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What was the result of the Potsdam Conference?
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In the Potsdam Conference, which took place after the surrender of Germany in WWII, the UK prime minister (first, Winston Churchill, and then his successor, Clement Attlee), US president Harry S. Truman, and USSR premier Joseph Stalin met in the city of Potsdam in order to determine the next steps for Germany, discuss the establishment of a peaceful and democratic order in Europe and the US, and evaluate the consequences of the war.
The Potsdam Conference was concerned with the reconstruction of war-torn Europe. This proved to be easier said than done, as there were deep ideological differences between Stalin and his Western war-time allies. Despite the general air of mutual suspicion and hostility at Potsdam, a number of common positions were nonetheless agreed upon. As well as the partition of Germany into allied-run sectors, the formal legal process of dealing with Nazi war criminals was put in place, which would form the basis of the Nuremberg Trials. In addition, Germany was to be comprehensively disarmed, and any industry capable of being used for military purposes dismantled.
However, many of the most contentious issues, such as the status of post-war Poland, remained unresolved at the Conference's conclusion. Instead, they were postponed, to be dealt with in due course by a Council of Foreign Ministers. This was a none too tacit acknowledgment that the...
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Allies were never going to agree with the Soviets on the thorny issue of Poland's political future.
The Potsdam Conference was the last meeting between the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union during World War II. Much of the discussion centered on how to deal with Germany after the war ended. An agreement was made to divide Germany into four zones, with the United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union each controlling a zone. Germany would be demilitarized and would not have industries capable of building another military. The influence of Nazi ideology would be removed from the schools and from the judicial system. War criminals would be punished, and the Nazi racial laws would end.
The leaders of the United States and Great Britain also issued a warning to Japan, telling Japan to surrender or face severe consequences. The Soviet Union was not involved in the conflict with Japan, so it wasn’t part of the Potsdam declaration.
Many issues were unresolved at Potsdam. No agreement was reached at this meeting regarding what would happen to Poland after the war ended. A group of foreign ministers agreed to work on this issue after the meeting. By the end of the meeting, President Truman believed he needed to take a firm stance against Stalin and the Soviet Union. Stalin also felt the United States and Great Britain were going to oppose the goals he had hoped to accomplish after the war ended, which ultimately led to the start of the Cold War.
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The Potsdam Conference had a few different results.
One result of the conference was that the Allies agreed on what would happen to Germany. They agreed to divide Germany up into four parts, with each of the US, the UK, France, and the USSR. They agreed that Germany would be demilitarized. They agreed that German society and government would have to be remade to make get rid of all the Nazi influences.
Another result of the conference was that the boundaries of Germany were changed. Territory was taken from eastern Germany and given to Poland to make up for Polish territory that the USSR had taken. This resulted in many ethnic Germans being removed from Poland and forced to go to Germany.
Perhaps the most important result of the Potsdam Conference was the Potsdam Declaration. In this declaration, the Allies declared that Japan would have to surrender unconditionally. This helped cause the situation in which Japan fought hard until the US dropped atomic bombs on them.
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What happened at the Potsdam Conference?
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting between the "Big Three," or the heads of the three biggest nations of the Allies: the UK, represented by the British prime minister at the time, Winston Churchill, and then his successor, Clement Attlee; the USA, represented by President Harry S. Truman; and the USSR, represented by Premier Joseph Stalin. Their foreign ministers were also in attendance. The conference lasted from July 17 to August 2, 1945, during which Churchill was replaced by Attlee.
The heads of government met for a few main reasons: to decide how Germany's socioeconomic and political structure would be handled, to discuss the effects of the War and determine how to proceed in postwar Europe, to determine peace treaties (a task given to the newly appointed Council of Foreign Ministers), and to demand the "unconditional surrender" of Japan. In this context, President Truman informed Churchill of the successful test of the atomic bomb, which the US was ready to use against Japan if the country refused to surrender.
In the Potsdam Agreement, it was decided that Germany would be demilitarized, decentralized, and democratized; the Nazi Party, the Gestapo, and several other Nazi institutions would be abolished, Nazi Party members would be fired, and some would be charged as war criminals; and peace and democracy would be established in Poland, Austria, Italy, Finland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary, in the hopes of having better foreign relations. In addition to creating the Potsdam Agreement, Truman, Churchill, and Chairman Chiang Kai-shek met on July 26 and created the Potsdam Declaration, in which they demanded the surrender of Japan.
The Potsdam Conference was the last meeting between the Allied leaders.