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Documents and Readings in the History of Europe Since 1918
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Historical SummaryThe Soviet Union was impatient for the western Allies to invade the continent of Europe and open a "second front" against the Germans, thus relieving the pressure of fighting in the east. Owing partly to the difficulty of assembling the vast forces and supplies for such an invasion and partly to Churchill’s belief that an invasion from the south via Europe’s "soft underbelly" would be less costly in blood and more effective, the invasion was postponed from 1942 to 1943 and then to 1944. Eventually it seemed wise, on the one hand, to still Russian fears that the western democracies were hoping to see Germany and the U.S.S.R. wipe each other out and, on the other, to make sure that Moscow would not contemplate a separate peace with the Nazis. Accordingly a conference was arranged among Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, to be held in Tehran, the capital of Iran, so that Stalin would not have to travel Jar from the embattled Soviet Union. The declarations under A. below were released on December 6, 1943. The original of the Declaration on Iran, which was signed by the shah as well as the Big Three, was "lost" for a year and then found in a White House file. The agreement under B. below was released by the Department of State on March 24, 1947.
World History 284.
The Tehran Conference, November 28. December 1, 194341
A
DECLARATION OF THE THREE POWERS
We—The President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and the Premier of the Soviet Union, have met these four days past, in this, the Capital of our Ally, Iran, and have shaped and confirmed our common policy.
We express our determination that our nations shall work together in war and in the peace that will follow.
As to war—our military staffs have joined in our round table discussions, and we have concerted our plans for the destruction of the German forces. We have reached complete agreement as to the scope and timing of the operations to be undertaken from the east, west and south.
The common understanding which we have here reached guarantees that victory will be ours.
And as to peace—we are sure that our concord will win an enduring Peace. We recognize fully the supreme responsibility resting upon us and all the United Nations to make a peace which will command the goodwill of the overwhelming mass of the peoples of the world and banish the scourge and terror of war for many generations.
With our Diplomatic advisors we have surveyed the problems of the future. We shall seek the cooperation and active participation of all nations, large and small, whose peoples in heart and mind are dedicated, as are our own peoples, to the elimination of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance. We will welcome them, as they may choose to come, into a world family of Democratic Nations.
No power on earth can prevent our destroying the German armies by land, their U Boats by sea, and their war plants from the air.
Our attack will be relentless and increasing.
Emerging from these cordial conferences we look with confidence to the day when all peoples of the world may live free lives, untouched by tyranny, and according to their varying desires and their own consciences.
We came here with hope and determination. We leave here, friends in fact, in spirit and in purpose.
ROOSEVELT, CHURCHILL AND STALIN.
Signed at Tehran, December 1, 1943.
DECLARATION REGARDING IRAN
The President of the United States of America, the Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, having consulted with each other and with the Prime Minister of Iran, desire to declare the mutual agreement of their three Governments regarding their relations with Iran.
The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom recognize the assistance which Iran has given in the prosecution of the war against the common enemy, particularly by facilitating transportation of supplies from overseas to the Soviet Union. The three Governments realize that the war has caused special economic difficulties for Iran and they are agreed that they will continue to make available to the Government of Iran such economic assistance as may be possible, having regard to the heavy demands made upon them by their world-wide military operations and to the world-wide shortage of transport, raw materials and supplies for civilian consumption.
With respect to the post-war period, the Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom are in accord with the Government of Iran that any economic problem confronting Iran at the close of hostilities should receive full consideration along with those of the other members of the United Nations by conferences or international agencies held or created to deal with international economic matters.
The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom are at one with the Government of Iran in their desire for the maintenance of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran. They count upon the participation of Iran together with all other peace-loving nations in the establishment of international peace, security and prosperity after the war in accordance with the principles of the Atlantic Charter, to which all four governments have continued to subscribe.
B
AGREEMENT ON THE MILITARY PLANS FOR THE DEFEAT OF GERMANY, TEHRAN, IRAN, DECEMBER 1, 1943
The Conference:
(1) Agreed that the Partisans in Yugosloavia should be supported by supplies and equipment to the greatest possible extent, and also by commando operations;
(2) Agreed that, from the military point of view, it was most desirable that Turkey should come into the war on the side of the Allies before the end of the year;
(3) Took note of Marshal Stalin’s statement that if Turkey found herself at war with Germany, and as a result Bulgaria declared war on Turkey or attacked her, the Soviet would immediately be at war with Bulgaria. The Conference further took note that this fact could be explicitly stated in the forthcoming negotiations to bring Turkey into the war;
(4) Took note that Operation OVERLORD [the landings in Normandy] would be launched during May, 1944, in conjunction with an operation against Southern France. The latter operation would be undertaken in as great a strength as availability of landing-craft permitted. The Conference further took note of Marshal Stalin’s statement that the Soviet forces would launch an offensive at about the same time with the object of preventing the German forces from transferring from the Eastern to the Western Front;
(5) Agreed that the military Staffs of the Three Powers should henceforward keep in close touch with each other in regard to the impending operations in Europe. In particular it was agreed that a cover plan to mystify and mislead the enemy as regards these operations should be concerted between the staffs concerned.
(Signed):
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, JOSEPH V. STALIN, WINSTON S. CHURCHILL.
41A. from United States, Department of State Bulletin, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1943, vol. IX, pp. 409–410; B. from The New York Times, March 25, 1947, reprinted by permission.
42 Sherwood, R. E., Roosevelt and Hopkins. An Intimate History, Harper & Brothers, New York, 1948, p. 798.
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Chicago: "The Tehran Conference, November 28. December 1, 1943," Documents and Readings in the History of Europe Since 1918 in Documents and Readings in the History of Europe Since 1918, ed. Walter Consuelo Langsam and James Michael Egan (Chicage: Lippincott, 1951), 938–941. Original Sources, accessed April 20, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=HCZZ4LY4EKWNESB.
MLA: . "The Tehran Conference, November 28. December 1, 1943." Documents and Readings in the History of Europe Since 1918, in Documents and Readings in the History of Europe Since 1918, edited by Walter Consuelo Langsam and James Michael Egan, Chicage, Lippincott, 1951, pp. 938–941. Original Sources. 20 Apr. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=HCZZ4LY4EKWNESB.
Harvard: , 'The Tehran Conference, November 28. December 1, 1943' in Documents and Readings in the History of Europe Since 1918. cited in 1951, Documents and Readings in the History of Europe Since 1918, ed. , Lippincott, Chicage, pp.938–941. Original Sources, retrieved 20 April 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=HCZZ4LY4EKWNESB.
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