Author Description

The Potsdam Conference marked-and still today marks-the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War. The discussions and negotiations held at Cecilienhof Palace from 17 July to 2 August 1945 staked out zones and spheres of influence and had a political impact on the post-war period that reached far beyond Europe. The volume shows how the Big Three-Churchill, Truman and Stalin-reached their resolutions. And it highlights what effects these resolutions had not only on the defeated Germans, but also on the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans who were still at war; on the displaced persons and Holocaust survivors who had no voice in Potsdam; on the Persians whose fate was decided without consulting their interests or wishes; and on the French who were among the victorious powers but had not been invited to the conference. The Potsdam Agreement subsequently signed by the three heads of state thus laid the foundations for the reorganisation of the world.