After the Second World War, Germany was divided into four zones. “These occupation zones had been drawn during the war by the European Advisory Commission” (Maddox 1320) the four zones were; the American Zone of Occupation, the British Zone, French Zone and the Soviet Zone. Frankfurt was under the control of the Americans, Bad Oeynhausen under the control of the British, Baden-Baden under French control and East Berlin under Soviet control. With Germany being divided in four, issues began to develop between the different zones on how to rule and rebuild Germany, although “the American member held the goofy belief that he could gain Soviet trust and cooperation through personal friendliness” (Maddox 1321). In 1948 one of the first major international
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The conference was held in a town called Potsdam, just a few miles outside of Berlin, and was held from July 17, 1945 until August 2, 1945. It was third in a row of international summits; the preceding summits were Tehran in November 1943 and Yalta in February 1945. The objective of the Potsdam conference was the “co-ordination of the policies of Allied occupation in Germany and the other liberated countries, along with establishment of the basic outline of material reconstruction and the reorganization of the postwar international system” (Moradiellos 73). The agenda proposals were a clear demonstration of the differences between Stalin and his Western allies, which would later become an issue in the decision making process of the conference. The Americans proposed a brief list: “the creation of a Council of Foreign Ministers in charge of preparing the matters to be discussed in full session and of drawing up the peace treaties with the defeated countries; the coordination of the occupation of Germany; the definition of a policy towards Italy, the examination of the application of the Yalta declaration on liberated Europe” (Moradiellos 81). The problem with this list was that the agenda and the proposals were based on the problems that were created by the political and military hegemony of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. The Soviets proposed the following issues: “the discussion on Germany but specified as vital questions the issues of war reparations and the division of the German navy […] the future of the Italian colonies in Africa and the Mediterranean, and the situation of the French mandates in Lebanon and Syria […] finally, it included three specific items: the regime in Spain, (the statute of) Tangier and Poland” (Moradiellos 82). The Soviets tried to open up a debate regarding its sphere of influence and
The conference was held in a town called Potsdam, just a few miles outside of Berlin, and was held from July 17, 1945 until August 2, 1945. It was third in a row of international summits; the preceding summits were Tehran in November 1943 and Yalta in February 1945. The objective of the Potsdam conference was the “co-ordination of the policies of Allied occupation in Germany and the other liberated countries, along with establishment of the basic outline of material reconstruction and the reorganization of the postwar international system” (Moradiellos 73). The agenda proposals were a clear demonstration of the differences between Stalin and his Western allies, which would later become an issue in the decision making process of the conference. The Americans proposed a brief list: “the creation of a Council of Foreign Ministers in charge of preparing the matters to be discussed in full session and of drawing up the peace treaties with the defeated countries; the coordination of the occupation of Germany; the definition of a policy towards Italy, the examination of the application of the Yalta declaration on liberated Europe” (Moradiellos 81). The problem with this list was that the agenda and the proposals were based on the problems that were created by the political and military hegemony of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. The Soviets proposed the following issues: “the discussion on Germany but specified as vital questions the issues of war reparations and the division of the German navy […] the future of the Italian colonies in Africa and the Mediterranean, and the situation of the French mandates in Lebanon and Syria […] finally, it included three specific items: the regime in Spain, (the statute of) Tangier and Poland” (Moradiellos 82). The Soviets tried to open up a debate regarding its sphere of influence and