Germany Divided 1945-1991 Flashcards
Following the War, Germany faced a civil division between the east and west: a conflict between communism, capitalism, love and revenge ensued. Learn about it here! <3
What were the political problems facing Germany in 1945?
- Soviet forces closing in on the East and allied forces from the West
- Allies and USSR refused any sort of peace treaty and wanted an unconditional surrender
- Power Vacuum following Hitler’s death; who was in charge?
What were the social problems facing Germany in 1945?
- 75% of housing was uninhabitable and 40,000 shells fell on Germany in the last 2 weeks of April
- Large refugee problem as 1 in 2 Germans were on the move
- Soviet forces treated Germans terribly; 90,000 German women were systematically raped by soviet soldiers
- 53,000 children were left orphaned or homeless
- Damages sewers led to many cases of dystentery and waterborne diseases led to 66/100 infant mortality rate
- Severe food and good shortages- German average calorie intake at this time was merely 860 calories
What were the Economic problems in Germany following 1945?
- Severely damaged infrastructure, due to the war, damaged economic productivity
- Large debts following the war effort
- High levels of inflation and currency de-valued
- Black market emerged with barter occurring
- Hitler’s ‘Nero Decree’ ordered all of Germany’s factories and land to be destroyed (not put into much effect and Albert Speer strongly countered it)
What was the purpose of the Yalta conference?
For the Allies and the USSR to decide on the future of post-war Germany
When was the Yalta conference?
February 1945
What was decided at the Yalta conference?
That Germany was to be divided into 4 zones; the British, the American, the French and the Russian
What were the aims of the 4 nations at the Yalta conference? (5 Ds)
Democratisation Decentralisation Denazification Demilitarisation Decartilisation
What tensions were there at the Yalta conference?
Each nation wanted more land and certain locations of land
What did Russia feel they deserved at the Yalta conference and why?
Russia wanted 80% of German factories to make up for the severe damage done to Russia during the war
What did the Russians do to consolidate their power of their zone in Germany?
- They created the ‘Soviet Military Administration of Germany’ (SMAD) on the 9th June 1945
- They ordered the evacuation of Berlin and the Russian zones by the allies between 1-3 July 1945
- By the 9th July, they had set up 5 Lander in their zone 1945
What was the allied reaction to the Russian’s swift action in their zone of Germany?
- They were angry at the forced evacuation of the soviet zone
- They were worried at the level and speed of soviet action without allied approval
- They thought that the USSR were trying to create a military base and consolidate their communist power in Germany
When was the Potsdam Conference?
July-August 1945
At the Potsdam conference, why did Stalin have bargaining power over the allies
Following Roosevelt’s death and Churchill’s dismissal, Truman and Atlee were the least senior figures at the conference
What did Russia say in regards to Poland before the Potsdam conference
Russia said that Poland would have a democracy and be a free state, however by the conference, it was becoming clear that Russia were not interested in ‘Democratisation’
What became clear about Russia’s intentions at the Potsdam conference
That they were trying to create their own states and were not interested in the ‘Democratisation’ part of the Yalta conference
Why did disagreements between the USSR and the allies become more frequent following the end of the war?
The common enemy, and common goal, of defeating the Nazis was finished. Thus, the ideological differences of the USSR and the allies became more apparent.
