Which agreement formally partitioned Vietnam into two zones at the 1954 Geneva Conference?

• A. Paris Agreements
• B. Geneva Agreements
• C. Potsdam Agreement
• D. Yalta Agreement

Answer: (B)

The question tests your knowledge of what happened at the Geneva Conference in 1954 and how Vietnam was temporarily divided. At Geneva, a set of agreements was reached to end French colonial rule in Indochina and to place Vietnam into a temporary partition along the 17th parallel. This arrangement created a northern zone, under Viet Minh influence, and a southern zone, under a non-communist government, with a demilitarized buffer area between them. Elections were slated for 1956 to decide reunification, but they never took place. This is why the Geneva Agreements are the correct match.

The other options refer to different moments: the Paris Agreements are associated with the 1973 Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam; the Potsdam and Yalta Agreements are from 1945 and dealt with postwar arrangements in Europe, not Vietnam.