The Yalta Conference took place in a Russian resort town in Crimea from February 4–11, 1945, during World War Two. At Yalta, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin made important decisions regarding the future progress of the war and the postwar world.
The options that were discussed and the decisions made at Yalta were significant
for shaping the post war-world and Europe but is also significant for New
Zealand as the strong ties New Zealand has with the Western allies especially
the British empire meant these decisions affected the future of New Zealand.
The Yalta conference was also significant for New Zealand as it showed both New
Zealand and the rest of the world that the British Empire is now no longer a major
power as they had been crippled by the second world war, this led to New
Zealand looking more to USA for protection which is crucial for the cold war
which emerged after the Yalta conference and was between Eastern Communism and
Western Capitalism. This in turn led to New Zealand signing agreements
including SEATO and ANZUS with the aim of stopping Communism spreading through
South East Asia and into the pacific with the Domino theory where by one
country falling to communism meaning many around it will also become communist.
This eventually led to New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam war which was a
significant time for New Zealand as much of the public didn't agree with the
decision to send troops to Vietnam.
Yalta was the second of three wartime conferences among the Big Three. It had been preceded by the Tehran Conference in 1943, and was followed by the Potsdam Conference in July 1945,