The term is primarily used for the leaders of the main powers among the
Allies of World War II:
Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States,
Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and
Joseph Stalin. The term is also sometimes used to refer to the three countries, and not just their leaders.
Harry S. Truman and
Clement Attlee are also sometimes counted as the members, as "five individual members of the Big Three". Much of the negotiations between the Big Three was done in person during the two big war-time conferences: the
Tehran Conference in November-December 1943 and the
Yalta Conference of February 1945; Churchill and Stalin also met shortly after the end of the war during the
Potsdam Conference (July–August that year; Roosevelt already died in April). Key topics of negotiations revolved around drawing the post-war
spheres of influence between Western Allies and the USSR, major points of contention included the future of Germany and Poland. The leaders of the Big Three saw their alliance as not only the means to win the ongoing war, but also as the means to reform the existing
world order. Initially, Churchill and Roosevelt had the most influence, as the USSR was struggling following the
German invasion of the country. This changed around 1944 with the importance of United Kingdom diminishing, and Churchill and the UK were no longer seen as "equals" by the other two partners. The concept of Big Three became less important around the time the war ended, as it became obvious that the two dominant world powers of
the new era would be the United States and the Soviet Union. The partnership of the Big Three succeeded in winning the war and utterly destroying the infrastructure of
Nazism, but despite the establishment of the
United Nations, failed to establish lasting peace which they aspired to in their public declarations. == Relationships ==