The Yalta, Potsdam, and Tehran Conferences played a big role in changing Europe after World War II and helped start the Cold War.

Yalta Conference (February 1945)

• The leaders at this meeting were Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin.
• They decided to split Europe into different zones of influence.
• Stalin promised to let people in Eastern Europe choose their leaders freely, but he didn’t keep that promise. This led to Soviet control over those countries and created anger in the West.

Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945)

• At this conference, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union grew.
• President Truman took a strong stand against communism, while Stalin wanted to expand his power.
• They couldn't agree on how to deal with Germany, which led to Germany being divided into East and West. This split showed the differences in their ideas.

Tehran Conference (November-December 1943)

• This earlier conference focused on making sure Nazi Germany was defeated.
• However, it also created distrust among the leaders.
• They had disagreements about what the borders would look like after the war, especially for Poland. Stalin wanted to change the borders to have a safer area for the Soviet Union.

Impact on Post-war Europe

1. Ideological Divide: The agreements and disagreements led to a clear difference between capitalism and communism.
2. Military Alliances: Different views from the conferences resulted in the creation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, which deepened the division.
3. Long-term Conflicts: Issues like the split of Germany and control over Eastern Europe became major problems during the Cold War.

In short, these conferences not only shaped what happened right after the war but also built the distrust and rivalry that marked the Cold War era.