About the Conference at Yalta
The Yalta Conference was one of the definitive steps to ending World War II. It was a difficult meeting for both Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, as Josef Stalin had the upper hand where compromise was concerned. The Soviet army was still dominant in most of Eastern Europe and the Allied Powers did not want Stalin to take advantage of this. The main topics of discussion were free elections in the Soviet Union, the estabishment of the United Nations and the fate of both Germany and Poland after the war.
Other People Are Reading
-
Time Frame
-
The Yalta Conference took place on February 4, 1945 in the Crimea and lasted until February 11. It was not the first attempt during the latter half of World War II to come to some sort of agreement between Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. Prior to the Yalta Conference, there was the Tehran Conference in Iran. The objectives of this conference were centered around defeating Nazi Germany and recognizing Iran as an independent nation. The final conference at Potsdam sought to discuss how to distribute Germany now that it had surrendered. Like both the Tehran Conference and the Potsdam Conference, the meeting that occurred in early February of 1945 was not completely satisfactory in accommodating the desires of all three parties.
Benefits
-
While the Yalta Conference did not quite meet the aims of the Allied Powers in getting Stalin to yield to their stipulations for ending the war, it served as a strong precursor to the peace treaties that would ultimately be signed at the Potsdam Conference.
-
The Facts
-
As of 1945, the war in Europe was simultaneously winding down and intensifying. The measures taken to end the war had thus far included the storming of the beach at Normandy and the intent to use hydrogen bombs in the war against Japan in the Pacific. With these controversial methods of warfare, it was difficult to point fingers at anyone without seeming somewhat hypocritical. Thus, each issue was approached delicately, so as not to appear antagonistic toward Stalin and the governmental practices of the Soviet Union. Through this careful and calculated use of diplomacy, the ends of the Allied Powers were generally achieved. Germany was to be divided into four occupied zones, all countries involved in the war were to be restored to their previous governments, Nazism was to be permanently abolished and the Soviet Union was coerced into joining the United Nations.
Risk Factors
-
One of Churchill and Roosevelt's largest concerns was the communist control of Poland by the USSR. Stalin was adamant about maintaining the country as a Soviet satellite, since it had previously allowed Germany access into Russia for malignant purposes. As a result, the eastern part of Poland was acceded to the USSR, a serious loss for the Allied Powers in their quest for spreading democracy. There was also a considerable amount of risk in permitting Stalin any input in the division of Germany, which was always the principal concentration of both Churchill and Roosevelt.
Effects
-
After the conference at Yalta, it was evident that peace was on the horizon, but whether or not that peace would persist remained hazy. Only five years later, the Korean War would break out, proving once more that the detrimental effects of World War II had yet to make a lasting impression. Despite the positive ideals that were realized at the Yalta Conference, it also accented the Allied Powers penchant for appeasement, a characteristic for dealing with conflict that was an unequivocal contributing factor in the escalation of the Cold War.
-
Resources
- Photo Credit usdiplomacy.org/exhibit/fighting.php
