In 1945, Silesia was captured by the Soviet Red Army. By then a large portion of the German population had fled or were evacuated from Silesia fearing the Soviets, but contrary to Soviet claims, millions of German Silesians remained in their home. A month before the Potsdam Conference, expulsions of Germans in western Silesia began with the aim to create a zone east of the Oder-Neisse line to convince the Western Allies that no Germans remained farther east. Under the terms of the agreements at the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Agreement, both in 1945, German Silesia east of the rivers Oder and Lusatian Neisse was transferred to Poland (see Oder-Neisse line), pending a final peace conference with Germany. Since a peace conference never took place, the bulk of Silesia was effectively ceded by Germany. Most of the remaining German population was expelled.