Yalta Conference

Setting the scene

The Yalta Conference was held February 4-11, 1945, at Livadia Palace in Crimea, with Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meeting to plan postwar Europe as Germany's defeat was imminent. The conference occurred with Soviet troops 40 miles from Berlin and the Western Allies still west of the Rhine, giving Stalin leverage. The 'Big Three' made crucial decisions about Germany, Poland, and the United Nations, but many agreements were vague, leading to Cold War disputes.

What happened

Key decisions: Germany would be divided into four occupation zones (including France) and demilitarized; Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan three months after Germany's defeat in exchange for territory in Asia; the United Nations would be established with a Security Council veto for great powers; Poland's government would include communists and its borders shifted west; and Eastern European nations would have 'free elections'—a promise Stalin would break. Roosevelt, seriously ill (he would die in two months), sought Soviet cooperation for the UN and against Japan.

Why it still matters

Yalta has been controversial—critics claim Roosevelt 'sold out' Eastern Europe to Stalin, while defenders argue he had little choice with Soviet armies occupying the region. The conference marked the last time the wartime alliance functioned cooperatively. Agreements on Poland and free elections were violated by the USSR, leading to Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. Yalta symbolizes both the hope for postwar cooperation and the origins of the Cold War, as the vague compromises papered over fundamental ideological differences that would soon divide the world.

Background

Polands fate became a Cold War flashpoint.