1945 Army Information Branch Newsmap Map or Taiwan / Formosa

This is a 1945 Army Information Branch Newsmap map of Taiwan / Formosa. The focus of the map is the Potsdam Conference - which is highlighted on the verso. It was during this conference that Taiwan was 'officially' returned to China following World War II (1939 - 1945) - in an arguable rebuke of the 1941 Atlantic Charter, which guaranteed Taiwan's independence.

A Closer Look

Created by the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS - the wartime forerunner of the CIA), the map details Taiwan and identifies cities and towns across the island by the Japanese names. Airfields, roads, and railroads throughout are illustrated, along with Taiwan's dramatic topography. An inset map in the lower right situates Taiwan in a regional context, with distances to Japan, the Philippines, Korea, and numerous locations in China, including Hong Kong. Red text informs on recent history, from the Japanese annexation after the Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895) to the end of World War II in 1945.

Verso Content - The Potsdam Conference

The verso summarizes the events of the Potsdam Conference and the conclusions reached by the Allies. A photograph of the negotiating table appears at top-center, and Truman, Churchill, and Stalin are identifiable. Portraits of the members of the recently created Council of Foreign Ministers appear as well. A map of the Eastern Hemisphere fills the sheet to the left and right of the central text, which lists all the achievements of the conference. In Japan, the number 1 marks Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped by the U.S. The numbers 1 through 5 on the map correspond with a short text headed with 'War News 7 Aug.'

Potsdam Conference

Held in Potsdam, Germany (in the Soviet zone of occupation) from July 17 - August 2, 1945, the conference brought together Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, and British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Atlee (Churchill lost the British general election during the conference). The Allies agreed that the four occupation zones into which Germany had been divided after its unconditional surrender would be maintained, that Germany's eastern border would be moved to the Oder-Neisse line, that a Soviet-supported group was the legitimate government of Poland, that Vietnam would be divided at the 16th Parallel, and as here, that Taiwan would be returned to China, along with other pressing issues.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by the Army Information Branch in August 1945. We note eight examples cataloged in OCLC: Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, the University of Michigan, the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, South Illinois University at Edwardsville, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the Denver Public Library.