The Berlin Blockade 1948-49 How was Berlin divided after WW2? What was life like for the people living in Berlin? What were the West’s aims for Berlin, and the Western parts of Germany? How did this differ from aims of the USSR? Why did the British, French and Americans refuse to abandon West Berlin? Why did the West introduce a new currency in their zones? How did the Soviets react? What did Stalin aim to achieve? How was West Berlin supplied with food and fuel? What did General Clay want to do? Why was it not allowed? How did the blockade end?
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The Berlin Blockade 1948-49 How was Berlin divided after WW2? What was life like for the people living in Berlin? What were the West’s aims for Berlin, and the Western parts of Germany? How did this differ from aims of the USSR? Why did the British, French and Americans refuse to abandon West Berlin? Why did the West introduce a new currency in their zones? How did the Soviets react? What did Stalin aim to achieve? How was West Berlin supplied with food and fuel? What did General Clay want to do? Why was it not allowed? How did the blockade end?
Source A: Stalin was engaged in what George Kennan called a ‘kind of squeeze play’. He wanted to force the Western powers either to give up their moves towards a separate West German state, or to relinquish West Berlin … in a meeting with Yugoslav and Bulgarian communist leaders, Stalin stressed that Germany would remain divided: ‘The West will make West Germany their own, and we shall turn Eastern Germany into our own state’. Soviet policy had another, more general, purpose. Soviet leaders regarded relations with the West as a war of nerves, and were determined to show that they would not be intimidated. From David Holloway, Stalin and the Bomb, in M. Leffler and D. Painter (ed.), Origins of the Cold War, published by Routledge (2005). Source B: From Russia’s perspective the blockade was a legitimate response to the West’s unilateral decision to unify the three western occupation zones … including to institute a new currency in the Western zones. Detesting the Soviet government, most Americans by 1948 did not seek to understand its viewpoint, much less find merit in it. Truman was determined to stay in Berlin … Ordinary Germans, Britons and Americans – including the tens of thousands of industrial workers, coal miners, military personnel, and labourers who loaded and unloaded the planes – deserve much of the credit for the airlift’s success. Stalin also showed restraint by not ordering Soviet forces to shoot down the planes while they were flying over the Russian zone. From R. B Levering & V. Botzenhart-Viehe, The American Perspective in R. Levering (ed.), in Origins of the Cold War, published by Rowan and Littlefield (2001). Source C: …the establishment of a West German state was rightly perceived in Moscow as a complete break with the Yalta-Potsdam agreements … In analysing these events in the Kremlin, the Soviet Foreign Ministry concluded that ‘the western powers are transforming Germany into their stronghold … directed against the Soviet Union’. Desperate to forestall such developments, the Kremlin decided to counterattack by using the most tangible advantage it still held in Germany: control over the geographic space between the western zones and Berlin. … Stalin’s hardball tactics, which he pursued too long, proved to be counterproductive. Instead of blocking the implementation of the Western plan for Germany, the Berlin blockade accelerated it. From V. Pechatnov and C. E Edmonson, The Russian Perspective in R. Levering (ed.), in Origins of the Cold War, published by Rowan and Littlefield (2001).
Berlin Blockade Quiz
1. When was the Yalta Conference?
2. Who was at the Yalta Conference?
3. What was the date of VE day?
4. When was the Potsdam Conference?
5. Who was at the Potsdam Conference?
6. What was based in Berlin to govern Germany?
7. Which area of Germany had the greatest industrial output?
8. When was VJ day?
9. Who gave the Iron Curtain Speech?
10. When was the Iron Curtain Speech?
11. When was Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’?
12. When was the Truman Speech?
13. When was Bizonia formed?
14. When was the Marshall Plan announced?
15. What is Cominform and what year was it formed?
16. What is Comecon and what year was it formed?
17. When was the Czech crisis?
18. What was decided at the London Conference from February to June
1948?
19. What was the name of the old currency in Germany?
20. What was the name of the new currency released by the Western
powers?
21. What was the name of the new currency released by the Western
powers into West Berlin?
22. What was the name of the currency the Soviets released?
23. When was the Berlin blockade?
24. What did Stalin hope to achieve from the blockade?
25. When did the Berlin Airlift begin?
26. How many air corridors were there into West Berlin?
27. When did the Soviet Union end the blockade?
28. List 3 facts about the Berlin Airlift.
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Cold War Context 1946-47
Key Events – 1946
• Stalinisation of Eastern Europe
• Stalin’s Bolshoi Theatre speech (Feb)
• Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’ (Feb)
• Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ Speech (March)
• Soviets stopped agricultural goods to Berlin from their zone (May)
• General Clay stops reparations to Soviet Zone (May)
• Byrne’s speech at Stuttgart (Sept)
Key Events – 1947
• Stalinisation of Eastern Europe
• Britain informs USA that their financial/military aid to Greece willcease (Feb)
• Truman Doctrine announced (March)
• Marshall Aid (June)
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y Germany – key to European peace?• Germany first ‘hot spot’ of the Cold War
• Germany divided into four zones – seemap
• Division intended to be temporary untilpeace treaty agreed
• All four powers anticipated creation ofunited German government in nearfuture
• Germany under direct supervision ofCouncil of Foreign Ministers (AlliedControl Council or ACC)
• Recovery of European economy tied toGermany
• Germany eligible for Marshall Plan aid
• January-May 1947, US zone joined withBritish zone to make military provinceof Bizonia.– Provided economic stability to British zone
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yBerlin
• Berlin also
divided
between the
four powers
• However,
positioned
177 km inside
Soviet zone
• So, potential
focus of
tension
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Soviet and US Perspectives on Germany
• Soviet:– Regarded Germany with
great suspicion and
hostility
– Determined to safeguard
USSR from potential
German invasion by
preventing Germany re-
emerging as military and
economic power
– USSR invaded twice by
Germany, so Stalin
alarmed at prospect of a
strong pro-West Germany
• USA:
– US believed punishment of
Germany at end of WW1
created conditions in which
political extremism developed
– So, best guarantee for future
European peace and
prosperity is democratic
Germany with strong
industrial base
– Also, European economic
recovery depended on free
trade between Germany and
other European nations
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yStalin’s desire for reunification
• USSR feared creation of Bizonia in early 1947 as believed a
united Western Germany posed a military threat to Eastern
Europe and USSR
• So, Stalin argued for united but neutral Germany
• But, unacceptable to USA
– feared ‘neutral’ Germany might be absorbed into Soviet sphere …
Stalinisation process
• March-April 1947 Moscow Meeting, the four powers
consider US proposal for urgent monetary reform to
stimulate German industrial development
• Soviets reject proposal as feared it might lead to capitalist
US gaining greater influence …
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The catalyst for blockade
• US frustrated by continued Soviet intransigence so
– US and GB discuss political integration of Bizonia
• 1948 a critical turning point …
• February 1948 ACC suggested currency reform necessary
• But Soviets hoped to continue German recession, therefore favouredcontinuing with Nazi Reichsmark
• 20 March 1948 Soviet delegation walked out of meeting
• March 1948 Bizonia joined with French zone to create militaryprovince of Trizonia
• May 1948 France agreed to co-operate with GB and USA on Germancurrency reform
• US, France, Britain established new currency, Deutschmark, 18 June1948
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yNew Currency
• Desire of the Western Powers to see West Germany realise
its economic potential
• Attempt by USA and Britain to create an all German state
• Expected to fail but US and Britain introduce currency
reform
• ‘London Recommendations’ (June 1948)
– to establish a West German government through a combination of
the three western occupation zones and currency reform
• West German Lander draw up a draft constitution
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Deutschemark replaced the Reichsmark
• The Soviet Union tried
various tactics to halt
the formation of
separate West German
State, e.g. …
– 20 March 1948 the
Soviets left the Allied
Control Council
– and began to put
pressure on the West’s
weakest point – West
Berlin …
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y USSR begins blockade• 18 June 1948 required all Western convoys bound for Berlin
to be searched
• Trizone government refused right of Soviets to search theircargo
• 22 June 1948 new Eastern German mark (Ostmark)
introduced in the Soviet zone and East Berlin
• Objective was to force West to abandon plans for currency
reform and a separate West German state
• 24-25 June 1948 all surface traffic cut off to West Berlin – nocanal, rail and road routes
• Technically legal as no written pact on the access to Berlin
– But US ambassador to Britain, John Winnant, stated accepted
Western view, “that the right to be in Berlin carried with it the right
of access.”
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Lucius Clay
• Lucius Clay, the military governor of the American zone of
Germany wrote:
“When the order of the Soviet Military Administration to close all
rail traffic from the western zones went into effect at 6:00AM on
the morning of June 24, 1948, the three western sectors of Berlin,
with a civilian population of about 2,500,000 people, became
dependent on reserve stocks and airlift replacements. It was one
of the most ruthless efforts in modern times to use mass
starvation for political coercion...”
• US could not accept situation as Berlin strategically
important …
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yReaction to Soviet blockade
• Initially, Soviet authorities thought plan was working:
– “Our control and restrictive measures have dealt a strong blow at the prestige ofthe Americans and British in Germany.”
• British and US plan:– Large-scale airlift
• Under leadership of General Curtis LeMay, 2½ ton capacity C-47sbegan supplying Berlin on 26 June 1948
• 1 July 1948 10-ton capacity C-54s began supplying Berlin
• Airlift code-named “Operation Vittles” (US) but often referred to as“LeMay's feed and coal company” and Plainfare” (Britain)
• The airlift had to deliver 2,000 tons of supplies a day. Without it, WestBerliners could not survive: they had coal for only 45 days and foodfor only 36
• Brought in an average of 4,700 tons of supplies a day
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y Airlift facts• Blockade lasted 318 days
• Winter 1948-9 Berliners lived on dried potatoes, powderedeggs and cans of meat, with four hours electricity per day
• 275,000 flights carried in 1.5 million tons of supplies
• A plane landed every three minutes in West Berlin
• August 1948 US stationed B-29 bombers (which hadcapacity to carry atomic bomb) in Britain
• Central air corridor exclusively for flights out of Berlin toWest Germany– 160,000 people were flown out by French, British and US planes
during the airlift, including 15,000 children, many of whom weresick or malnourished
• Airport in French zone created in 93 days, with the help of17,000 Berliners
• Over 40 crashes and 78 deaths
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yReputation
• Easter Sunday, 16April 1949, 1400flights brought in13,000 tons ofsupplies in one day –Berlin only needed2000 tons a day tosurvive
• Some pilots droppedchocolate and sweets
• British and US pilotsoften regarded as‘heroes’ in WestBerlin
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Media
• “The incessant roar of the planes – that typical and terrible20th Century sound, a voice of cold mechanized anger –filled every ear in the city. It reverberated in the bizarre stoneears of the hollow, broken houses; it throbbed in the wearyears of Berlin's people who were bitter, afraid, but far frombroken; it echoed in the intently listening ear of history. Thesound meant one thing: the West was standing its groundand fighting back.”
Time Magazine Monday 12 July 1948
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• “It might have been smarter for the U.S. not to have gone to Berlin inthe first place, or to have withdrawn two years ago when Berlin had notbecome a spectacular issue testing the West's firmness. Today thoseare academic questions, for the U.S. stands committed. The U.S. stakein Berlin is faith. Withdrawal would lead to despair—and to Sovietpersecution—tens of thousands of anti-Communists whom the U.S.encouraged to speak their minds against the Reds. It would mean theretreat of an army which, however small, is the symbol of America'scommitment to Western European safety. It would give the Russians achance to rally all Germans around their old capital; that might wreckAmerica's plans for a Western German state and a healthy Ruhr, onwhich the Marshall Plan depends. Last week's ruthless siege of Berlinwas a siege of all of Germany and Europe as well.”
Time Magazine Monday 12 July 1948
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The Blockade concludes• Negotiations began late-August 1948; an attempt at action through
the UN but vetoed by Soviet Union
• When these failed Truman decided to station B-29 bombers (capable
of carrying atomic bombs) in Britain as a threat to USSR
• Allies began a counter-blockade of restrictions of critical goods
entering the Eastern sectors of Berlin
• Soviet spies persuaded Stalin to end the blockade as it seemeddoomed to failure
• 2 February 1949 Stalin agreed to lift the blockade if the Western
powers would end the counter-blockade – negotiation continued
• France joined its zone to Bizonia in April 1949 to make the political
province of Trizonia paving the way for creation of an independent
west German state
• 12 May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade
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yOutcomes: success or failure?
• Gaddis: Stalin had responded to the Marshall Plan just how Kennan
had predicted he would
• Blockade almost totally ineffective for USSR
• Propaganda disaster for USSR (prepared to starve 2 million people
to achieve geopolitical ends)
• Belief in West Stalin trying to remove West from Berlin – therefore
West could not retreat
• Response was strong stance by the West
– illustrated resolve of West to stand up to Soviet pressure in peaceful manner
• Instead of preventing establishment of independent West Germany,
accelerated process:
– Formal unification of three Western zones and creation of Federal Republic of
Germany (FRG) 23rd May 1949
– Soviet respond by declaring their zone an independent state German
Democratic Republic (GDR)
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Outcomes: success or failure?
• German recovery taken out of Stalin’s hands by refusing to
co-operate with the other major powers over Germany
• USA agreed to guarantee Western European security
– April 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) set up
• Peaceful resolution demonstrated neither side wanted
conflict
– Genuine fear of war
– Neither wanted to risk nuclear war
• Williamson: Berlin Blockade a flashpoint of Cold War
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yKey interpretation: Stalin’s personality
• Stalin’s personality as main reason for development of Cold
War
– His feelings of insecurity
– His desire to dominate
– His willingness to do anything to safeguard USSR’s future
• Compelling evidence from Soviet documents released after
end of Cold War (1991)
– Memos from senior Soviet ministers, e.g. Maxim Litvinov, “There
has been a return in Russia to the concept of security in terms of
territory – the more you’ve got the safer you are”
• Stalin’s suspicions played a role in his Berlin policy
– He believed resurgent Germany posed significant threat to
USSR’s security
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Key interpretation: US aggression
• Cold War developed due to US determination to confront
USSR
– Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, US leadership of NATO seen
as USA asserting its power against Soviet influence
– US deployment of B-29 bombers in Europe in August 1948
interpreted as evidence of US aggression
1
Berlin Airlift Facts
Blockade lasted 318 days
In the winter 1948-9 Berliners lived on dried potatoes, powdered eggs and cans of meat, with four hours of electricity a day
275 000 flights carried in 1.5 million tons of supplies
A plane landed every 3 minutes in West Berlin
The US stationed B-29 bombers (which had the capacity to carry an atomic bomb) in Britain
Central air corridor exclusively for flights out of Berlin to West Germany
160,000 people were flown out by French, British and US planes during the airlift, including 15,000 children, many of whom were sick or malnourished
Airport in French zone created in 93 days, with the help of 17000 Berliners
Reputation
Easter Sunday, 16 April 1949, 1400 flights brought in 13000 tons of supplies in one day – Berlin only needed 6000 tons a day to survive
Some pilots dropped chocolate and sweets
US pilots often regarded as ‘heroes’ in West Berlin Media “The incessant roar of the planes – that typical and terrible 20th Century sound, a voice of cold mechanized anger – filled every ear in the city. It reverberated in the bizarre stone ears of the hollow, broken houses; it throbbed in the weary ears of Berlin's people who were bitter, afraid, but far from broken; it echoed in the intently listening ear of history. The sound meant one thing: the West was standing its ground and fighting back.” Time Magazine Monday 12 July 1948
A young girl with one of the estimated 150,000
Schokoladenflieger gifts dropped over Berlin
2
“It might have been smarter for the U.S. not to have gone to Berlin in the first place, or to have withdrawn two years ago when Berlin had not become a spectacular issue testing the West's firmness. Today those are academic questions, for the U.S. stands committed. The U.S. stake in Berlin is faith. Withdrawal would leave to despair—and to Soviet persecution—tens of thousands of anti-Communists whom the U.S. encouraged to speak their minds against the Reds. It would mean the retreat of an army which, however small, is the symbol of America's commitment to Western European safety. It would give the Russians a chance to rally all Germans around their old capital; that might wreck America's plans for a Western German state and a healthy Ruhr, on which the Marshall Plan depends. Last week's ruthless siege of Berlin was a siege of all of Germany and Europe as well.” Time Magazine Monday 12 July 1948
The harsh conditions initially of the Berlin winter challenged the pilots and Berlin ground crews.
Over 40 crashes and 78 deaths
The Berliners experienced hardships of hunger, cold and fear but appreciated the allies were sacrificing much for their former enemies
American code name: Operation Vittles led by General Curtis Le May
British code name: Operation Plainfare led by Sir Brian Robertson
Berlin 1948-49 Quiz
1. at which conference was Germany’s division agreed on?
2. what was based in Berlin to govern Germany?
3. which area in Germany had greatest industrial output?
4. list 5 key features of the cold war
5. when was Bizonia formed?
6. when was Marshall aid announced?
7. who was the British Foreign Secretary who was very supportive of an
independent Germany?
8. what was decided at the London Conference from Feb to June 1948?
9. when did the USSR walk out of the Control Commission over the
introduction of a single currency?
10. who was the military governor of the US sector?
11. what did the Allies announce on the 7th June 1948?
12. what new currency was introduced?
13. when was it introduced in West Germany but not Berlin?
14. when was it introduced in West Berlin?
15. what did Stalin hope to achieve from the blockade?
16. when did the blockade start?
17. why was an airlift permitted?
18. how many corridors were there into West Berlin?
19. what did the USA station in Britain?
20. what currency did the USSR introduce?
21. list 3 facts about the airlift
22. when was the blockade called off?
23. what did the western zones of Germany become in August 1949?
24. who headed it?
25. what did the eastern zone become in October 1949?
26. who headed it?
27. when was NATO formed?
28. when was the Warsaw Pact formed and why?
29. where was the West German parliament (it’s good! ha ha!)
30. what was the SED?
31. in which year was there a mass exodus from east to west?
32. what does RIAS stand for?
DIVIDED GERMANY
Following World War II, Germany is divided into four zones of occupation -- Soviet, British,
French and American. Germany, and Berlin in particular, are the only places where
communist and capitalist forces come into direct contact.
Three and a half million Berliners live deep inside Soviet lines. The Nazis' once-proud capital,
reduced to a pile of rubble by Allied anger, is down to its bare essentials.
CURRENCY REFORM
In June 1948, an announcement by the Western Allies brings a crisis to Berlin. They establish
a currency reform meant to wipe out the German black market and further tie the vulnerable
German economy to the West. The Soviets are not told and are infuriated by the action.
Moscow says Berlin is located in the Soviet zone and therefore "economically forms part of it."
Sir Brian Robertson, the British military governor in Berlin, along with his U.S. counterpart,
Gen. Lucius Clay, respond by introducing a special version of a new German currency, the
deutschmark, stamped with a "B" for Berlin.
AIRLIFT
On Thursday, June 24, 1948, West Berlin wakes to find itself under a Soviet blockade -- and
in the midst of the first major confrontation of the Cold War. The Western Allies impose a
counter-blockade on the Soviet zone. The Soviets hope to starve the West out of Berlin.
The West had been through a similar short-term Soviet blockade of Berlin two months earlier
-- and had responded with an airlift using air corridors set up in a 1945 agreement with the
Soviets. Now, new plans are drawn up -- for long-term replenishment of West Berlin from the
air.
NEW ALLIES
The Berlin airlift brings a new mindset to the Western Allies, who start thinking of West
Germany as an ally, rather than an occupied territory. In West Berlin, the airlift brings people
sustenance and hope. In one memorable instance, the airlift -- in the form of American pilot
Gail Halvorsen -- rains candy on West Berlin's desperate children.
As it becomes evident that the Soviets are not going to back down from their blockade, the
Western Allies consider how to expand their airlift operations. Larger cargo planes are
brought in, as well as bombers with cargo capacity.
WEST-EAST
Berliners are still free to move around their city, despite the Soviet blockade. While West
Berlin is suffering through shortages of electricity and other essentials, the eastern sector
offers a relatively normal lifestyle. Politically, however, the city is on edge.
Soviet troops harass West Berliners who go to the eastern zone. And in September, a
communist attempt to take over the city council sparks mass protests -- which end in violence
BLOCKADE ENDS
The Soviet Union ends its blockade of Berlin on May 12, 1949. A month earlier, at the airlift's
peak, Western cargo planes were landing at one of Berlin's three airports at a rate of one
every 62 seconds. By the time the airlift ended, more than 275,000 flights had carried 2.3
million tons of supplies to Berlin -- an effort that went down in history as an aviation and
logistical feat.
At least 79 people, including 31 Americans, 39 British and nine Germans, had lost their lives,
mostly in plane crashes. But the confrontation proved to be only the opening act in the
decades-long Cold War.
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Key Issues
• The emergence of a western bloc
• The consolidation of the eastern bloc
• The Yugoslav-Soviet split
• The decision to create a west German state
• The Berlin Blockade
• The formation of NATO
• The division of Germany
Formation of NATO and Division of GermanyA
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London Conference of Foreign Ministers
• Held November – December 1947
• Attempted to solve problem of Germany
• However, America and the Soviet held different viewpoints– America had come to accept the division of Germany and
supported the idea of Western European integration
– Soviets still wished to avoid partition and feared losing access to
the Ruhr
• Failure of Soviet attempts to disrupt the Marshall Plan
through strikes– Fuelled mistrust
• Soviets attempted to rally public opinion– ‘German People’s Congress for Unity and a Just Peace’, 6–7
December 1947; mainly a communist meeting
• London conference broke up amid recriminations– Failure of four-power cooperation
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yThe Brussels Pact
• French still mistrustful of a West German state• British suggested the formation of a Western Union
– A mutual defence pact– However, after Czechoslovak coup, 22 February 1948, main target of the pact
became the Soviets
• French also reassured by US decision to keep troops in Germany• 17 March 1948 – Brussels Pact signed by Belgium, Britain, France,
Luxembourg and Netherlands• Did not mention USSR by name but did promise mutual defence from
aggression from any quarter• Seen as part of Britain's plan for greater European cooperation against
threat of communism• Bevin pushed for an Atlantic pact to underpin Brussels• By end of March 1948 negotiations were under way
Brussels Pact NATO
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y Marshall Plan and European Integration
• USA very keen on European integration• Hoped Western Union would lead to ‘United States of
Europe’• Three reasons driving this hope:
– Deter USSR– Boost world trade– Provide valuable market for US exports
• Spring 1948 – first instalment of Marshall Aid, $5 Billion• USA sought formation of committee to supervise
distribution– Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC)– However, not all countries willing, e.g. Britain was determined to
retain sovereignty and not surrender power to a supranationalorganisation
• US attempt to mould Europe defeated; Europe would takeits own path …
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yNegotiating the North Atlantic Treaty
• Effect of Prague coup (February 1948) and Berlin Blockade(June1948-May 1949)
• America slowly worked out framework for North Atlantic-Western European alliance
• Plan intertwined with creation of West German state
• Linked to French fears of a resurgent Germany
• Clashes between the western European states and the USCongress– Imprecise wording of Article 5 (see next slide)
• Influence of Article 3: ‘continuous and effective self-help andmutual aid’
• Used by French to involve Americans more closely inEuropean defence
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Article 5
The Parties of NATO agreed that an armed attack against one or
more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an
attack against them all. Consequently they agree that, if such an
armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of
individual or collective self-defence will assist the Party or Parties
being attacked, individually and in concert with the other Parties,
such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force,
to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area
• 24 August 1949 – NATO Council meets for first time
• Defence and military committees set up
• US Congress agrees to Military Assistance Program
• Allayed European fears
• Stopped America drifting back into isolationism
• 1954 – USSR requests entry to NATO– Refused
• 1955 – West Germany joins NATO
• 1955 – USSR creates Warsaw Pact
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Decision to Create a West German State
• Previous failure of London Conference of Foreign Ministers (Nov-Dec1947) led to strengthening belief in West about formation of anindependent West German state
• London Six Power Conference, February to June 1948 – the ‘secret’one
• France still fearful of resurgent Germany• Appeased by tight controls over Germany (Occupation Statute) and
American commitment to NATO• Ruhr regulated by International Ruhr Authority• Germany have to accept Occupation Statute• 7 June 1948 – West Germany was authorised to draft a constitution• 20 June 1948 – introduction of new currency, Deutschmark
• Soviet response Berlin Blockade
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yCreation of the Federal Republic of Germany
• West German constitution approved 1949
• General Election August 1949
• Konrad Adenauer first West German Chancellor
• However, not completely independent:– Occupation Statute (Besatzungsstatut) 10 April 1949 created
Allied High Commission
• Britain, France and the US still had rights to:– control over disarmament, demilitarization, related fields of
scientific research, war reparations, the Ruhr, decartelization,displaced persons and refugees, protection, prestige and securityof the occupying forces, foreign affairs, and foreign trade andexchange
• So Germany had conditional sovereignty
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Consolidation of the Eastern Bloc
• Cominform (Communist Information Bureau founded September 1947)
powerful instrument of control of Soviet bloc
• In theory all communist countries independent but communists
regimes in eastern Europe dependent on Moscow for survival
• So all communist parties (east and west) had to adopt identical
cultural, social, military and economic policies directed by Moscow
• Led to:
– Czechoslovak Coup, 13 February 1948
– Emergence of Communist dominated Independent Front in Hungary
– Ousting of Wladyslaw Gomulka in Poland; desired to form socialist state
representing Poland not USSR so forced to resign and imprisoned in August
1948
• Only Yugoslavia had independent power base to function without aid
from Moscow
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yThe Yugoslav-Soviet Split
• Tito not happy being controlled by Moscow• Stalin highly critical of Tito and his attempts at an
independent role in the Balkans– Tito sought to form south-eastern federation centred on
Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Greece– Stalin feared would make Tito most powerful man in region– Also feared may provoke USA
• Delegations sent to Moscow where Stalin proceeded topropose a smaller union with stricter controls on foreignpolicy
• Tito refused to subordinate Yugoslavia’s foreign policy toUSSR
• Stalin recalled all Soviet advisers from Yugoslavia andexpelled Yugoslavia from Cominform June 1948
• Thus, Soviet bloc split into two camps
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y Consolidation of the Eastern Bloc• Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) set up January
1949 to counter Marshall Aid
• Role of bilateral treaties of friendship between USSR and satellitestates, contained following:– Mutual defence agreements
– Ban on joining a hostile alliance
– Recognition of equality, sovereignty and non-interference in each others internalaffairs
• Role of summoning leader to Moscow
• Role of Soviet ambassadors– Direct participation in internal affairs of satellite states
• Threat of Red Army
• Each satellite states’ army fully integrated with that of the USSR– Same equipment, training manuals and armaments; even same uniform
• Role of Stalin cult
• Local communists had to be more like Stalin in order to survive soeastern states based upon the Stalinist model
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yEmergence of the German Democratic Republic
• 1948–49 Soviets reluctant to set up an East German State– Still hoped to forestall western plans
– Feared creation of East Germany would make the division ofGermany final
• Walter Ulbricht and the SED attempt a unified state, e.g.– March 1948 German People’s Council
– Formed basis of East German state’s constitution
– ‘make believe constitution’
– Approved May 1949
• Still hoped to wreck West German elections– However, KPD won only 5.7% of the vote
• 12 October 1949 – German Democratic Republic set up
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y Stalin’s Failure to Stop German Division and
Rearmament
• Stalin tried to exploit fears in Western Europe of a new world war by launching the Communist led World Peace Movement
• Also tried to stop West Germany’s military and economic integration into Western Europe
• Sought to achieve a united but neutral Germany:– March 1952 –proposal for free elections to be supervised by the four powers
– New united Germany not allowed to make alliances
– Not burdened by reparations, de-Nazification and socialisation of the economy
– Allowed its own limited armed forces
• Was Stalin serious?
• Many West Germans believed Adenauer should have responded positively to Stalin
• A missed opportunity?
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y Stalin’s Failure to Stop German Division and
Rearmament
• However, Adenauer wanted to see the FRG firmlyintegrated with the West– As did British and American governments
• Thus, Stalin’s plans were never explored
• So, July 1952 Ulbricht given go ahead for furthersocialisation in East Germany
• Stalin now gave up on idea of sacrificing the GDR in orderstop division of Germany and rearmament of the FRG
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Berlin• Division of Germany ensured
Berlin remained divided
• November 1948 – West Berlin set up its own city government
• Anti-communist majority
• Allowed to send representative to Bundestag
• However, did not have voting rights
• Still under four-power control
• Eastern sector became capital of GDR
• Berlin remains a flash point of the Cold War – Williamson
Title: Divided Germany: the Cold War battleground: Postwar Germany: one country or two?
Author(s): Emma Peplow
Source: 20th Century History Review. 2.3 (Apr. 2007): p24.
Document Type: Article
In May 1945 the Grand Alliance triumphed over the Nazis. However, at the end of the Second World
War tensions increased and the Grand Alliance began to crumble, with East and West turning against
each other. Disagreements between the Allies emerged earls, in 1945 over Moscow's failure to carry
out the Yalta decisions on the future of Poland. Germany, the defeated enemy, was at the centre of
these tensions and remained so throughout the conflict. Its vital strategic position in the heart of
Europe and massive potential for industrial might meant Germany was important to each ally.
However, it soon became clear that the Allies could not agree on Germany's future. As these
disagreements began, fear of the old enemy remained. Both sides dreaded a strong Germany allied
against them, either Communist or capitalist.
Therefore, defeated Germany faced another humiliation after the war--division. The split of a
country so recently united helped to keep the peace; however, dire consequences remained. Both
East and West faced the constant threat of nuclear war during the postwar period, probably on
German soil. Even without this threat, division caused much heartache. Families were forced apart
as the Iron Curtain Jell across the country. The division became even harsher after 1961, when the
Berlin Wall ended most contact between the two countries. Politicians in both East and West faced a
dilemma: how to work for, or appear to work for, reunification without conceding too much to their
ideological enemies.
Occupation
Germany's future was discussed at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences. In January 1945 Churchill,
Roosevelt and Stalin met at Yalta, in the Crimea, to try to hammer out the shape of postwar Europe.
The Potsdam conference was held in July 1945 to discuss reparations, German borders in the East
and Soviet intervention in the Pacific war. The Allies agreed to occupy Germany and it was divided
into four occupation zones: American, Russian, British and French. Berlin, the symbolic Nazi capital,
was also divided into four sectors, despite its position deep in the Russian zone. The Allies intended
to consider a peace treaty at fixture Councils of Foreign Ministers, while German occupation policy
was to be decided by a quadripartite Allied authority in Germany--the Allied Control Council (ACC).
Before German policy could be decided, all four occupying powers had to agree.
However, it soon became obvious that the four Allies had different plans for the country,
fundamental differences that made it difficult to agree over even the smallest policy. One of the
biggest disagreements was over reparations. The Russians had suffered enormous destruction
during the German invasion of their country and therefore they were keen to exact the highest
reparations they could. This money would help rebuild the war torn USSR but, more importantly,
would also help their second objective – to keep Germany so weak it could never again attack the
USSR.
The French were similarly afraid of a strong Germany and initially supported Russian policies.
However, the Americans and British wanted to rebuild Germany. After the First World War, huge
reparations payments had destabilised the country and helped the Nazis' rise to power (see
MODERN HISTORY REVIEW, Vol. 13, No. 4). Moreover, neither country wanted to have to pay for the
German population to survive. Therefore, these two countries pressed for low reparations and a
programme to rebuild the country, thereby helping the economic recovery of Europe and keeping
their occupation costs down.
Thus, Allied plans for Germany were irreconcilable: no decisions were made on a common policy at
the ACC and the zones began to develop in different ways. The US and British zones joined together
in January 1947 to form Bizonia. The occupiers began to rebuild this shattered industrial area and
encouraged domestic political parties to from. In the Russian zone, however, industry was stripped
of any equipment useful to the USSR. The little industry that remained began to be socialised and
land seized from former Nazis was given to ordinary people to run collectively. The Soviet sponsored
Socialist Unity Party (SED) began to seize power, although outwardly, the system appeared
democratic.
Berlin blockaded and division
While no Allied power or German politician wanted to give up a chance to influence the whole of
Germany, no--one was prepared to make concessions within their own zones that would allow
either Communist or capitalist influence to threaten their power. The country was on its way
towards division. Germany continued to sink into disarray. Reconstruction work was stalled, many
people went hungry and the black market flourished.
By June 1948, the Western powers decided to act unilaterally in an attempt to rebuild their zones. A
new currency, the Deutschmark, was introduced to combat the black market and industrial
stagnation. Because this was not introduced into the East, the country was effectively divided into
two economic blocs. However, the status of Berlin remained ambiguous. The Western powers had
occupational rights in the city and therefore introduced their currency in West Berlin. The Russians,
who had never accepted the Western presence in Berlin, saw this as a threat to their power in the
East and in June 1948, blockaded Western land routes into the city in an attempt to force the
Western powers out.
The West responded by airlifting supplies into the city, a mammoth effort that sustained the West
Berliners, who were determined not to allow Communists to take over their half of the city.
The action split Berlin in September 1948; two German administrations claimed political power in
their respective areas. This was mirrored in Germany as a whole. In 1948, the Western powers
decided to return government to the Germans in the three Western zones. By 1949, West Germans
had decided on a democratic constitution known as the Basic Law. Three weeks later, the East
Germans responded with their own constitution, one that appeared democratic but gave power to
the SED. By the time the Russians lifted the blockade in May 1949, the country was well on its way to
political division.
Two Germanys, two developments
Both regimes in East and West kept their affiliations with their occupying powers. The western
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was democratic and pro-Western, whereas the eastern German
Democratic Republic (GDR) was Communist and pro-Soviet. The tensions that had been embedded
in the occupation remained in the two Germanys which emerged.
In the West, the central Christian Democratic Party (CDU), under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and
his finance minister, Ludwig Erhard, introduced capitalist free-market policies that helped West
Germany's 'economic miracle'. The country's industry was rebuilt quickly and living standards
increased rapidly, underpinned by a generous welfare state. At the same time, democratic
institutions, introduced under the Basic Law, became associated for the first time in German history
with success, and democracy achieved stability and popularity.
In the East, however, Communist power was consolidated under Walter Ulbricht. Land and industry
were collectivised on the Soviet model and political repression became part of everyday life. Despite
a brief uprising in Berlin in 1953, the Communists retained power with the help of their Russian
backers. However, the economy, hampered by too much centralisation and Russian reparations
payments, was not as successful as in West Germany. As living standards dropped, millions of East
Germans fled to the West.
East and West Germany also became aligned militarily to the separate blocs in the Cold War and
increasingly became armed against each other. West Germany became part of NATO in 1954 and
East Germany part of the Warsaw Pact at its inception in May 1955. The wartime Allies' original fears
were fulfilled; German industrial and military might was armed, partly, against them.
The 1961 Berlin Crisis and Ostpolitik
In 1961, crisis broke out again in Berlin. To stem the flow of refugees, which had reached 3 million,
Ulbricht convinced the Russians to allow him to plug the gap – the East-West border in Berlin.
On 13 August, during the night, the border was sealed and a wall constructed to prevent further
migration from East to West. West Germany and its allies were horrified by this action but powerless
to stop it. Russian and American tanks faced each other at Checkpoint Charlie to maintain Western
rights of patrol in the East. The wall effectively stemmed the flow of refugees from East Germany--a
flow the West had actively encouraged--and prevented further contact between East and West
Germans.
The wall served its purpose for the GDR. Those who had fled were often young skilled workers. Now
their continued presence in the country helped to improve the economy and living standards. In the
West, however, the wall led to a new policy towards the East. Adenauer and the CDU had pursued a
hardline policy towards the GDR, refusing to recognise the Communist government's existence and
breaking off diplomatic ties with any country that recognised the GDR. Once the wall blocked the
East German escape route into the West, the Federal Republic's Social Democrat leader, Willy
Brandt, decided to follow a more conciliatory policy – Ostpolitik (eastern policy) – reaching out to
countries in Eastern Europe and seeking diplomatic and economic ties with them.
Although Ulbricht tried to prevent the Eastern European countries recognising his rival in the West,
the desire in both East and West for detente encouraged this weakening of tensions. By the early
1970s, agreements had been made regarding Berlin and the two Germanys recognised each other
for the first time.
Conclusion
Germany remained a battleground long after the end of the Second World War--a political and
ideological battleground of the Cold War. The importance of Germany to both East and West
ensured a high degree of caution in relations between the two countries. No political leaders in the
East or West were prepared to undermine their own system in order to reunite. The Western
powers, and later West Germany, refused to take any action that might allow Communist gains in
the FRG, even though this was extremely unlikely after the West German 'economic miracle'.
In the East, Ulbricht's regime was based on so much repression that he simply could not afford to
allow Western influence to creep in. Even after the adoption of Ostpolitik, the two countries
remained at odds with one another.
Despite the fact that many Germans wanted desperately to reunite their country, division had to be
accepted by all as a reality, of the Cold War. The two sides had been drawn so far into the conflict
they could not be reconciled.
Key concept
Consequences; significance
Before you read this
It is easy to think of the division of Germany as somehow inevitable. How might things have been
different had Germany been retained as a single state? That is the possibility that was in the
statesmen's minds at the time.
Key points
* After the Second World War, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation: American,
British, French and Russian. Berlin, deep in the Russian zone, was similarly divided into four sectors.
* Germany's division arose out of tensions between the USSR and the Western Allies over the
postwar government of Germany, especially in the quadripartite Allied Control Council.
* The four zones were developed in different ways, with the British and US zones joining in 1947 to
form Bizonia, which was then reconstructed and its economy developed, while the Russian zone was
stripped of anything worthwhile for reparations.
* Both East and West Germany kept their affiliations with their occupying powers during the Cold
War. The FRG was democratic and pro-Western and the GDR was Communist and pro-Soviet.
* West Germany adopted capitalist free market policies, underpinning the 'economic miracle' and
improving living standards. East Germany was Communist and its economy centralised; its citizens
were repressed and living standards poor. Thus many East Germans sought to escape to the West,
mostly through Berlin.
* To stem the flow of skilled worker refugees to the West, a wall was built in 1961 to divide East
from West Berlin. However, the existence of the wall encouraged Willy Brandt to develop the more
conciliatory Ostpolitik towards East Germany.
* A mutual desire for detente encouraged a weakening of East-West tensions and by the early
1970s, agreements were made over Berlin, resulting in the two Germanys recognising each other.
Grand Alliance: wartime alliance of Britain and the British Commonwealth, USSR with its Comintern
allies (some governmental, some not) and the USA, with its Pan-American Union.
Iron Curtain: in a speech at Fulton, Missouri, USA, on 5 March 1946, Winston Churchill spoke of an
'iron curtain' dividing the continent.
Allied Control Council: military occupation governing body of the Allied occupation zones at the end
of the Second World War. Members were Britain, the USA and the USSR. France was added later
with a vote but no duties. The ACC was based in Berlin.
socialised: run according to Soviet-style Marxist political ideology and economic principles.
economic miracle: regeneration of West Germany's economy and industry through economic and
working practice reforms, the embrace of capitalism, the Marshall Plan and people's readiness to
work hard for low wages until productivity had risen.
Checkpoint Charlie: crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.
detente: policy of 'relaxation of tension' pursued particularly by Western governments towards the
Communist bloc in the 1970s.
weblink
There is a lot more material available online about life in the Communist East than in safe but boring
West Germany. The ever-reliable Calvin College has amassed a remarkable collection of East German
propaganda at: www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/gdrmain.htm#Misc, including speeches, cartoons
and a coffee table book about Walter Ulbricht. The German Historical Museum in what used to be
East Berlin has some good pictures from the Communist period at:
www.dhm.de/sammlungen/plakate/bestand.html and there are fascinating pictures from the
museum of the Stasi, the East German secret police at www.stasi-museum.de.
See www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1886.html for a useful account of how West Germany fitted into
US foreign policy, and www.germannotes.com/hist for useful biographies of major figures like
Adenauer and Brandt. If you do not mind other people's holiday snaps,
www.ddr5.homestead.com/files/index.html carries one man's account with pictures of backpacking
through the old East Germany.
Further reading
Balfour, M. (1992) Germany, the Tides of Power, Routledge. This book is good on West Germany.