The Potsdam Conference

Question 1

What didn’t Germany have by 1945?

Answer 1

-no working legal system, government system, education system etc

Question 2

What did Germany need in 1945?

Answer 2

-eradicated Nazification of Germany so they needed new systems

Question 3

What was the relationship between the USSR, Britain and America by the end of Potsdam?

Answer 3

-were strained with each other and weren’t getting along

Question 4

What was ‘Stunde Null’ or ‘zero hour’ Germans used to describe?

Answer 4

to describe what they felt was the collapse of their country in 1945

Question 5

What were the 3 immediate problems affecting Germany that the allies had to face in 1945?

Answer 5

-population dislocation
-urban destruction
-economic dislocation

Question 6

What was included in population dislocation?

Answer 6

-German refugees from the East
-German soldiers
-lost families
-displaced persons

Question 7

What was included in urban destruction?

Answer 7

-food
-fuel
-accommodation

Question 8

What was included in economic dislocation?

Answer 8

-infrastructive
-debts’ inflation
-social pressures->particularly women

Question 9

What was an impact of Germany now being an occupational state?

Answer 9

-they couldn’t do things like fight etc

Question 10

What did the Allies outline at Potsdam on the treatment of occupied Germany? (4 Ds)

Answer 10

-denazification
-demilitarisation
-decentralisation
-democratisation

Question 11

What did the US zone do about denazification?

Answer 11

-wanted to destroy Nazism completely and practically dismantle all of the Nazi structures
-anyone who had been a party member before 1937 was dismissed from office
-dealt with Germans severely

Question 12

What did the French zone do about denazification?

Answer 12

-denazification was limited
-they were more concerned with defence and security

Question 13

What did the British zone do about denazification?

Answer 13

-more lenient->they allowed ex-party members to return to their positions and even assume leadership positions

Question 14

What did some students do if they had Nazi links and were in the US zone?

Answer 14

-some students who had had Nazi links moved from the US zone to the British zone to enrol

Question 15

What did the Soviet zone do about denazification?

Answer 15

-altered the social/economic situation mimicking communist policies
-large scale round ups and removal of ex-Nazis from key positions
-their aim was to establish communist governance so opposition was removed under the guise of denazification

Question 16

What does decentralisation mean?

Answer 16

-getting rid of Nazi authorities

Question 17

What did the US zone do about decentralisation?

Answer 17

-strongest supporters of decentralisation due to their own federal system
-Clay (military governor) had established 3 landers by May 1946 where elections were held

Question 18

What did the French zone do about decentralisation?

Answer 18

-wanted to dismember Germany for its own security
-blocked other Western powers in the ACC for a more coordinated centralised administration of Germany
-held zone under tight rule and economically cut off from the rest
-registered re-establishing democratic parties at first->March 1947 Lander elections were permitted

Question 19

What did the British zone do about decentralisation?

Answer 19

-at first wary of giving Germans political freedom and powers and preferred their own centralised administration
-growing financial costs meant passing back responsibility to Germans
-May 1947->free elections for federal state parliaments were held

Question 20

What did the Soviet zone do about decentralisation?

Answer 20

-by 1945 had 5 lander states (federal states in German speaking countries)
-soviets distrusted the federal structure so established at the same time a range of centralised authorities responsible for housing, transport etc
-regional authorities were controlled by Communists

Question 21

What does democratisation mean in context to Nazism?

Answer 21

-they need to democratise Germany->had to establish different parties
-wanted Nazism replaced with genuine democratic political parties

Question 22

What did the Soviets permit the re-establishment of in 1945? What date?

Answer 22

-10 June 1945->Soviets permit re-establishment of non-fascist, democratic parties and formation of unions->they allow other parties in their zone even though they are communist

Question 23

What did the Western Allies agree to ‘licence’ the formation of? When?

Answer 23

-July to September->Western Allies agree to ‘licence’ formation of democratic parties to control political developments in their zones

Question 24

What was the Soviet zone run as and what did it appear to be run as? Why?

Answer 24

-USSR was run as a dictatorship but appeared as a democracy->needed to pretend they are democratic to protect themselves as American had an atomic bomb

Question 25

Were the Social Democrats (SPD) left wing or right wing?

Answer 25

left

Question 26

What was the Social Democrats (SPD)?

Answer 26

-rebuilt its old organisational structures
-described as a moralist party

Question 27

What were the Social Democrats aims?

Answer 27

-improve living conditions
-regarded itself as a socialist party, between the capitalist economies of the West and Soviet dictatorship of the East

Question 28

Were the Christian Democrats (CDU) left wing or right wing?

Answer 28

right

Question 29

What were the Christian Democrats recognised for?

Answer 29

-the need for a unified Christian conservative party

Question 30

Who did the Christian Democrats try to appel to?

Answer 30

-tried to appeal broadly to the conservative middle class, and Protestant/Catholic alike

Question 31

What were the Christian Democrats built from and what policies did they adopt?

Answer 31

-built from Christian social ideas and Christian trade union movement.
-adopted social policies from 1947 e.g. public ownership of key industries

Question 32

What were the Liberal Parties and what zones did they mainly stay in?

Answer 32

-LDPD and FDP
-Western Zones

Question 33

What did the Liberal Parties stress the right of?

Answer 33

-the right of private property & upheld advantages of free markets

Question 34

Where were the Communists (KPD) heavily promoted?

Answer 34

-in the Soviet Zone but still present in the Western Zones

Question 35

What was the Communists (KPD) Party?

Answer 35

-unify the working class of Germany
-full political backing from the Soviets in their zone
-in Western zones had limited chances of political power as seen as a tool of the Soviets

Question 37

Was democratisation achieved?

Answer 37

yes because all zones allowed the creation of the democratic parties

Question 38

What evidence is there for democratisation not being completely successful?

Answer 38

-the KPD was not a democratic party and was present in all zones
-it dominated in the Soviet zone which would appear that they were democratic but they were actually supportive of a dictatorship

Question 39

Why were America more confident after Potsdam?

Answer 39

-they had tested the first atomic bomb->massive military advantage->beat Russians->changed the relationship between the 2 countries

Question 40

What issues were ordinary Germans facing in 1945?

Answer 40

-economic struggles, government was non-existent, food rationing, bombing, Nazi education system, refugees/displacement and putting Germany back to how it was

Question 41

What were they desperate to avoid?

Answer 41

-desperate to avoid a Treaty of Versailles situation where Germany was left broken and people turned to extremism