230 ENDGAME AND AFTERMATH 194 4 –1955
One of the main aims of Yalta was
to decide what should happen to
Germany after the war. The Big
Three—as Roosevelt, Churchill,
and Stalin were known—agreed
to divide the country into four
occupation zones administered
by the US, Britain, the USSR, and
France, with control of Berlin split
between the four powers. They
agreed to establish a provisional
government in Poland as a
preliminary to holding elections.
Similarly, the other freed peoples of Eastern Europe would be helped
in setting up democratic regimes. Stalin agreed to join the war
against Japan once Germany surrendered, and to join the UN.Broken pledges
The Yalta agreements were initially heralded as a success, but the
mood did not last. By the time they met again at Potsdam between
July 7 and August 2, with Harry S Truman and Clement Attlee
replacing Roosevelt and Churchill respectively, the tensions between
the West and the USSR were obvious. Although the divided and
disarmed state of Germany was confirmed, there was disagreement
about the amount of reparations the Germans should pay. Refugees
from the east were flooding westward, displaced by the adjustment of
the Polish–German frontier in Poland’s favor. Additionally, it was
clear that Stalin, despite his promises, would not allow free elections
to take place in the territories his armies had liberated.YALTA AND
POTSDAM
In February 1945, the three Allied leaders—Roosevelt,
Churchill, and Stalin—met at Yalta in Crimea to decide
the fate of the post-war world. Five months later, the
nations’ leaders met again at Potsdam, near Berlin.
△ Memorial for a leader
The 1945 Yalta conference was a historical
landmark, as this postage stamp from the
former French colony of Togo, issued to mark
Churchill’s death in 1965, confirms.THE POTSDAM DECLARATION
Following Potsdam, the
US, UK, and China called
for Japan’s unconditional
surrender, threatening
“prompt and utter
destruction” if it did not
comply. Although Stalin
was also present at the
conference, the USSR
and Japan had a treaty
of nonaggression at the
time, so he did not sign
the declaration.US_230-231_F_Yalta_and_Potsdam.indd 230 04/03/19 5:00 PM