Yalta Conference

More to Explore

People and Groups

Themes

Events

Related Topics

This Day in History

May 16

World War II

As Brits launch Operation Chastise, Germans launch Operation Gypsy Baron, 1943

On this day in 1943, the British Royal Air Force sets into motion a plan to bomb key dams in order to flood the Ruhr region of Germany, while the German…

Recommended Articles

  • Lend-Lease Act

    The Lend-Lease Act of March 11, 1941, was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II.

  • Treaty of Ghent

    The Treaty of Ghent was signed between Great Britain and the United States to end the War of 1812.

  • Nuremberg Trials

    The Nuremberg trials were a series of trials held in Nuremberg, Germany, between 1945 and 1949 for the purpose of bringing Nazi war criminals--military leaders as well as civilians--to justice.

  • Henry A. Kissinger

    (1923- ), foreign policy specialist, national security adviser, and secretary of state.

The Yalta Conference was a meeting of British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet premier Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in February 1945 as World War II was winding down. The leaders agreed to require Germany's unconditional surrender and to set up in the conquered nation four zones of occupation to be run by their three countries and France. They scheduled another meeting for April in San Francisco to create the United Nations. Stalin also agreed to permit free elections in Eastern Europe and to enter the Asian war against Japan. In turn, he was promised the return of lands lost to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. At the time, most of these agreements were kept secret.

Yalta became controversial after Soviet-American wartime cooperation degenerated into the cold war. Stalin broke his promise of free elections in Eastern Europe and installed governments dominated by the Soviet Union. Then American critics charged that Roosevelt, who died two months after the conference, had "sold out" to the Soviets at Yalta.

The Reader's Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Copyright © 1991 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Advertisement

Shop HISTORY

See More

Classroom Study Guides

  • Vietnam in HD Teacher's Guide (PDF)

    Classroom companion for the new HISTORY series Vietnam in HD.

  • Thomas Jefferson Teacher's Guide (PDF)

    Jefferson is an insightful 2-hour presentation on HISTORY which examines his many identities and asks viewers to answer for themselves: who was the real Thomas Jefferson, and what is his most lasting legacy in our world today?