GERMANY 1945 1949 Between June 1945 and November

GERMANY 1945 -1949

Between June 1945 and November 1946 Germany was occupied by 4 powers Neither side would allow the other to dominate The western zones tried to organise economic and political recovery while the Soviet zone had resources taken to the USSR For some time Stalin seemed willing to create a new democratic Germany with the Communists playing only a role The USSR allowed democratic parties in their zone and in Autumn 1945 agreed on a transport authority and national federation of trade unions Why was this cooperation not maintained?

The creation of Bizonia Paris Conference April -July 1946 The USSR requested 10 billion dollars of reparations from Germany Byrnes argued for reparations to be paid once there was a trade surplus to cover cost of food and raw materials The offer to unify the US zone with the other 3 zones was accepted only by the British Anglo-US Bizonia was formed on 1 January 1947 What was the impact of this?

London Conference of Foreign Ministers Nov-Dec 1947 US wanted western European integration USSR wanted to avoid the partition of Germany. They had tried to gather German support against the western policies The conference ended on 15 Dec with the USSR accusing the USA and UK of breaking the Potsdam agreements and denying them their reparations Hope of 4 power cooperation disappeared A western alliance in Germany and trade with western Europe seemed inevitable

Early in 1948 the three western zones merged to form a single economic unit which, thanks to Marshall Aid, recovered more rapidly than the USSR's zone The west wanted all 4 zones to be reunited and self-governing as soon as possible Stalin kept his zone separate In June 1948 the West introduced a new currency and ended price controls in their zone and West Berlin

The outcome of the Blockade A boost for western powers NATO was formed in April 1949 – western powers coordinated their defences Germany remained divided West Germany (the German Federal Republic) was set up in August 1949 with Konrad Adenauer as chancellor East Germany became the German Democratic Republic in October 1949