At the Yalta Conference held from February 4-11, 1945, the leaders of the Allied Powers – Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin – met to discuss the post-World War II world order. Here are the agreements that were reached at the Yalta Conference:
1. Division of Germany: The leaders agreed to divide Germany into four occupation zones, with each zone controlled by one of the four victorious powers – the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.
2. Reparations: Germany was required to pay reparations to the Allied Powers for war damages. The exact amount was not determined at Yalta, but Stalin insisted on receiving a significant share of the reparations to compensate for the enormous losses suffered by the Soviet Union in the war.
3. United Nations: The leaders agreed to establish an international organization to promote peace and security in the post-war world. This organization, which would be called the United Nations, was to be based on the principles of collective security and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
4. Poland: The leaders agreed to recognize the Soviet-backed Polish government and to allow it to participate in the post-war settlement. However, they also agreed to preserve the democratic principles of the Polish government-in-exile that had been operating from London during the war.
5. Japan: The leaders agreed to demand Japan`s unconditional surrender and to hold a war crimes trial for Japanese leaders. They also agreed to allow the Soviet Union to enter the war against Japan three months after Germany`s surrender.
These agreements were critical in shaping the post-World War II world order and had implications that lasted for decades. The Yalta Conference has been the subject of much debate and criticism, with some arguing that the Allied Powers made too many concessions to Stalin and that the conference paved the way for the Cold War. Regardless, the agreements reached at Yalta had a significant impact on the course of history.