The Potsdam Conference was held in Potsdam; occupied Germany; from 17 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union; the United Kingdom and the United States. The three powers were represented by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin; Prime Ministers Winston Churchill; and; later; Clement Attlee; as well as President Harry S. Truman. Stalin; Churchill; and Truman - as well as Attlee; who participated alongside Churchill while awaiting the outcome of the 1945 general election; and then replaced Churchill as Prime Minister after the Labour Partys defeat of the Conservatives - gathered to decide how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany; which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier; on 8 May (VE Day). The goals of the conference also included the establishment of post-war order; peace treaty issues; and countering the effects of the war.