July 1945-world war II in Europe is over. On July 17th, the Conference
of the Big 3, Britains still Prime-Minister Winston Churchill, US-Americas
new elected President Harry S. Truman and Soviet Premier and Communist
Party Leader Joseph Stalin, the winners over Nazi-Germany, started
at Cecilienhof, the Tudor Castle of Kaiser William II, builded for
his oldest son, Crown Prince William.
Alongside the Big 3, the foreign ministers of Britain, USA and Soviet
Union, as well as their councils and ambassadors, were all seated
at the round table of at that time called „The Conference of Berlin“.
France, recognized as one of the victorious Allies, had been excluded
from the Conference because of France capitualtion before the foundation
of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Truman as the elected chairman of the committee opened the conference.
Soon important issues were discussed in small circles, often leaded
by the foreign ministers.
On the 25th of July, Churchill had to travel back to London for he
pronouncement of the results of the general elections. His defeat
by the Labour Party forced him to resign. His successor as Prime Minister,
Clement R. Attlee, than took over the seat at the round table 3 days
after.
Together with an unexperienced US President and a new elected Head
of the British delegation Stalin no longer felt himself bound to any
former agreements and pushed through his demands uncomprisingly. The
Soviet Premier already had installed communist governments in countries
of eastern Europe and Asia, which his troops had liberated.
Stalin renounced a fix sum of 20 billion dollar in reparations, for
that every
occupying power should satisfy its demands for compensation from within
ist own zone.
Also the conquered territories in the Baltic and in eastern Poland
were awarded to the Soviet Union. Finally the new German-Polish border
was to be moved westwards and the former eastern German area taken
under Polish administration.
In Korea, after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan and its
capitulation, the former japanese occupied peninsula was devided into
a northern zone under Soviet influence and a southern zone under US
American influence.
An internationally binding binding treaty was planned to be concluded
at a later conference-which never was held. Cold war had already started
and the Potsdam Conference left its marks on world history. |