What was the Yalta conference?
When it became clear that Germany was going to lose the war, the Allied leaders met at Yalta to decide on the shape of Europe in the postwar years. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt decided to divide Germany into four zones, to be controlled by Russia, the United States, Britain and France. These zones were intended to keep Germany weak and to prevent any further hostilities. At later conferences, agreements were made to give some captured German territory to Poland and Russia.
How was the United Nations set up?
During World War II the Allied nations sometimes referred to themselves as the ‘United Nations’. In 1942 they agreed that they would not make any separate peace agreements with Germany.
Twenty-seven countries signed this first agreement and in 1945, after the war, the United Nations formally came into existence with an initial membership of 50 countries.
The United Nations is led by a powerful Security Council, which can intervene in international disputes that might lead to conflict. Today the United Nations is also involved in many economic and aid programmes around the world.
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