The Potsdam Conference

This section explains the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. The Potsdam Conference, held in July 1945 just outside Berlin, marked the next meeting of the Big Three following the Yalta Conference. The primary aim of Potsdam was to finalise the post-war settlement and implement the agreements made at Yalta. However, unlike the relatively cooperative atmosphere at Yalta, the Potsdam Conference was fraught with disagreements, largely due to significant political changes and shifting dynamics between the Allies.

Key Changes Since Yalta

• A New US President: One of the most significant changes since Yalta was the death of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1945. Roosevelt had been a key figure in the Grand Alliance and had worked closely with Stalin to maintain cooperation between the USA and the Soviet Union. However, Roosevelt's successor, Harry S. Truman, had a much more confrontational approach towards the USSR. Truman was openly sceptical of communism and deeply distrusted Stalin, which caused tension between the two leaders. While Roosevelt had been committed to working with Stalin and bringing the Soviet Union into the new United Nations, Truman's attitude was much more focused on securing American interests and less inclined to placate the Soviet Union.

At the start of the conference, Truman reportedly said, "I can deal with Stalin," but this soon changed as Truman's impatience with Stalin grew, particularly as the news of the atomic bomb was made public.

• The Nuclear Threat: Another key change since Yalta was the successful detonation of the first atomic bomb by the USA on 16 July 1945 in the New Mexico desert, as part of the Manhattan Project. Truman, now aware of the power of this new weapon, saw it as a tool to strengthen the United States' bargaining position. Upon learning of the successful test, Truman reportedly remarked, "If it works ... I’ll sure have a hammer on those boys." At Potsdam, Truman informed Stalin that the USA possessed "a new weapon of unusual destructive force," but did not give full details. This revelation was a clear demonstration of American military superiority, and it marked the beginning of an arms race between the two superpowers.
• Stalin’s Expansion of Communism: At Yalta, the Allies had agreed that countries liberated from Nazi occupation would be allowed to hold free elections and choose their own governments. However, by the time of Potsdam, there was little evidence that Stalin intended to honour this promise. In Poland, for instance, the Soviet-controlled Red Army had already begun installing a communist government, and Stalin showed little willingness to allow democratic elections in other Eastern European countries. This failure to hold free elections became one of the primary points of contention between the Allies at Potsdam.

The Outcomes of the Potsdam Conference

Despite the tensions and disagreements, some key decisions were made at Potsdam:

1. Division of Germany: It was agreed that Germany would remain divided into four zones of occupation – one for the USA, the UK, the USSR, and France. The German capital, Berlin, which lay deep within the Soviet zone, was also divided into four sectors. While this had been agreed upon at Yalta, the specific boundaries between the zones were still debated and remained a source of friction.
2. Reparations: The issue of reparations was another major point of contention at Potsdam. The USSR had been allowed to take reparations from Germany at Yalta, and Stalin was keen to extract as much as possible to help rebuild the Soviet economy, which had been devastated during the war. At Potsdam, it was agreed that the Soviets could take reparations from their own zone and also 10% of reparations from the western zones. However, this did not satisfy Stalin, and tensions arose between the Western Allies, who were worried that the Soviets were trying to impose excessive reparations, potentially repeating the mistakes of the Treaty of Versailles after World War One.
3. Eastern Europe and Free Elections: There were strong disagreements over Stalin’s actions in Eastern Europe. While the Western Allies had hoped that Stalin would allow free elections in the countries of Eastern Europe, such as Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, the reality on the ground was very different. Stalin had already established communist governments in many of these countries, and his control over the region was tightening. This was in direct contradiction to the earlier promises made at Yalta.
4. The United Nations: Another outcome of the Potsdam Conference was continued support for the establishment of the United Nations, an international organisation intended to maintain peace and security after the war. However, tensions between the superpowers, particularly over the question of the USSR's control of Eastern Europe, would later undermine the effectiveness of the UN in resolving international conflicts during the Cold War.

Revision Recap: Comparing the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

You can use the acronym PEER (People, Elections, Europe, Reparations) to help remember the main outcomes of the Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam Conferences. Here’s a comparison of the key points of Yalta and Potsdam:

Revision Tips

• List the Big Three at Potsdam and their main priorities:

Truman (USA): Focused on securing American interests and spreading democracy, while also trying to limit Soviet expansion and utilise the atomic bomb as leverage.

Stalin (USSR): Aimed to consolidate Soviet control over Eastern Europe and ensure security for the USSR, while pushing for reparations and maintaining Soviet influence.

Atlee (UK): Took over from Churchill midway through the conference, and while his priorities aligned with those of Roosevelt and Churchill in many ways, he had to deal with a weakening Britain in the post-war era.

• Explain how the Big Three needed each other to fulfil their priorities:

Truman needed Stalin's cooperation to end the war in the Pacific, while Stalin relied on American economic support and military strength. Atlee, as Churchill's successor, aimed to maintain British influence, which depended on the cooperation of the superpowers.

• Explain how the priorities of the Big Three might have been difficult to fulfil at the same time:

The ideological differences between Truman and Stalin made it hard to reach agreements on key issues like reparations and the future of Eastern Europe. Truman’s distrust of communism clashed with Stalin’s expansionist policies, and this created a clear rift that would define the Cold War.

• Consider the differences between Yalta and Potsdam:

The leadership change from Roosevelt to Truman marked a shift in US policy towards the USSR, making cooperation more difficult at Potsdam than at Yalta. Additionally, while at Yalta there was a sense of mutual trust, by Potsdam, the realities of post-war power dynamics and competing interests were much clearer.

The Potsdam Conference reflected the growing tensions between the Allies, setting the stage for the Cold War, as the superpowers began to realise that their differing ideologies and interests would be difficult to reconcile.