Friday, April 13, 1945, America is petrified. Franklin Roosevelt, the president of the United States,
has just died while World War II
is still not finished. Roosevelt
was the great peacemaker. more than anyone else, he embodied the hope of seeing
rebuild the world on a better basis. As the crowd watches
silently pass the funeral procession, the whole planet
a question arises. Without Roosevelt, Westerners and Soviets
will they be able to get along? And to build a lasting peace? April 12, 1945, Washington, at the White House. Three hours after Roosevelt's death, Harry Truman becomes
the new president of the United States. He enters the scene
in a world in chaos. In this month of April 1945, America is still at war
against Hitler and against the Japanese. To simplify nothing, it's only been three months since
Truman is vice president. And nothing predestined it
really to become the new president of the United States. He is a former seller
of Missouri shirts and ties. He launched
in late politics and was elected senator for the
the first time ten years ago. If Roosevelt
chose him as vice-president, it's not for his skills. He took it for considerations
totally electoral, while thinking that he was useless,
which is done a lot in the United States. When we choose the vice-president, it is not necessarily
for his intelligence, because it is often him
who will bring votes places we need. Within a day, the old trader from Missouri therefore finds himself propelled to the head
of the world's leading power. He himself is flabbergasted and does not hide it. On the front page of the press, journalists tell
what Truman entrusted to them. Guys, if you pray,
pray for me. I don't know if a boot
of hay has already fallen on you, but when they told me
what happened yesterday, I had the impression that the moon,
the stars and all the planets fell on me. Still,
the grandson of President Truman, remembers that his grandfather
never tried to pretend to be the man for the job. He wasn't prepared for any of this. He said "there must be a million
people more qualified than me to perform this function. It fell on me so i will do everything
what it takes to be up to it". He was the kind of man to whom
we gave a job and who did it. The task looks tough. We must rebuild the world
of tomorrow and give it a solid foundation. But Truman has no
knowledge of international politics. During the three months
of his vice-presidency, Roosevelt never met him
only twice face to face. Truman was made aware of nothing. I think my grandfather was wrong
not to integrate it a little more. He was fully aware
the degradation of his forces, but I think
he didn't have enough energy to involve Truman in his decisions
and pass the baton. Two months before dying, Roosevelt had met
Stalin and Churchill at Yalta. It is there, in Crimea, that the big three
laid the foundations for future peace. The agreements sealed
were complex and full of ambiguities. Each of the allies
having played its own part. Of all these discussions,
Truman was kept out. It needs to update
on all files. He's a pragmatist
and a hard worker. So he goes on
briefings with his advisors. Will this hard work be enough? The little Missouri tie merchant will he be able to do
the weight against the formidable Stalin? One month after arrival
of Truman at the head of the White House, the Allies win the war in Europe. Across the continent,
the peoples exult. In London,
in front of Buckingham Palace, a human tide
came to cheer Winston Churchill. The British Prime Minister
is celebrated as a hero. Yet despite this moment of euphoria, Churchill looks drawn. The smile on his lips
has something forced. In his memoirs he writes: Weary, exhausted,
impoverished but still fearless and now triumphant. We knew
a moment that touched the sublime. However, few hearts were to be
more devoured by worry than mine. what can be
so serious to hold such a moment? The problem for Churchill
is called Stalin. Now that
the war is won in Europe, the Briton is convinced
that Stalin will take advantage of it to establish
communist regimes wherever he can. Already, unlike
to the commitments made in Yalta, the Soviet leader installed
a communist regime in Romania. Poland, six non-Communist ministers
entered the government, but they have every day
a little less power. Stalin wanted
all of Europe becomes communist. It was by ideology, but it was also because it was
a man with an emperor mentality, a dictator
with an emperor mentality. The British Prime Minister
then tries to warn Truman. The brand new
American president does not want to know anything. For now,
Truman has set a course to respect
commitments made by Roosevelt. He is not willing
to hear anything against its communist ally. Churchill can only hope
that Truman opens his eyes by himself. The opportunity will soon be given to him. July 16, 1945, Berlin Airport. The plane of the American President
just landed. Truman goes to Europe
to participate in a peace conference. On this occasion,
he will finally meet his allies and make up your own mind about them. The discussions
must take place in Potsdam, a few kilometers from Berlin. To get there,
Truman crosses the former capital of the Reich. Berlin is nothing more than a field of ruins. Only a few rare
passers-by wander, haggard. This spectacle of desolation
upsets Truman and will push him to want to help
Germany to rise again. That evening, in his diary, he writes: I had never seen a show
more distressing or more distressing. We saw
old men, old women, young women
taking you to nowhere what they could
and what was left of their possessions. The conference opens the following day, July 17. Here at Schloss Cecilienhof, this is the only time that Stalin,
Truman and Churchill will all meet together. As Truman expected,
Churchill, he seems charming. As for Stalin, his advisers constantly
repeat that we can trust him. However, very quickly
the new president take the measure of the man
with whom he will have to negotiate. I can deal with Stalin. he is honest
but smart as the devil. For his part, Stalin,
distrusts Truman at all. For him,
he remains a small Missouri shopkeeper. Stalin has little information about him
because, as he played no role, his spies
didn't really tell him about him and what had told him had let him foresee
that it was someone of no importance, of slack and that we were going to be able
make him accept anything. But when Truman says no, it means no. Because against all odds,
despite his lack of experience, the american president
knows how to be firm. It is by no means
impressed by Stalin. Question of character no doubt,
but not only. Truman feels in a strong position because he is waiting for information who could make him
the most powerful man on the planet. At the same time, in the United States, an event
top secret is in preparation. As he negotiates, the american president
eagerly awaiting news. On the second day of negotiations, finally,
he receives a telegram in coded language. The doctor comes
to come back enthusiastic and confident about the fact that the little boy
is as strong as its big brother. The light in her eyes
is visible from here at High Hold and I could have heard her cries
from here to my farm. This little boy in question,
Little Boy is the atomic bomb. Since four years,
in the greatest secrecy, the best scientists on the planet, are working to develop
what seems to be the absolute weapon. Operation code name: Trinity. The first atomic test
of the story is a total success. The power of the explosion
is equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT. Never such power
of devastation has been achieved. Only one weapon now has the power
to annihilate all of humanity. After some hesitation,
Truman ends up warning Stalin. This is bad news,
of course. It means that now Soviet Union
will be in a situation of inferiority. Everyone was watching
Stalin's reaction. And Stalin,
who is a very good actor, says:
"Oh, do you have a powerful bomb?" "I congratulate you and I hope that
you will use it against Japan". Stalin
was he really ignorant? Despite protective measures
drastic measures taken by the Americans, the Russians managed to introduce
spies on the base of Los Alamos where the atomic bomb was made. Among them,
Klaus Fuchs. This German physicist fled Nazism. Fuchs is also
a spy in the pay of the Soviets, because he is a convinced communist. For two years,
the scientist delivers to the Russians all plans of the American bomb. With this information, the Soviets began to
develop their own nuclear weapon. Despite this, on July 24,
when Stalin learns than the bomb
American is now at the point, he gets nervous. Stalin hates nothing
as long as feeling vulnerable. He summoned the people
who were in Potsdam, and he asked
to transmit to scientists and to all those
who worked on the atomic project, that he wanted us to speed up as much as possible creation
of the Soviet atomic bomb. This bomb will become
an obsession with Stalin. Until he has
its own atomic weapon, the Generalissimo will not feel
in confidence with the Americans. Relations with Truman
will then begin to seize up. Potsdam also goes
be the scene of another explosion. In the middle of the conference,
Churchill leaves the negotiating table to go to London where he must
wait for the results of the elections. As a convinced democrat, British Prime Minister
challenged his mandate. Since weeks, while he is in the countryside,
he is acclaimed throughout England. But on the morning of the elections, at dawn,
the Brit has a bad feeling. I woke up suddenly as if
had planted me a dagger knife and I felt
almost physical pain. The power to shape
the future would be denied me. Churchill's intuition was correct. To everyone's amazement, he is not re-elected. To the hero of war,
the British prefer a new man. Labor leader Clement Attlee. After his victory, Attlee slides into the chair,
still hot, from Churchill. Around the table, everyone
feels like a casting mistake. Clement Attlee is someone
which looks really insignificant. Churchill said
"a sheep in sheep's clothing". Or an empty car
stops outside Downing Street and Major Attlee descends from it. A modest man
and who has good reason to be, etc. And there,
Stalin is totally baffled because he was convinced that Churchill had done everything
needed to rig the elections. Because for Stalin,
that's what every politician does who is worthy of his position. Facing an Attlee
a little lost and a little clumsy, Stalin takes matters into his own hands. He is the last
of the three giants of Yalta. Now, with Attlee, Great Britain
is on the bench. The world only matters
two superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union. Truman and Stalin
meet face to face. Very quickly, the disagreements that exist
between the two men will harden and transform
in real opposition. Five days after Potsdam,
Truman makes a decision which will have serious consequences. The United States will use
the atomic bomb against Japan. Tension with Stalin
will immediately go up a notch. August 6, 1945, in the early hours of the morning, American bomber Enola Gay
flies to the Japanese archipelago. At 8:15 a.m.,
Little Boy is dropped on Hiroshima. A gigantic mushroom
atomic rises above the city. Temperature
on the ground reaches 4,000 degrees. 70,000 people are killed instantly. The city is one
desert of ashes and dust. Three days later, August 9, it is Nagasaki's turn to be bombarded. The whole world is in shock. For Stalin,
the atomic bomb is a provocation. He is convinced that Truman
trying to impress her. He doesn't understand that
America dropped its bombs while on August 8,
as she had undertaken, the Soviet Union had entered the war
against Japan alongside the United States. For us,
the message sent by the United States was clearly that the use
of the atomic bomb against Japan was not meant to win
a quick victory against the Japanese, but to scare the Soviet Union in order to be able to dictate
American conditions. Clearly, Truman wanted
end the war as soon as possible and save American lives. But it is also clearly
a message sent to Stalin. 'Cause Truman means to let him know
that now he is the master of the game. Since then, Stalin wants to know by what margin
of maneuver he has against Truman, so he will test it. In Yalta,
Stalin had been promised territories in exchange
of his entry into the war against Japan. Sakhalin Island,
the Kuriles, from Irene and Port Arthur, and a railway line
in Manchuria. But Stalin now asks,
in addition, to occupy the island of Hokkaido. In a telegram sent to Truman,
the generalissimo explains. " Russian public opinion
would appreciate that our troops" " receive an occupation zone
in part of the archipelago". "She would be gravely offended
otherwise ". "I hope that my modest
requests will be satisfied". Then he changes his mind and adds
in a handwritten way. “Will meet no objection”. The American president is pissed off. His answer is straightforward. It's no.
And that's all. Grandfather was expecting people
that they are upright and honest. He was like that
and waited in return that people
be honest and frank with him. When he discovered
that was not the case and that Stalin
tried to take advantage of him, he started to negotiate with him
in a much harsher way. Stalin also decided
to move up a gear. He will push his advantage in Europe. Rigged elections, coup de force. wherever he can,
Stalin imposes communist regimes. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria are about to fall
in the Soviet purse. This creeping Stalinization
of Europe worries Truman. But the American president is
still hesitant about what to do. The telegram that lands on his desk
February 22, 1946, will change everything. His author,
George Kennan, just a diplomat
then stationed in Moscow. Kennan had time to observe
Stalin's operation. He understood that he wanted
take over Eastern Europe and he is convinced
that the only way to stop it is to be firm. In a long telegram
sent to Washington, it describes the mode
of Soviet operation. The Kremlin has
a neurotic attitude in world affairs, which comes to him from his Russian instinct
constant insecurity. Russians are waterproof
to the logic of reason and very sensitive to the logic of force. Kennan explains that he is useless
to try to reassure Stalin In any event,
Stalin cannot be reassured, does not want to be reassured since
it allows him to justify the dictatorship. But on the other hand,
stand firm against Stalin because he understands the balance of power
and as soon as the Westerners are firm, Stalin is ready to step down. Kennan's analysis confirms everything
intuitively the American president. From then on, the change of foot is total. Truman breaks up
former advisers to Roosevelt, considered too soft on
of the Soviet Union, and promotes new men. In the aftermath,
Kennan is called to the White House as a special adviser. There remains a difficulty for Truman, make the public understand
American this turnaround. The operation looks delicate
because in the eyes of the Americans, Stalin is the great ally. The one who allowed
to win the war against Hitler. The press never ceased
to present him as a hero. They underwent four years
war propaganda who shows them Stalin
as the friend of little children and the best ally of the United States
through which we will win the war. This propaganda
succeeded perfectly. Stalin is also
very popular in the United States. The American president then has an idea. He will use
of the former British Prime Minister and let him announce
the bad news himself. Churchill cums
of considerable prestige. No one will dare
doubt his word. And then,
former British Prime Minister will surely be delighted
to come to the United States. Since his defeat in the elections, he goes through a period
of deep depression. This March 5, 1946, the whole little town
of Fulton, Missouri, took out the flags for
welcome the former Prime Minister. It is sunny. Truman,
who welcomed Churchill into his stronghold, is all smiles. The American president knows that the
Briton about to drop a bomb, but it will keep well
to say that he knew. A few minutes later,
at Fulton University, Churchill giving a speech
who will paralyze the audience and shake the whole world. From stettin in the Baltic
to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has fallen
on the mainland. The speech
of the iron curtain causes an uproar Americans are shocked. Stalin, their great friend. It was strategic
pretty clever of Truman to let Churchill speak and use this expression
iron curtain, because it showed
also to American opinion and world opinion that this turnaround
American politics Wasn't just Truman's doing
or a few isolated advisers, but that a personality
as important as Churchill was going in the direction
of the American president. Soon, Americans who admired Stalin will consider it
like a dangerous tyrant. In the USSR,
Fulton's speech pass for once
dagger in the back. Stalin is furious. Intellectuals
and those close to the Kremlin are headwind against Churchill. Churchill was the enemy
juror of our country. He was the leader most
anti-Soviet West of the world. He spent his whole life doing
blows to the Soviet Union. Now, European countries
are forced to choose sides, that of communism or capitalism. In this race
to share the world, Stalin is one step ahead. He has already got his hands on
Eastern European countries and gaining ground in the West. In France and Italy,
communist ministers entered the government. How far will Stalin extend
his sphere of influence? Revolutionary France of 1792. The question haunts Truman and the American president understood that in this showdown
which opposes it to the Soviets, he had against him an adversary
of weight which is poverty. Almost two years after the end of
The Second World War, Europe still has not recovered. The Old Continent is on the verge of chaos. Truman is well aware that
this misery makes the bed of communism. But before acting, he needs to have
a clear view of the situation. At the beginning of 1947, Truman Dispatch
in EuropeMike Mansfield. This senator from Montana
is tasked with assessing the situation. His report is frightening. In all the countries visited,
there are obvious cases of malnutrition, tuberculosis and diseases. In Italy, the majority of the population remains
thanks to daily rations of bread ranging from 75 to 125 grams. She hardly eats anything else. After reading this report,
Truman acquires a conviction. If he does not come to the aid of the Europeans, he will leave the field open
to Stalin on the continent. Truman then decides
of a rescue plan for Europe entrusted to General George Marshall, the new US Secretary of State. Raw materials, machine tools, tons of material are transported
on the other side of the Atlantic. Behind its generous aspect, the marshall plan
is also vital for the United States, who need to revive their economy. It was also a way
to revive American trade. 'Cause you can't
to be rich all alone in the world, you must have
partners who are wealthy. Therefore, if the United States, who had profited from the war, could not
trade with other countries because other countries
could not afford to buy that meant that
the wealth of the United States would decline. The Marshall Plan is also a weapon
policy designed to destabilize Stalin, because American aid
is offered to all European countries, including Eastern countries. And of course, Eastern countries which are
under the tutelage of the Soviet Union also need it a lot. Czechoslovakia, Poland,
to whom the Marshall plan is proposed. But what will prevail?
It is ideological mistrust. The Marshall Plan was perceived like the map
enslavement of Western Europe by the American imperialists. All of this was unacceptable to Stalin. Eastern countries
tempted by American aid are called upon to fall into line. Sixteen countries in total
enter into the Marshall Plan. All West. France, the United Kingdom and Italy
are the biggest beneficiaries. In mid-1947, the curtain
of Churchill became a reality A city will pay the price
new power relations between Westerners and Soviets. Berlin. The German capital is located right in the
heart of the Soviet occupation zone. But the city itself is busy
by the four allied powers, United States,
Britain, France and USSR. Together, all must surrender
Germany on its feet. But the allies are not
agree on the way forward. The priority for the Soviets
is to get their war reparations, because the USSR is ruined. As provided for in the peace accords,
the Russians compensate themselves in kind and dismantle German industry. Entire factories are cut up and brought to the Soviet Union
to be lifted. Opposite, the Americans,
them, rebuild. Like they promised
with the Marshall Plan, the Americans gave
to Germany 16 billion dollars. We on our side
we gave nothing but we were unable
to give anything. We couldn't compete. West,
life gradually resumes while the eastern sector
of Berlin remains abandoned. Americans would like to go further
and undertake far-reaching reforms to revive the German economy. Stalin opposes it. He wants to maintain a status quo. What Stalin wants, it is, that there is
a comparable level of misery on both sides of Berlin and that isolated West Berliners, end up falling
under the influence of the East Germans. This capitalist enclave
in the middle of a communist sea, what is east germany
it is not bearable. To get out of the impasse, Westerners do not see
only one solution: to merge their zones. This will cause
no doubt Stalin's wrath. Until what point ? Generalissimo
could it start a war? Before acting,
Westerners need information. And that's why,
there is only one way, spying. Only, at the start of the cold war, the american secret service
are, so to speak, non-existent. It is, moreover, interesting to note
that during the Second World War, in 1942, the Roosevelt administration created
an intelligence service which is the OSS, and that this service
intelligence ceases its activity at the end
of World War II in 1945. So between 1945 and 1947, the United States has no service
intelligence as such. In the summer of 1947, Truman decides to create
a new intelligence agency which will soon be known
worldwide: the CIA. Henry Hillenkoetter, a former admiral is named at its head. Hillenkoetter has
the daunting task of recruiting and train
spies in haste. The problem is that you have to find
russian speaking spies and apart from the Russians themselves, there are not many people. For this former agent
British secret service, this posed serious difficulties. The problem was knowing
how far we could trust to someone who was Russian by birth in the case of important secrets. because we never had
the guarantee that at the same time, he wouldn't work too
at the same time for the Russians. Hillenkoetter then goes to the most urgent. In pragmatics, it's with the enemies
from a few months ago that he is going to recruit his spies. Reinhardt Gehlen, a former nazi ex-intelligence chief
in the East in the Wehrmacht, is recycled by the CIA. Gehlen knows very well
the communist world. He will become the brain of
American espionage in Germany. Through him, hundreds
former Nazis join the CIA. Americans
do not have the slightest state of mind. The only thing that matters to Truman,
it is to block Stalin's way. The sky has changed. The cold war, the enemy, it was not Germany,
it's the Soviet Union, limit, take people who are
extremely anti-Communist. Of course, the former Nazis are
necessarily very very anti-Communist. So here we are in
complete realpolitik. Facing the CIA, Russian GRU secret service
and KGB are also very active. They have a head start
because their intelligence services exist since
WWI. Berlin will become
the capital of espionage. In the street,
in administration, in the army,
spies are hiding everywhere. All, whatever their side, have the same objective which is to
decipher the opponent's plans to speed it up. Spying,
it was a new style of warfare in which
we didn't need a gun. We penetrated to the heart
of the enemy's thought system. As Truman had asked them, Gehlen and his men seek to find out
what would stalin's reaction be if Westerners
were merging their area into Berlin. In the late spring of 1948, german spies
finally think they have the answer. June 9, Hillenkoetter warns
then Truman by telegram. According to the head of the CIA, if Westerners
grouped together their area of occupation, this is how Stalin would react. The USSR will probably make sure to put sticks
in the wheels of Westerners in Berlin and everywhere else
where she can in Germany, but without resorting to force. It's the green light
the Westerners were waiting. four days later
Hillenkoetter's telegram, Americans, British and French create
a new currency in their zone, the Deutsche Mark. For Stalin,
this currency, symbol of capitalism, is a provocation. He has to score. Like German spies
anticipated it, the Generalissimo then decides
economic retaliation. On June 24, 1948, he cuts all the
supply routes from West Berlin. The roads that connect Germany to
West to West Berlin are blocked. two and a half million
of Berliners are trapped. Without food,
they won't be able to last long. In Washington, part of his staff
pushes Truman to react with force. The American President
choose another option. Supply Berlin by air. He didn't want to trigger
another war with the Soviets. It was even
the last thing he wanted. But he didn't want
no longer appear weak and show that we were not reacting. Because if you let
the Soviets block Berlin afterwards,
they would do the same elsewhere. I don't believe the idea
of the airlift was his, but he accepted it
because it made sense. Four days after the start of the blockade, huge american cargo planes
and British fly over Berlin. In their entrails,
tons of food and equipment and the famous CARE packages. These packages,
packaged by the American NGO CARE, contain
everything you need to survive. Bacon, margarine,
powdered eggs, chocolate. The taste of America. What Stalin
hadn't imagined at all, is that the Americans, the English
and the united French people had the means maintain for 11 months a supply from West Berlin at the rate of 6,000 tons per day. That is to say, every day at Berlin's three airfields, there is a plane
which lands every 30 seconds. For a year, Berliners will live
at the speed of the planes who take turns day and night
above their heads. Despite American aid,
daily life remains difficult. To hold on,
everyone manages. We see appear
sowers in the city. Vegetables soon
grow in the middle of the asphalt. To warm up too,
it is system D. Americans
do not send enough coal, so the Berliners
take the wood where he finds it. The trees are uprooted. No more benches
in the city still has boards. On the stairs,
we exchange everything possible. Coats, bags, shoes. Berliners lack everything,
but they hold up. Americans, too,
are determined to hold on at all costs. And as Gehlen had foreseen, Stalin does not give the order
to shoot down American planes. He wasn't ready for war because
the Americans had the atomic bomb. The Soviet Union could not
endure a new war while we had
already had more than 20 million deaths during World War II. Understanding that he lost
arm wrestling game, on May 12, 1949,
Stalin lifts the blockade. All over West Berlin,
it is an explosion of joy. For the communist leader,
failure is bitter. Missouri's Little Shopkeeper made the man bend
the most feared on the planet. In his memoirs,
Truman rejoices. He knows that in the race
which opposes him to Stalin, he has just scored a decisive point. The blockade had sharply returned
the Germans against communism. Germany,
who had waited passively to see to whom she would throw
his destiny for the future, was now turning
towards the cause of Western nations. It does exactly
the opposite of what Stalin wanted who always wanted to sow
discord between the allies. It seals reconciliation and friendship between the German people
and the Americans, of course. They have become extremely popular. These are the men
which allowed the survival of West Berlin. Fifteen days after the lifting of the blockade, Westerners create
the Federal Republic of Germany. The Soviets retaliate with
the German Democratic Republic. This time, yesterday's allies are
officially become enemies. To the White House,
Kennan is terrified. Visionary, he writes: "At the end of the day, our policy on the continent
takes us to a situation where there are only three solutions:
a Soviet collapse, a disintegration
from our own position or a terrible war". This threat of a terrible war weighs
a little more about the world every day. Stalin did not digest
the snub of the blockade. He tries to take over. By dint of effort, he goes, once again,
succeed in reversing the situation. On August 29, 1949, to the amazement of Westerners, the russians blow up
an atomic bomb in Kazakhstan. Fuchs information
and his comrades undercover at Los Alamos ended up bearing fruit. intelligence services
Soviets helped us to accelerate the creation of
the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union and they allowed us
to save a lot of resources. Our scientists
think the information received by our secret services allowed us to shorten
the time of the creation of the bomb ten to five years. For Truman, the surprise is great. He never would have imagined that
the Soviets, ruined by the war, take so little time
to develop nuclear weapons. Stalin feels strong again. Soviet Union
once again become the equal of the United States. The world enters
the balance of terror. This cold war Raymond Aron
summed it up very well saying it's an impossible war, impossible because it would be atomic, unlikely peace. Impossible war, improbable peace. Conflicts, in fact,
will soon burst. But they will stay local
and will be done by interposed powers. Because never blood between Americans
and Soviets shall sink. At the risk of causing
a general conflagration. It's in a small country,
that very few Russians and Americans would be located on the map, that the first of these conflicts
post second world war will break out. Korea. Since 1945, Korea,
which belonged to Japan, is busy on both sides
of the 38th parallel. To the south, the Americans. To the north, the Soviets. Since that time, Kim Il-sung,
the North Korean communist leader, seeks to reunify his country. Many times,
he asked Stalin for help. The Soviet has always refused. However, on January 12, 1950, the generalissimo changes his mind. Because of a very small sentence
spoken by Dean Acheson, US Secretary of State, That day, in his speech on
American military ambitions, Acheson wrote: “Our defensive perimeter extends
from the Aleutian Islands to Japan", " Passing by
Ryukyu and the Philippines". He forgot Korea. It's stupidity not to do. There was Taiwan,
Tokyo, there was the Philippines, there was everything,
but he forgot Korea, it's not smart. It's curious for someone
as savvy as Dean Acheson. Finally, he screwed up and it was taken by Stalin
as an encouragement. And he said to himself that after all, Americans
may have become soft again. Stalin then gave the green light to
Kim Il-sung to take action. On June 25, 1950, at 4 a.m., the North Korean army crosses
the 38th parallel. Truman on the weekend
in his home in Missouri, is immediately notified. The American President
does not have the shadow of a hesitation. We must respond with force. In his memoirs he recalls. If such a scenario were not
prevented in Korea, it meant the start of a
third world war. Because these are similar incidents who had provoked
The Second World War. Americans did not expect
to an attack in Korea. They have practically no troops there. North Koreans are progressing
with disconcerting ease and take over Seoul
in less than a week. Truman is extremely concerned. How will all of this end? The president writes to his wife. I hope I don't have to give
the order to drop our terrible weapon. Truman won't need
to use the atomic bomb, because he can count on a man,
General MacArthur great hero
of the war in the Pacific, he is in charge of administering Japan. He knows Asia well
and he is an outstanding tactician. In a few months, MacArthur manages to resume
advantage over the communists. In November 1950, Americans have almost
fully invaded North Korea. They are close
from the Chinese border The Cold War threatens
to get very hot because since 1949,
neighboring China has become communist. Mao then hurry
500,000 Chinese volunteers to help
to his North Korean brothers. Here too, we notice, finally,
Mao's caution in this conflict. That he doesn't want
act as a state and that he uses this artifice
chinese volunteers for, in a way,
intervene informally. There is, of course,
empirically, not theorized,
mastery of the Cold War. Everyone advances but each
make sure everything is under control so that the cold war don't become
a general war, global and nuclear For Truman, this situation
particularly tense for months is psychologically exhausting. In his diary he writes: what the hell to be the president of
the most powerful nation on Earth! I would rather be
the first in my village. The American President
don't call the white house anymore other than "the white prison". In Korea, the conflict is bogged down and it is an event totally
unexpected that will end the war. Stalin will disappear. March 1, 1953, Dacha of Kuntsevo,
around Moscow. Stalin now lives here as a recluse. The man who does
shake the whole planet locked himself in a paranoid delirium. He is afraid of being murdered. That night,
when Stalin goes to bed, he drank a lot. In the night,
he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. For ten hours he is dying without anyone
dares push open the door of his room. Everyone is too scared
possible retaliation. He agonized alone. And all those who could have healed him,
including his doctor, is in prison. He could have recovered. When the old acolytes arrive, the Khrushchevs, the Berias,
the Voroshilovs, the Malenkovs and all those people
they dare not do anything. Because it could be blamed on them,
they bring in doctors, but the doctors are afraid. They don't even dare to make a diagnosis
because the KGB is behind them. And he said to them:
comrade be careful what you write and pay attention to what you discover. Lack of proper care. After four days of agony, on March 5, 1953,
Joseph Stalin dies. As soon as the news was known, five million people
flock to Moscow. All want to see the remains of the one
who had the right of life and death over them for a quarter of a century. Many people
who hated Stalin said: God be praised.
He finally burst. Many others
saw in him a kind of god and they were stunned by the fact
that their god may be mortal. The third feeling that dominated
and which was valid for everyone was "what will happen now?" The whole world is in shock. While Molotov and relatives
of Stalin carry his coffin, everyone thinks next. In Moscow,
London or Washington, peoples hope
that the disappearance of the Soviet dictator put an end to the tensions. Expectations will soon be disappointed. Eight years of permanent conflict and lava between
America and the Soviet Union have so shaped the world, that it is impossible
to suddenly backtrack. The Cold War initiated by Stalin
and Truman will continue to rule the world and to shake
men for nearly 40 years.
