WWII 80: The Yalta Conference | February 4, 2025
WWII 80: Highlights from the Truman Library
The Yalta Conference
February 4-11, 1945
80 years ago, three men mapped the end of World War II. Did they also pave the way for a Cold War?
From February 4-11, 1945, the Crimean resort town of Yalta hosted some of the most powerful men in the world. These officials did not come to Yalta for relaxation, however. In what was only their second (and last) meeting together, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin (along with other military and political figures of the “Big Three” nations) planned their final victory over the Axis powers and reached an agreement for governing Europe.
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“Nazi Germany is doomed. The German people will only make the cost of their defeat heavier to themselves by attempting to continue a hopeless resistance.”