February 1945. For six years, Europe has been
a gigantic battlefield. Millions of men died. But this time, the certainty of
defeating nazi germany is finally here and the Allies are already thinking about the future. 'Cause it's now, while
that the fighting is still raging, that we must prepare for peace. Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
will therefore decide to meet. This meeting will take place
in a small seaside resort of the southern Soviet Union. It is there, in the Crimea, that the three giants
will imagine together the post-war world during one of the biggest
conferences of all time, the Yalta conference. From Yalta, history remembered this photo. But what way
traveled to get there? Why these strained faces
at Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin? United in war, the Allies will
turn out to be divided and rivals in peace. For eight days,
from February 4 to 11, 1945, the big three go
engage in a merciless struggle, both their interests
and their ideologies oppose them. In Yalta is the last time
that they will all see each other. Each of them is then
at a crucial moment in his own destiny, while with this conference, the world will soon sink
into new darkness. February 3, 1945. After seven hours of flight,
American and British planes, left in the night, land on the frozen ground
from Saki Airport, Crimea. When he got off the plane,
Winston Churchill is stiff. He has a fever of 39. But the prime minister
British gives the change. Even sick, he is ready
to write a new page of history. Franklin Roosevelt, President
American, too, is ready, despite extreme fatigue. On the trail, diplomats
and soldiers greet each other. In Yalta, many of them
will keep logs. Thanks to their secrets, we know what really happened
passed during this conference. Their writings tell all that
the official history does not mention. Stalin did not bother
come and welcome his guests to Saki. His absence is already a way
to play the balance of power. Negotiations have indeed begun. It is therefore Molotov, the faithful
right arm of the Soviet leader, who awaits Roosevelt
and Churchill at the foot of the plane. Plagued by poliomyelitis,
Roosevelt can no longer walk. Walking by his side, Churchill
seems in a position of inferiority. The strangeness of this scene
does not escape Lord Moran, Churchill's personal physician,
who takes offense in his diary. “The Prime Minister followed
on foot, alongside the President, like when,
in his last years, an Indian steward accompanied
Queen Victoria's Stagecoach. » And it's not
the last time in Crimea Churchill will appear
as Roosevelt's steward. Because already, while
the war is still not over, the British Empire
has lost its luster. The United States and the Soviet Union
are the two new giants of the century. In Yalta, Churchill goes
have to fight to exist. Yalta is 150 kilometers from Saki. It takes no less
five hours to get there, the road is so bad and winding. For Roosevelt,
a new ordeal begins. He was paralyzed. To travel by car,
he had to sit in the back with two cushions
behind him to corset his back and support his legs
which had become totally useless. It was truly
a very difficult journey. As the war continues
on the European continent, the course has been placed
under close surveillance. 160 fighter planes criss-cross the sky. Anna Boettiger, Roosevelt's daughter
who accompanies him on this journey, is amazed to see the means
deployed by the Soviets. In her diary she writes: " All along
of the road between Saki and Yalta, soldiers had been
posted every 300 meters. Everytime
a car was passing in front of them, those who didn't have a gun
greeted us. All those Russian soldiers, women
included, were smart and straight. » Through the window, Roosevelt and Churchill
discover a spectacle of desolation. Crimea was taken over
to the Germans barely a year ago. nearly 20 million
Russians lost their lives. 70,000 towns and villages
Soviets were annihilated. The USSR was
deeply scarred by the war. And Stalin himself supervised
the itinerary of its hosts so that no destruction
do not escape them. This will allow Stalin,
and that, of course, is his skill, somehow,
to make the two interlocutors feel guilty, Roosevelt first. We got a lot of dead, implied
because you did not come to save us. after five o'clock
of an endless journey, Roosevelt and Churchill arrive
finally in Yalta in the early evening. Roosevelt is exhausted. For him the journey has begun
12 days ago, when he crossed the Atlantic in
boat before flying to Malta. In total, the American president
traveled 8,500 kilometers, Churchill 3,200, and Stalin,
came by train, only 1,500. As if the number
of kilometers made sense and that Roosevelt was the one
who was willing to put in the most effort, Stalin the least. Yalta bay
has lost none of its charm. In the 19th century, it was a
sort of Soviet Riviera where tsars and aristocrats
came on holiday. The participants
at the conference will be welcomed in palaces
remained intact today. Before the negotiations
did not open in February 1945, they had been fully restored. In preparation for the conference,
there was a very rapid refurnishing things that came
from Moscow in full convoys to make a look
hospitable to all these palaces who had suffered a terrible
lack of maintenance for a very long time. Stalin imposed the choice of Yalta. He therefore wants his hosts
don't have to regret it. He will receive them with magnificence. He reserved for them
the two most beautiful villas. Livadia Palace for Roosevelt. This is where they took place
the negotiations. And the Vorontsov Villa for Churchill. That night,
the night is clear over Yalta. Each of the big three takes
strength for the upcoming marathon. February 4, 1945. First day of negotiations. Before the debates begin, Stalin pays a visit
courtesy to his guests. To Churchill first. The two men have not seen each other since.
four months during a meeting in Moscow. They are happy to meet again and
take stock of the military situation. Reunion with Roosevelt
are also warm. The Russian and the American share
a Martini, Roosevelt's indulgence. And the lemon is missing. Stalin takes note of this,
and the next time, indeed, he had a gigantic lemon tree brought. It impresses them because for the English
as for the Americans, a whole lemon tree, in full
war, and in the month of February, it is something fabulous. They are therefore literally dazzled. And, at the same time, it serves
to show the power of Stalin. Because on the ground,
Stalin is in a strong position. Since the spring, the roller
soviet compressor is running and the Red Army resumes
territories to the Germans. For Stalin, the time to monetize
his war effort came. At 5 p.m.,
negotiations finally begin. In the Livadia ballroom,
arranged for the conference, everything is ready. Ministers and diplomats discuss between
them while waiting for the big three. Churchill is the first
to arrive at Livadia with his daughter Sarah. The Prime Minister is in a good mood and wearing a Russian hat
to do honor to his host. He's getting better. After a good night's sleep
sleep, the fever has gone. Stalin follows him. in front of the cameras,
the two men display their complicity. Roosevelt has already settled in
discreet negotiation table. The same ride will repeat itself
the next days. He forbade the filming of his
arrivals, deemed too humiliating. He had to be carried from his chair
wheelie to another chair. What is not easy when you
are paralyzed from the waist down. The private advisers of the three
large take place around them. Because they are not going to negotiate alone. Churchill is accompanied by Anthony Eden,
his Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as the diplomat Alexander
Cadogan, Poland specialist. Roosevelt, he will rely on
Harry Hopkins, his right arm and friend, the man he trusts the most, but also on Edward Statinius,
his Minister of Foreign Affairs. Stalin has two main advisors: Vyacheslav Molotov,
his Minister of Foreign Affairs, and diplomat Ivan Maisky. Four big files are on the table: the fate of defeated Germany, that of Poland, the UN and the war against Japan. On all these files, the position
of the various allied armies will play a decisive role. Since December,
the Red Army liberated Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland. The Russians are no more
only 80 kilometers from Berlin. slowed down by a
German counter-offensive, the Anglo-American troops,
they have still not crossed the Rhine. We can say that
from a military point of view, the Soviets are clearly
ahead of Westerners and, from this point of view,
hold the upper hand, which can have consequences
from a diplomatic point of view. In addition to this asymmetry on the ground, there is another, ideological. Churchill and Roosevelt are
two capitalists against a communist. Yet they do not necessarily go
unite against Stalin. On the contrary. Because in fact, the two men are quite
ideologically distant from each other. Roosevelt appreciates Churchill,
because it is the old war horse, because he stood alone in Europe in 1940, and that he admires this guy who is still
capable of extraordinary performance, and, at the same time, a certain contempt, because he considers it
an old antediluvian colonialist, while he considers
that he has modern ideas, especially the decolonization of the world. Roosevelt needs
of Stalin more than of Churchill. Because at the same time in the Pacific, Americans are
at war with Japan. The fights are incredibly violent and the Japanese do not hesitate to
send kamikaze planes on the enemy rather than surrender. Without the help of the Soviets,
the war is in danger of dragging on. Roosevelt also counts on Stalin to participate in the future
United Nations, he wants to implement. Without the USSR,
the UN will be an empty shell. To advance his project,
Roosevelt is ready to sacrifice Churchill. He's an acquired ally
who has nothing to give him. Churchill saw it very badly. He knows very well
that Stalin will exploit to death any discrepancies
between the English and the Americans. So for him,
it is absolutely disastrous. Because the British Prime Minister
suspects Stalin of wanting to install communist regimes in
all countries liberated by the Red Army. Without Roosevelt's help, Churchill knows he will not have
ways to prevent it. During this first day, only
military issues are discussed. Everyone is watching. In the tactical game which begins,
Stalin immediately takes over. He proposes that Roosevelt
chairs the plenary sessions. By putting him as president, somewhere, we flatter him, but also, we reduce it
a little helpless, because he will have to
to serve as a bit of master of ceremonies. And during that time,
we can observe, we can reflect, we can negotiate
a bit behind his back. It's very clever
from Stalin. This first session
negotiations was a warm-up. Nothing important is decided there,
but Westerners have understood that would not be easy to do
hear their voice against Stalin. So, in the evening, each
sharpens his strategy for the next day. Churchill thinks alone and calmly, admiring the paintings
of British aristocrats that Stalin was careful to hang
on the walls to please him. Roosevelt, he elaborates his plan of
battle with Harry Hopkins. Second day. Churchill again arrives first, while Stalin is getting
once again desire. This time things
serious will begin. The question of Germany is under debate. What fate to reserve for Germany
once she loses the war? How to administer it? What repairs to require? On all these issues,
the Allies have different positions. Discussions begin
on the problem of its future occupation. Since 1944,
it was intended that once defeated, the country would be divided
and administered in three zones: American, British and Soviet. But now Churchill
calls for a fourth zone... for France. He doesn't want to be alone anymore
against these two giants who want some
to colonial empires. So he wants to have this complicity
with another colonial power. Stalin finally, good prince, will say: the French did not
really beaten in the war. We don't see why. They collaborated. They gave way very quickly in 1940. They don't deserve it. But finally, okay, but then you take it
on your occupation zones. The concession costs him nothing. Stalin gives in quickly. But he takes the opportunity to ask
an effort to its allies, in return. He wants to get the maximum
reparations from Germany. The USSR is ruined. The Boches must pay. This revengeful perspective
frightens Roosevelt and Churchill. And this time, the two
Westerners stick together. If we loot Germany and starve
Germany to please Stalin, how do you pick it up afterwards? It will necessarily be on our own funds, and we are the ones who will pay
for Stalin's reparations. So it's bad, it's not good. Faced with this refusal, Stalin braces himself. Annoyed, he becomes suspicious. The Soviet takes it on
to his allies and is aggressive. Frankly,
look me in the eyes. Why don't you want
the reconstruction of the USSR? Are there no ulterior motives
on your side, you Westerners, to not want the reconstruction
legitimacy of our country? Why do you want
weaken our country? So much for the threat. Now the bluff. Stalin will pull out all the stops. And for that, he will rely
on his accomplice Molotov with whom he forms an unparalleled duo. Both men are masters
in the art of diplomacy. Molotov is the hard version, it's mister "niet". He is the one who is not funny, who will usually stay
on the hardest positions. And, in general, the moment
where Stalin intervenes, it's going to be to soften the angles, to say, "Finally,
you exaggerate ! Why be so tough? » In the German file,
now you have to advance a number for the amount of repairs. Nothing has been decided
by the Soviet delegation. Only a minimum
and a maximum were considered. In his diary, the diplomat
Russian Ivan Maisky recounts the scene. "Molotov, who was sitting
to Stalin's right, lean towards him
and asks him, worried: Do I have to give an amount? -Yes, give the amount,
Stalin retorts. -Which ? Five or ten? -Ten, Stalin slices. » It's a way to show
that we are in discussion, that nothing is completely decided,
and so all this seems more reassuring for the interlocutors who are opposite. 10 billion for the Soviet Union. It goes. Nobody says anything. Stalin then considers
that the amount is accepted. Westerners did not dare to react. But this decision will have
serious consequences later. Because facing a Germany
unable to pay such a sum, the Soviets will compensate themselves in kind
and dismantle German industry. After this first round of negotiations, each of the Big Three retires
in his palace to breathe. Like he usually does,
Stalin delves into the files and prepares for the next day's debates. At his desk, even today,
everything remained as it was. At the Livadia Palace, Roosevelt, him, find some rest and
serenity with his daughter Anna. For some years,
she became his confidante, and Roosevelt takes it everywhere with him. She didn't just offer companionship
pleasant of a daughter for her father. She was very
familiar with the cases. We live
in the White House at that time and I would say that she was rather
a kind of personal assistant who was not paid. It was kind of his right arm. 15 kilometers away, in the Vorontsov,
Churchill is with his daughter Sarah. The young woman is an actress
and since the war she is a voluntary helper
in the Royal Air Force. Churchill likes
this joyful presence at his side. The girls are happy to participate. At the same time, they are very happy
to show their daughters in uniform to show
that the whole family participates, and at the same time,
it is very well seen by the entourage. We can make them do things
that you dare not do yourself. For example, Churchill has
tendency to get up very late because he works in his bed. He is always in his bath
and we can't send an aide-de-camp to get him out of bed
or his bath. It's impossible. On the other hand, you can send your daughter. In the evening, as during
almost all week the three big ones are going to invite each other to dinner. The opportunity to continue the
negotiations in a less formal way. The first of these dinners
takes place at Livadia. The Americans provide the service,
but the Russians provided the food. And Stalin made a point of honor
everything is grand. You have 15, 20 or 30 course dinners, with caviar,
sturgeon, cream... Cream is rationed in England,
we don't even know what it is anymore. We forgot. Meanwhile, the people
soviet is starving, but it has no
importance to Stalin. The whole thing is
to show them his power. It is Georgian and Russian munificence. It is: I can do anything. As a host,
ask what you want. Psychologically,
it gives a huge boost. I am your master, but,
at the same time, I am your servant. It's beautiful and threatening at the same time. So that makes us entirely dependent
of Stalin's good will. That's Yalta, among other things. To make its guests feel comfortable and
in good spirits towards him, Stalin planned it all. At the table, alcohol flows freely. We know very well that
if we want a negotiation to succeed, the interlocutor must
be confident. And the drink is part of it,
always, means that are made available
inviting power. And there, there is a whole game,
to know who will drink the most. Alcohol played a role
in Yalta, that's clear. This first dinner brought the Allies closer together. Confidence has settled. Negotiations begin
under new auspices. So that everyone
can recover from these drunken evenings, plenary sessions take place
at the end of the afternoon. But in the morning, the collaborators
of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill are they at work
to prepare for the debates. They imagine compromises
possible on the different files. The three big ones, then, to decide. On the third day of negotiations, February 6, the Polish file arrives on the table. It's the trickiest part of the conference. It is also the most symbolic, because it is
in Poland that the war started. The Allies must put
set up a new government. But they don't agree on anything. Since always, Stalin
considers that Poland represents a danger to his country. Because throughout history,
it's always by Poland that Russia was invaded. Stalin wants
Poland to become a friendly country. In fact, he wants
create a protective glaze all around the soviet union
so that she will never be attacked again. The Soviets wanted
buffer states. Everyone knew that, for the Russians, it was a focal point
of their foreign policy. And when you think about it, if you were a big country
as the USSR was, you wouldn't want to have
hostile states at your borders. You would like friendly states. But what is a friendly country? Is it a friendly country who simply has a foreign policy
friendly to the Soviet Union and who, in domestic politics,
is completely free? Or is a friendly country,
from one thing to another, is a country that is going to be communised? This is the big question. For the British, no question of having declared
war on Hitler because of Poland to become a communist. After the conflict, Churchill wants Poland
become free and independent. Britain was
traditionally friends with Poland. The English did a lot
trade with the Poles. They did not want a country
as important as Poland, in terms of trade
and human potential, come under communist rule
if they could avoid it. For Roosevelt, far from Europe,
the Polish question is more incidental. But she still has
its importance, for other reasons. There are 6 million American citizens
who are of Polish origin. And these American citizens are voting
mostly Democrats that is, for Roosevelt's party. It is therefore very sensitive
to what may be happening in Poland. These Polish citizens
refugees in the United States are fiercely anti-Communist. Most of them
arrived in America before the First World War,
but they have not forgotten that in 1939 Stalin had agreed
with Hitler to invade Poland. These Poles of America,
just like the British, support the Polish president
Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, in exile in London since 1940. The problem is that in front of him,
there is another government, communist this time. This government under influence
Soviet Union is led by Boleslav Bierut. It is located in the middle
from Poland, to Lublin, and calls itself the Lublin Committee. The Government of London
and that of Lublin hate each other. Because six months ago
the irreparable between them has happened. August 1944. At that time, the Red Army was
at the gates of Warsaw. Raczkiewicz, in London, decides
to trigger the insurrection. He wants the resisters
liberate the Polish capital themselves before the communists, in order to keep
control over the future government. But the German response is fierce. For 63 days,
the resistants are decimated. Knowingly, Stalin let it happen and
orders the Red Army not to move. 200,000 Poles
are massacred by the Nazis. The Polish capital
is more than 90% destroyed. 2 months later,
Stalin comes to pick the ripe fruit and set up a government
communist in Warsaw. In Yalta, the behavior
of Stalin weighs in the negotiations. Churchill never digested
that the Soviet allowed to perish Warsaw resistance fighters
without helping them. There, he understood that he did not have
Dealing with a benevolent uncle, and therefore we could not
give him only a very limited confidence, that he was dealing with a dangerous bandit, and that, finally, even if it were necessary
get rid of Hitler first, we were going to have very problems
comparable with Stalin after the war. But now, in Yalta,
despite suspicion and resentment, the Allies must form together
the government of the future Poland. The challenge is to know which entity
policy must be taken as a basis. Of course, from the point
from the point of view of Anglo-Americans, you have to build
a government of national unity from the different components
policies of anti-fascist Poland. From the point of view
of the Soviets and Stalin, it's just about leaving
from the grassroots of government as it exists in Warsaw
and add some members. A showdown ensues. Stalin does not want to hear
talk about the government in London. On the other hand, every time
than Churchill or Roosevelt take a step towards him
by proposing personalities to get into
the government of Lublin, he refuses. Why would he agree? Stalin knows he is
in a strong position. Soviet troops
were in those countries. They occupied these countries, even if we didn't dare
use the word occupation. At any rate,
they were there. In a way, the influence
of the Soviet Union was inevitable. The Allies fail
not to get along. Gradually, the tone rises. Stalin is more and more agitated. By his side,
Ivan Maisky is petrified. In his diary, he recounts the scene. “Suddenly Stalin stood up and made
big gestures with his right arm. Such behavior when
of a conference with the big three wasn't really appropriate. He started talking
with unusual nervousness. » Stalin is very taciturn
and someone very calm too, except a few times
where he will get angry. So those times
seem all the more important. The act of getting up and to have all of a sudden
a very emotional tirade on a subject, it's a way to show
very clearly to his interlocutors the things on which
there is nothing to negotiate. The Soviet tirade
leaves his allies knocked out. Hopkins, who witnesses the disaster,
then slips a note to Roosevelt, who chairs the discussions. "Why not end
with this today? Say we'll talk about it
tomorrow. It's 7:15 p.m. » Better stop the fees and try to leave
on new bases the next day. The mastery with which
Stalin leads the negotiations is obvious to everyone. Uncle Joe,
as the Westerners call it, wields power
fascination with delegations. In the evening, in his room,
diplomat Alexander Cadogan writes: “Uncle Joe is
the most impressive of the three. He is very calm and reserved. When he intervenes,
he never uses a superfluous word and goes straight to the point. » The British Secretary of State
Anthony Eden is no less admiring. “By subtle methods,
he gets what he wants without seeming to persist. ". However, all the merit
of Stalin cannot be attributed solely to his talent as a negotiator. Because what Eden
and Cadogan ignore, that's what uncle joe does
spy on his allies. Even before
the Yalta conference does not open, he knew everything. Preparing for the conference
from Yalta lasted several months. At the time, the services
Russian intelligence were very well established
in England and the United States. Our agents gave us
complete information on how Churchill and Roosevelt
were preparing for the conference. We knew what
and how they wanted to discuss and what position they were going
defend during all negotiations. To not miss anything, the Russian secret service
also stuffed the palates with microphones. That, Churchill and Roosevelt know. What they don't know
and where they are naive, is that, obviously, for the things
confidential, they go out in the park. But in the park, we posed
omnidirectional microphones which are everywhere. There are some in the trees,
in the foliage, in the bushes... and they pick up conversations
several meters around. Stalin does not take
these plays lightly. He doesn't want to miss a beat. It even demands that
his spies come in person tell him everything that was said. Stalin asked how
things had been said. He even asked
that we repeat the dialogues to him with the intonation that Churchill
or that Roosevelt had taken. In the game
of poker which is played in Yalta, the cards are rigged. Stalin knows the game of his adversaries. He knows exactly where he's going where its partners are
in the dark and grope their way. On the fourth day of negotiations,
the Polish file must be finalized. Thanks to the listenings of the day before, Stalin knows that his allies are
ready to sacrifice Poland to achieve other
more essential files for them. For Roosevelt, what matters,
it's the UN and Japan. For Churchill, this is an issue that
will never be approached directly in Yalta, but which is underlying, that of Greece. The country is an ancient
British protectorate. It's an issue
strategic for the English, because Greece is opening
the way to the suez canal which allows them
access to their colonies. But for two years, Greece has been
plagued by a violent civil war. Communists try
to overthrow the king. They run the campaigns
and are at the gates of power. If Greece switches to communism, it's the whole empire
British which will be threatened. Churchill dreads
this disaster scenario. To avoid it, he therefore took the lead
and engaged in a perilous bargain. In October 1944,
four months before Yalta, the British Prime Minister has
met Stalin in Moscow, face to face. Roosevelt was then
in the midst of an election campaign for his re-election. taking advantage of the absence
of the American President, Churchill then proposed
a secret agreement on Europe to Stalin. When we talk about sharing the world,
it was not in Yalta that it took place, it was in Moscow, when Churchill
and Stalin met. The document,
scribbled on a corner of the table, is written by hand
by Churchill and annotated by Stalin. Like two grocers,
the leaders have each assigned percentages
influence in Eastern Europe. 90% for Russia in Romania,
75% for the Soviets in Bulgaria, 90% for Great Britain in Greece. In Yalta, Churchill hopes
that Stalin will take this agreement into account. And so that the Soviet
hands free in Greece, the British Prime Minister is
ready to drop ballast on Poland. This agreement of percentages contrasts obviously with the idea
of an intransigent Churchill and who absolutely would not have
never wanted compromise on the question of zones
or spheres of influence in Europe. So as not to offend Stalin,
so Westerners end by showing off
conciliatory on Poland. On the fourth day of negotiations, the American and the British let go
Raczkiewicz's government-in-exile and recognize the government
communist from Bierut to Lublin. In return,
Churchill and Roosevelt get that non-Communist ministers
enter the government of Lublin. Stalin also undertakes to organize free elections
in Poland after the war, as well as in all countries
liberated by the Red Army. This word "free election" rings
as a victory for Westerners, even if they didn't get
no guarantees from Stalin. All they could get from Stalin, it was statements
good intentions and formulas face-saving
before their respective parliaments. They almost got there. What do they
could do more? But how to imagine
free elections when the territory is completely
occupied by the Soviet armies? That's where there's an illusion
from Westerners. Because in exchange for these promises, Westerners grant
a huge favor to Stalin. They allow him
to constitute its protective glaze by attaching a part
from Poland to the USSR. In compensation, Poland will recover
later German territories. The country will thus carry out
a westward translation. In the Polish file,
it's full board for Stalin. The Soviet got
anything he wanted. His allies now hope
that Stalin will know how to remember. This February 8, it's sunny
bursting in the sky of Crimea. Roosevelt is nervous because the talks
on Japan must begin. The American president has absolutely
need Soviet support. To put all
the odds on his side, Roosevelt then invites Stalin to share
a Martini just before the plenary session. Churchill was not warned. The meeting between the two allies
takes place behind his back. Roosevelt fears
than the impetuous Briton does not prevent him from negotiating
freely and don't ruin everything. Then the American president believes
also to the virtues of the tête-à-tête. He believed he could develop a
personal relationship with Joseph Stalin. And I believe Roosevelt felt
that he could influence Stalin thanks to this relationship
privileged he maintained. But that doesn't work
with people like Stalin. He did not imagine
how cruel stalin was and free from all human feeling. At the same time, in the Pacific, Americans know
major setbacks facing a fanatical Japanese army. Without the help of the Russians,
the American general staff calculated that the war could last another year
and cost the lives of over 500,000 GI's. Roosevelt is determined
to avoid this bloodbath. Stalin knows it
and he ups the ante. In exchange for cannon fodder
Soviet, he wants territories. And the marshal is greedy. He claims
Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. But also the occupation
of Port Arthur, Dairen, and a path
of iron in Manchuria. Negotiations do not bear
on Sakhalin, nor on the Kuriles, because it belongs to japan
and the Americans are quite ready to give Japanese territory
to the Soviets. Dairen and Port-Arthur, it's more annoying
because it belongs to China. China is Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek,
it is the ally of the United States, and he was not invited to Yalta. Roosevelt can therefore be done
reproach, in particular by its Senate, to make concessions
to Stalin at the expense of an ally. That is very annoying. But Stalin tries
in turn to coax Roosevelt. With his charm, he will manage
good to find a solution and to be accepted
things in Chiang Kai-shek. Charles Bohlen, interpreter of Roosevelt,
reports in his memoirs: "Stalin said it was clear that
if its conditions were not met, it would be difficult for him,
as well as Molotov, to explain why the Soviet Union
would declare war on Japan. It is clear that Roosevelt was annoyed
by this situation. » Roosevelt hesitates. But in the face of intransigence
of the Soviet, the American swallows his scruples. What matters to him
is to end this war. Go for Dairen and Port-Arthur. Roosevelt sacrifices the Chinese. He'll figure it out later
with Chiang Kai-shek, once the war is over. The American President
can be satisfied. He fulfilled his objectives. On Japan,
but also on the UN. This new organization
wanted by Roosevelt has the ambition
to ensure peace in the world. Stalin agreed
of principle to take part. Effective participation
of the USSR is far from certain, but it is already a first step. It's a big concession to make him admit that he is going
send Molotov to Dumbarton Oaks for preliminary negotiations. Even that is a big
concession from Stalin. Stalin keeps saying: “If it happens, your thing
of the UN, I wouldn't want it. Do I go
send Molotov or not? He knows how to play it very well. It is an artist. Sixth day of negotiations. This February 9, 1945, Churchill, Roosevelt
and Stalin can display their good humor in front of the cameras. UN, Japan, Germany,
Poland: on all these files, the big three have found compromises and everyone got
what mattered most to him. Churchill won
as an equal against the big two. He raised France
in the winning camp. He assigned him
an occupation zone in Germany. The American President,
he got the green light from Stalin on the UN and on Japan. With Churchill, he also snatched
to Stalin the promise to organize free elections in Poland
and in Eastern Europe after the war. But it's the Marshal
Soviet who wins the bet. Unquestionably,
it's the soviet union and stalin who emerge victorious
of this Yalta conference. Stalin got
what he wanted about Poland and he got more or less this
that he wanted concerning Germany, in any case, the principle of reparations. The image of a perfect harmony between
the big three will go around the world. It is, however, misleading. In Yalta, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
managed to get along. They wanted to preserve the Alliance, while the war
was still not finished. But deep down, each of them
defended his vision of the world and its own interests. The Yalta Accords are precarious. They are the result of compromise
and rest only on the fragile agreement between three exceptional personalities. On the last day of negotiations,
yet everyone wants to believe it. In the evening,
delegations toast friendship between peoples
and the peace of mankind. But this hope won't last
only a short time. The agreement that the big three
celebrate will soon be shattered. Just three weeks
after the end of the conference, Stalin violates the Yalta Accords. In Romania, while the Army
red still occupies the country, he organizes the catch
of power by the Communists. Poland, each time his allies propose
a name of a non-communist minister to enter the government, Stalin refuses it. Roosevelt, so far
so confident, gets scared. After Yalta, Roosevelt
started to cringe. He noticed
than the Stalin he imagined did not match
quite like the real Stalin. On April 1,
the american president sends a long telegram
to his dear Stalin in order to obtain explanations. "I can't hide from you
the anxiety I feel in front of the way in which unfold, since our successful
Yalta meeting, events
where our common interests are at stake. Honestly I can't understand why recent events
in Romania should be considered like not falling
under the terms of our agreement. But Roosevelt's warnings
do not move Stalin at all. Without the slightest scruple,
the Soviet unfolds his plan and keep installing
communist regimes in the east. Roosevelt dies for 11 days
after sending his telegram. He will never see
the extent of the betrayal. Churchill, who, to everyone's surprise,
will lose the elections in England, should attend,
helpless and alone, to their failure. In Yalta, the big three
will not have given birth to this long-awaited world of peace. The dream of brotherhood
was only a decoy. Soon, yesterday's allies
will become enemies, clashing in a conflict
of a new kind: the Cold War.
