17 lugl 1945 anni - Potsdam Conference

Descrizione:

Objectives:

The main objective of the Potsdam Conference was to finalise a post-war settlement and put into action all the things agreed at Yalta. While the meeting at Yalta had been reasonably friendly, the Potsdam Conference was fraught with disagreements, which were the result of some significant changes that had taken place since the Yalta Conference.

1. A new US President:

The US President, Franklin D Roosevelt, had died and been replaced by his Vice-President, Harry S Truman. While Roosevelt had been willing to work with Stalin, largely because he needed the USSR to join the war against Japan, Truman made little secret of his dislike for communism and for Stalin personally. Truman remarked that he was tired of babying the Soviets and that the only language Stalin understood was how many army divisions do you have?

2. Nuclear threat:

Image of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon conducted as part of the Manhattan Project.
The first detonation of a nuclear weapon conducted as part of the Manhattan Project.
Just before the Conference began, on 16 July 1945, the USA had successfully exploded an atomic bomb at their test site in the New Mexico desert. When first told about the success of the experiment, Truman is said to have remarked: if it works... I’ll sure have a hammer on those boys. At Potsdam, Truman chose to inform Stalin that the US possessed a new weapon of unusual destructive force. Although Stalin already knew details about the Manhattan Project through his spy networks, he was able to complain at this treatment and the fact that there were secrets between supposed Allies.

3. Expansion of communism:

Despite agreeing at Yalta that free elections would be held in Eastern Europe after the defeat of Nazi Germany, there was little evidence at Potsdam that Stalin intended to allow them. In fact the Red Army was in control of Poland and the USSR was in the process of setting up a communist government.

Outcome:

Little real progress was made at Potsdam beyond an agreement to put into action the commitments made at Yalta.

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