Potsdam

The Potsdam Conference (17 July – 2 August 1945) was the last meeting of the ‘Big Three’ Allied leaders during the Second World War. At Yalta in February 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, American President Franklin D Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin had agreed to meet again following the defeat of Germany, principally to determine the borders of post-war Europe and deal with other outstanding problems.

Despite many disagreements, the British delegation, Stalin and Truman did manage to conclude some agreements at Potsdam. It was decided that Germany would be occupied by the Americans, British, French and Soviets. It would also be demilitarized and disarmed. German industry capable of being used for military purposes was to be dismantled and the defeated country’s educational and judicial systems to be purged of Nazi influence. Nazi racial laws and other legislation were to be repealed and war criminals tried and punished. German society was to be reshaped on democratic lines but the reconstitution of the country as a sovereign state was postponed indefinitely. In the meantime, ` Germany was to be run by an Allied Control Commission made up of the four occupying powers.

Summary:

The Potsdam Conference was the last meeting of the Allied leaders during WWII. The conference was held in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945. The leaders discussed the borders of post-war Europe and other outstanding problems. The conference resulted in agreements to occupy Germany, demilitarize and disarm it, dismantle German industry, purge Nazi influence from educational and judicial systems, and repeal Nazi racial laws. The conference postponed the reconstitution of Germany as a sovereign state and established an Allied Control Commission to govern the country.

Yalta

Objectives:

With an Allied victory looking likely, the aim of the Yalta Conference was to decide what to do with Germany once it had been defeated. In many ways, the Yalta Conference set the scene for the rest of the Cold War in Europe.

Outcomes:

1. Germany would be divided into four zones of occupation with the USSR, Britain, France and the USA each controlling a zone. France had been liberated from Nazi Germany and was included at the conference partly due to pressure from the French leader, General de Gaulle, but also because Britain wanted a European ally with whom it could share the cost of the post-war reconstruction of Germany.
2. The German capital, Berlin, was about 100 miles inside the Soviet zone and it, too, was to be divided into four zones, each controlled by one of the Allied powers. Berlin would become a continuing source of tension once the Cold War began in earnest.
3. All countries freed from Nazi control were to be guaranteed the right to hold free, democratic elections to choose their own governments. This commitment was released as an official joint statement, the Declaration on Liberated Europe. However, Stalin was offered a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe where communist ideals would dominate.
4. Again, Stalin committed to joining the war against Japan, once Germany had been defeated. This was important to the Americans who were suffering heavy losses in the Pacific, despite the fact they were gradually pushing back the Japanese.
5. All the leaders made a commitment to pursue, and put on trial, suspected Nazi war criminals.
6. The Allies agreed to the setting up of the United Nations, an organisation dedicated to international cooperation and the prevention of war.

summary:

The Yalta Conference was held in February 1945 to determine the post-war fate of Germany. The conference resulted in the division of Germany into four zones of occupation and the division of its capital, Berlin, into four zones as well. The Declaration on Liberated Europe guaranteed free and democratic elections for all countries freed from Nazi control, but Stalin was granted a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. The Allies committed to pursuing and trying Nazi war criminals and agreed to the setting up of the United Nations.