Consequences of the Potsdam Conference

Question 1

1st consequence

Answer 1

The first effect of the Potsdam Conference was that superpower relations worsened due to changes in leaders in both the USA and Britain

• Roosevelt died and so Truman was the new president of the USA. He was much more suspicious of Stalin as he believed the Soviets were keen to spread communism worldwide and bring down the capitalist democracy
• Truman was determined to take a ‘get tough’ approach with Stalin and also deliberately delayed the date of the conference until the atomic bomb was ready to give him an edge in discussions
• Attlee, newly elected prime minister, was most concerned to return to Britain

-> With the new leaders who were not used to diplomatic decisions, it was much harder to get their way with Stalin, worsening their relations

Question 2

2nd consequence

Answer 2

The second effect was that the Allies found some common ground and important decisions were made at Potsdam

• Germany would be divided into 4 zones, administrated by the Soviet Union, the USA, France, and Britain but the German economy would run as a whole
• the German capital, Berlin, would also be divided into 4 zones, each controlled by different countries
• It was agreed that each administrating country should take reparations from its zone. As the Soviet Union controlled the poorest zone, it was allowed to take a quarter of the industrial equipment from the other zones

-> The allies agreed on some decisions and further shaped post-war Europe