rom the Nazis was in shambles. France was dependent on the U.S. for all of its needs including food, oil, supplies for the rebuilding of industry, and war materials for the armies that needed to be raised for the war effort. Even though the U.S. gave all these materials to France, de Gaulle believed that the U.S. was afraid of the revival of France. Never the less the provisional government that was instituted was recognized by the Allies. On the 2nd of December, de Gaulle met with Joseph Stalin. De Gaulle was reported to have respected Stalin. He saw him as a great Russian, a man who wanted greatness for his country (Ledwidge188). On this visit, a friendship treaty was signed between France and the Soviet Union.Stalin apparently didnt share this admiration for de Gaulle, because at the Yalta Conference, Stalin and Roosevelt were against giving a part of Germany to France. Churchill, on the other hand, was for it, and he later convinced Roosevelt that it was a good idea also, and France was given a piece that was divided between the U.S. and England. De Gaulle was upset at not being invited to the Yalta Conference, and said that if he were there, Poland would have been saved from Communism because of the Franco Russian treaty.The Vichy government, which surrendered to the Nazis, was put on trial for treason. Petain, who was president at the time of the surrender, was put on trial, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison. De Gaulle states in his memoirs that if he had the power he would have had Petain serve two years in prison and then would be granted clemency. 10,842 collaborators were put to death without a trial before de Gaulle was able to gain control of the provisional government, and another 770 were executed after a trial. While on a visit to the Americas, de Gaulle attended a meeting with President Truman. In that meeting Truman promised to loan France over one and a half billion dollars. While in Quebec, de Gaulle arra...
