|  | 
                  POTSDAM NOTEPotsdam, Germany (July 1945)
 Resources
                    >
                    Photo Gallery
 
                  Note written by President Harry S. Truman,
                    in which he brags that Stalin did not understand when Truman
                    hinted at Potsdam of a powerful new American
                    weapon. (Scroll down to see the note.) Due to the
                    success of
                    Soviet espionage, however, Truman was incorrect—in fact, Stalin knew
                    about the atomic bomb project three years before Truman
                    did. Truman wrote this note on the back of a photograph
                    of the
                    Potsdam Conference
                    taken on July 19, 1945. In the photograph Stalin talks
                    with Truman and Secretary of State James Byrnes (both have
                    their backs to the camera). 
                  
                 
                  The photograph of Potsdam is courtesy the Office of the
                    Chief Signal Officer, War Department, U.S. Army; this image,
                    and the photograph of Truman's writing on the back of it,
                    are courtesy the
                    National Archives.
                 
                    
                    Click on a link below to return to: 
                  Previous   Next 
                  
                      Home |
                      History Office
                      
                      |
                      OpenNet
                      |
                      DOE 
                      |
                      Privacy and Security NoticesAbout this Site |
                       How to Navigate this Site
                      | Note on Sources |
                       Site Map |
                      Contact Us
 |