Victory in Europe: End of WWII

Stalin, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen. Since the conference was scheduled to begin on the 16th of July, Churchill and Truman independently used their extra time to inspect Berlin. What they found, two months after the final battle for Europe’s fourth-largest city, was - to use words from Truman’s diary - an “absolute ruin.”

• With Secretary of State James Byrnes and Fleet Admiral William Leahy, Truman sees the remains of Hitler’s Chancellory.
  
  
• During the same tour, he and his entourage pass through Wilhelmstrasse (Wilhelm Street).

Saddened by what he saw, the President wrote (scroll down 25%):

Never did I see a more sorrowful sight, nor witness retribution to the nth degree. . .It is the Golden Rule in reverse - and it is not an uplifting sight. What a pity that the human animal is not able to put his moral thinking into practice! . . . I hope for some sort of peace - but I fear that machines are ahead of morals by some centuries and when morals catch up perhaps there’ll be no reason for any of it.

The Log of the President’s Trip to the Berlin Conference contains information about the people he saw during his tour of the devastated city:

But much more distressing than the ruined buildings was the long, never-ending procession of old men, women and children along the autobahn and the country roads. Wandering aimlessly and probably without hope, they clutter the roads carrying their small children and pushing or pulling their slender belongings. In this two hour drive we saw evidence of a great world tragedy - the beginning of the disintegration of a highly cultured and proud people. (President’s Log, 16 July 1945 entry.)

The following day, unannounced, Stalin showed up. In his diary, Truman noted: “...I looked up from the desk and there stood Stalin in the doorway.” The President liked “Mr. Russia” (as he called him privately). He thought they could work together. Later, he observed a few different things about the man (the English translation of the poster is “Beloved Stalin - The People’s Happiness”) whom Roosevelt called “Uncle Joe.”

Discussions about Germany’s future - and that of the surrounding countries - began in earnest. Truman believed he could trust the Soviet leader, but the man born Josif Vissarionovich Djugashvili didn’t change his name to Stalin - meaning “the Man of Steel” - without good reason. He liked living up to expectations.