Potsdam Conference

• Key Changes Since Yalta

  1.The ‘big three’ were now Truman, Attlee and Stalin. Truman was much more anti-communist and suspicious of Stalin than Roosevelt had been.

  2.Germany had surrendered on May 1945.

  3.The USA tested the atomic bomb the day after the conference began.

  4.The Red Army had ‘liberated’ many Eastern Europe countries from the Nazis, but had not left again.
• Agreements

  1.Although Germany was divided into four zones, they agreed to run the economy as a whole (this never really happened, with each side getting separate currencies later).

  2.Berlin would also be divided into four zones.

  3.There was disagreement about whether to charge reparations, so each country was allowed to take reparations from its own zone.

  4.The USSR was allowed to take a quarter of the industrial equipment from other zones.
• Disagreements

  1.Truman objected to the Red Army occupying Eastern Europe; this led to ongoing disagreement over the governments in these countries.

  2.Truman objected to the Polish borders that had already been agreed.
• The Potsdam Conference was in August 1945
• Who were the 'big three' leaders after Yalta?

  Truman, Attlee, and Stalin
• How did Truman's attitude towards Stalin differ from Roosevelt's?

  Truman was more anti-communist and suspicious
• When did Germany surrender in World War II?

  May 1945
• What significant event occurred the day after the conference began?

  The USA tested the atomic bomb
• What was the status of Eastern European countries after the Red Army's actions?

  They were 'liberated' but not left
• What agreements were made regarding Germany's division after Yalta?

  • Germany divided into four zones
  • Economy to be run as a whole (not realized)
  • Berlin also divided into four zones
• What was the disagreement regarding reparations after Yalta?

  Each country could take reparations from its zone
• How much industrial equipment was the USSR allowed to take from other zones?

  A quarter of the industrial equipment
• What was Truman's objection regarding the Red Army?

  He objected to their occupation of Eastern Europe
• What specific Polish borders did Truman object to?

  The borders that had already been agreed