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OVERVIEW The key Allied leaders, Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill, were known as the “Big Three” because of the might of the nations they represented and their peaceful collaboration during World War II. These three leaders met together only twice during World War II, but when they did, their decisions changed the course of history. After the Tehran Conference , the three leaders promised to meet again, and this agreement came to pass at the Yalta Conference of February 1945. Although Stalin had expressed concern about Roosevelt’s health during the Teheran conference, this concern did not translate into action. The Soviet dictator refused to travel further than the Black Sea Resort, Yalta, in the Crimean Riveria (then part of the Soviet Union, now part of Ukraine) for the next summit and, once again, Churchill and Roosevelt were both the ones taking long and tiring trips to attend the Yalta summit. Each of the three powers brought their own agenda to the Yalta Conference. The British wanted to maintain their empire, the Soviets wished to obtain more land and to strengthen conquests, and the Americans wanted to insure the Soviet’s entry into the Pacific war and discuss postwar settlement. Moreover, Roosevelt hoped to obtain a commitment from Stalin to participate in the United Nations. As the first topic on the Soviet’s agenda for expansion, the subject of Poland immediately arose, and Stalin was quick to succintly state his case with the following words: "For the Russian people, the question of Poland is not only a question of honor but also a question of security. Throughout history, Poland has been the corridor through which the enemy has passed into Russia. Poland is a question of life and death for Russia." Accordingly, Stalin made it clear that some of his demands regarding Poland were not negotiable: the Russians were to gain territory from the eastern portion of Poland and Poland was to compensate for that by extending its Western borders, thereby forcing out millions of Germans. Reluctantly, Stalin promised free elections in Poland, notwithstanding the recently installed Communist puppet government. However, it soon became apparent that Stalin had no intentions of holding true to his promise of free elections. In fact, it was fifty years after the Yalta Conference that the Poles first had the opportunity to hold free elections. As mentioned earlier, at Yalta a principal aim of Roosevelt was to make sure that the Soviets would enter the Asian war, i.e., the war against the Japanese. Unfortunately, however, Roosevelt should never have spent any time agonizing over Soviet involvement in the Pacific war because Stalin did not need convincing. The Soviets themselves were keen to assuage the intense feelings of humiliation that resulted from a long ago defeat by Japan and loss of privileges in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War. The Soviets were keen on regaining lost territories and optimistic that they could obtain more lands. Roosevelt met Stalin’s price,hoping that the U.S.S.R. could be dealt with through the U.N.. Some later considered Yalta to be a 'sellout,' because it encouraged the Soviets to dip their potentially imperialist paws into Japan and Asia and also because Stalin eventually violated the terms by forming the Soviet bloc. Furthermore, the Soviets agreed to join the United Nations given the secret understanding of a voting formula with a veto power for permanent members in the Security Council, there by providing the Soviets with more control in world affairs and greatly weakening the United Nations. Some critics suggest that FDR's failing health (Yalta was his last major conference before he died from a stroke) was to blame for his seemingly poor judgement, but in fact, Roosevelt was wary of the Soviet Union during the Yalta Conference, and tried to save relations and avoid conflict. At the time, the U.S.S.R. occupied much of Eastern Europe with a military about three times as large as Eisenhower's forces. The Big Three had ratified previous agreements about the postwar division of Germany: there were to be four zones of occupation, one zone for each of the three dominant nations plus one zone for France. Berlin itself, although within the Soviet zone, would also be divided into four sectors, and would eventually become a major symbol of the Cold War because of the division of the city due to the infamous Berlin Wall, which was constructed and manned by the Soviets. The Big Three had further decided that all original governments would be restored to the invaded countries and that all civilians would repatriated. Democracies would be established, all territories would hold free elections, and order restored to Europe, as declared in the following official statement: "The establishment of order in Europe and the rebuilding of national economic life must be achieved by processes which will enable the liberated peoples to destroy the last vestiges of Nazism and fascism and to create democratic institutions of their own choice." In the postwar setting, Russia would gain the southern half of the Sakhalin Islands and Kuriles, half of East Prussia, Konigsberg, Germany, and control of Finland. In addition, Roosevelt let it slip that the United States would not protest if the Soviet Union attempted to annex the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) or establish puppet governments, therefore leaving Stalin as pleased with the overall results as Roosevelt, and more rightly so. The Yalta Conference is often regarded by numerous Central European nations as the “Western betrayal.” This belief, held by countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and the Czech Republic, is rooted in the belief that the Allied powers, despite venerating democratic policies and signing numerous pacts and military agreements, allowed smaller countries to be controlled by and/or made Communist states of the Soviet Union. At the Yalta conference, the Big Three “attempted to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability,” and many believe the decisions and concessions of Roosevelt and Churchill during the summit lead to the power struggle of the ensuing Cold War. THE MEETING The conference was held in Yalta , a resort town on the Crimea n peninsula in the Soviet Union (now in Ukraine ). The American delegation was housed in the Tsar's former palace, while President Roosevelt stayed at the Livadia Palace where the meetings took place. The British delegation was installed in Prince Vorontsov 's castle of Alupka . Key members of the delegations were Edward Stettinius , Averell Harriman , Anthony Eden , Alexander Cadogan , and Vyacheslav Molotov . According to Anthony Beevor , all the rooms were bugged by the NKVD . Stalin arrived by train on February 4. The meeting started with an official dinner on the evening of that day. MAJOR POINTS Key points of the meeting are as follows:
AFTERMATH Yalta was the last great conference before the end of the war and the last trip of Roosevelt abroad. To observers he appeared already ill and exhausted. Arguably, his most important goal was to ensure the Soviet Union's participation in the of Latvia , Lithuania and Estonia would continue to be members of the USSR. SEE ALSO
REFERENCES Beevor A: The Fall of Berlin 1945. Viking Penguin, New York, NY, 2002. BIBLIOGRAPHY Best, Geoffrey. Churchill: A Study in Greatness. London: Hambledon and London, 2001. Clemens, Diane S. "Yalta Conference." World Book. 2006 ed. vol. 21. 2006, 549. "Cold War: Teheran Declaration." CNN. 1998. 26 Mar. 2006. Meacham, John. Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship. New York: Random House Inc., 2003. O’Neil, William L. World War II: a Student Companion. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Perisco, Joseph E. Roosevelt’s Secret War. New York: Random House, 2001. “Portraits of Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt.” School Arts Magazine Feb. 1999: 37. Student Research Center. EBSCO Host. Philadelphia. 2 Apr. 2006. Keyword: FDR. Snyder, Louis L. World War II. New York: Grolier Company, 1981. Sulzberger, C L. American Heritage New History of World War II. Ed. Stephen E. Ambrose. New York: Viking Penguin, 1998. “Yalta Conference.” Funk and Wagnells New Encyclopedia. World Almanac Education Group, 2003. SIRS DISCOVER. Philadelphia. 2 Apr. 2006. Keyword: Yalta Conference. EXTERNAL LINKS
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