Origins of the Cold War: Conflict Over Germany - Developments Within the Sectors

Question 1

Allied Control Council (ACC)

Answer 1

• Each of the four zones of post-war Germany had a military governor but each could be administered differently
• The powers were to coordinate their actions through the ACC
• Aimed to enable economic and political unity in Germany to be maintained
• Decisions made by the ACC had to be unanimous

Question 2

Describe politics in the Soviet zone

Answer 2

• Stalin encouraged a centralised German party system and accepted the founding of four left-wing parties
• Soviets aimed at making the communists the dominant group to act as a basis for a nation-wide communist movement
• This failed - Stalin could dominate politics in the Soviet zone, but not on a national scale
• This apparent political independence did not achieve Soviet expectations so the SPD and the KPD were forcibly merged in February 1946
• The newly formed party was the German Socialist Unity Party or Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschland (SED)

Question 3

What were the four newly-formed political parties in the Soviet zone?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Give examples of unilateral policies introduced in the Soviet zone

Answer 4

• Land reform
• Nationalisation of large industrial production
• Compulsory tuition in the Russian language for German school pupils

Question 5

How was the Soviet zone viewed by West Germans?

Answer 5

• Perceived as a place of tyranny and repression
• Apparent that the Soviet zone had been subjected to Soviet model of peoples’ democracies like in the rest of Eastern Europe
• Communists gradually took control of other left-wing groups

Question 6

Describe the geography and population of the British zone

Answer 6

• The British zone was in the north-western part of Germany
• It included the major port of Hamburg and the Ruhr industrial area
• It consisted of about 22.5 million people
• This population was costly to feed and this increased Britain’s dependency on the USA

Question 7

Describe the political implications of the Ruhr

Answer 7

• The Ruhr region was the industrial heart of Germany and therefore, was at the centre of Germany’s economic recovery
• Britain was concerned about the Soviets and the French wanting influence over the control of the Ruhr
• Soviet influence over it would provide access to further reparations from Germany, which might weaken Germany’s economic recovery and strengthen support for the communists among disaffected Germans
• The primary British fear by the spring of 1946 was that a revived Germany might either cooperate with the USSR or, worse still, become dominated by it
• On 23 August 1946, Britain’s military governor in Germany created the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
• It was at this point that Britain committed itself to the merger of the British and American zones

Question 8

Describe the US’ initial position towards joint occupation

Answer 8

• There was some ambiguity in the American position towards its zone and the notion of effective joint occupation of Germany as a whole
• In the summer of 1945, 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
• This was the intent of the first commander of the Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS), General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his deputy, General Lucius Clay

Question 9

How did US views on joint occupation change?

Answer 9

• By the spring of 1947, 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 10

What was the Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS)?

Answer 10

• This administrative organisation was set up by the USA to manage its zones of Western Germany and West Berlin
• It was led by General Clay

• OMGUS had a variety of tasks

• One of these was to carry out a survey to establish the extent to which Nazism and Nazi sympathy had been removed from Germany with its defeat
• Also responsible for monitoring the appointment of new officials from among the German population
• OMGUS was dismantled in 1949

Question 11

Describe the US zone

Answer 11

• The USA allowed free elections in its zone

- The USA regarded the German Lander (state) as the basis for a future national structure based on federalism.

Question 12

Describe France’s position on the future of Germany

Answer 12

• Up to 1947, France had called for the complete dismemberment of Germany and for the internationalisation of the Ruhr in particular, with a strong French influence on its administration
• For the French, Germany was to become a number of small autonomous (independent) states
• France was a major factor in ensuring that the ACC could not function effectively
• 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 aim to see the dismemberment of Germany and its strategy of ensuring France’s long-term security against a resurgent German state