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| 1945 | |
| aftermath of world war ii | |
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The Potsdam Conference was a Conference held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam , Germany (near Berlin ), from July 17 to August 2 , 1945 . The participants were the Soviet Union , the United Kingdom , and the United States , the three largest and most powerful of the victorious Allies that defeated the Axis Powers in World War II . The Heads Of Government of these three nations— Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin , Prime Minister Clement Attlee , and President Harry S Truman , respectively. Stalin, Winston Churchill , and Truman—as well as Clement Attlee , who replaced Churchill after the Labour Party 's defeat of the Conservatives in the 1945 General Election —had gathered to decide how to administer the defeated Nazi Germany , which had agreed to Unconditional Surrender nine weeks earlier, on May 8 ( V-E Day ). The goals of the conference also included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and countering the effects of war. PARTICIPANTS
:He arrived at the conference a day late, citing "official business" that required his attention, but in fact may have suffered a minor heart attack.
:The results of the British election became known during the conference. As a result of the Labour Party victory over the Conservative Party the Premiership changed hands.
:Joseph Stalin suggested that Truman preside over the conference as the only Head Of State attending, a recommendation accepted by Churchill. PRIMARY RESULTS OF CONFERENCE Potsdam Agreement :''Main article the Potsdam Agreement At the end of the conference the Three Heads of Government came to the following conclusions:
Potsdam Declaration :''Main article the Potsdam Declaration In addition to the Potsdam Agreement, on July 26 the United States, the British Empire and the Republic Of China (the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan during the Conference) issued the ''Potsdam Declaration'' which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan . Other issues The western allies, and especially Churchill, were suspicious of the motives of Stalin, who had already installed Communist governments in the Central European countries under his influence; the Potsdam conference turned out to be the last conference among the allied leaders. During the conference, Truman mentioned to Stalin about an unspecified "powerful new weapon"; Stalin, who knew of its existence long before Truman ever knew through placing spies inside US borders, encouraged the usage of any weapon that would hasten the end of the war. Towards the end of the conference, Japan was given an ultimatum (threatening "prompt and utter destruction", without mentioning the new bomb), and hastily after Japan had rejected it, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9 . Truman made the decision to use atomic weapons to end the war while at the conference. THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE WAS PRECEDED BY
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