All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Potsdam Conference Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
Potsdam Conference facts for kids
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States in Potsdam, Germany from July 17 to August 2, 1945. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Winston Churchill), the President of the United States (Harry S. Truman) and the leader of the USSR (Joseph Stalin) met to talk about Germany on July 1945 and were going to discuss what should happen to it now that the Second World War was over.
The first conference was held at Yalta, but the allies did not agree on anything very important. However, a lot had happened since the Yalta Conference. Firstly, the USA had a new president named Harry Truman. He was much tougher on Communism than the previous president, Roosevelt, had been. This was a problem for Stalin. Also, Churchill had been voted out and was replaced by Clement Attlee. Stalin saw himself as far more experienced than these new leaders. Stalin also caused trouble, as some of what the allies agreed on at Yalta was that Poland should have a neutral government. Stalin had killed the neutral government leaders and replaced them with ones that would listen to him. This meant that there were a lot of problems at Potsdam.
The agreements
The allies talked about and agreed that:
- Germany would be split up into four different pieces (occupation zones), one occupied by France, one by the USSR, one by the USA and one by Britain
- Nazi criminals would be judged and sentenced.,
The disagreements
The allies talked about but did not agree on:
- How to separate Germany
- How much money Germany should pay to the winners of the war
- How Stalin was treating Poland
- How much land Poland should have
Other pages
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Images for kids
-
Cecilienhof, site of the Potsdam Conference, in 2014.
-
A conference session including Clement Attlee, Ernest Bevin, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, Joseph Stalin, William D. Leahy, Joseph E. Davies, James F. Byrnes, and Harry S. Truman.
-
Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman meeting at the Potsdam Conference on 18 July 1945. From left to right, first row: Premier Joseph Stalin; President Harry S. Truman, Soviet Ambassador to the United States Andrei Gromyko, Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. Second row: Brigadier General Harry H. Vaughan, Truman's confidant and military aide; Russian interpreter Charles Bohlen, Truman naval aide James K. Vardaman, Jr., and (partially obscured) Charles Griffith Ross.
-
Clement Attlee, Harry Truman and Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, circa 28 July – 1 August 1945
-
Demographics map used for the border discussions at the conference
-
The Oder–Neisse line (click to enlarge)
-
At the beginning: Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, and Joseph Stalin
-
The Foreign Ministers: Vyacheslav Molotov, James F. Byrnes, and Anthony Eden, July 1945
-
Sitting (from left): Clement Attlee, Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, and behind: Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy, Ernest Bevin, James F. Byrnes, and Vyacheslav Molotov.