took part in the Vistula–Oder offensive and the Battle of Berlin. He called on his troops to "remember our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our wives and children tortured to death by Germans ... We shall exact a brutal revenge for everything." More than 20 million Soviet soldiers and civilians died as a result of the war. In a reprise of atrocities committed by German soldiers against Soviet civilians in the eastward advance into Soviet territory during Operation Barbarossa, the westward march by Soviet forces was marked by brutality towards German civilians, which included looting, burning and systematic rapes. Zhukov was chosen to personally accept the German Instrument of Surrender in Berlin. Post-war service Soviet occupation zone After the German capitulation, Zhukov became the first commander of the Soviet occupation zone. On 10 June 1945, he returned to Moscow to prepare for the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945. On 24 June, Stalin appointed him commander in chief of the parade. After the ceremony, on the night of 24 June, Zhukov went to Berlin to resume his command. In May 1945, Zhukov signed three resolutions to improve living standards in the Soviet occupation zone: 11 May: resolution 063 – provision of food 12 May: resolution 064 – restoration of the public services sector 13 May: resolution 080 – provision of milk supplies for children Zhukov requested the Soviet government to transport urgently to Berlin 96,000 tons of grain, 60,000 tons of potatoes, 50,000 cattle, and thousands of tons of other foodstuffs, such as sugar and animal fat. He issued strict orders that his subordinates were to "hate Nazism but respect the German people", and to make all possible efforts to restore and maintain a stable living standard for the German population. Inter-allied diplomacy From 16 July to 2 August, Zhukov participated in the Potsdam Conference with the fellow representatives of the Allied governments. As one of the four commanders of the Allied occupational forces, Zhukov established good relationships with his new colleagues, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, and Marshal Jean de Lattre, and the four frequently exchanged views about such matters as the sentencing, trials, and judgments of war criminals, geopolitical relationships between the Allied states, and how to defeat Japan and rebuild Germany. Eisenhower developed a good relationship with Zhukov, and it proved beneficial in resolving differences in post-war occupational issues. Eisenhower's successor, General Lucius