Yalta Conference

The Yalta Conference was held February 4 to 11, 1945, near the end of World War II (1939–45). British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874–1965), Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin (1878–1953), and U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945; served 1933–45) met at Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula in the Soviet Union. As leaders of the Allied powers, they gathered to discuss the political details of Germany's expected surrender and the postwar world.

The conference at Yalta marked the height of cooperation between the Allied leaders. Conflicting aims and personalities, however, strained discussions and required many compromises. The future of Germany and its occupied countries, the Soviet Union's role in the war against Japan, the boundaries of Poland, and details regarding the development of an international security organization were all important topics the leaders discussed. Many other issues went untouched at the conference.

At the time of the conference, Germany had not yet surrendered, but it was expected to do so in the coming weeks. Much of the discussion among the Allied leaders involved the demands they would place on Germany and its allies in the peace process. Stalin wanted a harsh policy that would disable Germany from making war again. He demanded that reparations, or payment of war costs to the Allies, be high. Churchill wanted to preserve a healthy economy in Germany while still disabling its war industries. Roosevelt's position was somewhere in between.

In the end, decisions about reparations were postponed and given to a committee for study. The three leaders agreed that Germany would be divided into four zones of occupation after surrender. Each of the three countries and France would be responsible for one of the zones until a new government could be established. A joint occupation policy would be defined by an Allied Control Council, also called the Four Powers, in Berlin. Other newly liberated European countries were also to have the support and help of the Allies until free elections for new governments could be held.

Whereas the German surrender seemed certain, it was not obvious that Japan would take the same step. By 1945 the Soviet Union had not yet entered the war against Japan. The three leaders established a secret agreement that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan within two to three months after Germany's surrender. In return, the Soviet Union would be awarded certain territory gained by Japan during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5.

Stalin also had great interest in his country's neighbor, Poland. Seeking the security of a friendly government, Stalin hoped to persuade Churchill and Roosevelt to recognize the Polish Committee of National Liberation, a communist government. Both leaders, however, already acknowledged a Polish government in exile in London. With no one willing

to change allegiances, it was decided that both governments together would form a united interim government. Elections were to be held as soon as possible. Stalin proposed a shift in the boundaries of Poland whereby it would regain territory previously lost by the Soviet Union after World War I (1914–18). After much negotiation, the boundary of Poland was changed, and the Soviet Union gained territory from the eastern part of Poland. To compensate for Poland's loss, Germany would be required to move its eastern boundary to give Poland some of its territory.

The concept of an international security organization was first proposed in 1941. By 1944 the foreign ministers of the three countries had established an organizational structure known as the United Nations. During the conference, plans were made for an international conference to be held to form the United Nations. It was scheduled for San Francisco in April 1945.

Prior to formation of the United Nations, there were important issues to be discussed at Yalta. Stalin wanted each of the Soviet republics to be considered independent countries. With such status, he hoped to gain sixteen seats in the General Assembly, the general governing body of the United Nations. He also pushed for veto abilities on all matters before the Security Council, which was to have powers superior to those of the General Assembly. After much discussion, Stalin dropped his demands. Instead he agreed to send a representative to the founding meeting scheduled for San Francisco.

Yalta Agreement

The compromises reached during the Yalta Conference were recorded in the Yalta Agreement accepted by the three leaders. Over time the agreement was criticized in the United States. Stalin's failure to keep his promises earned great condemnation. Rather than allowing free elections of a democratic government in Poland, the Soviet leader established communist governments. Other eastern European countries under Soviet control were reestablished with communist governments as well. The three Baltic States, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, continued to be occupied by the Soviets and were incorporated into the Soviet bloc.

The Soviet-dominated portions of Germany and Berlin became communist as well, contrasting sharply with the other three quarters overseen by France, Britain, and the United States. The region served as a blatant reminder of Cold War tensions between democratic and Communist states. Although the Yalta Agreement raised high hopes for a postwar world at the time, few of those aspirations were realized. In retrospect, the Yalta Agreement represents the beginning of a crumbling Allied partnership.

Although discussions between the leaders at Yalta were difficult, their compromises made them optimistic about the peace process. The Yalta Conference, however, marked the last meeting of the three Allied leaders, and many issues remained undecided. President Roosevelt was very sick and died only two months later. Churchill would meet again with Stalin at the Potsdam Conference , but in the British elections that occurred during that conference he was voted out of office. Changing leadership, conflicting intentions, and mutual suspicions slowly soured relations between the communist Soviet Union and the other democratic Allies. As promises made at Yalta dissolved in the tensions, the Cold War began.