An original Second World War U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph of British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference on 17 July 1945, days before the British General Election result removed Churchill from the office of Prime Minister
Chicago: U.S. Army Signal Corps, 1945. Photograph. This original Second World War U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph captures Churchill, Stalin, and Truman at the Potsdam conference, just days before Churchill was replaced as wartime Prime Minister. The gelatin silver print on matte photo paper measures 10 x 8.25 inches (25.4 x 21 cm). Condition is very good plus. The paper shows no creases and the image is crisp and clean with only a hint of wear to the corners and trivial scratches visible only under raking light. The image's lower left features the circular emblem of “SIGNAL CORPS U.S. Army” embedded in the negative, as well as an image identification number (“209233-S”) on the lower right. Blue ink notation in the white upper margin identifies Stalin, Truman, and Churchill, as well as “Pavlov” (Stalin’s interpreter Vladimir Nikolayevich Pavlov) and “Leahy” (U.S. Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy). The verso features a four-line ink stamp reading “U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS PHOTOS | ANTHONY F. WIN | 2439 NORTH FRANCISCO AVE | CHICAGO 47, ILLINOIS”. The photograph is protected within a clear, archival sleeve.
Following Germany’s unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, the three allied leaders, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the new U.S. President Harry Truman, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, agreed to a summer meeting to negotiate postwar reconstruction in Europe. The conference was held in Potsdam, in occupied Germany, from 17 July to 2 August 1945. This image captures all three leaders, Truman in the center facing the camera flanked by Stalin and Churchill, who face one another.
Before the conference’s end Truman officially told Stalin about the existence of the Atomic Bomb. Stalin, who had spies inside the Manhattan Project and was fully informed, feigned surprise. The conference concluded with the issuing of the Potsdam Declaration which demanded that Japan surrender or face “prompt and utter destruction”. The conference - the last of the "Big Three" meetings during the Second World War - coincided with the British General Election of 1945. Having done so much to win the war, Churchill faced frustration of his postwar plans when his wartime government fell to Labour in the General Election held during the conference. On 26 July 1945, only days after this photo was taken, Churchill was replaced as Prime Minister by Clement Attlee, who represented Britain for the rest of the conference.
In view of the coming election, on 15 June Churchill had formally invited Attlee to the Conference: “His Majesty’s Government must, of course, bear the responsibility for all decisions. But my idea was that you should come as a friend and counsellor, and help us on the subjects on which we have been so long agreed…” This invitation turned out to be not only gracious, but practical. Churchill was gracious once again in his 26 July statement from 10 Downing Street: “It only remains for me to express to the British people, for whom I have acted in these perilous years, my profound gratitude for the unflinching, unswerving support which they have given me during my task, and of the many expressions of kindness which they have shown towards their servant.” Churchill would be relegated to Leader of the Opposition for more than six years until the October 1951 General Election, when Churchill’s Conservatives outpaced Labour, returning Churchill to 10 Downing Street for his second and final premiership. By the time Churchill returned to 10 Downing Street, the always uneasy and fraught relations with Stalin had devolved to the open contest of the Cold War. Stalin would die as Soviet Premier on 5 March 1953. Truman’s Presidency, bookended by Churchill’s two premierships, ended on 20 January 1953. Item #007880
Price: $400.00