The Potsdam Conference German : Potsdamer Konferenz was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, , to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Peace Conference of They gathered to decide how to administer Germany, which had agreed to an unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier.
The goals of the conference also included establishing the postwar order, solving issues on the peace treaty, and countering the effects of the war. From July 17 to July 25, nine meetings were held, when the Conference was interrupted for two days, as the results of the British general election were announced. Four days of further discussion followed. During the conference, there were meetings of the three heads of government with their foreign secretaries, as well as meetings of only the foreign secretaries.
Committees that were appointed by the latter for precursory consideration of questions before the conference also met daily. During the Conference, Truman was secretly informed that the Trinity test of the first atomic bomb on July 16 had been successful.
He hinted to Stalin that the U. Though this was the first time the Soviets had been officially given information about the atomic bomb, Stalin was already aware of the bomb project, having learned about it through espionage long before Truman did. Key final decisions included the following: Germany would be divided into the four occupation zones among the three powers and France that had been agreed to earlier; Germany's eastern border was to be shifted west to the OderβNeisse line ; a Soviet-backed group was recognized as the legitimate government of Poland; and Vietnam was to be partitioned at the 16th parallel.
The Soviets also reaffirmed their Yalta promise to promptly launch an invasion of Japanese-held areas. Views were also exchanged on a plethora of other questions. However, consideration of those matters was postponed into the Council of Foreign Ministers , which the conference established. The conference ended with a stronger relationship among the three governments as a consequence of their collaboration, which renewed confidence that together with the other United Nations, they would ensure the creation of a just and enduring peace.
