International Conferences, Declarations, & Agreements, 1941-1945
The major Allied Powers of World War II meet many times throughout the war. Below is a sampling of the more
significant ones – it should be noted that they meet many more times.
During World War II the leaders of the principal nations that were fighting the Axis powers
attendee a number of conferences. They discussed not only pressing military affairs, but also the nature of
the peace they desired & how it could be achieved. Many viewed those wartime meetings as steps toward
reaching the goal of a permanent postwar international cooperation for peace. And many hoped that goal
had been attained when in 1945 representatives of fifty-one nations signed the charter of the United
Nations organization. In 1952 the permanent headquarters of the world body were finally established in
New York City.
The leaders of five Allied nations- the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France, &
China – met in formal conferences over a period of three years to discuss plans for international
cooperation after the war.
(1941) The Newfoundland Conference (Before the US is
“officially” involved in the war)
In August 1941, President Roosevelt and British prime
minister Winston Churchill set forth in a joint statement the postwar
objectives of their nations, a step that caused the Axis powers to
insist that the United States and Great Britain were already in
alliance.
Known as the Atlantic Charter, this statement was the result
of conversations between Roosevelt & Churchill at secret meetings
aboard their respective warships off the coast of Newfoundland. The
document stated that both nations (1) renounced territorial
aggrandizement; (2) opposed territorial changes contrary to the
wishes of the people concerned; (3) respected the right of all people
to choose their own form of government; (4) would assist in
arranging for all nations equal access to the trade & raw materials of the world; (5) favored cooperation
among the nations to improve the economic status & social security of all people; (6) hoped that the
peace settlement would enable people throughout the world to “live out their lives in freedom from fear &
want”; (7) supported freedom of the seas; and (8)advocated disarmament of aggressor nations.
(1942) United Nations Declaration
In Jan. United Nations declaration was signed at Washington. Twenty-six nations, including the
U.S., Great Britain, the Soviet Union, & China, affirmed the principles of the Atlantic Charter, pledged
the employment of their full military & economic resources against the Axis, & promised not to make a
separate armistice or peace with the common enemies.
(1943 - January) The Casablanca Conference
In January, 1943, President Roosevelt & the Prime Minister Churchill met at Casablanca, in
French Morocco, where after agreeing on a number of military matters, they declared that the war would
continue until the “unconditional surrender” of the Axis nations.
(1943 - October) The Moscow Conference
Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden of Great Britain, & Foreign
Minister Vyacheslav M. Molotov of the Soviet Union conferred in Moscow in October 1943. The three
men issued a statement, which came to be known as the Moscow Declaration, that a world organization
for the maintenance of peace would be established after the war.
(1943 - November)The Cairo Conference
In November 1943, Roosevelt & Churchill met in Cairo with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek,
(Jiang-Jieshi) the political & military leader of China. There they formally promised to deprive Japan of
all territory it had acquired since the latter part of the nineteenth century, with the areas taken from China
restored to that country.
(1943 - November) The Teheran Conference
In Teheran, Iran, in November 1943, two days after the Cairo
conference was concluded, Roosevelt, Churchill, & Stalin met for the
first time. In a joint declaration issued at the close of the conference, the
three leaders pledged that their nations would work together to win not
only the war but also the peace. The concluding sentence of their
declaration was: “We leave here, friends in fact, in spirit, & in purpose.”
(1944) The Second Quebec Conference
In 11-16 Sept. 2nd Quebec conference, attended by President
Roosevelt & Prime Minister Churchill, considered strategic plans for
final victory over Germany & Japan. The chief subjects of the conference were the demarcation of the
zones of occupation following the conquest of Germany & the policy governing the postwar treatment of
that nation. The Morgenthau plan (sponsored by secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr.) for
reducing Germany to an agrarian economy was tentatively approved at this conference, but was rejected
by President Roosevelt a month later.
** (1945 – February) The Yalta Conference
The most fateful of all the wartime conferences took place in February 1945 at the Soviet port of
Yalta, in the Crimea. There Roosevelt, Churchill, & Stalin met for the second & final time. They were
accompanied by their most important diplomatic & military advisors. It was decided to call a special
conference of all the Allies the following April in San Francisco to draft a charter for an association of
nations to maintain peace. Further, Roosevelt, Churchill, & Stalin publicly agreed: (1) to divide postwar
Germany into American, British, Soviet, & French occupation zones; (2) to readjust the boundaries of
Poland, with that nation relinquishing a
portion of its eastern area to the Soviet Union
& receiving German territory to the north &
west as compensation; (3) to guarantee free
elections in Poland; & (4) to ensure the
establishment of a democratic form of
government for all liberated European nations.
A number of agreements made at Yalta were
not immediately made public. One secret
clause granted the Ukraine & Byelorussia
(two of the fifteen historically & ethnically
cohesive republics constituting the Soviet Union) membership in the projected postwar association of
nations equal to that of independent countries. Other secret provisions pertained to the Far East. The
Soviet Union promised to enter the war against Japan after Germany’s anticipated surrender. In return for
this pledge, the Soviet Union, according to additional secret clauses, would regain the sphere of influence
it had enjoyed in Manchuria before the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 & receive an occupation zone in
Korea. The United States & Great Britain also secretly agreed to self-government for Outer Mongolia,
which had been Chinese territory but under Soviet influence.
In the years after the Yalta conference, the American delegation was attacked for having conceded
too much to the Soviet Union. Critics argued, for example, that although the Soviet Union did enter the
war against Japan, the use of the atomic bomb precluded the need for Soviet military aid in achieving
Allied victory in the Far East. Counterarguments were offered in support of the American delegation.
Defenders pointed out, for example, that it was widely believed that Soviet aid in the war in the Far East
would save the lives of many American servicemen in the final offensive against Japan, especially since
those few American leaders who knew of the atomic bomb were unsure about its potential.
(1945 – July to August) The Potsdam Conference
The last meeting during World War II of the leaders of the three principal Allied nations took
place during July-August of 1945 at Potsdam, Germany. In attendance were Harry S Truman, who a few
months earlier had become president; Churchill, who was replaced
while the conference was
in progress by his
successor
as
prime
minister, Clement R.
Attlee;
&
Stalin.
Germany, but not Japan,
had
surrendered
unconditionally.
The
conferees agreed on a
policy for the occupation
of Germany & Japan,
which included plans for
both the decentralization & democratization of the two Axis
nations. At Potsdam the American delegation began to
perceive elements of noncooperation by representatives of
the Soviet Union that had not been in evidence at the
previous wartime conferences.
In 1944 & 1945, countries fighting the Axis engaged
in drawing up a charter for a postwar association of nations
to preserve world peace.
(1944 – August – October) The Dumbarton Oaks Conference
Upon Secretary of State Cordell Hull’s invitation, representatives of Great Britain, the Soviet
Union, & China met with delegates from the United States during August-October 1944 at Dumbarton
Oaks, outside Washington, D.C., for a series of discussions
concerning an international association after the war.
Proposals were drafted that were to serve as the basis for the
charter of the hoped-for world organization.
(1945 – April – June) The San Francisco Conference
During April-June 1945, approximately 300
representatives from fifty-one countries met in San Francisco
to draw up the
charter of the
international association. The American delegation was headed
by Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius Jr. At some of the
sessions there were bitter exchanges between the American &
Soviet representatives. After weeks of deliberation, the
delegates adopted the charter of the United Nations.
The charter of the United Nations established six major
bodies & provided for the setting up of such specialized
agencies as might be deemed useful.
General Assembly
This body was composed of all member nations, each of which had one vote. The General
Assembly had the power to discuss any issue that came under the charter & to recommend a course of
action. In addition, it was granted power to supervise the specialized agencies.
Security Council
This body was composed of five permanent members-the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet
Union, France, China-& six (later increased to ten) members elected for overlapping two-year terms by
the General Assembly. The Security Council was entrusted with the maintenance of international peace &
security, being empowered to take military action for this purpose. Each permanent member was granted
the right to veto a decision of the Security Council.
Secretariat
This body was composed of a secretary general & a large staff to manage the routine affairs of the
United Nations. As chief administrator of the organization, the secretary general was charged with
implementing decisions reached by the General Assembly & the Security Council.
Economic & Social Council
This body consisted of eighteen (later increase to twenty-seven) member nations that elected by
the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. The Economic and Social Council was to
investigate all economic, social,
cultural, educational, and health
problems and then to recommend
solution.
International Court of Justice
This body consisted of fifteen
jurists elected for nine-year terms by the
General Assembly and the Security
Council. The court had its headquarters
at the Hague, the Netherlands. (It
replaced the Permanent court of
international Justice, known as the
world court, of the League of Nations.)
The Court was to be the principle
judicial organ of the United States.
Trusteeship Council
This body consisted equally of
member nations administrating and
member nations not administrating trust
territories. The trust territories were colonial areas unprepared for independence that the United Nations
assigned to certain member nations for administration. They included land previously held under the
mandate of the League of Nations and colonies taken from the Axis powers at the end of World War II.
Specialized Agencies
Subsidiary bodies, eventually totaling more then a dozen, were set up to deal with a broad range of
economic and social problems. These specialized agencies included the United Nation Education,
Scientific, & Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the
international Labor Organization (ILO), and the World Health Organization (WHO).