World War II: The Big Three Meet

November 1, 1943 - Roosevelt, Churchill, and (right) open the Tehran Conference. The first face-to-face meeting of the "Big Three," the Tehran Conference was one of only two World War II meetings between US President Franklin Roosevelt, UK Prime Minister, and USSR Premier Joseph Stalin. Initial conversations saw Roosevelt and Churchill receive Soviet support for their war policies in exchange for backing the communist Partisans in Yugoslavia and allowing Stalin to manipulate the Soviet-Polish border. Subsequent discussions centered on the opening of a second front in Western Europe. The meeting confirmed that this attack would come through France rather than through the Mediterranean as Churchill desired. Stalin also promised to declare war on Japan following the defeat of Germany. Before the conference concluded, the Big Three reaffirmed their demand for unconditional surrender and laid out the initial plans for occupying Axis territory after the war.

Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress