When Churchill and Stalin Decided Greece’s Fate on a Scrap of Paper

Months earlier World War II ended, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin secretly divided their spheres of power successful the Balkans. Photo of the 2 leaders from a Moscow league successful 1942. Public Domain

It was October 9, 1944, that the post-World War II aboriginal of Greece was decided betwixt the leaders of Great Britain and the Soviet Union, who met secretly successful Moscow. Their purpose was to find which countries would autumn nether their spheres of power aft the extremity of World War II. Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met for the alleged Tolstoy Conference (or Moscow Conference) to sermon the aboriginal governments of the Balkan countries and Poland, which they had liberated from German occupation.

Although World War II had not yet ended, it was wide that the Allied forces were adjacent to defeating Germany. German troops were gradually abandoning the countries they had occupied. On October 12, the occupying forces near Athens and moved north, ending a brutal three-and-a-half-year occupation.

Only 3 days earlier the Wehrmacht’s departure from Greece, the country’s aboriginal was already connected the negotiating array betwixt the 2 powers. The cannons of World War II had not yet fallen silent, but the aboriginal of the Balkans was being secretly discussed by these 2 almighty leaders and the US ambassador.

Germany surrendered connected April 16, 1945, portion Adolf Hitler refused to surrender and killed himself connected April 30. On May 7 and 8, Germany signed an unconditional surrender. Even portion the warfare was inactive ongoing and Germany was attempting to combat back, these almighty leaders were dividing their spoils, assured that triumph was imminent. They decided the post-World War II aboriginal of Greece and the Balkans months earlier the warfare officially ended.

The aboriginal aft World War II

While thing had yet been decided connected the warfare fronts, arsenic Nazi forces were attempting a counteroffensive, the leaders of Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union knew they needed to scope an knowing for the postwar epoch successful Europe and the world. No 1 wanted to pb the Old Continent into different warfare pursuing Germany’s defeat.

It was wide that the ideological, social, and governmental differences that had divided Western and Eastern Europe earlier the outbreak of World War II would not simply vanish erstwhile the warfare ended. The 3 large powers of the time, seeing that Hitler’s downfall was imminent and that sooner oregon aboriginal the “next day” would arrive, agreed to beryllium down astatine the negotiating array to forestall immoderate anticipation of a caller conflict.

The post-World War II negotiating array and Greece

In the gathering betwixt Churchill and Stalin, the United States was represented by US ambassador to Moscow Averell Harriman, serving arsenic an observer, and the caput of the US subject ngo successful Moscow, General John Dean. As acold arsenic Churchill was concerned, the 2 allies were gathering to acceptable a timetable for Russia’s introduction into the warfare against Japan, an contented helium had raised eleven months earlier.

However, Stalin was focused connected establishing the equilibrium of powerfulness and spheres of power that the 2 countries would person successful the Balkans aft World War II. Churchill wrote retired a database connected a portion of insubstantial dividing Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Bulgaria betwixt the Allied powers, and Stalin simply placed a checkmark adjacent to Churchill’s suggestions.

The Soviet Union came retired precise favorably successful the agreement, gaining 90 percent of Romania, 10 percent of Greece, fractional of Yugoslavia, fractional of Hungary, and three-quarters of Bulgaria. Churchill’s superior involvement was Greece, and with Stalin’s approval, helium instructed his unit that British forces could beryllium dispatched there.

The aboriginal of Poland was besides discussed. Churchill projected a gathering betwixt the person of the exiled Polish government, based successful London, and the Soviets to find a Polish-Soviet frontier, but the connection yet went nowhere.

The percent connection arsenic drawn by Winston Churchill connected a scrap of insubstantial (some accounts accidental napkin) that was fixed to Joseph Stalin implicit the part of the Balkans betwixt Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Credit: Public Domain

The Churchill memoirs

In his memoirs, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill recalled the infinitesimal during the October 1944 Moscow Conference, erstwhile helium decided it was the close clip to negociate with Stalin the post-World War II part of power successful the Balkans, including that of Greece:

“I considered the infinitesimal to enactment appropriate. I declared: ‘Let america modulate our affairs successful the Balkans. Your troops are successful Romania and Bulgaria. We person interests, missions, agents successful these countries. Let america debar struggle implicit trivial matters,'” Churchill told Stalin.

Churchill continued:

“To Great Britain and Russia, what would you accidental astir a 90 percent vantage for you successful Romania, a 90 percent vantage for america successful Greece, and an adjacent 50 percent stock successful Yugoslavia?” While Churchill’s code was being translated, helium wrote connected fractional a expanse of paper:

ROMANIA
Russia 90%
The different 10%

GREECE
Great Britain (in statement with the USA) 90%
Russia 10%

YUGOSLAVIA 50% and 50%

HUNGARY 50% and 50%

BULGARIA
Russia 75%
The different 25%

Churchill pushed the insubstantial successful beforehand of Stalin, who had successful the meantime been fixed the translation. There was a abbreviated pause. Then Stalin took his bluish pencil, drew a heavy enactment arsenic a benignant of approval, and returned the enactment to Churchill. Everything had been settled successful the little clip it took Churchill to constitute the note.

The insubstantial with the bluish enactment remained connected the table. Finally, Churchill said: “Wouldn’t they see it somewhat cynical of america to settee these problems, connected which the destiny of millions of lives depends, successful specified a haughty manner? Let’s pain this paper.”

“No, support it,” insisted Stalin.

Greece and the Balkans divided betwixt the Soviet Union and Britain post-World War II

When the 2 leaders finished their discussion, the Foreign Ministers of Britain and the Soviet Union—Anthony Eden and Vyacheslav Molotov—took implicit to negociate the last percentages of influence. The result of this follow-up gathering was an summation successful the Soviet Union’s stock of power successful Bulgaria and Hungary to 80 percent, efficaciously bringing the section connected “post-war Europe” to a adjacent close earlier World War II had officially ended.

What is peculiarly important to stress is that authoritative Soviet accounts ne'er questioned whether these events really took place—not adjacent the part of power written connected the infamous scrap of paper. What Soviet historians consistently denied, however, was that Stalin had ever agreed with what Churchill projected and recorded.