We explain what the 1943 Tehran Conference was and what its results were. Also, the historical context.
The Big Three (Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill) met for the first time in Tehran.
What was the Tehran Conference?
The Tehran Conference was a meeting between US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin held in the Iranian city of Tehran during World War II (1939-1945).
It took place between November 28 and December 1, 1943 and was the first conference in which the three great Allied leaders met in person. They talked about the opening of a second front in Western Europewhich took shape with the Normandy landings in June 1944, and on the post-war political order.
Although there were some disagreements between the Western powers and the Soviet Union (USSR), the Tehran Conference resulted in several agreements and was An important step in cooperation between the three major allied countries.
Key points
- The Tehran Conference was held between 28 November and 1 December 1943.
- The leaders of the United Kingdom (Winston Churchill), the Soviet Union (Josef Stalin) and the United States (Franklin D. Roosevelt), who led the side of the Allies in World War II (1939-1945), participated.
- It allowed the consolidation of the alliance between the three countries and led to a series of agreements on the imminent Allied invasion of France, the future creation of an international organization and the partition of Germany once the war was over.
The historical context
The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 led to the entry of the Stalin regime into World War II on the side of the Allies. In December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to the entry of the United States.
Thus, The Allies became led by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United Stateswhose leaders were known as the Big Three: Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In 1942, The Soviet government began to demand that the Western powers open a new front in Western Europe. to relieve pressure from the Red Army on the Eastern Front. However, the United Kingdom and the United States decided to concentrate their military efforts in North Africa and, later, in Sicily and southern Italy.
In October 1943 a conference was held in Moscow attended by the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviet government insisted on the advisability of not delaying the invasion of France and the representatives of the three countries, together with the representative of the government of China, They agreed on the need to form an international organization of countries.
The decisions of the Tehran Conference
Roosevelt and Churchill assured Stalin that they would begin the invasion of France in the coming months.
Shortly after the Moscow Conference between the foreign ministers of the three great Allied powers, between November 28 and December 1, 1943 a meeting between the Big Three was held in Tehran for the first timethat is, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Tehran Conference It was one of the most important steps in cooperation within the Grand Alliance. (as the alliance between the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union was called). The successes of the Soviet army on the Eastern Front and the imminent opening of a second front in Western Europe allowed the first meeting between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt to take place in an atmosphere of cordiality.
The main decisions adopted at the Tehran Conference were the following:
- A commitment by the United Kingdom and the United States to begin the invasion of France in the coming months.
- An agreement on the partition of Germany at the time when Hitler’s regime was definitively defeated.
- A commitment by the Soviet Union to declare war on Japan once Germany was defeated.
- An agreement on the shift of Poland to the west. Despite initial disagreement by the Western powers, it was eventually agreed that the Soviet border would extend to the Curzon Line and in exchange Poland would annex eastern German territories up to the Oder-Neisse line.
- A debate on the creation of the future United Nations (UN), which continued in other future conferences and negotiations.
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References
- Beevor, A. (2012). The Second World War. Past and present.
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2022). Tehran Conference. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
- Stone, N. (2013). Brief history of World War II. Ariel.
- United States Department of State (sf). The Tehran Conference, 1943. Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/