When Harry Met Winston.... and Joe

I love Harry Truman.* I have visited the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri. I've seen the balcony he commissioned to be built onto the White House in D.C. I read David McCullough's biography of the man in full. Even stranger, for two consecutive years I have celebrated President Truman's birthday on May 8. Last year, a fellow Trumanphile and I drank bourbon and watched a four-hour long pbs documentary on Truman's life and times. This year, I drank saki bombs with Catherine and Duncan, and we sang karoake.


You can only imagine how excited I was to spend two days and two nights in Potsdam. The site of the Potsdam Conference between Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in 1945. This was just another example of Truman's superb statesmanship and diplomatic prowess. While staying at what has now been christened "the Truman house" (Note: there is neither a Churchill nor a Stalin house) Truman brokered an agreement between the allied powers that effectively settled the terms of WWII's end. (He also decided during the conference to use the atomic bomb against Japan, in a less-rosy and more controversial manner than the fawning nature of this post will allow.)

The negotiations took place at Cecilienhof.

In addition to the Tru-mania on display, Potsdam offered gorgeous castles, beautiful bike rides, and the chance for me to catch up with an awesome Augie alum. The burbs is where it's at ... in Berlin.





*Note: As a beneficiary of funding from the Truman Foundation for graduate school, I could be accused of a somewhat vested interest in my love for Harry. However, financial incentive is far too crass a motive to ascribe to the admiration I have for this great man. If you too share an interest in the remarkable life of Harry Truman, let me know. I can hook you up with a sweet Truman newsletter published by my friend Corey.