Yalta Conference
By February of 1945, it was clear that it would only be a matter of
time before the Allied forces of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the
United States defeated Germany, ending World War II in Europe. In
preparation for an eventual peace treaty, the Allied heads of state, Franklin
Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill, met in the Soviet resort of
Yalta to resolve four central issues.
The first and most thorny issue was the future status of Poland. Poland
was an ally. Indeed, Great Britain and France had declared war on Germany
in 1939 on behalf of Poland (Germany invaded Poland in September). The
government of Poland, which was both anti-Russian and anti-Communist,
had fled Warsaw, taking refuge in London. In 1945, these leaders insisted
that the West help them to return and establish a government in Poland.
However, the Red Army, the force that had "liberated" Poland, wanted it to
become Communist. Great Britain and the US wanted Poland to become
"democratic," but they were also allied with the Soviet Union. Thus,
resolving the Poland issue without angering either the Soviet Union or the
exiled Polish government was almost impossible.
The second issue was the war in the Pacific. Fighting raged between
Japan and the United States, and the US desired Soviet assistance. The
Soviets, however, were less inclined to assist, as they felt they had
shouldered a disproportionate burden of casualties in Europe.
The potential formation of a new United Nations to replace the defunct
League of Nations was the third lingering problem. Roosevelt insisted on the
need for US and Soviet participation in the UN (neither the US nor the Soviet
Union had been members of the League of Nations).
The final issue was the fate of Germany. The Soviets were in the
eastern zones, while Great Britain and the US were in the west. Moreover,
the allied powers disagreed as to the amount of war reparations. The
Soviets, having lost approximately 10 million civilians in the war
(significantly more than other countries) wanted to extract huge reparations
from Germany, while Great Britain and the United States were in favor of
rebuilding Germany.
The above described questions were mostly resolved at the conference
at Yalta. The fate of Poland proved to be the most difficult to determine.
Throughout its history, Poland had struggled against Soviet power, and at
times, occupation. Indeed, Poles were so staunchly anti-Russian that they
had refused to ally themselves with the Soviet Union on the eve of the
German invasion of Poland. However, by February of 1945 and the Yalta
conference, Poland was already within the Soviet sphere of influence. Stalin
had already created a pro-Soviet Polish government based in Lublin (eastern
Poland) consisting mostly of communists and socialists. Britain, on the other
hand, still had some obligation to the Poles exiled in London.
Discussion ultimately came down to the argument about the make-up
of a provisional government in Poland. Stalin wanted all Allied states to
recognize the Lublin regime as the government, while Roosevelt and
Churchill insisted that Poland's provisional government include as many
"democratic" leaders as communist. After a lengthy and contentious debate,
the two sides came to an ambiguous agreement. The Polish provisional
government would be composed of leaders from Poland as well as Poles from
abroad, and elections would be held in the future. These future elections
would form the basis of a permanent government. While this resolution
appeared to be a compromise, it actually constituted a facade for a Stalin
victory. Indeed, after the conference, Roosevelt and Churchill focused on the
"free elections" as a victory for democracy. However, the Red Army was
already in Poland, and the Soviet definition of "free elections" was much
narrower than that of Great Britain and the US. When elections were finally
held, the candidates were all politicians who did not threaten Soviet
domination.
In regards to the second issue - the war in the Pacific - agreement was
reached quickly and easily. The Soviets agreed to join the war against
Japan, in part because they had been defeated by the Japanese in the
Russo-Japanese war of 1904 - 1905. Moreover, following the October
Revolution in 1917 (the Revolution that brought Communism to Russia) the
Japanese had used the upheaval to their advantage and invaded Siberia,
staying until 1922. The Japanese and the Russians had again fought along
their border during the summer of 1939. The Soviets, having been defeated
by the Japanese in the past, were thus willing to attack the Japanese in the
fourth Russo-Japanese conflict of the twentieth century. Indeed, the USSR
perceived joining the war in the Pacific as a way to redress past defeats.
Discussion at Yalta lead to the agreement to form a new United
Nations - one that would include both the US and the USSR. Roosevelt
proposed, and Churchill and Stalin accepted, the principle of absolute veto
for the great powers of all UN actions. In 1919, when President Woodrow
Wilson had proposed the United States entry into the League of Nations, his
opponents had prevented American entrance by arguing that US foreign
policy would be determined by an international body. Roosevelt's idea of an
absolute veto would preclude such arguments. Roosevelt went on to propose
a Security Council made up of the "Big 5" -- the United States, the USSR,
Great Britain, France, and China. As a result, the UN would never act against
the interest of any one of these nations, and it would only act when the Big
5 were in agreement. Unanimity rarely occurred; the weakness of the UN
was institutionalized at its inception.
The remaining issue was the fate of Germany. The leaders did not
want to openly discuss dismembering Germany, so they started a
"Dismemberment Committee" to study the procedure. Reaching an
agreement on reparations was also difficult, as the Russians wanted large
reparations, while Roosevelt and Churchill feared that this would fuel
German discontent and extremism. They would not agree to the 10 billion
dollar fee proposed by Stalin. Roosevelt and Churchill also feared they'd be
forced to foot the bill, as they would be the economic force behind the
rebuilding of Germany. Stalin became quite angry, and the three finally
agreed to accept 20 billion (10 billion to the USSR) as a "basis for
discussion." The alliance between the three was shaken.
Yalta ended with each side having made some gains and losses.
Roosevelt had made gains in securing Russian assistance in the Pacific and
in convincing Stalin to agree to the UN formula. Stalin made significant gains
in territory in Eastern Europe, as well as in convincing Churchill and
Roosevelt to agree to the idea of extracting major reparations from
Germany. Churchill made gains in obtaining Allied agreement to let France
become part of the Allied Control Council. France's membership was key in
that it would act as a counterbalance to Soviet power following the US
departure from Europe. Churchill was disappointed that Great Britain had
entered the war to free Poland, and Poland would ultimately be under Soviet
domination. Most importantly, it became clear to Great Britain and the
United States that Stalin was not willing to give up areas under his control.
The split between East and West that would freeze into the Cold War began
to concretize at Yalta.