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The '''Potsdam Declaration''' was the proclamation drafted by the Allied forces, which defined the terms of the Japanese surrender at the end of [[World War 2]]. It was issued at Potsdam on 26 July 1945.

The '''Potsdam Declaration''' was the proclamation drafted by the Allied forces, which defined the terms of the Japanese surrender at the end of [[World War 2]]. It was issued at Potsdam on 26 July 1945.

The [[Potsdam Conference]] brought together the British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], US President [[Harry S Truman]], and Soviet leader [[Josef Stalin]]. However, during the conference, Churchill's Conservative Party lost the British general election and he was replaced by [[Clement Atlee]], the leader of the Labour Party. After the conference, President Truman and Prime Minister Atlee issued the following proclamation, which outlined the terms under which they would halt their war against [[Japan]].<ref>http://www.international.ucla.edu/eas/documents/potsdam.htm</ref>

The [[Potsdam Conference]] brought together the British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], US President [[Harry S Truman]], and Soviet leader [[Josef Stalin]]. However, during the conference, Churchill's [[Tory|Conservative Party]] lost the British general election and he was replaced by [[Clement Atlee]], the leader of the [[UK Labour Party]]. After the conference, President Truman and Prime Minister Atlee issued the following proclamation, which outlined the terms under which they would halt their [[World_War_II#Far_East_and_Pacific|war against Japan]].<ref>http://www.international.ucla.edu/eas/documents/potsdam.htm</ref>

==The Declaration==

==The Declaration==

The full text of the declaration reads as follows:

The full text of the declaration reads as follows:

# We - the President of the United States, the President of the National Government of the Republic of China, and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, representing the hundreds of millions of our countrymen, have conferred and agree that Japan shall be given an opportunity to end this war.

# We - the President of the United States, the President of the National Government of the [[Republic of China]], and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, representing the hundreds of millions of our countrymen, have conferred and agree that Japan shall be given an opportunity to end this war.

# The prodigious land, sea and air forces of the United States, the British Empire and of China, many times reinforced by their armies and air fleets from the west, are poised to strike the final blows upon Japan. This military power is sustained and inspired by the determination of all the Allied Nations to prosecute the war against Japan until she ceases to resist.

# The prodigious land, sea and air forces of the United States, the British Empire and of China, many times reinforced by their armies and air fleets from the west, are poised to strike the final blows upon Japan. This military power is sustained and inspired by the determination of all the Allied Nations to prosecute the war against Japan until she ceases to resist.

# The result of the futile and senseless German resistance to the might of the aroused free peoples of the world stands forth in awful clarity as an example to the people of Japan. The might that now converges on Japan is immeasurably greater than that which, when applied to the resisting Nazis, necessarily laid waste to the lands, the industry and the method of life of the whole German people. The full application of our military power, backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.

# The result of the futile and senseless German resistance to the might of the aroused free peoples of the world stands forth in awful clarity as an example to the people of Japan. The might that now converges on Japan is immeasurably greater than that which, when applied to the resisting Nazis, necessarily laid waste to the lands, the industry and the method of life of the whole German people. The full application of our military power, backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.