title: The Best They Could Do
abstract: Abstract This chapter examines Harry Hopkins's role in the Big Three conference held in Yalta during World War II. It first considers the agenda of the conference among Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, including the final assault on Germany, the Soviet Union's commitment to join the war against Japan, the organization of the United Nations, and issues relating to the anticipated defeat of the Germans. It then discusses Hopkins's trip across liberated Europe into south