Success, however, was not a foregone conclusion. In the West, currency reform in 1948, free market policies and the generous terms of Marshall Aid provided the pre-conditions for the subsequent ‘economic miracle.’ This success story was reinforced by peaceful re-unification in 1990 replacing the inconclusive and potentially unstable situation created in 1949 of Germany divided into two separate states. Politically and diplomatically, Germany was de-nazified, disarmed as an independent military force and the Western and Eastern parts firmly anchored within the NATO and Warsaw Pact alliances. In the east, the German Democratic Republic was to prove a loyal ally of the Soviet Union for over 40 years until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and become, in the meantime, relatively affluent compared to other members of the Soviet bloc. Many of the conclusions appear to be equally valid for the US and French zones, although the detailed situation, policies pursued and timescales varied in each zone. This policy paper examines the situation in the British zone, between 19. It was not until 1949, four years after the end of the war, that the three western zones formally joined together to form the Federal Republic of (West) Germany, and the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). In 1947 the British and US zones combined economically to form the ‘Bizone’ but remained separate political entities. It was originally intended that the country would be governed as a single entity by central German administrations, in accordance with decisions made by the four Allies acting jointly through the Allied Control Council in Berlin, but in practice each of the Allies ran their zone more or less independently for the first two years of the occupation. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin at Yalta in February 1945, Germany was divided by the victorious Allies - Britain, the US, the Soviet Union and France - into four zones of occupation. Reconciliation does not happen automatically, but requires a conscious effort on both sides.Īt the end of the Second World War, in accordance with agreements made between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Personal relationships between occupier and occupied are important. If political structures are to last beyond the occupation, they have to be created by local political leaders and accepted by the population as a whole. Trying to make local people do everything the victor’s way can be counter-productive. Democracy cannot be imposed by force or by totalitarian means.Therefore military commanders and civilian authorities need to respond flexibly in light of what they encounter. There is a limit to how much preparation can be done in advance because it is impossible to predict actual circumstances on the ground. Giving the Germans ‘hope for the future’ was one of Montgomery’s favourite phrases. Restrictive measures to prevent future aggression need to be complemented by positive reconstructive measures so that the occupied can see their own efforts are rewarded. As Field-Marshal Montgomery said in a message to his troops on Victory in Europe (VE) Day,, ‘We have won the German war.
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