Potsdam Conference
July- August 1945
The Potsdam Conference was held from July 7-August 2 1945 in
Potsdam, Germany. The “Big Three” leaders, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and United States President Harry Truman met
to discuss and negotiate terms for the end of WWII. This conference was only a
continuation of the Yalta Conference. The topics of discussion regarded how to
handle Germany after WWII. It was difficult for the leaders to reach a consensus
since there was no sense of unity among the leaders in Europe. By the end the
leaders concluded to demilitarize and disarm Germany under 4 allied occupied
zones, to reform Germany’s government under more democratic guidelines in order
to rid of Nazi views and finally to arrest those who were responsible for any
war crime. This conference was a major turning point for the world as we were
coming out of a major war and starting to make vital changes.