The reason for the Yalta conference was so that a new
government could be implemented to help Europe and all countries involved in World
War II re-establish their stability. Despite the world leader’s differences,
they shared the same goal of keeping the peace between post-world war
countries. Stalin's position at the conference was one which he felt was so
strong that he could dictate terms, which was shown by his stubbornness to
travel far from his homeland. The other members of the big three, Franklin
Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, knew how dangerous Stalin would be if he split
away from the other two and so it was summarised by U.S Secretary of State
James Byrnes” It was not a question of what we would let the Russians do, but
what we could get the Russians to do." However, Roosevelt was growing
frail as time went by and Churchill was not receiving the same support which he
had during the war and so the tension was high at Yalta. Roosevelt wanted
Soviet support in the U.S. Pacific War against Japan as he needed the Asian
threat to be nullified, as well as Soviet participation in the UN to bolster
the new world alliance. The main target for Churchill was to get free elections
and democratic governments in larger parts of Europe as he believed it was the
key to moving forward globally.
Russian Premier Joseph Stalin wanted to keep his Communist regime present in the newly built Europe, and so he pushed for political influence in Eastern and Central Europe. For Stalin, this meant that Poland would need to be secured in order to go ahead with his Soviet plan and so he endeavoured to sway the other two in favour of the U.S.S.R governing the nation. Stalin stated that "For the Soviet government, the question of Poland was one of honour" because Poland had aided valiantly for Russia and he wished to repay them for their service to the Soviets. He encouraged Poland to sway towards becoming part of his electoral system by stating "the Soviet Union is interested in the creation of a mighty, free and independent Poland." The Russian leader specified that Polish territories taken by Germany during the war would be re-granted and that he would make it his business to make sure that they would extend their borders into the crushed Germany.
For Franklin Roosevelt, the issue that he saw as a concern was the advancing Japanese forces who had been left to wreak havoc in Asia. He saw the opportunity at Yalta to seek Stalin’s assistance in the matter and asked his to join the Pacific War with the Allies. Roosevelt knew that Stalin was not a man who took orders from anybody, and so promised to return Chinese lands to Russian custody once the war was over. His reason for this was to complete the American desire to end war early and decrease the Allied casualties that were mounting up, and by doing so he would maintain his status as a leader and restore peace in the East. Stalin acknowledged his plea and recognised the chance to further the Communist reach, and so agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific War three months after the defeat of Germany. As well as this, Roosevelt convinced Stalin to participate in the joining of the United Nations on the 25 April1945.
One of the main discussions at Yalta was the issue of how Germany was to be dealt with in its post war state. There was a unanimous decision to go ahead with the aforementioned plan to divide it into four areas; “three zones of occupation, one for each of the three principal Allies: The Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States”. The other state was to be given to France for its support against Germany during World War II, which was also an enticement to secure their involvement in the U.N. Stalin did not feel as though this was enough punishment for Germany, and asked for “$20 billion in reparations from Germany with half of the sum to be destined for the Soviet Union”. However this request was declined by Winston Churchill in attempt to not destroy the already beaten nation.
The other discussions that tied in with this issue was how the Nazi war criminals were to be dealt with, and it was decided that Germany would be put through a de-nazification process in order to sterilise the nation of any leftover resistance to the big three. This meant the dismantlement of the German military which crippled the former world giant, and it was agreed that the criminals were to be hunted down and be made to face justice in a court of law.
These were the main decisions made at Yalta which were agreed upon by the big three, however these decisions came with consequences that became evident over the following weeks, months and years to come.
Russian Premier Joseph Stalin wanted to keep his Communist regime present in the newly built Europe, and so he pushed for political influence in Eastern and Central Europe. For Stalin, this meant that Poland would need to be secured in order to go ahead with his Soviet plan and so he endeavoured to sway the other two in favour of the U.S.S.R governing the nation. Stalin stated that "For the Soviet government, the question of Poland was one of honour" because Poland had aided valiantly for Russia and he wished to repay them for their service to the Soviets. He encouraged Poland to sway towards becoming part of his electoral system by stating "the Soviet Union is interested in the creation of a mighty, free and independent Poland." The Russian leader specified that Polish territories taken by Germany during the war would be re-granted and that he would make it his business to make sure that they would extend their borders into the crushed Germany.
For Franklin Roosevelt, the issue that he saw as a concern was the advancing Japanese forces who had been left to wreak havoc in Asia. He saw the opportunity at Yalta to seek Stalin’s assistance in the matter and asked his to join the Pacific War with the Allies. Roosevelt knew that Stalin was not a man who took orders from anybody, and so promised to return Chinese lands to Russian custody once the war was over. His reason for this was to complete the American desire to end war early and decrease the Allied casualties that were mounting up, and by doing so he would maintain his status as a leader and restore peace in the East. Stalin acknowledged his plea and recognised the chance to further the Communist reach, and so agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific War three months after the defeat of Germany. As well as this, Roosevelt convinced Stalin to participate in the joining of the United Nations on the 25 April1945.
One of the main discussions at Yalta was the issue of how Germany was to be dealt with in its post war state. There was a unanimous decision to go ahead with the aforementioned plan to divide it into four areas; “three zones of occupation, one for each of the three principal Allies: The Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States”. The other state was to be given to France for its support against Germany during World War II, which was also an enticement to secure their involvement in the U.N. Stalin did not feel as though this was enough punishment for Germany, and asked for “$20 billion in reparations from Germany with half of the sum to be destined for the Soviet Union”. However this request was declined by Winston Churchill in attempt to not destroy the already beaten nation.
The other discussions that tied in with this issue was how the Nazi war criminals were to be dealt with, and it was decided that Germany would be put through a de-nazification process in order to sterilise the nation of any leftover resistance to the big three. This meant the dismantlement of the German military which crippled the former world giant, and it was agreed that the criminals were to be hunted down and be made to face justice in a court of law.
These were the main decisions made at Yalta which were agreed upon by the big three, however these decisions came with consequences that became evident over the following weeks, months and years to come.