In February 1945 , at the conference at Yalta , Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of political influence in Central Europe . Stalin eventually was convinced by Churchill and Roosevelt not to dismember Germany . Stalin stated that the Soviet Union would keep the territory of eastern Poland they had already taken via invasion in 1939 , and wanted a pro-Soviet Polish government in power in what would remain of Poland . After resistance by Churchill and Roosevelt , Stalin promised a re-organization of the current pro-Soviet government on a broader democratic basis in Poland . He stated that the new government 's primary task would be to prepare elections
conference at Yalta
Yalta Conference
Eastern Bloc