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At the Yalta Conference, did all parties walk away with what they wanted? What concessions were made?

User Uberrebu
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Final answer:

The Yalta Conference resulted in some agreements such as Soviet support against Japan and the division of Germany into allied occupation zones, but also led to multiple concessions like the issue of Poland and war reparations, planting the seeds for future Cold War tensions.

Step-by-step explanation:

At the Yalta Conference, the Big Three—U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin—did not all walk away with exactly what they desired. There were considerable concessions and compromises made.

Roosevelt's main objective was to secure Soviet support in the Pacific War against Japan and to gain backing for the United Nations. While he achieved the former with Stalin agreeing to enter the war against Japan after Germany's defeat, the latter was agreed upon but would later prove difficult to enforce in terms of the Soviet commitment to collective security.

Churchill was insistent on free elections and the establishment of democratic governments in Eastern and Central Europe, with a particular focus on Poland. Although Stalin agreed, this was a concession he would later retract which led to tensions during the Cold War. Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of political influence in Eastern and Central Europe, a defensive measure to protect against future invasions.

Poland emerged as the most challenging issue. Although Stalin assented to allowing the Poles to have elections and decide their government, in reality, he supported a Communist-dominated government, which indicated a breach of the agreement. Furthermore, Stalin's request for $10 billion in war reparations from Germany was rejected, yet another point of contention among the leaders.

The division of Germany into occupation zones overseen by the respective allied countries—Great Britain, Russia, France, and the U.S.—was one significant agreement from the Yalta Conference that all parties could accede to, albeit with the seeds for future discord sown.

User Nhinkle
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