At the turn of November and December 1943 in Tehran, three people met to decide about the fate of the world. What were Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin talking about? And what did they find out?

The Tehran conference, which lasted from November 28 to December 1, 1943, was the first of three at which the so-called The Big Three:British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and USSR leader Joseph Stalin (the other two summit meetings were held in Yalta and Potsdam).

The originators of this "congress" were Great Britain and the USA. The leaders were accompanied by ministers of foreign affairs, advisers and diplomats. The three politicians were to discuss, inter alia, the issue of opening a second front in France in May 1944 (code name of the operation - "Overlord"); they also talked about the post-war shape of Europe (including the course of Poland's borders) and the division of spheres of influence, declaring war on Japan after the victory over the troops of the Third Reich, as well as the entry of the Baltic republics into the USSR.

Conference in Tehran

The three leaders arrived in the Iranian capital on November 28 and settled in their embassies. On the same day, Churchill and Roosevelt received an invitation from Stalin to "move" to each other. Why? The Germans - as reported by Soviet intelligence agents - were to plan attacks on the members of the Big Three. Stalin decided that the fortified building of the Soviets would be able to protect politicians from attacks. However, only the American president took advantage of the hospitality offer.

The USSR, bearing the main burden of warfare, had a strong bargaining chip. This made his allies accept the annexation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in 1940. Roosevelt only mentioned something about a plebiscite that should be held among the citizens of the Baltic republics, but finally added:"I have no doubts that the people of these three countries will vote for joining the Soviet Union [...]".

During the conference in Tehran, it was established, inter alia, the course of the post-war Polish border in the east

It was agreed that the Russians would receive part of East Prussia as part of the reparations. The post-war eastern border of Poland was also agreed - it was to follow the Curzon Line , which meant that the Red Army would absorb the Belarusian and Ukrainian territories annexed in September 1939 (interestingly, Churchill drew this line on the map using… a match). At Roosevelt's request, the arrangements for our homeland were to be kept secret until the next US presidential election.

Stalin tried to persuade the coalition partners to open a second front as soon as possible, but at one point the negotiations reached an impasse (the British and Americans were guided by ... phases of the moon in this matter). Then the upset USSR leader stood up and sharply said to Voroshilov and Molotov:“We have too many problems at home to waste our time here. As you can see, our meeting doesn't make sense. ”

The behavior of the Soviet leader acted on the allies like a bucket of cold water. Western partners agreed to start Operation Overlord in May 1944 (eventually the date was postponed to June). The parties also undertook not to conclude a separatist peace with Germany until the final victory with a common enemy.

The post-war shape of Germany was also discussed. The American president suggested dividing the country into 5 smaller ones (this proposal was never adopted). In addition, the creation of the United Nations to be created after the victory over Hitler was discussed.

Bibliography:

• Churchill, Winston Spencer. Closing the Ring . Boston:Mariner Books, 1986.