Yalta Conference file photo [559]

Yalta Conference

4 Feb 1945 - 11 Feb 1945

Contributor:

ww2dbaseHaving difficulty in persuading Joseph Stalin to depart from the Soviet Union, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, the latter with much reluctance, agreed to meet the Soviet leader in Yalta in Russia (now Ukraine). A pre-war spa town, Yalta was no longer its once glorious self, having barely survived looting as German troops evacuated not too long ago. To prepare the city for the conference, cleaning crews and hospitality personnel arrived from various cities, while furnishings were brought in by the truck load; making a rare exception, Stalin allowed US Army troops to precede the US President to fumigate various locations in Yalta in an attempt to rid of potential diseases.

ww2dbaseThe conference, codenamed Argonaut, began on 4 Feb 1945. In terms of European affairs, Stalin insisted on the dismantling of Germany after the war, which Roosevelt and Churchill agreed with, though only in the form of a temporary occupation rather than a permanent dismemberment of the country. On the situation in Asia, Roosevelt pressed on Stalin to maintain Stalin's earlier promise that the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan three months after the fall of Germany, but in exchange, Stalin demanded the southern half of Sakhalin island, the Kurile Islands, and territories in Japanese-occupied northeastern China. Poland was also among the hotly-debated issue, with the Western Allies wanting to install the government-in-exile currently in London, while the Soviet Union preferred the Lublin-based Soviet-sponsored government. Finally, the two sides also argued over whether Soviet puppet states such as Byelorussia and Ukraine would have votes in what was to become the United Nations once it was established.

ww2dbaseAs the United States slowly transformed into the dominant western power, displacing the United Kingdom, Roosevelt conducted most of the political maneuvers on behalf of the Western Allies, while Churchill was relegated to the role of a spectator in some of the conversations.

ww2dbaseThe official agreements at the end of the conference are as follows:

ww2dbaseSources:
Dan van der Vat, The Pacific Campaign
H. W. Brands, Traitor to His Class
Wikipedia

Last Major Update: Jun 2005

Yalta Conference Interactive Map

Photographs

Molotov and Stalin at Yalta, Russia (now Ukraine), Feb 1945Joseph Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov at Yalta, Russia (now Ukraine), Jan-Feb 1945Franklin Roosevelt speaking with Harry Hopkins, Saki, Russia, early Feb 1945Roosevelt, Churchill, and Molotov at Yalta, Russia (now Ukraine), 3 Feb 1945; note Ford GPW Jeep
See all 11 photographs of Yalta Conference

Yalta Conference Timeline

4 Feb 1945 The Yalta Conference commenced in Russia.
8 Feb 1945 Joseph Stalin held a feast for the Allied leaders at Yalta, Russia.
11 Feb 1945 The Yalta Agreement was signed by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, with Stalin pledging to declare war on Japan three months after the German surrender.
12 Feb 1945 The Yalta Agreement was publicly announced nearly simultaneously in Moscow, Russia and London, England, United Kingdom regarding the handling of Germany after the war.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Bryce Avery says:
23 May 2012 10:54:48 AM

Hello! I am developing an inexpensive iPhone app to help people learn about U.S. Presidents. Would it be OK for the app to link to your website in cases where your articles would be very useful ?

For example, one clue for FDR is: "He was a part of World War II conferences at Cairo, Tehran and Yalta."

The word "Yalta", if clicked on, would go to http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=78 and allow people to read the whole article for more information. We plan to show your screen, complete with URL.

If we don’t hear back from you, we will assume the link is OK.

Thanks!

best, Bryce Avery
2. Commenter identity confirmed C. Peter Chen says:
23 May 2012 12:24:05 PM

Thanks for visiting WW2DB Bryce. We'd very much appreciate the link, thanks!

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Search WW2DB
More on Yalta Conference
Participants:
» Beria, Lavrentiy
» Brooke, Alan
» Byrnes, James
» Churchill, Winston
» Cunningham, Andrew
» Hopkins, Harry
» Khudyakov, Sergei
» Leahy, William
» Molotov, Vyacheslav
» Portal, Charles
» Roosevelt, Franklin
» Stalin, Joseph

Location:
» Russia

Document:
» Yalta Agreement

Related Book:
» Six Months in 1945

Yalta Conference Photo Gallery
Molotov and Stalin at Yalta, Russia (now Ukraine), Feb 1945
See all 11 photographs of Yalta Conference


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