Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

Meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin (referred to as "The Big Three").
- Each leader had distinct goals regarding the post-war world.
- Allies recognized that the war in Europe was nearing its end, but the situation in the Pacific was still uncertain.

Aimed at reorganizing post-war Europe and ensuring lasting peace.
- With Soviet troops occupying much of Eastern Europe, Stalin held a strong negotiating position.
- Roosevelt and Churchill worked to restrict Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.

Confirmed the decision to establish a United Nations organization at the conference.
- Planned to host a subsequent conference in the U.S. later that year.

Sought Soviet support for the war against Japan.
- Aimed to avoid a large land invasion of Japan prior to the use of atomic bombs.
Agreed that Soviet participation in the Pacific would grant them a sphere of influence in Manchuria after Japan's surrender.
Sought to have the Soviet Union join the United Nations.

Desired "friendly" governments in Eastern European countries bordering the Soviet Union.
- This would fulfill Stalin's aim for a political buffer zone.
Advocated for the elevation of China's status to that of a major power post-war.
Avoided addressing the re-establishment of European colonial empires.

Desired free elections and democratic governments in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in Poland.
Aimed to prevent Soviet domination over Eastern Europe.
Sought to elevate the status of France as a major power in the post-war order.
Wanted to secure a role for Eastern European leaders in future governance.
Aimed to protect the British and French empires.
Established the goal of promoting a United Nations organization for global peace.

Pledged to allow free elections in liberated territories (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria).
- "Free elections" implying no foreign interference or coercion in establishing democracies.
Wanted reparations to rebuild the Soviet economy and to permanently weaken Germany post-war.

Agreed that Germany would bear some but not all reparations burdens after the war.
Divided Germany into four zones of occupation: American, British, French, and Soviet.
Berlin: Also divided into four sectors mirroring the division of Germany, with Berlin situated inside the Soviet zone.
The Soviet Union committed to entering the war against Japan 2-3 months after Germany's defeat.
Adjusted the borders of Poland, granting Poland some western territorial compensation from Germany.

Occurred from July 17 to August 2, 1945, near Berlin.
- Intended to negotiate terms for ending World War II.
- Confirmed that meetings would continue after German surrender.

Confirmed the status of a demilitarized Germany under four Allied occupation zones.
- Required dismantling all military-related aspects of German industry.
Agreed on issues of reparations, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries, and economic conditions post-war.
- Each ally was to seize reparations from their own zone, providing Germany with 10% of industrial equipment from other zones.

United States, Great Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration, threatening Japan with destruction if it failed to surrender immediately.
- Notably, the Soviet Union did not sign, as it had not yet declared war on Japan.

Growing tensions between Western powers (U.S. and Britain) and the USSR.
- Capitalist ideologies of U.S./Britain versus the Communist ideology of the USSR.
- Lack of evidence for Stalin allowing free elections exacerbated disagreements.
- Contentions over boundaries and reparations highlighted emerging divisions.

Historians consider the outcomes of Yalta and Potsdam as the beginnings of the Cold War due to increasing tensions and conflicts of interest.