Conflict Over Germany

Question 1

When was the Moscow Conference?

Answer 1

March-April 1947

Question 2

When was the London Conference?

Answer 2

November-December 1947

Question 3

When was the London Conference of Western Powers?

Answer 3

February-June 1948

Question 4

When was NATO formed?

Answer 4

April 1949

Question 5

When is the GDR (German Democratic Republic) formed?
-East Germany (Communist)

Answer 5

October 1949

Question 6

When was the FDR (Federal Republic of Germany) formed?
-West Germany (Capitalist)

Answer 6

May 1949

Question 7

When was the SED formed?

Answer 7

February 1946

Question 8

What were some features of the British occupational zone?

Answer 8

-a population of 22.5 million (hard to feed which increased Britain’s dependency on the US
-possession of the Ruhr (this region in the British Zone was the industrial heart of Germany and it was, therefore, at the centre of Germany’s economic recovery)

Question 9

Who was Lucius Clay?

Answer 9

was the military governor of the US Zone from 1947, and Commander-inChief of US forces in Europe. He was very influential in shifting US policy towards Germany. He favoured the reconstruction of the German economy rather than its dismemberment. This influenced George Marshall and contributed significantly towards the division of Germany by 1949

Question 10

What 4 political parties were the USSR willing to accept in the Soviet zone?

Answer 10

• Communists (KPD)
• German Social Democrats (SPD)
• Liberals (LDPD)
• Christians Democrats (CDU)

Question 11

How did Germans in the Western zones perceive the Soviet zone?

Answer 11

as a place of tyranny and repression

Question 12

Why were the SPD and the KPD were forcibly merged to create the German Socialist Unity Party (SED)?

Answer 12

The Soviet intention was that the communist group (the KPD) would emerge as the dominant group, and this would form the nucleus of a whole-Germany communist movement. This apparent political independence did not achieve Soviet expectations so the SPD and the KPD were forcibly merged by the Soviet Military Administration of Germany (SMAD)

Question 13

What was Clay’s position by the spring of 1947?

Answer 13

Clay was less compliant. His position by then was ‘no’ to:
* the Soviet demand that the Ruhr should be placed under joint allied
control
* the continued social and economic deprivation of the German populations
in the US and British zones
* the Soviet desire to create a centralised Germany

Question 14

In the summer of 1945, what was Kennan clear that the American zone of Germany must develop?

Answer 14

George Kennan was clear that the USA must develop in its zone of Germany a degree of independence and economic security that ensured its safety from any potential threat from the Eastern Bloc communist states in Europe. Initially, the US administration was committed to making joint occupation work

Question 15

What was the French aim for Germany?

Answer 15

For the French, Germany was to become a number of small autonomous (independent) states. Ultimately the French position was to support the creation of two German states with the Western part closely allied and influenced by the Western powers. This conformed to the French determination to see the dismemberment of Germany and its strategy of ensuring France’s long-term security against a resurgent German state

Question 16

How did the Soviet’s collect reparations?

Answer 16

Not only in money but in de-industrialisation (the Soviets systematically removed industrial plant and other resources from Germany in order to restore its own industrial recovery)

Question 17

What were the USSR’s actions in their occupational zones?

Answer 17

-land reform
-nationalisation of large industrial production
-compulsory tuition in the Russian language for German school pupils

Question 18

When did the Western bloc announce that it would no longer be paying reparations?

Answer 18

May 1946, General Clay announced that no further reparations to the USSR would be allowed until there was an overall plan agreed for Germany’s economic recovery. The USSR saw this as an American strategy designed to create a German economy based on the Western capitalist system

Question 19

What was the Soviet response to Bizonia?

Answer 19

The Soviet response was to oppose Bizonia. The Council of Ministers, consisting of Britain, France, China, the USA and the USSR, met at the Moscow Conference, held during March and April of 1947. The USSR demanded that a new central administration should be created. This Soviet attempt failed and no firm decisions on the future of Germany were reached. Another conference was held in London during November and December of 1947. This was also a failure. The USSR accused the West of unjustly denying it the reparations it was due, and the West feared that a centralised administration would lead to a Soviet-controlled Germany

Question 20

What was the outcome of the London Conference (November/December 1947)?

Answer 20

the Western powers now recognised that fourpower control of Germany would not work, and that there was now some urgency to strengthen the economy of the Western zones of Germany and move towards the creation of a West German state that was aligned to a Western alliance

Question 21

What was agreed on June 7 1948, at the London Conference?

Answer 21

West Germany should have a formal constitution. The decision to create a West German state was brought about through pressure from both the USA and Britain. Despite its objections, France agreed to this

Question 22

When was the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 22

June 1948-May 1949

Question 23

What caused the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 23

The introduction of the Deutschmark in the Western occupational zones June 1948

Question 24

What were the Soviet’s actions during the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 24

the Soviet Union blocked all road and rail links to the Western zones and to West Berlin through the Soviet Zone

Question 25

When was the Berlin Airlift?

Answer 25

June 1948-May 1949

Question 26

Why did Stalin end the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 26

He failed in his aim to prevent the creation of a separate West German state. Containment had proved to be a success and by 1949 Europe was divided into two blocs

Question 27

Who was Konrad Adenauer?

Answer 27

was the first chancellor of West Germany. As a committed anti-communist he firmly supported a Westernorientated foreign policy aimed at strengthening West Germany and ensuring its security. He oversaw West Germany’s economic and political recovery during the years 1949 to 1963, a period of intense Cold War confrontation

Question 28

Who were the NATO members?

Answer 28

The initial members of NATO were: Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Italy, Iceland, France, the United Kingdom and the USA. This was clearly an alliance of noncommunist stat

Question 29

When was the Paris Conference of Foreign Ministers?

Answer 29

April-July 1946

Question 30

What happened at Paris Conference of Foreign Ministers?

Answer 30

The USSR – insisted that Germany provide it with US$10b in reparations
James F Byrnes, the US Secretary of State, insisted that this could occur, but only when Germany was back on its feet and had a trade surplus

Question 31

What was the purpose of NATO according to Hastings Ismay?

Answer 31

“The purpose of NATO is to keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down.”

Question 32

What was NATO?

Answer 32

This was a military alliance involving the USA and the Western European nations. The Organisation allowed the American military full access to bases in the states which had become NATO members. As well as the Brussels Treaty countries (UK, France, Benelux), Italy, Denmark, Portugal and Canada became members of NATO

Question 33

What were Soviet responses to NATO?

Answer 33

argued that NATO was an aggressive organisation designed to pressurise states into complying with the interests of Britain, the USA and their allies. The USSR emphasised its lack of intent to attack any state in Europe

Question 34

What were the US aims for Germany in 1945?

Answer 34

-unified Germany
-stabilise the economy/economic recovery
-helping Germany’s economy would stabilise the rest of Europe as Germany is central Europe
-containment
-did not want a repeat of the Treaty of Versailles

Question 35

What were the Soviet aims for Germany in 1945?

Answer 35

a weakened Germany under the Soviet sphere of influence
-reparations (originally $20 billion but compromised to $10 billion)