The Cold War

The Yalta Conference

The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut
Conference, was the wartime meeting from February 4, 1945 to February 11, 1945 between the
heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union —
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, respectively.

Major points
Key points of the meeting are as follows:
● There was an agreement that the priority would be the unconditional surrender of Nazi
Germany. After the war, Germany would be split into four occupied zones, with a
quadripartite occupation of Berlin as well, prior unification of Germany.
● Stalin agreed to let France have the fourth occupation zone in Germany and Austria,
carved out from the British and American zones. France would also be granted a seat in
the Allied Control Council.
● Germany would undergo demilitarization and de-Nazification.
● German reparations were partly to be in the form of forced labor.
● Creation of an allied reparation council with its seat in Moscow.
● The status of Poland was discussed, but was complicated by the fact that Poland was at
this time under the control of the Red Army. It was agreed to reorganize the Provisionary
Polish Government that had been set up by the Red Army through the inclusion of other
groups such as the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity and to have
democratic elections. This effectively excluded the Polish government-in-exile that had
evacuated in 1939.
● The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive
substantial territorial compensation in the west from Germany, although the exact border
was to be determined at a later time.
● Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were to be handed over to their respective
countries, regardless of their consent.
● Roosevelt obtained a commitment by Stalin to participate in the United Nations once it
was agreed that each of the five permanent members of the Security Council would have
veto power.
● Stalin agreed to enter the fight against the Empire of Japan within 90 days after the defeat
of Germany. The Soviet Union would receive the southern part of Sakhalin and the
Kurile islands after the defeat of Japan.
● A "Committee on Dismemberment of Germany" was to be set up. The purpose was to
decide whether Germany was to be divided into several nations, and if so, what borders
and inter-relationships the new German states were to have.
● A new organization, (the United Nations) should be set up to replace the failed League of
Nations.
Yalta (cont.)

Each of the three powers brought his own agenda to the Yalta Conference. Roosevelt was
lobbying for Soviet support in the Pacific War concerning the invasion of the Empire of Japan;
Churchill was pressing for free elections and democratic institutions in Eastern Europe
(specifically Poland), while Stalin was attempting to establish a Soviet sphere of influence in
Eastern Europe which the Soviets thought was essential to Soviet national security. Additionally,
all three of them were trying to establish an agenda as to how to govern post-war Germany. In
1943 a thesis by William Bullitt prophesied the “flow of the Red amoeba into Europe” and
ironically enough, Stalin had the military advantage. The Soviet Union was physically in control
of most of Eastern Europe. While the Allies had their hands full with the invasion of France, at
great cost the Soviet Red Army had penetrated the eastern borders of the Third Reich. At the
time of Yalta, Russian Marshall Zhukov was only forty miles from Berlin. Moreover, Roosevelt
hoped to obtain a commitment from Stalin to participate in the United Nations. Concerning the
first topic on the Soviets' agenda — Eastern Europe — the subject of Poland immediately arose.
Stalin was quick to 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 keep 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. 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. The elections, which were held in January 1947
and resulted in the official transformation of Poland into a socialist state by 1949, were widely
considered rigged in favor of communist parties.