Potsdam Declaration

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The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender was a statement issued on July 26, 1945 by President of the United States Harry S. Truman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill and President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference. This ultimatum stated that if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction".

Japan's initial rejection of the ultimatum led directly to Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9. Whether the ultimatum was intended to be acceptable without recourse to use nuclear weapons has been subject to considerable debate.

The declaration was one of Churchill's final official acts as Prime Minister before leaving office the following day in favour of Clement Atlee.

[edit] External links

• Potsdam Declaration

[edit] See also

• Cairo Declaration (1943)
• Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945)
• Surrender of Japan (1945)
• Operation August Storm (The Soviet campaign in the Far East during August 1945)
• Japanese Instrument of Surrender (1945)
• General Order No. 1 (1945)
• Mokusatsu