Infantry Division Potsdam was part of the 35th and final Aufstellungswelle, along with the infantry divisions Schlageter, Jahn, Körner, Güstrow, Scharnhorst, von Hutten, and von Schill.

[1]: 30  The division was activated on 29 March 1945 on Truppenübungsplatz Döberitz training area in Wehrkreis III using personnel and students from military schools of various types of warfare.

The division was additionally fed with personnel and materiel from the third and later the fourth detachment of the People's Artillery Corps 412 to supply the artillery, as well as the Jagdpanzer Company 1135 to supply the Panzerjäger detachment.[2]: 199f.

The division's sole commander was a colonel-ranked reserve officer with the surname Lorenz.

On 12 April 1944, Infantry Division Potsdam joined 11th Army at Blankenburg in the Harz mountain range, already under attack by Allied forces.