Milestones: 1937–1945 - Office of the Historian
Milestones: 1937–1945
The Yalta Conference, 1945
The Yalta Conference took place in a Russian resort town in the Crimea from                     February 4–11, 1945, during World War Two. At Yalta, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph                         Stalin made important decisions regarding the future progress of                     the war and the postwar world.
World Leaders at the Yalta Conference
The Allied leaders came to Yalta knowing that an Allied victory in Europe was                     practically inevitable but less convinced that the Pacific war was nearing an                     end. Recognizing that a victory over Japan might require a protracted fight, the                     United States and Great Britain saw a major strategic advantage to Soviet                     participation in the Pacific theater. At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill                     discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter                     the war against Japan and all three agreed that, in exchange for potentially                     crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific theater, the Soviets would be                     granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following Japan’s surrender. This                     included the southern portion of Sakhalin, a lease at Port Arthur (now                     Lüshunkou), a share in the operation of the Manchurian railroads, and the Kurile                     Islands. This agreement was the major concrete accomplishment of the Yalta                     Conference.
The Allied leaders also discussed the future of Germany, Eastern Europe and the                     United Nations. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed not only to include                     France in the postwar governing of Germany, but also that Germany should assume                     some, but not all, responsibility for reparations following the war. The                     Americans and the British generally agreed that future governments of the                     Eastern European nations bordering the Soviet Union should be “friendly” to the                     Soviet regime while the Soviets pledged to allow free elections in all                     territories liberated from Nazi Germany. Negotiators also released a declaration                     on Poland, providing for the inclusion of Communists in the postwar national                     government. In discussions regarding the future of the United Nations, all                     parties agreed to an American plan concerning voting procedures in the Security                     Council, which had been expanded to five permanent members following the                     inclusion of France. Each of these permanent members was to hold a veto on                     decisions before the Security Council.
Initial reaction to the Yalta agreements was celebratory. Roosevelt and many                     other Americans viewed it as proof that the spirit of U.S.-Soviet wartime                     cooperation would carry over into the postwar period. This sentiment, however,                     was short lived. With the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945,                     Harry S. Truman became the thirty-third president of the United States. By the                     end of April, the new administration clashed with the Soviets over their                     influence in Eastern Europe, and over the United Nations. Alarmed at the                     perceived lack of cooperation on the part of the Soviets, many Americans began                     to criticize Roosevelt’s handling of the Yalta negotiations. To this day, many                     of Roosevelt’s most vehement detractors accuse him of “handing over” Eastern                     Europe and Northeast Asia to the Soviet Union at Yalta despite the fact that the                     Soviets did make many substantial concessions.