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International
04 November 1945

Yalta Conference (Crimea Conference)

The second meeting of the Big Three took place in Livadia, Yusupov and Vorontsov Palaces in Yalta, Crimea USSR. The location was chosen and insisted upon by Stalin.

The conference was given a codename (cryptonym): Argonaut

Held February 4–11, 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three states were represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Joseph Stalin, respectively. The conference was held near Yalta in Crimea, Soviet Union, within the Livadia, Yusupov, and Vorontsov Palaces.

Circumstances

6 June – 31 August 1944
Operation Overlord. Landing in Normandy and allied offensive in France.

19-25 August 1944
Liberation of Paris by the western allies

21 August – 7 October 1944
Conference in Dumbarton Oaks in USA. The allies discussed the concept of United Nations organization. USA, USSR, UK, France and China were selected as permanent members of the security council of UN.

17 October – 26 December 1944
Allied victory in the battle of Leyte Island (Philippines). First step in freeing the Philippines from Japanese occupation.

12 January – 4 February 1945
Red Army winter offensive. Soviets capture Poland west of the river Vistula and advance on Berlin

General decisions

United Nations – it was decided that the UN opening conference will take place on 25 April 1945 in San Francisco with delegations from all the countries which signed the Declaration of the United Nations. The Big Three agreed that the decisions of the security council (UK, USA, USSR, France, Chine) will be made unanimously.

Reparations from Germany – the Big Three unable to agree on the question of reparations decided to set up a Reparations Commission which will convene in Moscow. It will decide on the sum and form of reparations to each country with the priority given to those which suffered the most and bore the main burden of war.

Nazi war criminals were to be punished but it wasn’t decided how.

Declaration on Liberated Europe – the Big Three issued the declaration stating that the liberated nations of Europe have the right to create democratic institutions of their own choice. The three governments were supposed to help and assist this process.

Decisions about states and borders

Germany
Division of Germany into 4 occupation zones. France will be given a zone and a seat in the Control Commission for Germany as well. In the future Germany will remain dismembered and the allies will set up a special committee to decide on this matter.

Poland
New government (Provisional Government of National Unity) will be set up, based on the communist government already created in Poland. Politicians from other parties should be included in it. Government-in-exile in London was not considered a legal representative of the country any more. Polish eastern border will be set on the “Curzon line” leaving 1/3 of the Polish territory to the USSR.

Yugoslavia – the Big Three decided to support the agreement between partisan leader Josip Broz Tito and Ivan Subasić (prime minister in exile). They were supposed to create a new government together.

Japan – Kurile Islands and Southern Sakhalin will be given to the USSR after Japan’s surrender.

Military decisions

USSR will attack Japan two or three months after the surrender of Germany

Decisions about states and borders

Germany
Division of Germany into 4 occupation zones. France will be given a zone and a seat in the Control Commission for Germany as well. In the future Germany will remain dismembered and the allies will set up a special committee to decide on this matter.

Poland
New government (Provisional Government of National Unity) will be set up, based on the communist government already created in Poland. Politicians from other parties should be included in it. Government-in-exile in London was not considered a legal representative of the country any more. Polish eastern border will be set on the “Curzon line” leaving 1/3 of the Polish territory to the USSR.

Yugoslavia – the Big Three decided to support the agreement between partisan leader Josip Broz Tito and Ivan Subasić (prime minister in exile). They were supposed to create a new government together.

Japan – Kurile Islands and Southern Sakhalin will be given to the USSR after Japan’s surrender.

Allied-occupied territories on 15 February 1945, four days after the end of the conferencePublic Domain

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Aftermath

Faced with impending defeat, on 30 April Adolf Hitler committed suicide. On 2 May Soviet forces won the battle of Berlin and Germany surrendered 6 days later.

Soviet rule in Easter Europe was beginning. Although Stalin declared that every nation will be free to set their own government, the communists parties in each country started gaining power with the help of Red Army and soviet style terror.

A Provisional Government of National Unity in Poland was established on 28 June 1945 just a few days after a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State. They were captured by the Soviets, falsely accused and tried in Moscow for (among others) “collaborating with Nazi Germany”.

25 April – 26 June 1945 - San Francisco Conference during which United Nations organization was founded. In October 1945 the UN started working in its headquarters in New York.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in Yalta in February 1945fot.UIG/EAST NEWS

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Did you know how far did the leaders travel to Yalta?

Winston Churchill – 3965 km by plane via Malta
FDR – 8475 km by train, ship via Malta and plane
Stalin – 1450 km by armored train

17 July 1945

Potsdam Conference 17 July – 2 August 1945

26 May 1946

Parliamentary election