  |
|
|
|
The Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam ConferencesWWII Conferences That Led to the Cold WarDuring WWII there were three major meetings between US, Britain and the Soviet Union which are regarded as important factors of the Cold War.
In 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, which lasted until Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Due to the invasion, the Soviet Union suddenly found itself in alliance with Great Britain and the U.S. in the war against Germany. Known as the ‘Big Three,’ these superpowers held three major conferences during WWII in which they debated the future of the post-war world. The Teheran ConferenceThe first of these conferences was the Teheran conference, held in 1943, in which the Soviet Union was granted additional territory, “this involved placing the Baltic States, eastern Poland and Bessarabia in the Soviet Union, as well as northern Bukovina…” claims Martin McCauley in his 1983 book, The Origins of The Cold War 1941-1949. Stalin also brought up the question of opening a second front in Europe. While British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been supplying the Soviet Union with material aid, the Soviet soldiers were alone in fighting Germany. A previous agreement had been made by Roosevelt and Churchill to launch a second attack in 1942, but this never came about. According to an article title “Teheran Conference” on Spartacus Educational, “After lengthy discussions it was agreed that the Allies would mount a major offensive in the spring of 1944.” The Yalta ConferenceThe second conference occurred at Yalta in the Crimea in February 1945. According to an MSN Encarta encyclopaedia article titled, “Yalta Conference,” it was agreed at Yalta to help liberate Eastern European countries by installing democratic governments, to allow the Soviet Union to possess Eastern Poland and in compensation grant Poland a large portion of Germany, to divide Germany into four zones of occupation (each controlled by Britain, France, the U.S. or the Soviet Union), to form an international order to replace the League of Nations and that the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan within 90 days of the end of the war in Europe. The Potsdam ConferenceThe third conference was held in Potsdam in August 1945. By this time President Roosevelt had passed away and had been replaced with President Truman, while Prime Minister Attlee was elected to replace Prime Minister Churchill halfway through the conference. At Potsdam, “The four occupation zones of Germany conceived at the Yalta Conference were set up… Berlin, Vienna, and Austria were also each divided into four occupation zones,” claims a Britannica Online article titled “Potsdam Conference.” Poland’s boundaries were set, however there was debate over the future of the country. "The Polish government in-exile had moved to London and expected to return. With his forces now in full occupation, Stalin wanted his own regime put in place," states Lawrence Freedman, The Cold War. London, 2001. A compromise was reached. A government was set up in Lublin and it was promised that free elections would be held after the war with both pro-Western and pro-Eastern members of government put in place. The Cold WarThese three conferences were important not only because of the agreements reached, but because they highlighted the different interests of each superpower involved. While the US and Britain wanted a free, capitalist Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union wanted to ensure all Eastern European governments were loyal to itself. Due to these differences tension arose and in 1947 the Soviet-backed Polish communist party won in election and Poland effectively became communist, violating the Potsdam and Yalta agreements pertaining to liberalization in Eastern Europe. In 1948 the Berlin Blockade also occurred, resulting from the division of Germany and Berlin.
The copyright of the article The Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences in Military History is owned by Rebecca Byrnes. Permission to republish The Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
