implementation of the principles depended on the meaning given to the Atlantic Charter by the US and British governments. The expected practical steps that the governments of the states were going to take to implement all the points were also important. In general, the Atlantic Charter is a compromise between the views of the rulingcircles in England and the USA. At the same time, the point of view of America was most expressed in the document.
Intended characteristics of the post-war period
Representatives of the governments of England and the United States absolutely did not take into account the USSR. They believed that after the war the Soviet Union would be significantly weakened. When conferring, Churchill and Roosevelt had the Anglo-American world in mind. The US representative believed that the foundation of a post-war international organization could not even be discussed until the forces of the United States and Great Britain had done some work.
The clauses of the Atlantic Charter concerning the freedom of the seas and equal opportunities for all peoples foreshadowed the post-war spread of American imperialism around the world, including England. Churchill noted this. In order to eliminate such prerequisites, he attempted to exclude these clauses from the agreement. However, he was not successful in this. Shortly after the end of the conference, in his public statements, Churchill expressed the opinion that the Atlantic Charter does not apply to interactions within the UK.
Relations with the Soviet Union
Both sides agreed that it is in the interests of the United States and England to provide assistance to the USSR with weapons and equipment. The British Chiefs of Staff, like Churchill himself, were against the use of their own large armed contingents. They believed that it was quite possible to confine themselves to sea and air warfare, the strengthening of the blockade and secret supplies to equip the Resistance forces onterritories of occupied Europe.
Despite the fact that the American chiefs of staff tried to refrain from expressing views on strategic issues, the political line that was put forward by the British leaders corresponded to the goal that united the United States and England in the best possible way. The task was to conduct military operations against Germany mainly through the use of "foreign hands", achieving mutual weakening of opponents during the battles.
To implement these plans, it was necessary to intensify the fighting on the Soviet-German front, since it was on this line that the main forces of the Germans were concentrated. Due to the fact that England and America represented the USSR after the war as a weakened and defeated state, they assumed the need for further material assistance to the country. As a result, representatives of the leadership of the United States and Great Britain proposed a trilateral meeting in Moscow to the government of the Soviet Union. The Soviet leadership agreed.
Accession of the USSR
At the Inter-Allied Conference, held on September 24, 1941 in London, Soviet Ambassador Maisky promulgated a declaration on the inclusion of the Soviet Union in the charter. The agreement stated that the practical application of the principles of the document would inevitably be carried out taking into account the circumstances, historical features, and needs of a particular state. The Soviet declaration clearly covered issues that the compilers of the original version had bypassed. ATin particular, the government of the USSR determined the goals and nature of the war.
For all states and peoples, the main task was set - to direct all their forces and means to the speedy defeat of the aggressors. As for the post-war period, the Soviet leadership defended the right of every people to territorial inviolability and state independence, openly pointing out disagreement with the colonial policy of the imperialist countries.
