![potsdam conference potsdam conference](http://mirrorspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/RediscoverWerfelWerfel.jpg)
The reconstitution of a national German Government was, however, postponed indefinitely, and the Allied Control Commission (which was comprised of four occupying powers, the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) would run the country during the interregnum.
#Potsdam conference trial#
Furthermore, Germany society was to be remade along democratic lines by repeal of all discriminatory laws from the Nazi era and by the arrest and trial of those Germans deemed to be "war criminals." The German educational and judicial systems were to be purged of any authoritarian influences, and democratic political parties would be encouraged to participate in the administration of Germany at the local and state level. According to the Protocol of the Conference, there was to be "a complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany" all aspects of German industry that could be utilized for military purposes were to be dismantled all German military and paramilitary forces were to be eliminated and the production of all military hardware in Germany was forbidden. For example, the negotiators confirmed the status of a demilitarized and disarmed Germany under four zones of Allied occupation.
![potsdam conference potsdam conference](https://media.iwm.org.uk/ciim5/36/781/large_000000.jpg)
Many experts agreed that the harsh reparations imposed by the Versailles Treaty had handicapped the German economy and fueled the rise of the Nazis.ĭespite numerous disagreements, the Allied leaders did manage to conclude some agreements at Potsdam. Truman and Byrnes encouraged this position because they wanted to avoid a repetition of the situation created by the the Treaty of Versailles, which had exacted high reparations payments from Germany following World War One. While Roosevelt had acceded to such demands, Truman and his Secretary of State, James Byrnes, were determined to mitigate the treatment of Germany by allowing the occupying nations to exact reparations only from their own zone of occupation. At Yalta, the Soviets had pressed for heavy postwar reparations from Germany, half of which would go to the Soviet Union.
#Potsdam conference how to#
The major issue at Potsdam was the question of how to handle Germany. Although the Allies remained committed to fighting a joint war in the Pacific, the lack of a common enemy in Europe led to difficulties reaching consensus concerning postwar reconstruction on the European continent. Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, and the Allied leaders agreed to meet over the summer at Potsdam to continue the discussions that had begun at Yalta. Roosevelt had agreed to meet following the surrender of Germany to determine the postwar borders in Europe. President Harry Truman-met in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to negotiate terms for the end of World War II.Īfter the Yalta Conference of February 1945, Stalin, Churchill, and U.S. Four days of further discussion followed.The Big Three-Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. By July 28, Attlee had defeated Churchill and replaced him as Britain’s representative, with Britain's new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ernest Bevin, replacing Anthony Eden. From July 17 to July 25, nine meetings were held, when the Conference was interrupted for two days, as the results of the British general election were announced. Byrnes, Vyacheslav Molotov, and Anthony Eden and Ernest Bevin, as well as other advisers, also participated in the Conference. The foreign ministers of the three governments-James F. The goals of the conference also included establishing the postwar order, solving issues on the peace treaty, and countering the effects of the war. They gathered to decide how to administer Germany, which had agreed to an unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier, on the 8 May. The participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which were represented respectively by Premier Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee, and President Harry S. The Potsdam Conference was held in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945.