Yalta Conference

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The "Big Three" at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. Also present are Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham, RN, Marshal of the RAF Sir Charles Portal, RAF (both standing behind Churchill); and Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, (standing behind Roosevelt).

The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February 1945 to 11 February 1945 among the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Josef Stalin, respectively, for the purpose of discussing Europe's postwar reorganization. Mainly, it was intended to discuss the re-establishment of the nations conquered by Germany.

Contents

[edit] The conference

v • d • e
Germany Territorial changes of Germany
in the 20th Century
v • d • e
Poland Territorial changes of Poland
in the 20th Century

On 4 February to 11 February 1945 the Big Three (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin) convened in the Livadia Palace near Yalta, the Crimea. It was the second of three wartime conferences among the major Allied Power leaders. It had been preceded by the Tehran Conference in 1943, and it was followed by the Potsdam Conference, which Harry S Truman attended in place of the late Roosevelt, and Clement Attlee attended in place of Churchill, due to general election loss, later in 1945.

Premier Stalin, insisting that his doctors opposed any long trips, rejected Roosevelt's suggestion to meet on the Mediterranean.[1] He offered, instead, to meet at the Black Sea resort of Yalta, in the Crimea. Each leader had an agenda for the Yalta Conference: Roosevelt asked for Soviet support in the U.S. Pacific War against Japan, specifically invading Japan; Churchill pressed for free elections and democratic governments in Eastern Europe (specifically Poland); and Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of political influence in Eastern Europe, an essential to the USSR's national security strategy.

Moreover, all three leaders were trying to establish an agenda for governing post-war Germany. In 1943 William Christian Bullitt, Jr.'s thesis prophesied the "flow of the Red amoeba into Europe". The Front Line at the end of December 1943 remained in Russia, but by August 1944 Soviet forces were inside Poland and parts of Romania in their relentless drive West.[2] By the time of the Conference, Marshal Georgy Zhukov was 65 km from Berlin. Stalin's position at the conference was one which he felt was so strong that he could dictate terms. Moreover, Roosevelt had hoped for Stalin's commitment to participate in the United Nations.

Poland was the first item on the Soviet agenda; Stalin stated the Soviet case:

“ 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. Twice in the last thirty years our enemies, the Germans, have passed through this corridor. It is in Russia’s interest that Poland should be strong and powerful, in a position to shut the door of this corridor by her own force…It is necessary that Poland should be free, independent in power. Therefore, it is not only a question of honor but of life and death for the Soviet state. ”

Accordingly, Stalin stipulated that Polish government-in-exile demands were not negotiable: the Soviet Union would keep the territory of eastern Poland they had already annexed in 1939, and Poland was to be compensated for that by extending its Western borders at the expense of Germany. Stalin promised free elections in Poland despite the recently-installed Communist puppet government. However the Western Powers soon realized that Stalin would not honor his free elections promise. The fraudulent Polish elections, held in January 16, 1947 resulted in Poland's official transformation to undemocratic communist state by 1949.

Roosevelt wanted the USSR to enter the Pacific War with the Allies. One Soviet precondition for a declaration of war against Japan was an American recognition of Mongolian independence from China, and a recognition of Soviet interests in the Manchurian railways and Port Arthur; these were agreed without Chinese representation or consent. Stalin agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific War three months after the defeat of Germany.

A Big Three meeting room.

Roosevelt met Stalin's price, hoping the USSR could be dealt with via the United Nations. Later, many Americans considered the agreements of the Yalta Conference were a "sellout", encouraging Soviet expansion of influence to Japan and Asia, and because Stalin eventually violated the agreements in forming the Soviet bloc. Furthermore the Soviets had agreed to join the United Nations, given the secret understanding of a voting formula with a veto power for permanent members of the Security Council, thus ensuring that each country could block unwanted decisions.

At the time the Red Army had occupied and held much of Eastern Europe with military three times greater than Allied forces in the West. The Declaration of Liberated Europe did little to dispel the sphere of influence agreements that had been incorporated into armistice agreements.

It is possible that Roosevelt's failing health was partially to blame for poor judgments. Lord Moran, Winston Churchill's physician, commented on Roosevelt's ill health: "He is a very sick man. He has all the symptoms of hardening of the arteries of the brain in an advanced stage, so that I give him only a few months to live".[3] Roosevelt's members of staff, however, have never admitted to this theory and perceived him perfectly capable of dealing with Stalin.[4] Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage two months later.

The Big Three ratified previous agreements about the post-war occupation zones for Germany: three zones of occupation, one for each of the three principal Allies: The Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States (France later received one also, when the USA and the UK ceded parts of their zones). Berlin itself, although in the Russian zone would also be divided into three sectors (and eventually became a Cold War symbol because of the division's realization via the Berlin Wall, built and manned by the Soviet-backed East German government).

Also, the Big Three agreed that all original governments would be restored to the invaded countries (with the exception of the French government, which was regarded as collaborationist; in Romania and Bulgaria, where the Soviets had already liquidated most of the governments; the Polish government-in-exile was also excluded by Stalin) and that all civilians would be repatriated.

[edit] Major points

A more casual picture of the Big Three at Yalta.

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.
  • Stalin agreed that France might have a fourth occupation zone in Germany and Austria but it would have to be formed out of the American and British zones.
  • Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification.
  • German reparations were partly to be in the form of forced labor of German soldiers, to be used to repair damage Germany inflicted on its victims. (see also Rheinwiesenlager)
  • Creation of a reparation council which would be located in Russia.
  • The status of Poland was discussed. It was agreed to reorganize the communist Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland that had been installed by the Soviet Union "on a broader democratic basis."
  • The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive territorial compensation in the West from Germany.
  • Churchill alone pushed for free elections in Poland.[5] The British leader pointed out that UK "could never be content with any solution that did not leave Poland a free and independent state". Stalin pledged to permit free elections in Poland, but eventually never honored his promise.
  • 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.
  • Stalin requested that all of the 16 Soviet Socialist Republics would be granted United Nations membership. This was taken into consideration, but 14 republics were denied.
  • Stalin agreed to enter the fight against the Empire of Japan within 90 days after the defeat of Germany.
  • Nazi war criminals were to be hunted down and brought to justice.
  • 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, some examples of partition plans are shown below:

The eventual partition of Germany into Allied Occupation Zones:      British zone      French zone (two exclaves)      American zone      Soviet zone, later the DDR      Allied-administered Austria

Partition plan from Winston Churchill:      North German state      South German state, including modern Austria and Hungary      West German state

Partition plan from Franklin D. Roosevelt:      Hanover      Prussia      Hesse      Saxony      Bavaria      International zone (two exclaves)      Allied-administered Austria

Morgenthau Plan:      North German state      South German state      International zone      Territory lost from Germany (Saarland to France, Upper Silesia to Poland, East Prussia partitioned between Poland and the USSR)

[edit] Section of the Report Addressing Democratic Elections

The Big Three further agreed that democracies would be established, all liberated European and former Axis satellite countries would hold free elections and that order would be restored.[6] In that regard, they promised to rebuild occupied countries by processes that will allow them "to create democratic institutions of their own choice. This is a principle of the Atlantic Charter -- the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live".[6] The report that resulted stated that the three would assist occupied countries to form interim government that "pledged to the earliest possible establishment through free elections of the Governments responsive to the will of the people" and to "facilitate where necessary the holding of such elections."[6]

The Declaration contained no mechanisms for the enforcement of its principles. The agreement called on signatories to “consult together on the measures necessary to discharge the joint responsibilities set forth in this declaration.” During the Yalta discussions, Molotov inserted language that weakened the implication of enforcement of the declaration. [7]

Regarding Poland, the Yalta report further stated that that the provisional government should "be pledged to the holding of free and unfettered elections as soon as possible on the basis of universal suffrage and secret ballot."[6] The agreement could not conceal the importance of acceding to pro-Soviet short-term Lublin government control and of eliminating language calling for supervised elections. [7]

According to President Roosevelt, “if we attempt to evade the fact that we placed somewhat more emphasis on the Lublin Poles than on the other two groups from which the new government is to be drawn I feel we will expose ourselves to the charges that we are attempting to go back on the Crimea decision." Roosevelt conceded that the language of Yalta was so vague that the Soviets would be able to “stretch it all the way from Yalta to Washington without every technically breaking it.”American government officials such as Harry Hopkins conceded that the Soviet position on the predominance of the Lublin Poles in any provisional government comported with the compromises worked out at Yalta. Scholars believe that the recognition of the Lublin Government by the Western powers meant acceptance of predominant Soviet influence in postwar Poland.

The final agreement stipulated that “the Provisional Government which is now functioning in Poland should therefore be reorganized on a broader democratic basis with the inclusion of democratic leaders from Poland and from Poles abroad.”[6] The language of Yalta conceded predominance of the pro-Soviet Lublin Government in a provisional government, albeit a reorganized one. [7]

[edit] Aftermath

Further information: Potsdam Conference, Potsdam Agreement, and Eastern Bloc

Three months after Yalta, the Soviet NKVD arrested 16 Polish opposition political leaders wishing to participate in provisional government negotiations, for alleged crimes and diversions, which drew protest from the West.[8] The Potsdam Conference was held from July to August of 1945, which included the participation of Clement Attlee, who had replaced Churchill as Prime Minister.[9][10] The conference resulted in the Potsdam Declaration regarding the surrender of Japan[11], the Potsdam Agreement and the Soviet annexation of part of Poland while annexing part of Germany west of the Oder-Neisse line into Poland.

While the Soviet Union had already annexed several occupied countries as (or into) Soviet Socialist Republics,[12][13][14] other countries in eastern Europe that it occupied were converted into Soviet-controlled satellite states, such as the People's Republic of Poland, the People's Republic of Hungary[15], the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic[16], the People's Republic of Romania, the People's Republic of Albania,[17] and later East Germany from the Soviet zone of German occupation.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Stephen C. Schlesinger, "Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations," (Boulder: Westview Press, 2003). ISBN 0813333245
  2. ^ Traktuyev, Michael Ivanovich, The Red Army's Drive into Poland in Purnell's History of the Second World War, editor Sir Basil Liddell Hart, Hatfield, UK, 1981, vol.18, p.1920-1929
  3. ^ Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Conrad Black. 2005, Public Affairs. ISBN 9781586482824. Page 1075.
  4. ^ Dallek, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945. New York: Oxford UP, 1979. ISBN 0-19-502457-5. Page 518.
  5. ^ http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=714
  6. ^ a b c d e February 11, 1945 PROTOCOL OF PROCEEDINGS OF CRIMEA CONFERENCE, reprinted in Grenville, John Ashley Soames and Bernard Wasserstein, The Major International Treaties of the Twentieth Century: A History and Guide with Texts, Taylor & Francis, 2001 ISBN 041523798X, pages 267-277
  7. ^ a b c Melvyn P. Leffler, Adherence to Agreements: Yalta and the Experiences of the Early Cold War, International Security, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Summer, 1986), pp. 88-123
  8. ^ Wettig 2008, p. 47-8
  9. ^ Roberts 2006, p. 274-5
  10. ^ Clement Richard Attlee, Archontology.org [1]
  11. ^ Potsdam Declaration
  12. ^ Senn, Alfred Erich, Lithuania 1940 : revolution from above, Amsterdam, New York, Rodopi, 2007 ISBN 9789042022256
  13. ^ Roberts 2006, p. 43
  14. ^ Wettig 2008, p. 20-1
  15. ^ Granville, Johanna, The First Domino: International Decision Making during the Hungarian Crisis of 1956, Texas A&M University Press, 2004. ISBN 1-58544-298-4
  16. ^ Grenville 2005, p. 370-71
  17. ^ Cook 2001, p. 17
  18. ^ Wettig 2008, p. 96-100

[edit] References

  • Grenville, John Ashley Soames (2005), A History of the World from the 20th to the 21st Century, Routledge, ISBN 0415289548
  • Roberts, Geoffrey (2006), Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953, Yale University Press, ISBN 0300112041
  • Wettig, Gerhard (2008), Stalin and the Cold War in Europe, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 0742555429

[edit] Further reading

  1. O’Neil, William L. World War II: a Student Companion. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
  2. Persico, Josef E. Roosevelt’s Secret War. New York: Random House, 2001.
  3. “Portraits of Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt.” School Arts Magazine February 1999: 37. Student Research Center. EBSCO Host. Philadelphia. 2 Apr. 2006. Keyword: FDR.
  4. Snyder, Louis L. World War II. New York: Grolier Company, 1981.
  5. Sulzberger, C L. American Heritage New History of World War II. Ed. Stephen E. Ambrose. New York: Viking Penguin, 1998.
  6. Waring, J. G. A student's experience of Yalta
  7. “Yalta Conference.” Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. World Almanac Education Group, 2003. SIRS DISCOVER. Philadelphia. 2 April 2006. Keyword: Yalta Conference.

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