In my video today, I will tell you about the Tehran Conference, which was a turning point in the Allied policy towards Poland during the Second World War. You will find out what was the reason for this and what effects it had on us. KNOW THE TRUTH Allies Against Poland From November 28 to December 1, 1943, the first conference attended by the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union took place in Tehran, Iran. It was decided that it was to be held in those days during the meeting of the foreign ministers of these three countries, which took place in Moscow between October 18 and 20, 1943. After the meeting in Moscow, it was already clear that the Polish issue would be the most difficult topic facing the leaders of the great powers during the Tehran Conference. The heads of British and American diplomacy, Anthony Eden and Cordell Hull, who were present in Moscow, became convinced that Stalin did not intend to give ground either on the future Polish-Soviet border or on the future Polish government. The Soviet dictator made it clear to them that he now intends to dictate conditions to his allies, especially in matters of key importance to him, such as the Polish issue. The British and Americans, moreover, did not intend to break a lance with Stalin for Polish affairs. For them, the most important thing was the unity of the Allied camp, which in their opinion was the condition of the final victory over the Germans. Moreover, the British and Americans believed that it would be better to settle the Polish issue without the presence of Poles. And that was exactly what they intended to do in Tehran. Already on the first day of the stay of the Big Three in Tehran, the issue of Poland was raised, although still unofficially. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was the first to do so. In a conversation with Stalin, the British prime minister told the Soviet dictator that the British had never made any declarations on the Polish-Soviet border, and that the British side could only convince the Polish government to accept any arrangements on this matter. But during a conversation with Stalin, Churchill cautiously suggested to the Soviet dictator that it was necessary to move Polish borders to the west. Stalin picked up on this idea by proposing to Churchill to adopt the Oder Line as Poland's new frontier in the West. In turn, on the issue of the eastern border, Stalin announced that the Soviet Union did not want someone else's property, as he put it, and made it clear that he did not intend to rob Poland of its lands. For Churchill, this conversation with Stalin looked promising. After this conversation, the British Prime Minister hoped that something else could be negotiated on the issue of Polish borders. But on that first day in Tehran, the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also decided to unofficially raise the issue of Poland. It was for this purpose that the American president invited Stalin to the seat of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. In a conversation with the Soviet dictator, Roosevelt told him bluntly that he in principle agrees with his position on the issue of Polish borders, but, as he noted, he cannot participate in any decisions on this matter, as he is facing new elections. Roosevelt stressed that there were between six and seven million Americans of Polish descent in America, and that he had to refrain from participating in decisions that would be made in Polish affairs, as he would then lose their votes of support. Only after these talks did the first discussion on Poland take place. Roosevelt was the first to speak in it. The American president expressed the hope that diplomatic relations between the Polish government in London and the Soviet government would soon be resumed. Stalin reacted immediately to these words. The Soviet dictator drew attention to the fact that the subject of this discussion was to be the issue of Polish borders, and not the issue of a possible resumption of Polish-Soviet relations. As he emphasized, Poland should be distinguished from the Polish government, which, together with Hitler, spreads defamatory propaganda against the Soviet Union. He also added that the Soviet Union could of course negotiate with the Polish government, but only if it changed its policy towards the Soviet Union. Roosevelt and Churchill did not react to these arguments by Stalin. It was already clear that it was Stalin who would lead the entire discussion on Polish matters in the direction he had strictly chosen. And that's exactly what happened. When this discussion had started for good, Stalin decided to dominate the gathered, clearly communicating that he could not allow the Poles to seize the lands belonging to Ukrainians and Belarusians, because these lands were returned to them as early as 1939, and their re-transfer to the Poles would be an act of great historical injustice. The head of British diplomacy, Anthony Eden then asked Stalin if this meant that, in his opinion, the Polish-Soviet border would now run according to the provisions of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact signed by the Soviet Union on 23 August 1939? Stalin dismissed the question with the words: "Call it whatever you want." The Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov then decided to lighten the situation a bit and added that the British had already called this line the Curzon Line. However, in the course of further discussion, it turned out that both sides define it completely differently. While for the British the Curzon Line was to run east of Lviv, for Stalin it was to run west of it. But Churchill did not intend to continue arguing with Stalin about who would receive Lviv after the war. Roosevelt, on the other hand, was not interested in this conversation at all. Thus, Stalin achieved his first success in Polish affairs. Stalin's second success for Poland turned out to be even easier. While studying the Oder line on a map, all the participants found it to be a good solution for the future western border of Poland. Churchill even announced that he liked the shape of the future Poland and that Poles themselves should accept this shape, which he, as the British prime minister, would strongly urge them to do. At the end of the discussion on Polish matters, the British Prime Minister proposed to everyone to adopt a joint declaration, which was to state that the borders of the Polish state would be determined by the Curzon Line and the Oder Line, and that, apart from that, East Prussia and Opole would also be included in Poland. Stalin agreed to accept this declaration. He made a reservation, however, that the Soviet Union must also receive Königsberg in East Prussia. And this was basically the end of the whole discussion about Polish affairs in Tehran. For the participants of the Tehran Conference, the issue of Poland, although it was raised first, was not the most important issue. Other issues were much more important to them. The most important of these was the question of establishing a further military strategy against Germany. It was agreed that the Allied invasion of France would take place from the north and from the south with a simultaneous support offensive to be launched by the Soviet Red Army in the east. Stalin also undertook that the Soviet Union would enter the war with Japan. The rules of the policy of the great powers were also established with regard to Italy, Japan, Persia, Austria and Finland, which was also a very important matter for the Allies. It was also agreed that the liberating states, i. e. the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States, would be able to pursue their own policies in the liberated countries. This decision, de facto, gave the Soviets complete freedom to operate in the areas that were to be taken by the Red Army. It was also agreed that Germany would be divided into individual zones, and the zone under the Soviet Union would reach up to the Elbe River. Poland was therefore only one of the many issues that were raised in Tehran. And that's not the most important thing. The decisions made in Tehran regarding Poland had one more aspect. Well, they were not entirely clear. If general agreements with the exception of Lviv were defined on our eastern border, the agreements reached on our western border were very unclear. As agreed, Poland was to extend to Opole, but Opole was situated on the Oder, while the Opole region stretched to the west of the Oder. Perhaps it was the imprecision of our western border that gave a shadow of hope for a possible correction in favor of Poland in the future, which the Allies could later present to the Poles as an additional success in negotiations with Stalin. In general, the Tehran settlements on Poland satisfied the Allies. Churchill was even convinced that he would be able to convince the Poles themselves. But in fact Churchill and Roosevelt lost the Polish party of the Tehran Conference with Stalin, and they lost it not only in terms of Poland's future borders. They also lost it in the second important issue concerning Poland. Well, the Soviet dictator rejected their suggestions about the need to establish relations with the legal Polish government in London, making it clear to them that this would not happen. This aspect, underestimated by Chruchill and Roosevelt, made Poland a communist country after the war and found itself in the sphere of Stalin's influence. After the Tehran Conference, various rumors started spreading that secret agreements had been reached in Tehran between the leaders of the Allied camp and that it was done at the expense of Poland. Concerned by these rumors, Roosevelt then began to reassure the public by communicating that nothing like this had happened. At that time, the head of British diplomacy, Anthony Eden, also began to make similar assurances. Churchill was also afraid of these rumors. This is why the British prime minister introduced censorship in the media in order to block any information about the decisions made in Polish matters in Tehran. By the way, Eden and Churchill did not even deign to inform the Polish government in London about the Tehran decisions. The Prime Minister of the Polish government, Stanisław Mikołajczyk, did not really learn about them until his stay in Moscow in the summer of 1944. The Tehran Conference actually set Polish affairs during the next two conferences with the participation of great powers, i. e. the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference. And that is why the Tehran Conference was the most important conference for the post-war fate of Poland. ONLY TRUTH IS INTERESTING In my next video, I will tell you about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. You will find out why its story was distorted and still does not correspond to historical facts. I titled this video "The Jewish Fight for Remembrance". I warmly invite you to watch. Dear viewers. Thank you for the numerous comments on my videos and donations. In a special way, I would like to thank Mr. Dariusz Kwoka and Mr. Grzegorz Łojko - "Silver Patrons" of the "Zakazane historie" channel. I encourage everyone to continue supporting my channel. All information on this subject can be found in the description under the video. English translation - Sławomir Kruk If you liked my video, please share it with your friends, give it the Thumbs Up and click SUBSCRIBE.
