page_title: Potsdam Conference
hierarchical_section_title: Potsdam Conference
context_page_description: The Potsdam Conference was held in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17th to August 2nd, 1945. The participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, represented respectively by Premier Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee, and President Harry S. Truman.
  They gathered to decide how to administer Germany, which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier on the 8th of May. The goals of the conference also included the establishment of the postwar order, peace treaty issues, and countering the effects of the war.
  Additionally, the Foreign Secretaries of the three Governments, James F. Byrnes, V. M. Molotov, and Anthony Eden, the Chief of Staff, with other advisers also participated in the Conference. From July 17th to July 25th, nine meetings were held. After that, the Conference was interrupted for two days, as the results of the British General Election were announced. On July 28, Clement Attlee defeated Winston Churchill in the British general election and replaced him as Britain’s representative through the Potsdam Conference, accompanied by the new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ernest Bevin.
context_section_description: The Potsdam Conference (German: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17th to August 2nd, 1945. (In some older documents, it is also referred to as the Berlin Conference of the Three Heads of Government of the USSR, the USA, and the UK.) The participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, represented respectively by Premier Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee, and President Harry S. Truman. 
  They gathered to decide how to administer Germany, which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier on the 8th of May (Victory in Europe Day). The goals of the conference also included the establishment of the postwar order, peace treaty issues, and countering the effects of the war.
  Additionally, the Foreign Secretaries of the three Governments, James F. Byrnes, V. M. Molotov,  and Anthony Eden, the Chief of Staff, with other advisers also participated in the Conference. From July 17th to July 25th, nine meetings were held. After that, the Conference was interrupted for two days, as the results of the British General Election were announced. On July 28, Clement Attlee defeated Winston Churchill in the British general election and replaced him as Britain’s representative through the Potsdam Conference, accompanied by the new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ernest Bevin. Four days of further discussion followed. During the Conference, there were steady meetings with the heads of the three governments along with the Foreign Secretaries, and also of the Foreign Secretaries alone. Committees that were appointed by the latter for precursory consideration of questions before the Conference also met daily. Important decisions and agreements were reached and views were exchanged on a plethora of other questions. However, consideration of these matters was continued by the Council of Foreign Ministers established by the Conference subsequently. The Potsdam Conference ended with a stronger relationship between the three Governments in view of their collaboration. This renewed confidence that together with the other United Nations, they would insure the creation of a just and enduring peace.
caption: The "Big Three" at the Potsdam Conference, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin.
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