Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam Conferences: 1943-1945
Tehran Conference 1943 (Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill)
The relationship between the three leaders seemed to improve. A definite date was set for the opening of a second front (May 1944), and in return, Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated.
State of the War
The Allies had begun to win the war after critical turning point victories in 1942. Soviets were pushing Germans into retreat on the Eastern front. American and British forces drove Germans from North Africa and invaded Mussolini’s Italy. Stalin pressed for the opening of a second front.
Key Agreements
- Germany: No specific arrangement was made regarding Germany at this stage.
- Poland: Stalin wanted to ensure security by imposing harsh reparations on Germany and gaining territory from Poland, installing a pro-Soviet government. Poland had been the traditional launching pad for invasions of Russia. The USSR was to keep territory seized in 1939, and Poland would gain territory from Germany. This arrangement aimed to create a situation where Poland would be reliant on the USSR for protection due to potential conflicts with Germany.
- Eastern Europe: The Allies agreed that the Soviets would keep the territory they had seized between 1939 and 1940 (Baltic states, parts of Finland, and Romania).
- Japan: Stalin agreed to open a second front in Asia once Germany was defeated.
- The UN: Lessons were learned from the League of Nations, and it was agreed that the UN would replace it.
Yalta Conference 1945 (Black Sea, Southern Ukraine)
Stalin’s diplomatic position was strengthened by the physical fact that the Red Army occupied most of Eastern Europe.
State of the War
Germany was on the verge of being defeated. The second front had been opened in 1944 after the Normandy landings. The Allies had pushed Germany from France and, along with the Soviets, were ready to invade Germany itself. The war in the Pacific was still ongoing.
Key Agreements
- Germany: It was decided that Germany would be disarmed, demilitarized, de-Nazified, and divided into four zones (UK, US, France, Soviets), temporarily, yet Germany would still be run as one country. The Allied Control Commission (ACC) would be set up to govern Germany. Stalin demanded a large percentage of reparations (50%) from the estimated 20 billion.
- Poland: The border with the USSR was to be drawn at the Curzon Line. Compensation from Germany would be east of the Oder-Neisse Line. Stalin got what he wanted; in return, he agreed to hold free elections for a more democratic government. Disagreements arose regarding the London Poles and Lublin Poles.
- Eastern Europe: Stalin agreed that the countries of Eastern Europe would be able to decide who governed them through free elections.
- Japan: The Soviets demanded territory from Japan (South Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands) for entering the war. The Allies agreed.
- UN: The Soviets would join the UN. They initially demanded 16 seats for each Soviet Republic but settled for 3 (Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus).
Potsdam Conference 1945 (Germany)
State of the War
Germany had surrendered, yet the war in the Pacific was still ongoing.
Key Agreements and Disagreements
- Germany: De-Nazification and demilitarization of Germany would be carried out in their own ways in their respective zones of occupation. The economy would be run as a whole but limited to domestic industry and agriculture. The Soviets would receive 25% of their reparation bill from the Western zones; in exchange, they would supply food.
- Poland: Truman was unhappy with the agreements over Poland. He challenged the decision over the frontier between Germany and Poland. He also felt that free elections had not been held and pressed for a new government. Stalin offered to include more London Poles within the Lublin Government, but Truman did not accept.
- Eastern Europe: Truman was unhappy about the “percentages agreement” and challenged the influence this agreement gave Stalin over Romania and Bulgaria. However, Soviet military control of Eastern Europe made it difficult for the West to force Stalin to make changes. Truman did not want Eastern Europe to join the Soviet “sphere of influence,” but little could be done without threatening Stalin. The Red Army increasingly appeared as an army of occupation rather than liberation.
- Japan: On August 6th and 9th, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Soon after, Japan surrendered. Stalin had not been informed about the atomic bombs, and with the war nearing its end, the US no longer pressed Stalin to join the war effort.
- UN: The UN was officially created at the Treaty of San Francisco in 1945. The USSR was the only communist power among the Big Five (US, UK, France, USSR, China). Stalin used the power of veto to block any initiatives against Soviet interests.