The Original Rebel Blogathon: John Garfield and the Hollywood Blacklist
With victory over the Germans within their grasp, the three Allied leaders held a conference in the Soviet town of Yalta in February 1945, for the purpose of discussing Europe's reorganization after World War II. American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin decided that Germany — as well as its capital city, Berlin — would be divided into four occupied zones. Wanting to limit the Communist influence in Europe, Roosevelt and Churchill also called for elections in areas freed from the Germans. Stalin agreed to these terms, but no plans were made for when the elections would take place. (from left to right) Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin during the Yalta Conference; Berlin's four zones of occupation. After Roosevelt's death in April 1945 and the transfer of power to President Harry S. Truman, tensions began to mount between the United States and the Soviet Union. This was due ...