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Political authority and government 1945-1949 - Coggle Diagram
Political authority and government 1945-1949
Post war occupation and division
End of war
Feb 1945 - ally troops advance over Rhineland
21st April - Soviet troops reach Berlin
25th April - contact between US and Soviet troops
30th April - Hitler suicide
8-9th May - surrender signed
6.5 million Germans dead
Establishment of four occupation zones
Yalta Conference Feb 1945
US (Franklin,) UK (Churchill) and Soviet (Stalin)
agreement for four occupation zones - France, US, UK and SU
aimed to decided what to do with Germany after defeated
Berlin split into 4 zones
USSR territory
demilitarisation, decentralisation, denazification, democratisation
Allied control council formed
National Socialism outlawed
Longer term plans
US wanted democratic state with strong economy
Soviet Union - neutral and disarmed united Germany
France - (not present) wanted break up of Germany.
Soviet Zone 1945-46
First occupying power to establish control
Group of Communists led by Walter Ulbridt tasked with establishing 5 lander governments
Western Zones 1945-46
prohibited German activity in zones
supressed facist groups
believed in 're-educating' people
September 1945 election
SPD (socialists)
KPD (communists)
CDU (replaced Zentrum as Centre)
Konrad Adenauer Chancellor
LPD (lFree democrats)
Potsdam Conference 1945
Members - USA, USSR and Great Britain
Agreements
occupying area takes 'reparations' from own zones
four zones into separate economic units
overturned previous decision to coordinate zones politically
Disagreements
New President
Truman had strong dislike of communism, and of Stalin personally
Nucleur threat
Manhatten project 1945
secrets from supposed allies
expansion of communism
USSR did not show plans to allow Eastern European countries to have elections
Germany's Eastern border with Poland
Occupied Germany 1945-47
Reparations
USSR took extensive reparations - e.g whole factories
Western Allies less demanding - wanting revival of Germany economy
Denazification
All 3 - Nuremberg Trials 1945-46
USSR
Initially Nazi prison camps
1947 General Amnesty - those to help socialist society
1948-49- restrictions on former Nazis removed
re-education
Western Zones
Mass internment rapidly abandoned
Aribitration Tribunals
most civil servants remained of office - nobody to 'replace' them
Democratisation and political developments
Soviet Zone
SPD and KPS formed permenant coalition April 1946 under SED leadership
SED dominated politically
After economic developments in West - set up German Economic Commission (co-ordinate economic policy in Western zone)
Western Zone
Americans promoted heavy democracy
French did not want political revival
democratically-elected local governments estbalished
Creation of Bosnia (British and American zones merged) Jan 1947
vehicle for efficent use of Marshall aid
The issue of Berlin and the blockade
Development of Bosnia
1947 - French agreed to open discussions about merging zones
1948 - had own supreme court and economic council
1948 - issues with Berlin access routes
led to ceased operation of Allied Control Council March 1948
petty interference led to raised tensions
'Little Lift' - lasted 10 days (US military trains to Berlin cancelled March 1948)
April to June - Intermittent interference with rail road and barge traffic to Berlin
Pressure on Western powers = breakdown in relations
Currency Reform
Western Zones
establishment of central bank 1948
Bank Deutscher Lander
later Bundesbank
US put pressure on French by refusing to offer Marshall plan for French zones
June 1948
Trizonia created (French merged with Bizonia)
new currency Deutschmark issued in Western Zones (replaced Reichmark)
several years to have full effect
plan for establishment of a provisional West German government
Soviet Zone
claimed currency reform broke Potsdam conference agreement
new currency invalid in soviet zone and possession of it deemed criminal offence
Blockade
Currency reform = broken down relations
20th June - road and raliway traffic to and from Berlin haulted
23rd June - New Currency Ostmark in Eastern zones
25th June - Deutschmark avaliable in Western zones of Berlin
East unhappy - will not accept
Causes
Announcement of Truman doctrine 12th March 1947
US would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian force
Announcement of Marshall Plan 5th June 1947
West's currency reform broken down relations
23rd June - New currency Ostmark in Eastern zones
Soviet's increasingly interrupted road and rail access to Berlin
20th June - road and railway to Berlin haulted
Consequences
People in West Berlin left without food, clothing or medical supplies
convinced Western powers that they needed to copoerate militarily with other Western powers, (Britian and France ) in order to protect themselves against Soviet Union
formation of NATO
Response
Airlift campaign
227,000 flights
400,000 tons of foodstuffs and fuel transported
new airfield - Tiegel - built in 49 days
height of blockade - April 1949 - allied plane landing every minute
Result
accelerated allies plan to set up state rather than preventing the establishment of independent West Germany
some people moved from East Berlin to West Berlin
beginning of Cold War
demonstrates inability of Soviets and Allies to work together
The division of Germany
FRG (West Germany)
creation of Basic Law consitution
Multi party elections - mostly free
Capitalist/ free market
Chancellor - Konrad Adenauer
majority of German industry (Rhineland and Ruhr)
(GDR) East Germany
Communist state controlled industry
Stalin/ Walter Ulbricht head of East Germany
More agrarian (agricultural)