The Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference (1945) was the last meeting of the top leaders of the anti-fascist coalition. It was the longest in time (from July 17 to August 2) and was significantly different in character from all the previous ones (in Tehran and Yalta). Instead of Roosevelt, Truman was present at this conference, and Churchill was accompanied by Attlee (leader of the Labor Party). Only the representation of the USSR was the same.

The Potsdam conference showed that by this time the relations between the countries of the Big Three had already been heated to an extreme degree and reached a peak. America and Britain accused the USSR of violating the Yalta agreements with respect to Poland and Romania; The USSR, in response, pointed out to England that it supported the national elements in Greece.

Meeting in the suburbs of Berlin leaders of the "Big Three" - Churchill, Truman and Stalin - lasted for 17 days. It was necessary to work out a policy on defeated Germany.

Conference solutions

The "Big Three" gathered to solve exclusively political problems. The tone of the talks became more pronounced than before. It was more difficult to reach an agreement, as there were differences in the positions of the countries. The main issue that the Potsdam conference was supposed to solve was the position of Germany. The project of its dismemberment was rejected, therefore it was required to work out new principles of policy in relation to this country, occupied at that time by Allied troops.

It was decided not to limit the military occupation of Germany to terms. But the problem was that American soldiers occupied territories that were supposed to retire to the Soviet Union. It was decided to withdraw US troops, in return, they had the opportunity to enter the sector of Berlin (together with England and France). Another moment that aggravated relations between the allies was the slowness of the British in the matter of disarming the German troops. By order of Churchill, who wanted to have the possibility of military pressure on the USSR, some of them remained in a state of alert.

Potsdam conference : results

In many respects, the decisions adopted in 1945, repeated the ideas of the Yalta Conference, but in a more detailed, detailed form.

As a result of the negotiations, the political and economic principles of the postwar system and relations with Germany were established. To control it, a supervisory board of four commanders of the occupation forces was established.

Documentally, the decisions of the meeting were documented by the Potsdam Declaration, which prescribes the condition of unconditional surrender of Japan. Stalin confirmed the commitment to start a war with Japan no later than three months after the Potsdam conference is over.

The eastern borders of Germany were moved to the west to the Oder-Neisse line. This reduced the country's territory by a quarter. To the east of this border were the lands of Silesia, East Prussia and part of Pomerania. Mostly these were agricultural areas (except for Upper Silesia, which was a major center of heavy industry in Germany).

The lands of East Prussia, together with Koenigsberg, were moved to the USSR (it was renamed Kaliningrad). Kaliningrad region of the RSFSR was created on its territory.

On the last day, all the fundamental decisions on post-war issues were signed. Not invited to a meeting, France on August 7, 1945 approved, albeit with some reservations, all these decisions.

Currently, the Cecilienhof Palace, in which the Potsdam Conference was held, houses a memorial museum dedicated to this event, as well as a modern hotel.