The Yalta Conference Simulation
Background
The Grand Alliance of the United States, Great
Britain, and the Soviet Union during World War
II resulted not from a natural affinity or shared
worldview, but from their mutual antipathy for
the Axis powers.
Tensions resulting from the political, social, and
economic incompatibility of capitalism and
communism were accentuated by mistrust
based on previous events.
Differences Between Capitalism and
Communism
• Capitalism
vs.
Communism
Why the Soviet Union distrusted the
U.S. …
• During WWI, and the Russian Revolution, the
U.S. and Britain sent troops to Russia to defeat
the Bolshevik Revolutionaries, and their
socialistic ideas that led to communism.
• During the 1930s, the U.S. largely ignored the
concerns of the Soviet Union about the rise of
Nazi Germany and Japan as the U.S. went
through the Great Depression
Why the U.S. distrusted the Soviet
Union…
• The Soviet Union signed a pact with Germany
to split Poland in 1939 immediately before the
outbreak of WWII.
• The Soviet Union also opportunistically
annexed other countries along the Baltic Sea
during that time.
Despite that distrust…
…the animosity and distrust between the United
States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union was
mitigated by their mutual need to defeat
Germany, Italy, and Japan. The open antagonism
was temporarily subsumed to facilitate joint
military operations.
The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet
Union held a trio of conferences during the second
half of the war:
(1) the first was at Tehran, Iran in late November
and early December 1943;
(2) the second was hosted at Yalta, the Crimea, in
Soviet Ukraine, in early February 1945;
(3) the final conference was held in Potsdam, in
occupied Germany, during late July and early
August 1945.
• The previous disputes and competitions
openly reemerged among the leaders during
the second and third conferences.
• For purposes of this history simulation, the
focus will be the second conference at Yalta.
• Divide into groups of 6. (There can be that are
smaller but there must be at least 3 in the
group.)
You are diplomats at Yalta!
• 2 people represent Great Britain
• 2 people represent the United States
• 2 people represent the Soviet Union
• Teacher distribute negotiation handouts to
the groups. (The “short term and long term
achievement” handouts should only be seen
by the diplomats that represent the country
on the paper).
This is a competition in your group!
• Once you have your agreement, the country in
your group that has the most points is the
WINNER.
• This is NOT majority rules. ALL three groups
must sign off on the agreement.
• You all lose if you can’t come to an agreement.
(As things would have fallen apart among the
Allies at the point of the war where working
together was most critical)
Private Meeting(5 minutes)
• Representatives from each country get
together and decide which goals you will
argue more forcefully and which you will be
more willing to concede.
Negotiation (30 minutes)
• Negotiate between the three countries for a
settlement.
• When you have created an agreement and
signed it, all three sides add up their points
total that they achieved during the simulation.
How did it go?
• Each team report their scores, and one lesson
learned from the negotiation.
Actual Agreements at Yalta
The actual agreements initially negotiated at Yalta included the
following:
1. Bring all war criminals to just and swift punishment.
2. Jointly occupy and administer Germany by establishing occupation
zones.
3. Establish the United Nations with each major power having veto
power.
4. The major powers are United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain,
France, and China.
5. The Soviets keep the territory that they had acquired in 1939–40.
6. Establish democratic Eastern European governments that are
friendly to the Soviets.
7. Soviet Union will declare war on Japan, ninety days after VE day.
Notably, no agreement was made concerning war reparations or
European empires.