Meeting At Potsdam

Meeting At Potsdam pg 71

“Very few turning points of history can be specified precisely. When Rome began to decline, when it can be said to have fallen, when the Renaissance began or even exactly what the Renaissance was-all these questions become murky as they shade off into questions of preconditions and antecedents and are examined from different points of view. But, whether Stalin knew exactly what Truman was talking about that evening or whether he only came to realize it later on, here is one turning point in history that can be dated with extraordinary precision: the twentieth century’s nuclear arms race began at the Cecilienhof Palace at 7:30 p.m., on July 24, 1945.” Meeting At Potsdam by Charles L. Mee Jr. pg 179

“At eleven o’clock in the morning on August 9, Prime Minister Suzuki addressed the Japanese Cabinet. “Under the present circumstances,” he said, “I have concluded that our only alternative is to accept the Potsdam Proclamation and terminate the war. I would like to hear your opinions on this.” One minute later, America’s second atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki. Even then the Japanese militarists remained intent upon redeeming their professional reputations with the blood of their countrymen. The militarists in the Cabinet blocked all efforts to bring about surrender, until at three in the morning on August 10, the Emperor of Japan personally ordered an end to the war.” Meeting at Potsdam by Charles L. Mee Jr., page 234