coldwar-conflict over Germany 1947-49

how was germany divided

four occupation zones split between USA, UK, France and USSR

the powers had to coordinate their actions through

the allied control council (ACC)

which parties was USSR willing to accept in their occupation zone

• communists (KPD)

• german social democrats (SPD)

• liberals (LDPD)

• christian democrats (CDU)

what was the soviet intention to accept other political parties

the communist group would emerge as the dominant group and this would form the base of a whole germany communist movement

when did the communists and german social democrats merge

february 1946

what was the name of the new merged communist and social democrats party

german socialist unity party (SED)

who opposed the creation of SED

german social democrats members led by kurt schumacher

what unilateral policies did soviets introduce in their zone

• land reform

• nationalisation of large industrial production

• compulsory tuition in the russian language for german school pupils

how many people did british zone consist of

22.5 million

what major port and industrial area did british zone have

hamburg and the Ruhr

why was the largle population a problem for britain

it was costly to feed and this increased britains dependency on the USA

why was Ruhr so important

it was the industrial heart of germany and therefore at the centre of economic recovery

why would soviet influence of the Ruhr be bad

it would provide access to further reparations from germany which might weaken germanys economic recovery and strengthen the possibility of support for communism among disaffected germans

what was the primary british fear by spring 1946

that a revived germany might either cooperate with the USSR or worse become dominated by it

what did kenan want to ensure in the american occupied zone

a degree of independence and economic security that ensured its safety from any potential threat from the eastern bloc communist states in europe

what did the first commander of the office of military government , eisenhower, and his deputy , clay want for germany

joint occupation

by spring 1947 clay said no to..

• the soviet demand that the ruhr should be placed under joint allied control

• the continued social and economic deprivation of the german population in the US and british zones

• the soviet desire to create a centralised germany

office of military government US (OMGUS)

this was the administrative organisation set up by the USA to manage its zones of western germany and west berlin and it was led by general clay

some of the tasks of OMGUS

• carry out a survey to establish the extent to which nazism and nazi sympathy had been removed from germany with its defeat

• responsible for monitoring the appointment o new officials from among the german population

when was OMGUS dismantled

1949

lucius clay

• 1897-1978

• military governor of the US zone from 1947

• commander in chief in europe

• influential in shifting US policy towards germany

• favoured german reconstruction rather than dismemberment

did the us zone have free elections

yes

until when did france call for the complete dismemberment of germany and the internalisation of the Ruhr

1947

what did the french want for germany

a number of small autonomous states

eventually france had to agree to…

creation of two german states with the western part closely allied and influenced by the western powers - this ensured french security against a resurgent german state

by 1946 what problems were USA and britain facing

• british absorbing huge numbers of german refugees expelled by the poles and czechs

• continuing dispute with the USSR over the scale of reparations that it could demand from the western zones

why did the soviet union systematically remove industrial plant and other resources from germany

in order to restore its own industrial recovery

when did general clay announce that no further reparations to the USSR would be allowed until there was an overall plan agreed for germanys economic recovery

may 1946

why did general clay announce that no further reparations to the USSR would be allowed until there was an overall plan agreed for germanys economic recovery

USSR wanted more reparations than the other allies could accept

how did the soviets view the end of reparations from western zones

american stategy designed to create a germany economy based on the western capitalist system

what was bizonia

the merge of the US and UK occupation zones

when was bizonia created

january 1947

what was the implication of bizonia

that the four power control of germany had failed

USSR’s response to bizonia

opposed bizonia

what did the soviets demand of the council of ministers at the moscow conference march/april 1947

that a new central administration should be created - this failed and no firm decisions on the future of germany were reached

what did soviets accuse west of in the london conference nov/dec 1947

unjustly denying it the reparations it was due

why did the west fear a centralised administration

believed it would lead to a soviet controlled germany

outcome of the london conference

• western powers now recognised that four power control of germany would not work

• that there was now some urgency to strengthen the economy of the western zones

• move towards the creation of a west german state that aligned to a western alliance

when and where was it agreed that west germany should have a formal constitution

june 7 1948 at the london conference

when and what was the name of the new currency west germany introduced

june 1948 - deutschmark

what was soviets response to the deutschmark

blocked all road and rail links to west berlin from the western zones of germany

bevin and clay agreed to not use military force to access west berlin and instead…

used an airlift to deliver essentials and goods to west berliners

how long did the berlin blockade last

june 1948 - may 1949

outcome of berlin blockade

stalin failed to prevent the creation of a separate west german state

when was a west german state created

may 1949

what was the name of the west german state

federal republic of germany (FDR)

who was elected leader of the FDR

konrad adenauer

konrad adenauer

• 1876-1967

• first chancellor of west germany

• committed anti-communist

• supported western policy of strengthening west germany and ensuring its security

USSR response to FDR

initially reluctant to establish a permanent division of germany as its objective was to create a pro soviet united german

when was east german state created

october 1949

name of the east german state

German Democratic Republic (GDR)

first leader of the GDR

walter ulbricht

what was the GDR constitution based on

one party state system with the SED as the party for voter choice

what does NATO stand for

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

what was NATO

a military alliance against aggression from the USSR

when was NATO established

April 4, 1949

initial members of NATO

belgium luxembourg canda netherlands denmark norway portugual italy iceland france UK USA

what was NATO for the USA

primarily a political defence system rather than a military organistation that could undermine long term objectives for europe

what did soviet ambassador panyushkin argue about NATO

it was an aggressive organisation designed to pressurise states into complying with the interests of britain USA and their allies - the USSR emphasised it's lack of intent to attack any state in europe