Conflict over Germany Flashcards
Which countries occupied ‘zones’ of Germany? What was the council running this called?
- France, USSR, UK and USA
- the Allied Control Council
Details about the British zone -
- occupied the Ruhr and a major port (Hamburg)
- 22.5 mil. people
- It was very expensive to run and feed (meant more dependence on US money); economic problems worsened by influx of refugees from Poland and Czechoslovakia (attempting to flee treatment from the USSR)
- fears of Russian and French attempts to influence the Ruhr - e.g. for reparations
- also feared that the Soviets would end up dominating/collaborating with Germany
Details about the American zone -
- allowed free elections
LUCIUS CLAY - key figure who influence American policy towards Germany so their economy was rebuilt rather than deconstructed - ran OMGUS (Office of Military Government)
1947 their zones were merged
Details about the Soviet zone -
- initially had 4 parties but the Communist party was not as successful as it wanted, so it merged two
–> increased fears of lack of political independence
formed policies like - land reform
- nationalisation of large industrial production
- compulsory teaching of Russian in schools
Began becoming increasingly obvious that the model of people’s democracies was being used in the rest of Eastern Europe
What was the main prompting for Bizonia?
- ECONOMIC RECOVERY
- influx of Czech and Polish refugees from Soviet treatment
- therefore France, Britain and the US wanted to stop sending reparations - by May 1946 the US had stopped giving them reparations
- especially as the USSR was dismantling factories and sending them back to the USSR
Bizonia was created on the 1st of January 1947
SOVIET RESPONSE TO BIZONIA
They rejected the idea of Bizonia and wanted Germany to be united under one economic administration, but the West did not want Soviet influence over the future of the German economy.
Timeline of events:
- Four powers occupation
- Introduction of Bizonia (January 1st 1947)
- Deustchemark introduced (20 June 1948)
- Berlin Blockade (20 June 1948 - 12 May 1949)
- Constitution for West Germany (23 May 1949)
- Trizonia forms (8th April 1949)
What happened during the Berlin Blockade?
REASON:
- response to Bizonia and other economic programs (e.g. Marshall Aid)
WHAT HAPPENED:
Access to Berlin for the Allies was by way of road, rail and canal, and via three specific air corridors. The Soviets cut all access by land.
1. Berlin could now only be accessed by air, resulting in a restriction on the freedom to travel outside Berlin for all Germans.
2. A shortage of food - West Berlin only had enough food for 36 days.
3. A lack of basic goods like fuel and medicines.
The Western Allies were not prepared to risk armed conflict with the Soviets to open the way to West Berlin. They decided that their sectors of Berlin would be supplied by air. This became known as the Berlin Airlift and it lasted for eleven months until the Blockade was lifted in May 1949. At the height of the Berlin Airlift, a plane landed at Berlin’s Templehof Airport every minute. Keeping West Berlin supplied in this way cost the USA $350 million and Britain £17 million.
Aftermath of the Berlin Blockade
The asymmetry of Germany and Berlin would remain a source of tension in Europe for the duration of the Cold War.
In April 1949 the USA, Britain and France officially announced the formation of the German Federal Republic (West Germany).
Elections in the Germany Federal Republic in August 1949 resulted in victory for the anti-communist politician, Konrad Adenauer, and the Christian Democratic Union.
The formation of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) – an alliance of countries around the North Atlantic for their mutual defence.
Stalin responded to the formation of NATO with the Warsaw Pact – similarly an alliance of the communist countries of Eastern Europe for their mutual defence.
Finally, on 29 August 1949, the USSR exploded its first
atomic bomb. The USA no longer had a
monopoly on nuclear weapons.