>>>Good question, what rights the UK had to colonise so many countries in the nineteenth century?
>>>What rights did the Netherlands have to kolonise many areas of the world?
>>
>>They didn't, but by the 40s-50s, when Stalin started doing it, we'd both stopped. The age of empires was over.
>
>Not so sure. The land was already divided - there were no more viable new colonies in sight, which may be the more obvious reason. And if the whole colonial system crumbled by the sixties, it was probably already showing signs of wear and tear in the forties.
>
>But that didn't stop the habit of approaching maps with scissors. Remember just one word: Yalta.

Hmm. Haven't time to study in detail but, as I understand it, the western allies had to kowtow to Uncle Joe's demands in order to get his cooperation and continued alliance. How does this detract from Stalin's megalomania? UK & US did discuss how Germany was to be divided, but as an occupier (and as OUR buffer vs Stalin), but Stalin wanted all E Germany whereas we let W Germany become a sovereign self-governing state. The unfairest part of all was Stalin's bringing Poland into his influence, a country that had fought WITH him, and Britain's reason for entering the war in the 1st place.