Potsdam conference free#
But he conceded to Churchill’s demand that free elections be held in all Nazi- liberated territories in Eastern Europe, including Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland. For centuries, the country had been used as a historical corridor for armies intent on invading Russia, and Stalin was determined to retain the regions of Poland that he had annexed in 1939 after the Soviet invasion. The fate of Poland was a key sticking point in negotiations. A brief guide to the Nuremberg Trials, where some Nazis faced justice after WW2.Once Germany’s unconditional surrender had been received, it was proposed that the country, and its capital, be split into four occupied zones – the fourth occupation zone was granted to France but, at Stalin’s insistence, would be formed out of the American and British zones. The decisions made at Yalta demonstrate the extent to which power had shifted between the Allies over the course of the war. Listen: Richard J Evans responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about the Third Reich What was eventually agreed at Yalta? If France was allowed to participate at Yalta, other nations, too, would arguably have had an equal right to attend. Stalin in particular felt that decisions about the future of Europe should be made by those powers who had sacrificed the most in the war. Why wasn't French leader Charles de Gaulle present at the conference?ĭe Gaulle, by unanimous consent from all three leaders, was not invited to Yalta, nor to the Potsdam Conference a few months later it was a diplomatic slight that created deep and lasting resentment. With differing priorities and world views, it was clearly going to be difficult for the Big Three to reach an agreement. Both he and Truman were worried that inflicting huge reparations on Germany, as had been done after World War I, could, in the future, create a similar economic situation in the country that had led to the rise and acceptance of the Nazi Party.
What did each of the 'big three' want from the meeting? Aspersions have since been cast on whether the plot ever existed. At the Tehran Conference of 1943, Soviet agents alleged that the Germans were planning Operation Long Jump – a plot to assassinate the Big Three at the same time, only for it to be called off at the last minute.