Back to in subject. So im glad to have a chance to talk about it. I wish it was in person again in kansas city. And i wish we were able to do this facetofaceba well do the best that we can. The key thing here that i want to return to is shown by this photograph here of churchill, truman and stalin smiling and shaking hands. And the point that i want really to reiterate here is these three men and most of the advisers around them did not believe what they were doing at potsdam was laying the seeds of a cold war. We know from the scholarship of the 1960s, 70s and beyond, a lot red potsdam backwards, as start of the cold war. But these three membn came to potsdam to celebrate the end of the war with germany, figure out what the post war world was going to look like and plan for the final victory over japan in the Pacific Theater. This photograph very much reflects the spirit of potsdam which ill talk about a little bit more in just a bit. Which was happy. Which was victorious. Which was j
It would soon be unleashed on the japanese cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. The Truman Library institute provided this video. We are at the 75th anniversary of the potsdam conference. Big numbers like a 75th anniversary or a 100th anniversary are always occasions for looking back and for drawing attention. I think theres another reason to look back at potsdam as we are in our own day and age reentering a world of Great Power Competition and reentering a world where geopolitics seems to have come back to the fore of international thinking and International Relations thinking. So its well worth us comiing back to this subject, so im especially glad to have a chance to talk to you about it. I wish it was in person, again, in kansas city. I wish that we were able to do this facetoface, but we will do the very best that we can. The key thing here that i want to return to throughout this presentation is shown by this photograph here of Winston Churchill, harry truman and josef stalin smilin
The key thing here that i want to return to throughout this presentation is shown by this photograph here of Winston Churchill, harry truman, and Joseph Stalin smiling and shaking hands. And the point that i really want to reiterate here is that these three men and most of the advisors around them did not believe that what they were doing at potsdam was laying the seeds of a cold war. We know from the scholarship of the 1960s, 1970s and beyond, a lot of historians read potsdam backwards. That is to say they read it as a part start of the cold war. But these three men and their staff came to potsdam not to begin a cold war amongst themselves, but celebrate, really, the end of the war with germany, figure out what the post world war was going to look like, and plan for the final victory over japan in the pacific theater. This photograph very much reflects the spirit of potsdam, which i will talk a little bit more about in a bit, which was happy, which was victorious, which was joyful, wh
I am glad to have a chance to talk to you about it. I was it was in person in kansas city. I wish that we were able to do this facetoface, but we will do the very best that we can. The key thing here that i want to return to throughout this presentation is shown by this photograph here of Winston Churchill, harry truman, and Joseph Stalin smiling and shaking hands. And the point that i really want to reiterate here is that these three men and most of the advisors around them did not believe that what they were doing at potsdam was laying the seeds of a cold war. We know from the scholarship of the 1960s, 1970s and beyond, a lot of historians read potsdam backwards. That is to say they read it as a start of the cold war. But these three men and their staff came to potsdam not to begin a cold war amongst themselves, but celebrate, really, the end of the war with germany, figure out what the post world war was going to look like, and plan for the final victory over japan in the pacific th
Conference and theyre always occasions for looking back and drawing attention and theres another reason to look back at potsdam as we are reentering a world of Great Power Competition and reentering a world where geopolitics seems to have come back to the fore of international thinking and International Relations thinking. So it is well worth us coming back to this subject. So im especially glad to have a chance to talk to you about it. I wish it was in person again in kansas city. I wish that we weraible to do this face to face, but we will do the very best that we can. The key thing here that i want to return to throughout this presentation is shown by this photograph here of Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and smiling and shaking hands and the point i want to reiterate here is that these three men and most of the advisers around them did not believe that what they were doing at potsdam was laying the seeds of a cold war. We know from the scholarship of the 1960s, 70s and beyond, a