Potsdam Conference: Background, Objectives and Main Agreements

The Potsdam conference It was the meeting held between the leaders of the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union to discuss the content and procedures that would be followed in the peace agreements in Europe, after the end of the Second World War.

This meeting took place in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam, Germany, between July 17 and August 2, 1945. American President Harry S. Truman; the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill; and the Soviet premier, Josef Stalin.

The meeting has already begun, the newly elected Prime Minister of Great Britain, Clement Attlee, replaced Churchill. The three leaders did not try to sign peace treaties, because that task was delegated to a Council of Foreign Ministers, which was carried out for that purpose.

During the Potsdam conference it was agreed how the defeated Germany would be administered and the determination of reparations. In addition, the layout of the borders of Poland, the occupation of Austria, the role of the USSR in Eastern Europe and the prosecution of Japan were discussed.

The main objective of the Potsdam meeting was to achieve the implementation of the agreements reached a few months earlier at the Yalta conference.

Background

Unlike the cordial and relaxed atmosphere that prevailed in the two previous conferences (Tehran and Yalta), there was tension in Potsdam. There was no atmosphere of compromise between the Allied leaders and the negotiating conditions changed. There was very little optimism and kindness.

Each of the three powers was more concerned about their interests than for the common benefit. Friendship and goodwill, which characterized the previous meetings, were absent in Potsdam. The concerns of the three leaders were focused on the administration of Germany and the delimitation of Europe.

For example, for the Yalta conference held in February 1945, Germany had not yet been defeated. On the other hand, the English Prime Minister Winston Churchill suspected the Soviet premier Josef Stalin and his unwavering position.

Still the United States and Great Britain were still at war with Japan. The absence of a common enemy in Europe was an element that caused many difficulties to reach agreements in Potsdam.

It was necessary to reach a consensus on the territorial and political reconstruction of Europe during the postwar period.

Changes that hampered negotiations

Both the United States and Great Britain changed their leadership. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who attended the Yalta conference, died suddenly in April 1945. He was replaced by President Harry S. Truman and his Secretary of State, James Byrnes.

In the English case, just in the middle of the conference, the results of the general elections in Great Britain, held on July 5, were announced. Churchill lost and was replaced at the conference by the Labor prime minister, Clement Attlee, and by Ernest Bevin, his foreign secretary.

The leadership of Roosevelt and Churchill could not be surpassed by the new American and English delegates. In contrast, the two Soviet negotiators, Josef Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov, were the same ones who were at the Yalta conference.

goals

The main objective of the Potsdam conference was to achieve the implementation of the agreements reached at the Yalta meeting. These were that Germany will pay reparations for the war to the Soviet Union after the invasion of Hitler.

Although there were tensions regarding the boundaries of Poland, at the Yalta Stalin conference, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to divide Germany into four major occupation zones. Likewise, a commitment was made to allow free elections in the countries of Eastern Europe.

The Soviet Union was invited by the allies to join the United Nations. Once Germany was defeated, the USSR promised that it would join the war against Japan, because until then it had remained neutral.

Germany occupied

In Yalta it was decided that Germany should remain occupied by American, British, French and Soviet troops.

The entire country should be demilitarized and disarmed. The German industry would be dismantled to avoid its military use. Education and the judicial system would be purged of Nazi influence, along with racial laws.

Stalin was very determined to take huge advantage of the economic reparations of Germany, stipulated as a compensatory measure for the destruction caused by the Nazis in Soviet territory after the invasion of Hitler.

Churchill and Roosevelt accepted in Stalin the demands of Stalin, to obtain that the USSR was united to the war against Japan.

However, in Potsdam both Harry S. Truman and his Secretary of State, James Byrnes, wanted to diminish the Soviet appetite. They insisted that the repairs demanded by the occupation forces should be only in their own zone of occupation.

Main agreements

The most important agreements reached at the Potsdam conference were:

Germany

- It was agreed that Germany should be demilitarized, this included destroying part of the industrial infrastructure of war; they wanted to prevent the German war industry from recovering. In addition, it was stipulated that free elections should be held for the nation to democratize.

-Processing of Nazi war criminals and return of all territories captured and occupied by Germany.

- Military occupation of Germany by US, Soviet, French and English troops.

-Division of the German territory in four zones of occupation, like Berlin, the capital city; however, Stalin had other plans for the eastern part of Germany that occupied the Soviets.

Other nations

In addition to Germany, at the Potsdam conference issues from other countries were discussed:

- The problem of Indochina (present-day Vietnam), which served as an active theater of war, was addressed. The invading Japanese troops and the Indochinese forces fought for independence from French imperial control.

-Truman, Stalin and Churchill (and Attlee in the absence of Churchill) agreed that Indochina would also be divided into two occupation zones after the war. The south would be occupied by the western powers under British command, and the northern half would be occupied by China as an allied nation.

-Various territories claimed by Germany were assigned to Poland, which increased its territorial extension to the west. As Poland was liberated by the Soviets, Stalin imposed a communist government there.

Japan

The war against Japan was not over, so finally the issue of the Japanese Empire was addressed in Potsdam. It was feared that the war against that country would continue for a year, because he was willing to fight"every last man". The three powers then decided to issue an ultimatum to Japan of total destruction, if not surrender.

Truman mentioned at the meeting that the United States had a very powerful weapon to use against Japan in case it was necessary but did not disclose details; he was referring to the atomic bomb. However, Stalin was already aware of this thanks to his espionage network in the United States.

The creation of a Council of Foreign Ministers was approved to act on behalf of the governments of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and China. He had the mission of drafting the peace treaties to be signed with the old allies of Germany.

References

1. The Potsdam Conference. Retrieved on March 27, 2018 from history.state.gov
2. Potsdam Conference: Definition, Results & Agreements. study.com
3. The Potsdam Conference. Consulted by iwm.org.uk
4. Conference Potsdam. Consulted by encyclopedia.com
5. The Yalta and Potsdam conferences. Consulted by bbc.co.uk
6. Potsdam Conference - World War II. Consulted by britannica.com