"Hijas de Yalta: las tres damas desconocidas que evitaron la Tercera Guerra Mundial", Carlos Zúmer, El Confidencial 08.03.2021: https://www.elconfidencial.com/cultura/2021-03-08/hijas-yalta-tres-damas-descono...

The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, the Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War, Catherine Grace Katz, author; Christine Rendel, narrator.
Three young women of diverse personalities, unaware of their future place in history, make their mark on it as they serve their prominent fathers with complete devotion and loyalty, sacrificing a piece of themselves, willingly, in the process. As their personal lives are exposed, the “palace intrigue”, the musical bedrooms, the deceptive politics and the people with whom they engaged, both good and evil, come to life. Although each of the women benefitted from the opportunities offered to them, they were also scarred in some way as they did their best to serve the greater needs of their fathers and their countries. They carried these wounds to their personal and public life into their futures. It was a different time and many of the secrets that were hidden from the light of day, would not have been hidden today with modern technology. Their lives were touched by all of the human frailties, alcoholism, illness, suicide, infidelity, jealousy, disgrace, difficult choices and more, but also by deep respect, passion, love, tremendous opportunity and accomplishments that brought them great joy and satisfaction that was rarely afforded to any woman, no matter their background or how well they were regarded at that time. It was a time when women did not have the power or advantages they have today.
What might have been a long and detailed, tedious tome, is instead an illuminating reveal about the human side of politics at the close of World War II. Enhanced by an expert narrator that seemed to know exactly which word to stress and at what point to pause, these women and their effect on the meeting at Yalta, are exposed tenderly and honestly. All of their imperfections, errors in judgment and problematic decisions and choices are on the page for all readers to see, coupled with their compassion, dedication and integrity, as they endeavored to aid their fathers during their lifetimes.
Although the history of the monumental meeting in Yalta was waiting to be written, these three women knew they were attending something momentous. The meeting, in a place chosen to satisfy Stalin, was destined to be consequential, prescient and portentous. It was surrounded by tragedy and betrayal, fear and discomfort, secrets and lies. No one could have predicted the ultimate outcome or its effect on the future of the world. Still, many offered input that was often ignored, to the detriment of the final outcome. Although the author described the time of the memoir as between a world war and a cold war, often I thought it should be described as “between the bed sheets”, as the affairs of so many of the people mentioned multiplied with the passage of time. Often, there was little regard for the effect of their behavior on others. Satisfying their needs seemed to be front and center.
The book describes the experiences of these women and the toll it took on their lives, whether or not they were quite willing to contribute to the efforts of their father and their country. Their family’s history is exposed. Their marriages sometimes failed, their husbands suffered from the effects of their military service, some of their lives ended prematurely by their own hands, and some from unfortunate illness, some sought solace from alcohol. They were quite human, like all the rest of us. On the other hand, the daughters enjoyed their involvement with their fathers’ careers and the opportunities others only dreamed of.
As the history unfolds, the eloquence of certain leaders, the deceptive behavior of some as they betrayed each other, the lies to save face and protect reputations, the mistakes in their judgment due to arrogance and a lack of hubris, the weakness of some vs. the strength of others, shows how capricious was the nature of their decisions that ultimately changed the course of history as countries rose and fell depending on their decisions.
FDR’s fear of losing the Soviet’s cooperation, and his need to satisfy Russia’s Stalin, altered the map of the world. Perhaps it was his health that informed his errors in judgment, we will never really know, but he chose to trust a man unworthy of his trust and to betray the one man who trusted him implicitly, Churchill. FDR agreed to hold the conference in a place not ready for prime time, which caused disruption, inconvenience and a great deal of discomfort to all who attended, but the Russian leader. FDR did not want to offend Russia, Churchill wanted to maintain democracy in Europe, Stalin did not reveal his true intentions and betrayed the others. The needs of Churchill were ignored, FDR’s health was put on the back burner, all to satisfy the Russian bear.
Today, one has to wonder if our leaders are making the same mistakes and have not learned a thing from history. When our enemies smell weakness, our enemies will take advantage if we do not reverse course and show our strength and resolve. Many of those mentioned in the book, apart and aside from Harriman, Churchill and Roosevelt, will be familiar to the reader, like Alger Hiss, Anthony Eden, John Winant, Harry Hopkins and Vyacheslav Molotov, and more, but they will all be revealed more intimately as their relationships, their lifestyles and professions are described.
The book is filled with a vast amount of information, and as the timeline bounced around, it was sometimes repetitious, but the prose used was so beautiful that it was always a pleasure to read. ( )

In February 1945 as the Allies saw victory over Hitler at hand, the three 'Great Powers', the USA, Great Britain, and the USSR met at Yalta in the Crimea on the shores of the Black Sea to work out what would happen next. While Stalin had no such relationship with his own daughter, Svetlana, Churchill, Roosevelt and the US Ambassador to Russia, Averill Harriman chose to have their own daughters, Sarah, Anna and Kathleen, all three in their late twenties, early thirties, accompany them. Kathleen who had accompanied her father to Moscow was given the task of getting the American quarters, in a huge abandoned palace, ready as she was more or less 'on hand' in Moscow already and even spoke a little Russian. Ever since FDR had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, months earlier, Anna had become the family member he most relied on although he did not confide much in her or ever ask her advice but mainly expected her to look after his needs. Of the three, it would seem Sarah's father, Churchill, not only valued her as a companion, but also as someone to talk to and confide in. The three women wrote many letters home to family members and friends, and Katz has plumbed these to give a portrait of what the Yalta conference was like from the inside out. You also get some idea of what how difficult, but exhilarating, it was to be the daughter of someone in the public eye, how careful you had to be, how critical others were, especially in this time when women were tentatively entering public life and business on their own. Katz balances the personal with the business of the Yalta agreements. It is hard, though, to step away from wondering what might have happened there had FDR been healthier. And at this time, with Putin riding roughshod over Ukraine it is equally difficult not to see FDR's (willful) failure to understand Stalin's true aims as one of those 'moments' we will be living with for a century, if not longer. Katz chose a narrative stance that bothered me, something too chatty? I am making these up as examples, but this is the tone evoked: "That was the day Sarah realized she could never . . . " "Or "Once again, FDR disappointed Anna by failing to take her into his confidence about . . ." To me sometimes her interpretation of the inner lives and motivations of these three women was offered a bit too breezily while somehow also pinning them down like butterflies on a board. Well worth reading, despite this last comment. ***1/2 ( )

Interesting historical background. I couldn’t help regretting the daughters’s minor roles as hostesses, and psychological crutches for their fathers. ( )

An interesting story about the daughters of Averell Harriman, FDR and Winston Churchill who accompanied their fathers to the Yalta conference in 1945. There are great insights into just what was actually going on at this conference where, depending on your point of view, FDR successfully negotiated for the establishment of the United Nations, or Stalin successfully got the unwitting allies to let him take over Eastern Europe. A good look at behind the scenes politics. ( )