The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945. The participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the three largest and most powerful of the victorious Allies that defeated the Axis Powers in World War II. The three nations were represented by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and later Clement Attlee, and President Harry S Truman.

Stalin, Churchill, and Truman—as well as Attlee, who replaced Churchill after the Labour Party's defeat of the Conservatives in the 1945 general election—had gathered to decide how to administer the defeated Nazi Germany, which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier, on May 8 (V-E Day). The goals of the conference also included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and countering the effects of war.

Participants

• Soviet Union, represented by Joseph Stalin.

He arrived at the conference a day late, citing "official business" that required his attention, but in fact may have suffered a minor heart attack.

• United Kingdom, represented by Winston Churchill and later Clement Attlee.

The results of the British election became known during the conference. As a result of the Labour Party victory over the Conservative Party the Premiership changed hands.

• United States, represented by the newly-inaugurated President Harry S. Truman.

Joseph Stalin suggested that Truman preside over the conference as the only head of state attending, a recommendation accepted by Churchill.

Primary results of the conference

Potsdam Agreement

''Main article the Potsdam Agreement

At the end of the conference, the Three Heads of Government agreed on the following actions:

• Reversion of all German annexations in Europe after 1937 and separation of Austria from Germany.
• Issuance of a statement of aims of the occupation of Germany by the Allies: demilitarization, denazification, democratization and decartelization.
• Division of Germany and Austria respectively into four occupation zones (earlier agreed in principle at Yalta), and the similar division of each capitals Berlin and Vienna into four zones.
• Agreement on the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.
  • Poland:

    ''See also Western betrayal and Territorial changes of Poland after World War II

    Creation of a Provisional Government of National Unity recognised by all three powers, and that those Poles who were serving in British Army formations should be free to return to Poland. The provisional western border should be the Oder-Neisse line, parts of East Prussia and former free City of Danzig should be under Polish administration, but that the final delimitation of the western frontier of Poland should await the peace settlement, which had to await the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany in 1990.

  • Expulsion of the German populations remaining beyond the borders of Germany.
  • Agreement on war reparations to the Soviet Union from their zone of occupation in Germany. It was also agreed that 10% of the industrial capacity of the western zones unnecessary for the German peace economy should be transferred to the Soviet Union within 2 years. Stalin proposed and it was accepted that Poland was to be excluded from division of German compensation to be later granted 15% of compensation given to Soviet Union (this has never happened).
  • All other issues were to be answered by the final peace conference to be called as soon as possible.

  Potsdam Declaration

  ''Main article the Potsdam Declaration

  In addition to the Potsdam Agreement, on July 26 the United States, the British Empire and the Republic of China (the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan during the Conference) issued the Potsdam Declaration which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan.

  Other issues

  The western allies, and especially Churchill, were suspicious of the motives of Stalin, who had already installed communist governments in the central European countries under his influence; the Potsdam conference turned out to be the last conference among the allied leaders.

  During the conference, Truman mentioned to Stalin about an unspecified "powerful new weapon"; Stalin, who knew of its existence long before Truman ever knew through placing spies inside US borders, encouraged the usage of any weapon that would hasten the end of the war. Towards the end of the conference, Japan was given an ultimatum (threatening "prompt and utter destruction", without mentioning the new bomb), and hastily after Japan had rejected it, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9, 1945 respectively. Truman made the decision to use atomic weapons to end the war while at the conference.

  The Potsdam Conference was preceded by

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  • the Yalta Conference, February 4 to February 11, 1945
  • the Tehran Conference, November 28 to December 1, 1943
  • the Cairo Conference, November 22 to November 26, 1943
  • the Casablanca Conference, January 14 to January 24, 1943

  See also

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  • List of World War II conferences

  External links

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  • United States Department of State Foreign relations of the United States : diplomatic papers : the Conference of Berlin (the Potsdam Conference) 1945 Volume I Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945
  • United States Department of State Foreign relations of the United States : diplomatic papers : the Conference of Berlin (the Potsdam Conference) 1945 Volume II Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945

  References

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  • Truman and the Potsdam Conference
  • Annotated bibliography for the Potsdam Conference from the Alsos Digital Library

  1945 | Aftermath of World War II | World War II conferences

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