Thursday, April 26, 2012

Origins of the Cold War: Yalta Conference

1. Choose two points of agreement from the list and explain why they were significant for the future peace of Europe.      

First Point:     During the Yalta Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill agreed that as countries were liberated from the German Army, they would be allowed to hold free elections to choose the government they wanted. This was very significant for the future peace of Europe, because it ensured democracy in Europe and set to prevent the rise of any totalitarian government or dictators. 



Second Point: The Big Three also agreed to hunt down and punish war criminals who were responsible for the genocide during the holocaust. This was significant because it ensured Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill were serious in working together to ensure the end of Nazism in Europe, and to provide protection and keep the peace in Europe against war criminals.   

2. Read Sources 2 - 11 on pages 320 and 321. What is your overall impression of the Yalta Conference based on these sources?

My overall impression of the Yalta Conference was that all three leaders wanted to work together and had a genuine alliance with each other, however, neither of them fully trusted each other. It seemed Britain and the United States had a stronger alliance with each other on behalf of their hatred for Communism. It seems that Stalin thought Roosevelt and Churchill especially could be easily taken advantage of and looked down upon him. Overall, the Big Three seemed to have a genuine alliance while keeping a distance from each other.  

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