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The Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference, held near Berlin, July 17-August 2, 1945, was the last of the
Big Three meetings during World War II. It was attended by Premier Joseph Stalin of the
Soviet Union, the new American president, Harry S. Truman, and Prime Minister
Winston Churchill of Great Britain (replaced on July 28 by his successor, Clement
Attlee). On July 26, the leaders issued a declaration demanding 'unconditional surrender'
from Japan, concealing the fact that they had privately agreed to let Japan retain its
emperor. Otherwise, the conference centered on postwar Europe. A Council of Foreign
Ministers was agreed upon, with membership from the Big Three plus China and France.
Military administration of Germany was established, with a central Allied Control Council
(the requirement that acc decisions be unanimous would later prove to be crippling). The
leaders arrived at various agreements on the German economy, placing primary
emphasis on the development of agriculture and nonmilitary industry. The institutions
that had controlled the economy under the Nazis were to be decentralized, but all of
Germany would be treated as a single economic unit. War criminals would be brought to
trial. Stalin's request to define the Polish-German border was put off till the peace treaty,
but the conference accepted his transfer of the land east of the Oder and Neisse rivers
from Germany to Poland. Regarding reparations, a compromise was worked out, based
on an exchange of capital equipment from the Western zone for raw materials from the
East. It resolved a dispute but set the precedent of managing the German economy by
zone rather than comprehensively as the Western powers had hoped.
Although postwar Europe dominated the Potsdam agenda, the war in the Pacific lurked
offstage. Truman received word of the successful atomic bomb test soon after he arrived
at Potsdam; he told Churchill the news but mentioned 'a new weapon' only casually to
Stalin. Truman continued to solicit Stalin's assistance against Japan, but he knew that if
the bomb succeeded, Russian help would not be needed. Indeed, the bomb would give
the United States unprecedented power in the postwar world.
The Reader's Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Copyright © 1991
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting of British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet
premier Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in February 1945 as
World War II was winding down. The leaders agreed to require Germany's unconditional
surrender and to set up in the conquered nation four zones of occupation to be run by
their three countries and France. They scheduled another meeting for April in San
Francisco to create the United Nations. Stalin also agreed to permit free elections in
Eastern Europe and to enter the Asian war against Japan. In turn, he was promised the
return of lands lost to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. At the time, most
of these agreements were kept secret.
Yalta became controversial after Soviet-American wartime cooperation degenerated into
the cold war. Stalin broke his promise of free elections in Eastern Europe and installed
governments dominated by the Soviet Union. Then American critics charged that
Roosevelt, who died two months after the conference, had "sold out" to the Soviets at
Yalta.
The Reader's Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Copyright © 1991
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved
The Potsdam and Yalta Conferences
Potsdam Conference
Dates
Who was in
attendance?
Goals
Conflicts
Resolutions
Yalta Conference
World War II: Yalta Conference
By Kennedy Hickman, About.com Guide
Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference
Photograph Courtesy of the US Department of Defense
In early 1945, with World War II in Europe drawing to a close, Franklin Roosevelt (United
States), Winston Churchill (Great Britain), and Joseph Stalin (USSR) agreed to meet to discuss
war strategy and issues that would affect the postwar world. Dubbed the "Big Three," the
Allied leaders had met previously in November 1943, at the Tehran Conference. Seeking a
neutral site for the meeting, Roosevelt suggested a gathering somewhere on the
Mediterranean. While Churchill was in favor, Stalin refused citing that his doctors prohibited
him from making any long trips.
In lieu of the Mediterranean, Stalin proposed the Black Sea resort of Yalta. Eager to meet face
to face, Roosevelt agreed to Stalin's request. As the leaders traveled to Yalta, Stalin was in the
strongest position as Soviet troops were a mere forty miles from Berlin. This was reinforced by
the "home court" advantage of hosting the meeting in the USSR. Further weakening the
western Allies' position was Roosevelt's failing health and Britain's increasingly junior position
relative to the US and USSR. With the arrival of all three delegations, the conference opened
on February 4, 1945.
Each leader came to Yalta with an agenda. Roosevelt desired Soviet military support against
Japan following the defeat of Germany and Soviet participation in the United Nations, while
Churchill was focused on securing free elections for Soviet-liberated countries in Eastern
Europe. Counter to Churchill's desire, Stalin sought to build a Soviet sphere of influence in
Eastern Europe to protect against future threats. In addition to these long-term issues, the
three powers also needed to develop a plan for governing postwar Germany.
Shortly after the meeting opened, Stalin took a firm stance on the issue of Poland, citing that
twice in the previous thirty years it had been used as an invasion corridor by the Germans.
Furthermore, he stated that the Soviet Union would not return the land annexed from Poland
in 1939, and that the nation could be compensated with land taken from Germany. While
these terms were non-negotiable, he was willing to agree to free elections in Poland. While the
latter pleased Churchill, it soon became clear that Stalin had no intention of honoring this
promise.
In regard to Germany, it was decided that the defeated nation would be divided into three
zones of occupation, one for each of the Allies, with a similar plan for the city of Berlin. While
Roosevelt and Churchill advocated for a fourth zone for the French, Stalin would only
acquiesce if the territory was taken from the American and British zones. After reasserting
that only unconditional surrender would be acceptable the Big Three agreed that Germany
would undergo demilitarization and denazification, as well as that some war reparations would
be in the form of forced labor.
Pressing on the issue of Japan, Roosevelt secured a promise from Stalin to enter the conflict
ninety days after the defeat of Germany. In return for Soviet military support, Stalin
demanded and received American diplomatic recognition of Mongolian independence from
Nationalist China. Caving on this point, Roosevelt hoped to deal with the Soviets through the
United Nations, which Stalin did agree to join after voting procedures in the Security Council
were defined. Returning to European affairs, it was jointly agreed that the original, prewar
governments would be returned to liberated countries.
Exceptions were made in the cases of France, whose government had become collaborationist,
and Romania and Bulgaria where the Soviets had effectively dismantled the governmental
systems. Further supporting this was a statement that all displaced civilians would be returned
to their countries of origin. Ending on February 11, the three leaders departed Yalta in a
celebratory mood. This initial view of the conference was shared by the people in each nation,
but ultimately proved short-lived. With Roosevelt's death in April 1945, relations between the
Soviets and the West became increasingly tense.
As Stalin reneged on promises concerning Eastern Europe, perception of Yalta changed and
Roosevelt was blamed for effectively ceding Eastern Europe to the Soviets. While his poor
health may have affected his judgment, Roosevelt was able to secure some concessions from
Stalin during the meeting. Despite this, many came to view the meeting as a sellout that
greatly encouraged Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe and northeast Asia. The leaders of the
Big Three would meet again that July for the Potsdam Conference.
During the meeting, Stalin was effectively able to have the decisions of Yalta ratified as he was
able to take advantage of new US President Harry S. Truman and a change of power in Britain
that saw Churchill replaced partway through the conference by Clement Attlee.
Milestones: 1937-1945
The Yalta Conference, 1945
The Yalta Conference took place in a Russian resort town in the Crimea from February 411, 1945, during World War Two. At Yalta, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin made important
decisions regarding the future progress of the war and the postwar world.
World Leaders at the Yalta Conference
The Allied leaders came to Yalta knowing that an Allied victory in Europe was
practically inevitable but less convinced that the Pacific war was nearing an end.
Recognizing that a victory over Japan might require a protracted fight, the United States
and Great Britain saw a major strategic advantage to Soviet participation in the Pacific
theater. At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under
which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan and all three agreed that, in
exchange for potentially crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific theater, the Soviets
would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following Japan's surrender. This
included the southern portion of Sakhalin, a lease at Port Arthur (now Lashunkou), a
share in the operation of the Manchurian railroads, and the Kurile Islands. This
agreement was the major concrete accomplishment of the Yalta Conference.
The Allied leaders also discussed the future of Germany, Eastern Europe and the United
Nations. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed not only to include France in the postwar
governing of Germany, but also that Germany should assume some, but not all,
responsibility for reparations following the war. The Americans and the British generally
agreed that future governments of the Eastern European nations bordering the Soviet
Union should be "friendly" to the Soviet regime while the Soviets pledged to allow free
elections in all territories liberated from Nazi Germany. Negotiators also released a
declaration on Poland, providing for the inclusion of Communists in the postwar national
government. In discussions regarding the future of the United Nations, all parties agreed
to an American plan concerning voting procedures in the Security Council, which had
been expanded to five permanent members following the inclusion of France. Each of
these permanent members was to hold a veto on decisions before the Security Council.
Initial reaction to the Yalta agreements was celebratory. Roosevelt and many other
Americans viewed it as proof that the spirit of U.S.-Soviet wartime cooperation would
carry over into the postwar period. This sentiment, however, was short lived. With the
death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, Harry S. Truman became the thirtythird president of the United States. By the end of April, the new administration clashed
with the Soviets over their influence in Eastern Europe, and over the United Nations.
Alarmed at the perceived lack of cooperation on the part of the Soviets, many Americans
began to criticize Roosevelt's handling of the Yalta negotiations. To this day, many of
Roosevelt's most vehement detractors accuse him of "handing over" Eastern Europe and
Northeast Asia to the Soviet Union at Yalta despite the fact that the Soviets did make
many substantial concessions.
Milestones: 1937-1945
The Potsdam Conference, 1945
The Big Three Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and
U.S. President Harry Truman--met in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2,
1945, to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. After the Yalta Conference of
February 1945, Stalin, Churchill, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had agreed to
meet following the surrender of Germany to determine the postwar borders in Europe.
Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, and the Allied leaders agreed to meet over the
summer at Potsdam to continue the discussions that had begun at Yalta. Although the
Allies remained committed to fighting a joint war in the Pacific, the lack of a common
enemy in Europe led to difficulties reaching consensus concerning postwar reconstruction
on the European continent.
Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin and President Harry Truman
The major issue at Potsdam was the question of how to handle Germany. At Yalta, the
Soviets had pressed for heavy postwar reparations from Germany, half of which would
go to the Soviet Union. While Roosevelt had acceded to such demands, Truman and his
Secretary of State, James Byrnes, were determined to mitigate the treatment of Germany
by allowing the occupying nations to exact reparations only from their own zone of
occupation. Truman and Byrnes encouraged this position because they wanted to avoid a
repetition of the situation created by the Treaty of Versailles, which had exacted high
reparations payments from Germany following World War One. Many experts agreed
that the harsh reparations imposed by the Versailles Treaty had handicapped the German
economy and fueled the rise of the Nazis.
Despite numerous disagreements, the Allied leaders did manage to conclude some agreements at
Potsdam. For example, the negotiators confirmed the status of a demilitarized and disarmed
Germany under four zones of Allied occupation. According to the Protocol of the Conference,
there was to be "a complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany"; all aspects of
German industry that could be utilized for military purposes were to be dismantled; all German
military and paramilitary forces were to be eliminated; and the production of all military
hardware in Germany was forbidden. Furthermore, Germany society was to be remade along
democratic lines by repeal of all discriminatory laws from the Nazi era and by the arrest and trial
of those Germans deemed to be "war criminals." The German educational and judicial systems
were to be purged of any authoritarian influences, and democratic political parties would be
encouraged to participate in the administration of Germany at the local and state level. The
reconstitution of a national German Government was, however, postponed indefinitely, and the
Allied Control Commission (which was comprised of four occupying powers, the United States,
Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) would run the country during the interregnum.
One of the most controversial matters addressed at the Potsdam Conference dealt with the
revision of the German-Soviet-Polish borders and the expulsion of several million Germans from
the disputed territories. In exchange for the territory it lost to the Soviet Union following the
readjustment of the Soviet-Polish border, Poland received a large swath of German territory and
began to deport the German residents of the territories in question, as did other nations that were
host to large German minority populations. The negotiators at Potsdam were well-aware of the
situation, and even though the British and Americans feared that a mass exodus of Germans into
the western occupation zones would destabilize them, they took no action other than to declare
that "any transfers that take place should be effected in an orderly and humane manner" and to
request that the Poles, Czechoslovaks and Hungarians temporarily suspend additional
deportations.
In addition to settling matters related to Germany and Poland, the Potsdam negotiators approved
the formation of a Council of Foreign Ministers that would act on behalf of the United States,
Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China to draft peace treaties with Germany's former allies.
Conference participants also agreed to revise the 1936 Montreux Convention, which gave Turkey
sole control over the Turkish Straits. Furthermore, the United States, Great Britain, and China
released the "Potsdam Declaration," which threatened Japan with "prompt and utter destruction"
if it did not immediately surrender (the Soviet Union did not sign the declaration because it had
yet to declare war on Japan).
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. Historians have
often interpreted Truman's somewhat firm stance during negotiations to the U.S. negotiating
team's belief that U.S. nuclear capability would enhance its bargaining power. Stalin, however,
was already well-informed about the U.S. nuclear program thanks to the Soviet intelligence
network; so he also held firm in his positions. This situation made negotiations challenging. The
leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, who, despite their differences,
had remained allies throughout the war, never met again collectively to discuss cooperation in
postwar reconstruction.