At the allied wartime conferences it was agreed by the big threeThe Big Three
Full Description:The term used to describe the leaders of the major Allied powers: the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The United Nations was not a creation of the global community, but largely a negotiated settlement between these three distinct imperial interests. The Big Three refers to the wartime alliance that designed the post-war architecture. Through a series of conferences (Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam), these powers haggled over the shape of the UN. The structure of the organization reflects the compromises made between American liberal capitalism, Soviet communism, and British imperialism.
Critical Perspective:This term highlights the oligarchical origins of the UN. While the organization claims to represent “We the Peoples,” its DNA was encoded by three men representing the military victors. The concerns of the rest of the world—particularly the colonized nations and the smaller European states—were largely marginalized or ignored during the foundational drafting phase.
Read more that the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians could remove German civilians who had occupied lands now in newly recognised nation states, in some cases for generations. This decision was taken in large part because national governments and vigilante bands had already started the expulsions. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If y
Reading time:
1–2 minutes

Explaining History Podcast
For more than a decade, the Explaining History Podcast has helped listeners around the world make sense of modern history. What began in 2012 as a simple experiment—short, accessible episodes explaining major historical events—has grown into a long-running library of carefully researched, thoughtful explorations of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Let’s stay in touch
Subscribe to the Explaining History Podcast