what was the potsdam conference in ww2

The German educational system was to be controlled to eliminate fascist doctrines and to develop democratic ideas. Nonetheless, the agreement to have each occupying power extract reparations from their own zones effectively handled the tricky issue of reparations. The summit also gave an early hint of the tensions that would develop between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which eventually led to a Cold War struggle that lasted for more than four decades. On the one hand, the United States and Great Britain feared a Soviet-backed communist domination of Europe, which drove their decision making at Potsdam. The Potsdam Conference (17 July 2 August 1945) was the last meeting of the Big Three Allied leaders during theSecond World War. He refused to look at briefing documents prepared for him by Foreign Office experts and instead indulged in lengthy and irrelevant discourse across the conference table. Potsdam Conference - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help [2], Key final decisions included the following: Germany would be divided into the four occupation zones (among the three powers and France) that had been agreed to earlier; Germany's eastern border was to be shifted west to the OderNeisse line; a Soviet-backed group was recognized as the legitimate government of Poland; and Vietnam was to be partitioned at the 16th parallel. . Probably to Trumans surprise, Stalin didnt seem too interested in the revelation. The Council of Foreign Ministers also had to examine and prepare the peace treaties for Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, and Romania. In general, the Big Three desired that dispositions of Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, and Romania should be resolved by the end of the negotiations. In what was described as a homey little ceremony on the back porch of the White House, Franklin Roosevelt entered into his fourth term as President with stoic optimism. This was undoubtedly because the Soviet dictator already knew of its existence through his spies in the West, but he told Truman that he was glad to hear it and hoped that we would make "good use of it against the Japanese"'. The Potsdam Conference is perhaps best known for President Truman's July 24, 1945 conversation with Stalin, during which time the President informed the Soviet leader that the United States had successfully detonated the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945. After various opinions on the question had been discussed, the foreign prime ministers agreed that it was essential to decide at once the preparation of a peace treaty for Italy, combined with the disposition of any former Italian territories. A Council composed of the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, China, France and the United States should be established. After the end of theSecond World War, the Allies brought the leading civilian and military representatives of wartime Germany and Japan to trial on charges of war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. The Potsdam Conference - The National WWII Museum | New Orleans The other main stumbling block at Potsdam was the postwar fate of Poland and the revision of the countrys borders with the Soviet Union and Germany. German industry capable of being used for military purposes was to be dismantled and the defeated countrys educational and judicial systems to be purged of Nazi influence. Churchill met briefly with Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, but was replaced halfway through it by a newly elected prime minister, Clement Attlee. Soviet leader Josef Stalin is at upper right of table. Following the decision of the Conference, the Big Three have each addressed an invitation to the Governments of China and France, to adopt the text and to join in establishing the Council. The Soviet Union was not involved in this declaration as it was still neutral in the war against Japan. The conference was attended by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was abruptly replaced on July 26 by his successor Clement Attlee, after results of the British election were announced. Nazi racial laws and other legislation were to be repealed andwar criminals triedand punished. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), How the Big Three Teed Up the Cold War at the Yalta Conference, As the Allies Closed in on Hitler, They Jockeyed for Future World Dominance, at least two spies inside the Manhattan project, The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/potsdam-conference. Before it was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Britain, the United States and China issued the Potsdam Declaration. This is a list of World War II conferences of the Allies of World War II. The Potsdam Conference was the only time that Truman met Stalin in person. It was led by the three heads of government consisting of Harry S. Truman . U.S. As a result, he did not think the West needed to fear Soviet power plays in other areas of the world. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is seated at upper left of table. Naval History and Heritage Command By Kennedy Hickman Updated on March 30, 2019 But Truman, who was keenly aware that similar economic punishment inflicted upon the Germans after World War I had led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, was determined not to make the same mistake. However, for these War Brides restrictive American immigrations policies posed a major challenge. Wagner Group Russia's war in Ukraine Potsdam Conference Ralf Bosen /tw 07/17/2015 In the summer of 1945 the world's eyes were trained on a German palace where the three most powerful men of the. A few months later, at the Potsdam Conference in July and August 1945, it was agreed that Soviet troops would occupy the northern portion of Korea, while American forces would take a similar. As historian David McCullough recounts in his 1992 biography, Truman, the new president wasnt eager to go so soon for his first meeting with the other two leaders of the Big Three that had defeated Nazi Germany. Stalin arrived a day late, a choice he made, according to biographer D.N. Averell Harriman is standing at extreme left. Both Germany and Austria were to be divided into four occupation zones, as had been agreed in principle at, All German annexations in Europe were to be reversed, including the, Germany's eastern border was to be shifted westwards to the, "Orderly and humane" expulsions of the German populations remaining beyond the new eastern borders of Germany were to be carried out from. Stalin induced Truman and Attlee to consent provisionally to the Soviet Unions demands that it should take one-third of Germanys naval and merchant fleet; have the right to exact reparations from its occupied zones of Germany and of Austria and also from Finland, Hungary, Romania, and even Bulgaria; and should furthermore receive a percentage of reparation from the western-occupied zones. READ MORE: As the Allies Closed in on Hitler, They Jockeyed for Future World Dominance. In particular, it reserved the right to block any proposals to establish common policies and institutions across Germany as a whole and anything that could lead to the eventual emergence of a unified German government. "'Today Has Been A Historical One': Harry S Truman's Diary of the Potsdam Conference. The Soviet Union was not involved in that declaration since it was still neutral in the war against Japan. Meeting of the Allied heads of state near the end of World War II, Toggle Sources and further reading subsection, Revised Allied Control Commission procedures in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, Concluding peace treaties and facilitating membership in United Nations, John Lewis Gaddis, "Intelligence, espionage, and Cold War origins. [12] A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 5 July 1945, but its results were delayed to allow the votes of armed forces personnel to be counted in their home constituencies. (II) The Council would be able to adapt its procedure to the particular problem under consideration. Stalin argued that the Curzon Line best represented the ethnic boundaries of the region and would give Russia a buffer zone for strategic security. Debate Over How to Use the Bomb, Late Spring 1945 The Trinity Test, July 16, 1945 Safety and the Trinity Test, July 1945 Evaluations of Trinity, July 1945 Potsdam and the Final Decision to Bomb, July 1945 The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945 The Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki, August 9, 1945 Japan Surrenders, August 10-15, 1945 France was a participant in the Berlin Declaration and was to be an equal member of the Allied Control Council. The Potsdam Agreement ( German: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe. All he said was that he was glad to hear it, and hoped we would make good use of it against the Japanese, Truman later recalled. The German judicial system was to be reorganized based on democratic ideals of equality and justice under law. Byrnes. The Potsdam Conference, 1945. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State.Truman, by David McCullough, 1992, June 1992. Potsdam Conference, (July 17-August 2, 1945), Allied conference of World War II held at Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin. The conference came just three months after Truman took over the presidency following the death of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The United States remained divided on how much of a threat the Soviet Union posed to European peace. World War II (WWII) was a long and bloody war that lasted for six years, from 1939 to 1945. But the biggest stumbling blocks at Potsdam were the post-war fate of Poland, the revision of its frontiers and those of Germany, and the expulsion of many millions of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe. This slide to the west gave Poland a coastline on the Baltic Sea and a sizeable number of natural resources, which the Western Allies hoped would allow Poland to emerge as a potentially powerful buffer state between Germany and Russia. Though this was the first time the Soviets had been officially given information about the atomic bomb, Stalin was already aware of the bomb project, having learned about it through espionage long before Truman did. [20] It also reflected the judgement of the British and the Americans that French aims, with respect to many items on the conference's agenda, were likely to contradict agreed-upon Anglo-American objectives.[21]. The 'Big Three' with their staffs around the conference table at the Potsdam Conference, 17 July 1945. NATO.Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, the Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, Volume II, U.S. Department of State.He is honest but smart as hell: When Truman met Stalin, by Kristine Phillips, July 17,2018, Washington Post.Radio Report to the American People on the Potsdam Conference, August 09, 1945. The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1919 Britain viewed France as the biggest threat to that balance, but now its leaders, especially Churchill, saw the Soviet Union as the greatest danger. Nash, Gary B. But the redrawing of Polands border with Germany was left unresolved. The total amounts of all these exactions were, however, to be determined at a later date. [28][37], The Conference agreed on the establishment of a Council of Foreign Ministers to represent the five principal powers, continue the essential preliminary work for the peace settlements, and assume other matters that could occasionally be committed to the Council by agreement of the governments participating it. July 18, 2022 Top image: View of the conference table at Cecilienhof Palace, scene of the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany. World War II Conferences Archives | HISTORY Roosevelt had died on 12 April 1945, and US Vice-President Harry Truman assumed the presidency, which saw VE Day (Victory in Europe) within a month and VJ Day (Victory in Japan) on the horizon. Nevertheless, within 18 months relations had deteriorated and the Cold War had emerged. The conference concluded that it was necessary to set limits regarding the disposition and future use of the defeated German navy and of merchant ships. Victory in Europe: Germany's Surrender and Aftermath - NHHC He is honest but smart as hell. Stalins goal was to dismantle Germany and destroy its infrastructure so the country would never again pose a threat to European peace and stability. The foreword to the book was written by German President. Similar to Truman, Attlee had served as Churchills deputy prime minister in a coalition government, but was rarely involved in making any key decisions. In turn, Stalin promised favorable trade terms in Manchuria, insisted he had no intention of occupying any parts of China, and promised the Soviet Union would not interfere with Americas open door policy in China. While some officials, such as Admiral William Leahy, agreed with Churchill that one of the Soviet Unions main goals was the spread of communism, others held a more optimistic view. World War II: Summary, Combatants & Facts | HISTORY The reason behind Stalin's mild reaction was that he had at least two spies inside the Manhattan project and already knew about the U.S. atomic weapons program. The three most pressing issues discussed at Potsdam concerned how to handle a defeated Germany, the fate of Poland, and the final destruction of Japanese military power. Another important purpose of the Potsdam Conference was to pressure Japan, which was still in the war. Potsdam Conference - DW - 07/17/2015 [33], The Soviet Union proposed for the authority of Karl Renner's provisional government to be extended to all of Austria. By July 28, Attlee had defeated Churchill and replaced him as Britains representative, with Britain's new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ernest Bevin, replacing Anthony Eden. Conference names in boldface indicate the conferences at which the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union were all present.
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