The Potsdam Declaration was a statement issued by the United States, the United Kingdom and China, calling on Japan to surrender unconditionally or face destruction. It set out the terms of the surrender, which included the removal of the militarist leaders, the occupation of Japan, the limitation of Japanese sovereignty to the home islands and the disarmament of its forces, while also promising that Japan would not be enslaved or destroyed as a nation. The Japanese government responded with a word that was understood by the Allies as rejection. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet entry into the war followed, and Japan accepted the terms in August, with the understanding that the position of the emperor would be maintained.
Before and after
- 26 June 1945Charter of the United Nations
- 16 July 1945Trinity
- from 17 July 1945 to 2 August 1945Potsdam Conference
- from 20 July 1945 to 1 January 1959Operation Paperclip
- 26 July 1945Potsdam Declaration
- 26 July 1945Birth of Helen Mirren
- 30 July 1945Birth of Patrick Modiano
- 2 August 1945Potsdam Agreement
- 6 August 1945Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 12 March 1947 to 25 December 1991Cold War
- 15 August 1947India and Pakistan become independent
- 10 December 1948Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- from 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975Vietnam War
- 26 December 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union
- 24 February 2022Full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.