Occupation and Division 1945-1949

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Potsdam 1945 - aims

  • Denazification
    • All agreed this needed to be done
    • Soviets believed Nazism was embeded in society and all Germans were Nazism
    • West believed it was in the minds of certain individuals and most Germans had gone along with it to to stay safe 
  • Democratisation
    • Aimed to set up free elections
    • Break up central goverment by setting up local governments
  • Decentralisation
    • Wanted to break up key industry to make Germany easier to control
    • Introduced decartelisation
  • Demilitarisation
    • Wanted to remove military completely to avoid an uprising
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Potsdam

  • Reparations
    • Agreed $20 billion should be taken
    • USSR would take 10% of west's income in exchange for 15% of soviet zone's food 
    • USSR also took many of the German factories to Russia 
  • Eventual reunification 
    • All agreed that they would work togethther to rebuild Germany then reunify the four zones
    • Would be governed by the High Allied Commision until then
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Denazification West

  • 486 death penalities in all zones
  • Issued questionaires and set up tribunals to investigate activity of citizens - back up of paperwork - many cases against genuine Nazis were dropped
  • Persil certificates - ex-Nazis could get away with it by stating that they rejected Nazism
  • germans didn't face up to their past
  • Nuremburg Trials 1946-7
    • 21 tried 
    • 3 excused 
  • 177,512 interned in American zone
  • 1950 - 6 million> investigated 
  • 5 mill exonerated
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Denazification in the Soviet Zone

  • Turned Nazi concentration camps into Special Soviet Camps
    • No.1 - 25% of 60,000 prisoners died
    • No.2 - 30,000 prisoners
    • Sachsenhausen turned into No.7
  • 1946 Hilter youth changed to Free German Youth 
  • 1946 Law for the Democratisation of the Education system - replaced selective system with comprehensive system
  • rewrote textbooks and removed ex-nazis  from teaching
  • Many citizens could get out of trouble by saying that they supported socialism
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Democratisation - West

  • 1947 - allowed set up of political parties
  • Only approved parties who had democratic tendencies
  • Parties needed 5% of the vote to gain a seat in the Bundestag
  • Social Democratic Party (SPD)
  • Christain Democratic Union/Christian Socialist Union (CDU)
  • Free Democratic Party (FDP)
  • German Communist Party (KPD)
  • German Peasants Party (DBD)
  • Nationalist Democratic Party (NDP)
  • League of Expelles and Refugees (BHE)
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Democratization in soviet zone

  • Allowed formation of political parties immediatly to allow KPD to gain popularity
  • SDP
  • CDU
  • German Liberal Party (LDP)
  • Democratic Peasant Party (DBD) - puppet party
  • National Democratisation Party (NPND) - puppet party
  • 1945 - SPD more popular than KPD
  • 1945-6 - KPD forced SPD to merge with them - created SED - Social Unity Party - purged SPD members 
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Decentralisation in the Soviet zone

  • Nationalisation - 60% by 1949
  • Removed Junker class - land owners
  • collectivisation - 7000 estates involved
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Commitment to reunification

  • Soviet zone joined COMIFORM 1947 - Communist Information Bureau - set up to organise communist infiltration of Eastern Bloc
  • Western zones accepted Marshall Plan 1947  - aimed at limiting communism
  • Western zones adhered to the Truman Doctirne 1947 - Harry Truman had given a speech declaring USA's commitment to limiting communism
  • Zones becoming intergreated into oppisite areas of Europe
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Economic developments in the Soviet Zone

  • Nationalisation - 60% by 1949
  • Removed Junker class - land owners
  • collectivisation - 7000 estates involved
  • 1949 - Joined COMECON - econonic organisation for the Eastern bloc
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Economic developments in the Western zones

  • Marshall Plan 1947 - received financial aid from US - $13 billion given to Western Europe
  • Bizonia 1947 -  US and Britain merged zones to impliment economc effiecincy - later became Trizonia when French zone joined 
  • Currency reform 1948 - replaced Reichmark with the Deutchsemark to stop bartering - USSR then introduced the East German Deutschemark
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The Berlin Blockade

  • 1948 - 1949
  • USSR began to obtruct routes between East and West Berlin
  • Increasing Security chels of Weatern soldiers  
  • Blocked off West berlin from East Germany - civllians couldn't get out - had no supplies
  • Berlin airlift - lasted 11 months - western allies brought in supplies by air 
  • Planes landed in Tempelhof Airport every 90 seconds
  • US population sent 5 million package of food 
  • Stalin had hoped that they would give up and give up thier zones in Berlin
  • USSR had to call off in May 1949 
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Consequences of the Berlin blockade

  • Western allies moved armed forces into West Berlin
  • USSR seen as the agressor
  • Alllies pushed toward division - zones were already divided by thier po,litical, social and economic systems
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Formation of the FRG

  • Federal Republic of Germany  
  • Set up under the Basic Law 1949
  • Basic Law - President couldn't remove Chancellor and parties need 5% of the vote to
  • 1949 - First elections:
    • CDU = 139  seats - won
    • SPD = 131
  • Konrad Adenauer was FRG's 1st Chancellor 
  • Theodore Heuss was Preisdent - FPD
  • Adenauer seemed prepared to leave Soziet zone to the mercy of the USSR - focused on ecomonic growth
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Formation of the GDR

  • Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic 1949
  • SED gained power
  • William Pieck became President
  • Walter Ulbricht became First Secretary of the Politburo
  • SED was dominant party  - Ulbricht had full control
  • Ulbricht had ultimate goal of 'building socialism'
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