The Pittsburgh Press (February 9, 1945)
Background of news –
What they have done
By Bertram Benedict
This is the eighth great conference among the Allies. The enumeration includes the Moscow Conference, although it was of the foreign ministers, not of the heads of states. The enumeration excludes various joint conferences – such as those between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill in Washington, between Mr. Churchill and Marshal Stalin in Moscow – which seem to have been held chiefly to implement old decisions rather than to reach new decisions of wide import.
The previous seven great joint conferences have been:
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August 1941, on the Atlantic, between Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill. It produced the eight principles of the Atlantic Charter. The United States was not yet a belligerent, although aiding Britain.
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January 1943, at Casablanca, between Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill, who conferred also with Generals de Gaulle and Giraud.
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August 1943, at Quebec, between Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill.
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October-November 1943, at Moscow, among the foreign ministers.
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November 1943, at Cairo, among Mr. Roosevelt, Mr. Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek.
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November-December 1943, at Tehran, among Mr. Roosevelt, Mr. Churchill and Marshal Stalin.
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September 1944, at Quebec, between Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill.
From three of these seven conferences – the one at Casablanca and the two at Quebec – the official statements said little except that military decisions had been agreed upon.
The important principles
The far-reaching principles produced by the other four great inter-Allied conferences so far can be thus summarized:
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Unconditional surrender of the Axis powers.
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No territorial or other aggrandizement, no territorial changes against the will of the peoples concerned. rights of all people to choose their own forms of government (Atlantic Charter).
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Restoration to China of all Chinese territory seized by Japan in the past, freedom of Korea, expulsion of Japan from other territory seized by Japan, including the mandated Pacific islands (Cairo).
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International organization, open to all states, to maintain peace (Atlantic Charter, Moscow, Tehran).
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Equal access, with respect to existing obligations, of all states to the vital raw materials and trade of the world (Atlantic Charter).
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Collaboration for better labor standards, economic advancement, social security, freedom from fear and want (Atlantic Charter).
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Freedom of the seas (Atlantic Charter).
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Disarmament of aggressor states, general reduction im armaments (Atlantic Charter, Moscow).
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Non-use of military forces within boundaries of other states after the war except for enforcing the peace settlements and preserving peace, law and order and security (Moscow).
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All measures deemed necessary to prevent violation of the terms imposed on the enemy (Moscow).
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Freedom and self-government for Italy, suppression of Italian Fascism, full consultation on Italian problems (Moscow).
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Freedom for Austria and consideration in the Austrian settlement for any Austrian contribution to its own freedom (Moscow).
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Assistance to Iran during and after the war and maintenance of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity (Tehran).
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Trial and punishment of German war criminals, military or civilian, at the scene of their crimes, wherever committed and of arrest and transfer “to justice” of Italian Fascist “chiefs and army generals” charged with war crimes (Moscow).