Developments in the zones Flashcards
Jan 1947
Bizonia is created
March-April 1947
The Moscow Conference
Nov-Dec 1947
the London Conference
Feb-June 1948
The London Conference of the Western Powers
June 1948
the Deutsche Mark is introduced into the three Western zones and West Berlin; the West Germans are authorised to draft a constitution for a new West German state; the Berlin Blockade starts
April 1949
NATO is formed
May 1949
The Berlin Blockade ends; the German Federal Republic (FDR) is formed
Oct 1949
The German Democratic Republic (GDR) is formed
what did each of the four zones of post-war Germany have?
a military governor
what was different about the governing of each zone?
each governor could be administered differently
what did each of the powers have to co-ordinate their actions through?
the Allied Control Council (ACC)
what was the function of the ACC?
to enable economic and political unity in Germany to be maintained
what was special about the ACC?
decisions made by the ACC had to be unanimous - enabled each power to remain independent of each other
what did Stalin recognised in 1945?
the utility of a centralised German party system
what was the USSR willing to accept?
the founding of four political parties in the Soviet zone: Communists (KPD), German Social Democrats (SPD), Liberals (LDPD), Christians Democrats (CDU)
what was the Soviet intention for the political alignment of their zone?
that the communist group would emerge as the dominant group, and this would form the nucleus of a whole-Germany communist movement
what happened when this political independence didn’t achieve Soviet expectations?
the SPD and the KPD were forcibly merged by the Soviet Military Administration of Germany (SMAD) and a new party was created in February 1946
what was the newly formed party in the Soviet zone called?
the German Socialist Unity Party (SED)
who significantly opposed the SED?
SPD members, led by Kurt Schumacher
what Soviet aim failed?
to influence and control German politics in any future united Germany
what was the Soviet Zone being increasingly perceived as by Germans in the Western zones?
a place of tyranny and repression
what had the Soviets reserved the right to do, having supported the principle of joint occupation policies in the ACC?
the right to function outside this agreement in their own zones
what Soviet action was a breach of the ACC conditions?
the unification of left-wing parties
what unilateral policies did the Soviet introduce into their zone?
land reform, nationalisation of large industrial production and compulsory tuition in the Russian language for German school pupils
what was becoming apparent for the Soviet zone?
it was being subjected to the Soviet model of peoples’ democracies emerging across the rest of Eastern Europe
what did the communists do in the Soviet zone?
they gradually took control of other left-wing groups and subsumed them under its authority
where was the British Zone?
in the north-western part of Germany, with 22.5 million people and included the major port of Hamburg and the Ruhr industrial area
why was the responsibility of the British zone a significant problem for Britain?
the large population was costly to feed and this increased Britain’s dependency on the USA
what was Britain concerned about?
Soviet and French efforts to influence the control of the Ruhr
why was the Ruhr an important area?
it was the industrial heart of Germany so at the centre of Germany’s economic recovery
what were the political implications of the economic importance of the Ruhr?
Soviet influence over it would provide access to further reparations from Germany, which might weaken Germany’s economic recovery and strengthen the possibility of a shift towards support for the communists among disaffected Germans
what was the primary British fear by Spring 1946?
that a revived Germany might either cooperate with the USSR or become dominated by it
what happened on 23 August 1946?
Britain’s military governor in Germany created the state of North Rhine-Westphalia; Britain had committed itself to the merger of the British and American zones
what clear opinion did Kennan express about Germany in the summer of 1945?
the USA must develop its zone of Germany with a degree of independence and economic security that ensured its safety from any potential threat from the Eastern Bloc communist states in Europe
what was the US administration initially committed to?
making joint occupation work
who was in charge of the American zone?
the first commander of the Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS), General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his deputy, General Lucius Clay
what happened by the spring of 1947?
Clay was less compliant
what had Clay said ‘no’ to? (1)
the Soviet demand that the Ruhr should be placed under joint allied control
what had Clay said ‘no’ to? (2)
the continued social and economic deprivation of the German populations in the US and British zones
what had Clay said ‘no’ to? (3)
the Soviet desire to create a centralised Germany
what was the Americans stance on the political freedoms for their zone?
the USA allowed free elections in its zone and regarded the German Lander (state) as the basis for a future national structure based on federalism
what had France called for up to 1947?
for the complete dismemberment of Germany and for the internationalisation of the Ruhr with a strong French influence on the administration
what did France want Germany to become?
a number of small autonomous (independent) states
what was France a major factor in?
ensuring that the ACC couldn’t function effectively
what was the ultimate French position?
to support the creation of two German states with the Western part closely allied and influenced by the Western powers
what did the creation of two German states conform with for the French?
the French determination to see the dismemberment of Germany and its strategy of ensuring France’s long-term security against a resurgent German state
Lucius Clay (1897-1978)
the military governor of the US Zone from 1947, and Commander-in-Chief 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
Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS)
This was the administrative organisation set up by the USA to manage its zones of Western Germany and West Berlin. It was led by General Clay. One of the tasks was to carry out a survey to establish the extent to which Nazism and Nazi sympathy had been removed from Germany with its defeat. It was also responsible for monitoring the appointment of new officials from among the German population. OMGUS was dismantled in 1949
federalism definition
a system of government based on having a central government that deals with laws covering the whole country, while individual state governments make laws specific to the state
