Essay: Roosevelt and Stalin, The Tehran Conference

Roosevelt and Stalin , The Tehran Conference
The aftermath of World War I was a shaky time for the world as a whole. It interrupted international economy by putting nation’s into unpayable amounts of war debt.  Britain and France alone had acquired over ten million dollars’ of debt.  This left their countries weak and unstable. Other countries like Europe dealt with a different kind of economic hardship. Europe suffered from inflation when the war was over. The loss of goods and supply also did not aid to the economic well being of the country. Europe was also very weakened by the world war, as every nation who experiences war is. There was a nation however that did not go into incredible amounts of debt, The United States. The United States  had lent war money out to Germany, and they wanted their money as soon as they could possibly have it. There needed to be a solution to help the economy. They constructed  The Dawes Plan, and it was meant to help stabilize  the money issue. It was successful for some time until the stock market crashed in 1929. The crash lead to  what we now call the Great Depression. This fanned the fire that would start World War II. World War II challenged our nation, but it is they way our world leaders handled it, that eventually put an end to the war. There are several events that helped facilitate the end of WWII. I will be focusing  on the Tehran conference. I will then examine this conference and dissect it using the three levels of analysis. The first level is systematic. A Systematic level focuses on the story as a whole, the biggest picture in the situation.  This level of analysis does not pinpoint certainties but instead makes sure to encompass the entirety of the situation viewing it as the ocean and not focusing on what’s in the ocean. The second level of analysis is the Domestic level. The domestic level focuses on the effects of the system. Examples would be institution’s, internal affair, and development. And the final level of analysis is the Individual level of analysis. This part of analysis identifies individual and independent variables in the situation. Mostly the leaders who are involved in the affairs, the ones who are making the call to action and their relationships are discussed in this level.
To start off we must know what was the Tehran conference? It was a three day conference between Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill,and Joseph Stalin. It began November 28 and ended December 1 1943. It was held in Tehran, Iran at the Soviet Embassy. This was the first time in history the so called ‘big powers’ gathered together to try and solve the war. America, The Soviet Union and the United Kingdom worked amongst each other  to discuss how to strategically  confront Japan and Germany. Their main achievement from this Conference was to address the post-war world and the axis of powers.
Europe and Asia needed to be taken down, in order to regain power. The three of them sought a resolution in operation overlord. Operation overlord was America and the Brits essentially launching an invasion on French land in the North. This event was to take place May 1944. The soviets agreed on attacking France in the east that would act as a distraction, in a sense, from the allies in Northern France . Stalin continued on with attacking, stating that once they had declared victory over Germany that he would subsequently declare war on Japan. Because of Stalin’s promise to have war with Japan Roosevelt agreed to Stalin’s plan. His plan was to gain access to the ports in Northern China. This however was an issue that was discussed but not truly finalized till the Yalta Conference.
Besides discussing how to end the war they also had to address post war. How would Germany and Eastern Europe hold up after the war was all over?  Stalin wanted to  move the German Polish border, Churchill and Roosevelt agreed because Poland had lost so much land. Roosevelt also promised Stalin that the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, would become a part of the Soviet Union, after members of the area have voted. this worried Salin but he knew that the land order would have to still be under the soviet constitution. It was also stated that he could not have any outside control over the votes.  The idea of having Germany become an ally after the war was also thrown around but was never really decided. The end of the war still needed to happen before making that decision.
One of the final things that happened during this conference was “Declaration of the Three Powers Regarding Iran .” Basically it stated that they were thankful to Iran’s participation in the war, and that they would be supported economically during the war as well as post war.
Most importantly, the U.S., British, and Soviet Governments stated that they all shared a “desire for the maintenance of the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Iran.”
Tehran conference
Systematic analysis  of the Tehran conference is  to evaluate where the world was at during this time period.  Germany during was forcing many people into ghettos, and stomping through nations under Nazi rule. They have inhabited most of Europe and have no plans of stopping. Pearl Harbor confirmed Japan’s agreement into war, and the Tehran conference gets together to try and stop it all.  The Soviet Union lead by Stalin needed to gain land. Stalin had be sure that when this was all over, he would receive his  promised land. Roosevelt was the one who was there assuring him that he would. The United States had been attacked and what was once a war far away from home was now on US soil. Stalin came in with guns blazing and wanted allies support in blocking the borders. Roosevelt agreed as long as the Soviet union would continue to support the United States War in declaring war on Japan . The Tehran conference established allies and separated areas into American, British and lastly Soviet control.  The System needed to be restored and the was their ultimate solution to the war. European countries needed their land back from the Nazi take over. People needed to be set free and killing had to be ended.  Once this was all over they would agree to meet again to make sure their demands that were discussed at this conference, were actually met.
Domestic analysis of the Tehran conference includes what happened after and the internal affairs the leaders had to deal with.  They all had come to an agreement that they each would be allied toward each other. Stalin was very secretive with this meeting in that the Soviet Union did not hear about the meeting until three days after it had already happened. It was under the code name Eureka. Stalin’s goal for his country was to save his troops from Nazi Germany, which is ironic when he in turn murdered many of his people, removing them from the Eastern Front.  He  states he wanted to save his people but in retrospect we know he wanted to gain land. Roosevelt  wanted to make sure Germany would surrender and then focus in on the Japanese. Stalin gave him the word that he would support him in both causes. Roosevelt wanted peace for our country. He had the main goal to save America. Roosevelt did care about the wellbeing of everyone else, I believe , but most important to him was his home front. We had been attacked and it was personal. The economy needed to be restored and the madness needed to end.
Who were the three men of power is important in understanding their actions in history.Analyzing this conference on an individual level first requires you to understand who each individual is and how they are involved.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was just elected president of the United States of America in 1933. He became president in the midst of the great depression.  By his third term,  in 1941, America was allied with France, Britain and Russia. War was happening but he did his best to stay out of it. When the the bombings in Pearl Harbor happened in 1941, he knew he had to find a solution for the war.
Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin . Stalin had originally entered into the Nonaggression Pact with Hitler when war bells started ringing in 1939. The Non Aggression Pact meant that neither the Soviet union nor Germany would attack each other for ten years.  Despite many warnings, Stalin stuck close to his pact and subsequently lost many men when Blitzkrieg happened. By the time Stalin was able to regain his sense of self, Germany had already moved in, taking control of Ukraine and Belarus. Stalin was caught off guard by Hitler’s willingness to double cross him because he thought he had gained his trust with the Pact. Once they had entered the war, Stalin needed other grounds and wanted to give his country more of a chance while opening more allies.  Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin decided to meet to discuss some agreements that could be made amongst a post-war world.  They met in Tehran, in the midst of war.
On an individual level, Roosevelt wanted to gain Stalin’s trust. He needed to build a relationship that allowed him some sort of safety net. Without Stalin and the Soviet union,the United States would not have been able to advance on France. Even with the help of the United Kingdom, there was no way that could take down Nazi Germany. Roosevelt needed the people to end the war, he needed this relationship with Stalin to work out. He also wanted Stalin to be in on the war against Japan   He gained his trust  by showing Stalin that the US as a country, was willing to directly work with the Soviet Union.  We agreed to opening up the second front in the year 1944. That is how Roosevelt’s relationship with Stalin was a gain. On the other hand Stalin also had much to gain from a personal exchange with Roosevelt. Stalin now was making way into Eastern Europe. He soon would have more territory which was his ultimate goal as a leader. The more land Stalin hand subsequential the more power he had.
“Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?”
-Joseph Stalin
This quote to this day is still a prominent discussion in society. How do we protect ourselves without destroying whole Nations? There has to be a limit to power and justice, and no they are not the same thing. Leaders need to directly understand the difference between allowing protection and controlling protection. This statement is true then and is still true now. Of course Stalin was a bloodthirsty dictator, and we should never base anything off of his ideas, but he did have some sane thoughts i believe can be picked apart for some use.
The best way to analyze any political situation would have to be domestically. Yes systematically you get the whole out look of the picture, and individually you can focus in on the leaders involved directly, but domestically you can view everything else. What was happening, what was going to happen? If you really want to find out what was happening during a specific time period, the best way to do that is domestically. There is no doubt about it.  Looking over World War II domestically includes conferences such as Tehran. Without the knowledge of these important meetings we would not know what our leaders were thinking. Domestic is the inner parts, the glue of the systems and that is why it should be valued as the most important and informative level of analysis.
So what happens to these leaders? Franklin Delano Roosevelt died April 12, 1945. It was the end of war and his life.  He had been exhausted and his health was deteriorating. He decided to flee from all the surroundings of war and headed to Warm springs, Georgia.  While he was filing away some artist work he began to get an immense pain in his head. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage almost instantly.  The nation’s longest serving president, the man who not only benefitted our economy but helped us through World War II, had died at the age of 63 amongst his close loved ones.
Joseph Stalin died in March 5, 1953. He had only continued to instill more fear into his people since the end of World War II. He was a cruel dictator who ruled with what is called an iron fist . He did help to save his country from Nazi Germany and at the same time was known to have killed millions of his people.  The Soviet Union was relieved when he finally died of a Heart attack  in 1953. To many it was an answer to prayer.
The world today is heading on a gloom path if we don’t try and fix it immediately. From politicians to terrorist groups, analysis of each situation is crucial in trying to find a solution. Leaders today need to take careful action to not repeat history. We do not want to enter into a World War III. It’s sad to think that we might not be that far from it. As shown in World War II all you need is one group to not comply and you have the makings of a beautiful war.
“A Government goes to war,-to fulfill the obligations of offensive and defensive alliances.” -Antoine Henri baron de Jomini