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Yalta
WW II Yalta Conference
364 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 22, 2013
A very thorough and logically written account of the proceedings at Yalta. Instead of approaching Yalta from a day to day basis the author examines topic by topic – presenting a far more coherent platform of how the issues developed (or unravelled depending on your point of view). The main issues examined are German dismemberment and reparations, the structure of the United Nations, the framework of liberated and soon-to-be liberated Europe, and most especially, Poland.
I disagree with the author’s conclusion that the U.S.A. did not live up to the Yalta agreements. Part of the agreement for the liberated regions was to have “free and democratic elections”. This was never done in the areas occupied by the Soviet Union. All areas occupied by them became vassal states. “Free and unfettered elections” were finally held in Poland after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990’s. Making Poland an independent country was the major issue of England at the Yalta summit; it was less so for the U.S. where Roosevelt’s priority was to establish the United Nations. The aims of the Soviet Union were self-interest by contrast. They wanted to maximize their reparations from Germany. They got this from the moment they occupied Eastern Germany when they moved entire factories piecemeal out of the country. They also wanted Poland as a state “friendly” to the Soviet Union – translated to Soviet terminology this meant a Poland subjugated to the Soviet Union. To do this they set up the Lublin government. Stalin tried to make the point that England had set-up De Gaulle. But De Gaulle was nobody’s puppet – Churchill could certainly attest to that. The Lublin Poles were virtual stooges of Stalin. Diane Shaver Clemens somehow misses this important point.
However this book gives a very clear view of how the talks evolved and the give-and-take on each subject.
I disagree with the author’s conclusion that the U.S.A. did not live up to the Yalta agreements. Part of the agreement for the liberated regions was to have “free and democratic elections”. This was never done in the areas occupied by the Soviet Union. All areas occupied by them became vassal states. “Free and unfettered elections” were finally held in Poland after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990’s. Making Poland an independent country was the major issue of England at the Yalta summit; it was less so for the U.S. where Roosevelt’s priority was to establish the United Nations. The aims of the Soviet Union were self-interest by contrast. They wanted to maximize their reparations from Germany. They got this from the moment they occupied Eastern Germany when they moved entire factories piecemeal out of the country. They also wanted Poland as a state “friendly” to the Soviet Union – translated to Soviet terminology this meant a Poland subjugated to the Soviet Union. To do this they set up the Lublin government. Stalin tried to make the point that England had set-up De Gaulle. But De Gaulle was nobody’s puppet – Churchill could certainly attest to that. The Lublin Poles were virtual stooges of Stalin. Diane Shaver Clemens somehow misses this important point.
However this book gives a very clear view of how the talks evolved and the give-and-take on each subject.
April 27, 2024
The book is a compelling outline of major issues discussed at the conference. It shows that official records don’t fully represent the varying opinions and personalities driving the dialogue at the conference. What is also helpful is the discussion of the effect post-conference of Roosevelt’s death and Truman’s near abandonment of some of the agreement points.
The book causes us to re-examine history and the nature of treaty discussions and the line between healthy negotiations and reneging later of agreements made and world events that followed in places like The Korean Peninsula, Iran and China.
The book causes us to re-examine history and the nature of treaty discussions and the line between healthy negotiations and reneging later of agreements made and world events that followed in places like The Korean Peninsula, Iran and China.
March 15, 2022
An interesting breakdown of the diplomatic history of the Yalta Conference. The book goes through the negotiations and the different areas where the US, Britain, and the USSR were in agreement and disagreement about the shape of the post-war world. The history highlights just how much of the world we know was shaped by the weeklong conference between these three leaders. Recommended for anyone who is interested in world history, international relations, and the exercise of power in world affairs.
December 21, 2011
Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin meet in secret at Yalta to determine the fate of Europe once World War II ends.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews