Written by Haralambos Papasotiriou,
Professor Of International Relations, Panteion University. President Of The Institute Of International Relations
When took place the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the red army controlled already Poland, Romania, the…
Bulgaria, Hungary and parts of Czechoslovakia, while the front’s armies had arrived at a distance of 100 km from Berlin. The president of the united states Franklin Roosevelt and the prime minister of Great Britain set up an alternative Churchill knew that this situation was not reversible without a third world war among the winners of the second, the two western leaders considered it unthinkable. The split of Europe into two spheres of influence was already a fait accompli.
The reason why the two leaders of the west held a conference with the leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin was, therefore, to specify only the details of this deal. Because Stalin was reluctant to move away from the Soviet Union – the last conference of the three was in Tehran, next to the soviet territory – the two leaders of the west were forced to travel as the resort of Yalta in the soviet Black Sea. For Roosevelt, especially the long journey, burdened the already poor health of the contributing probably to his death two months later.
In Yalta finalised the development of the occupation zones of the victorious forces in Germany. With the persistence of Churchill acquired an occupying zone, and France, while the contribution of the war it was nothing compared with that of the three major allies. Churchill wanted to upgrade France as a counterweight to the Soviet Union in mainland Europe, so secured, and its participation in future UN security council as a permanent member with right of veto.
At the conference, the two western allies accepted the annexation by the Soviet Union of the eastern provinces of Poland (today this is the most αντιÏωσικÎÏ‚ regions of Ukraine), while Poland countervailing took the eastern provinces of Germany expelling the German inhabitants.
The two western leaders also insisted to have free elections in Poland, where Stalin had set up communist regime. The issue was important for Churchill, because Britain had declared war on Germany because of the German invasion in Poland, so I don’t want to come to this country under another foreign yoke. For Roosevelt had political significance and the important of Polish origin population in the united states. As well as the soviet espionage had penetrated the us mission in Yalta, having recruited Î†Î»Î³ÎºÎµÏ Hiss, Stalin knew the importance of Poland for the western allies. Therefore he accepted their demands, without, however, intends to implement them. The failure to hold free elections in Poland was one of the first issues, which froze relations between the allies after the war.
With regard to East Asia, the Roosevelt obtained from Stalin’s commitment to enter the Soviet Union in the war against Japan two to three months after the end of the war in Europe. As the military advisers of president Roosevelt believed that an invasion of metropolitan islands of Japan would have caused up to a million american casualties, the president of the united states wanted the involvement of the red army, who had caused four-fifths of the losses of the German army. In return, Stalin received concessions at the expense of China, which Roosevelt accepted without asking the chinese leadership, as well as the northern islands of Japan.
Today the only aspect of Yalta, which continues to be the case regarding the borders of the countries of northeast Europe and Russia in the Pacific. The occupation rights of the allies in Germany have ceased to apply with the reunification of Germany, accompanied by the conclusion of peace – typical of the Second World War was by then in legal limbo.
Source
Yalta agreement: How he shared the world
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