By Chad King

I am now in the process of scanning the navy portion of the Map Room papers. A large portion of this collection contains the minutes and proceedings of the Potsdam Conference. Early on as a student, I was fully aware of the importance and significance of the conference and the world it created after the war, but examining these first-hand documents shed more light on the major historical event. In the meeting minutes, one can see the tensions beginning to surface between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over the fate of the occupied territories. It was evident after reading these documents that the Cold War was beginning to crystallize. Just by spending an afternoon working with the documents and reading them, I now have a clearer understanding of the issues dealt with at the conference and I believe researchers will feel the same way.