German politics after World War II. Postwar Germany

After Nazi Germany completed the Anschluss on March 13, 1938 - the annexation of Austria to Germany, it did not calm down and included many more foreign lands in its composition.

But after the defeat on the fronts of the Second World War, all the territorial acquisitions of Germany were returned to their former owners, at the same time the Saar was taken away from it, and the country itself

and at the same time its capital Berlin was divided into zones of occupation.

On the maps we see that there were 4 zones of occupation: Soviet, American, British and French. This was the case in Berlin, and the British in their zone of occupation of Germany allocated a place for the Polish zone of occupation. It covered an area of 6,500 km² in areas bordering the Netherlands. Its administrative center was the city of Haren, now located in the state of Lower Saxony. The city was occupied on May 19, 1945, and by May 28, 1945, almost all German residents were evicted from the city. The city was then given the Polish name Maczków on June 4, 1945. The Polish city of Machkov did not remain long, the beginning of the Polish troops were withdrawn in September 1946 to the UK, after which the civilians were resettled in Poland or left after the soldiers. On September 10, 1948, the city again became Haren, and the Polish zone of occupation ordered a long life.

All countries that became part of the Third Reich did not receive occupying troops, with the exception of Austria. It is also divided into 4 zones,

as well as the capital of Austria - Vienna.

What happened in the future with the occupying troops?

Most quickly they disappeared from Austria.

On May 15, 1955, the Austrian Declaration of Independence was adopted; on July 27, 1955, it was ratified by Austria, the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France. Within 90 days, the occupying troops were to be withdrawn from the country. The last, on the very last date - October 25, 1955, British soldiers left Austria.

And in Germany, the occupation troops were delayed.

Formally occupying troops in West Germany not since 1954. According to paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the "Agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Three Powers" of October 23, 1954, concluded in Paris: "With the entry into force of this Agreement... The Three Powers will abolish the Occupation Status."

The Bonn Treaty signed on May 26, 1952 by Germany, Great Britain, the USA and France stated that the Allied Powers have the right to keep their armed forces on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany "until a peace settlement and the reunification of Germany is reached." But this Treaty was not ratified by France, and in the Paris Treaty of 1954 there is no time limit for the stay of foreign troops in Germany at all.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Paris Treaty of 1954 states:

"Considering the international situation, the Three Powers shall retain the rights they have hitherto exercised or enjoyed with respect to
a) the deployment of armed forces in Germany and the protection of their security;
b) Berlin and
c) Germany as a whole, including the reunification of Germany and the peace settlement."

On September 12, 1990, the "Final Settlement Treaty with regard to Germany" was signed by the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the USSR, Great Britain and the United States. Entered into force on March 15, 1991.

According to Article 4 of the Treaty Soviet troops were to be withdrawn from Berlin and the GDR before the end of 1944. The withdrawal of troops took place ahead of schedule. The Western Group of Forces ceased to exist on August 31, 1994. Connections and parts were actually withdrawn "into an open field." Most of the units were then disbanded.

According to paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Treaty: "For the duration of the stay of Soviet troops in the territory of the present German Democratic Republic and Berlin troops of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and French Republic will, in accordance with the wish of the German side, on the basis of an appropriate contractual settlement between the government of a united Germany and the governments of these states, continue to be located in Berlin.

After the withdrawal of Soviet troops in Berlin, there should not have been any occupying troops. But Berlin is not all of Germany.

Judging by open sources of information, there are currently no French occupation troops in Germany. In 1993, the military contingents of Belgium and Canada were withdrawn - although they did not have any zones of occupation.

In 2010, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron set the task, for reasons of economy, to withdraw the British military contingent from the territory of Germany by 2020, and not by 2035, as previously planned by the British government.

William Eldridge Odom - American military leader, former director of the Agency national security USA from 1985 to 1988, in his interview on April 25, 1999, he said: "We are in Korea, Japan and Germany forever ..."

Even an ardent admirer of the Wehrmacht, retired German Major General Gerd-Helmut Komossa, wrote the book "The German Map" (Die deutsche Karte) in 1999, in which he expresses the conspiracy version that there is a secret agreement between Germany and the United States that the troops will be in Germany until 2099. Yandex ❤ started selling air tickets! 🤷

Germany surrendered on May 8th, 1945. The Great Patriotic War ended. The history of post-war Germany is a tale of unrest, civil strife, and rebirth. History of the GDR and the FRG.

The post-war situation led to the division of Germany. The Cold War that followed World War II split the world into two camps: the communist east, led by the Soviet Union, and the western capitalist world, led by the United States. Germany was divided into 4 parts: the northwest was under British rule, the southwest was overrun by the French, the south was under US control, and the Soviets took control of eastern Germany.

The Potsdam Conference in 1945 decided the future of Germany. It was decided that Germany would compensate the Allied States for the losses they suffered during the war. The compensation was in the form of goods and equipment. The USSR received the lion's share of the reparations. However, disagreements arose between the countries regarding the share of compensation and the future of the country. The USA and Great Britain aspired to democracy and economic independence of Germany. The Soviets wanted more territory and were opposed to the idea of German development. The French also wanted a significant portion of the land and vetoed the country's government unification plan. The consensus that suited everyone was the formation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) under the leadership of the USSR in the east, and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the west under the auspices of the United States and Great Britain. From the very beginning of the division, the territory under the control of the USSR began to lag behind economically.

The uprising of the workers of the GDR took place on June 17, 1953, when a series of strikes and demonstrations took place throughout East Germany.

The beginning of the Berlin uprising is associated with the Berlin workers who built elite housing for the nomenklatura. On June 16, 1953, workers took to the streets to protest against the Government's decree to raise labor standards by 10 percent. Very soon, political protest was added to the social one: the first demands for the resignation of the government were made. The Germans demanded free elections and the withdrawal of Soviet troops. Residents of other cities also heard about the Berlin events on the radio. On the 17th of June the whole country was aflame with popular unrest. About a million people took to the streets. More than a thousand businesses went on strike. In Hall, Bitterfeld and Görlitz, demonstrators seized city power. The government responded harshly, with the help of Soviet troops and the Stasi, crushing the wave of protest, killing leaders and imprisoning activists. According to the introduced state of emergency, all demonstrations, meetings, rallies and gatherings of more than three people in the streets and squares, as well as in public buildings, were banned. Pedestrians were banned and Vehicle during the night hours. Violators of this order were punished according to the laws of war. In just a couple of days, life returned to normal. However, the protest continued to live.

The socialist government of the GDR announced the creation of a wall that would prevent the influence of the West. Many people fled to the west before construction, some were killed during its construction and even more while trying to overcome it. The Berlin Wall, which showed the complete difference between communism and the capitalist world, was completed in August 1961.

The 1970s and 1980s were marked by rapid economic growth in both East and West Germany. Two systems, socialism and capitalism, competed with each other, building an economic miracle on the territory of one single country. While East Germany was the political scapegoat of the stubborn communist regime and "little brother", there was uncontrolled corruption and political instability in the West. The need to unite East and West came primarily from the Vestis (East Germans). With diminishing Soviet influence and great pressure from the populace, East and West were

After the war, Germany lay in ruins. The industry was destroyed, products were issued on cards. But in 1948 a “miracle” happened. Factories began to open, goods appeared on the shelves, and the German mark became the most desired currency in the world.

Let's find out how, in just a few years, Germany has again become one of the leading powers in the world.

Marshall Plan

The first post-war years in Germany were called "zero". As the “father” of the German miracle, Ludwig Erhard, later wrote: “That was the time when we in Germany were engaged in calculations, according to which per capita had one plate every five years, a pair of shoes every twelve years, every fifty years - One suit each.

The well-known "Marshall Plan" was the first step towards Germany's exit from this crisis.

In addition to preparing the soil for the next cold war, in front of him were clear economic tasks. Western Europe has always been the most important market for American capitalism. Even during the Great Depression, the United States was able to get out of the crisis by conquering the European market.

The "mechanism" is simple - the greater the demand in Europe, the greater the supply from the United States, the more jobs there, the higher the purchasing power of American citizens.

In the post-war period, Europe needed American goods more than ever. There was only one problem - there was nothing to buy them, national currencies depreciated. Therefore, in 1947, the United States found itself at a crossroads - either to abandon promising markets and slow down the growth of its own economy, or to provide post-war Europe with material support and get not only a "regular customer and customer", but also an ally. The United States put on the second and did not lose.

In accordance with the Marshall Plan, Germany was provided with a total of $3.12 billion in loans, equipment and technology over 4 years. And although the "plan" was not the main active force in the post-war reconstruction of Germany, it made it possible to carry out later what will be called the "German miracle." In a few years, the production of both agricultural and industrial products will exceed the pre-war level.

"Prosperity for all"

The main creator of the "new Germany" was not the American Secretary of State, but the first Minister of Economics of the Federal Republic of Germany, later the Federal Chancellor - Ludwig Erhard. Erhard's main concept was contained in the postulate that the economy is not a soulless mechanism, it rests on living people with their desires, aspirations and needs.

Thus, the basis for the economic revival of Germany was to be free enterprise. Erhard wrote: “I see the ideal situation where a common person can say: I have enough strength to stand up for myself, I want to be responsible for my own destiny. You, the state, do not worry about my affairs, but give me so much freedom and leave me so much from the result of my work that I myself and at my own discretion provide for the existence of myself and my family.

In Erhard's policy, the state was assigned the role of a "night guard", which "protected" entrepreneurial activity from monopoly, external competition, high taxes and other factors that stood in the way of the liberal market.

The introduction of a free market economy in post-war Germany was not simple solution. It was Erhard's only initiative, an "anti-law", which contradicted the policy of the occupying authorities and nullified all previous attempts to pull Germany out of the crisis through a planned economy and state regulation.

And it worked. Some time later, two Frenchmen Jacques Rueff and Andre Pietre, who were then in Germany, wrote: “Only eyewitnesses can tell about the instantaneous effect that the currency reform had on filling warehouses and richness of shop windows. From day to day, shops began to be filled with goods and factories resumed work. The day before, hopelessness was written on the faces of the Germans, the next day the whole nation looked to the future with hope.

New brand

But for free enterprise, another important condition was necessary - currency stability. In the post-war period, the Reichsmark was valued no more than once the "Kerenki" in the RSFSR.

On June 21, 1948, a monetary reform was carried out, aimed at the confiscation of depreciated money and the creation of a hard currency. This is how the Deutschmark appeared, which later became famous as one of the most stable currencies of the 20th century.

The monetary reform was prepared in the strictest secrecy. Firstly, in order not to provoke the intervention of the USSR, and secondly, in order to avoid panic getting rid of the old Reichsmarks.

But on the eve of the reform, rumors still leaked to the masses, causing a real "shopping hysteria" - the Germans tried to buy everything that money could still buy. As a result, black market prices have shot up to astronomical heights.

The exchange rate of the old currency for the new one was purely confiscatory. Firstly, for 10 old marks they gave one new one, with the same paying capacity. Secondly, each adult could change on June 21 at a time only 400 Reichsmarks for 40 Deutschmarks, and then another 200 Reichsmarks for new 20 within a few days. At the end of the term, all remaining Reichsmarks were either partially kept in banks or depreciated.

Through such tough measures, Erhard managed to ensure a stable exchange rate for the new currency, as well as to achieve an even distribution of funds among different segments of the population, while before that most of the country's currency was concentrated in the hands of a small but very wealthy group of people. Now a broad and stable middle class was emerging.

In the 50s, the German mark became one of the most reliable currencies in the world, in which residents of many countries kept their savings. Even when DM in 1977 was almost half its value in 1950, its purchasing power remained among the best in the world.

Freedom to prices!

Literally a few days after the monetary reform, prices were "set free". From now on, the pricing policy was based on the principle of liberalization, with only one proviso that the state retained the right of partial control over them. So he compiled a list of "appropriate prices" for certain consumer products, and also adopted a ban on arbitrary price increases in order to avoid the greed of entrepreneurs.

It was followed by antitrust decrees, according to which the share of one company in the market could not exceed 33%, two or three - 50%, and four or five - no more than 65%.

Tax incentives were introduced, which discouraged companies from the "shadow business". In short, numbers speak louder than words. By 1950, Germany had reached the pre-war level of production, and by 1962 it was three times higher.

Once, after the recovery of the German economy, its entry into the first positions of the world market, Erhard was asked what is the key to the successful development of the economy. To this he replied: "the resourcefulness of the entrepreneurs, the discipline and diligence of the workers, and the skillful policy of the government."

Marshall Plan

The well-known "Marshall Plan" was the first step towards Germany's exit from this crisis.

In addition to preparing the ground for the ensuing Cold War, he had clear economic objectives. Western Europe has always been the most important market for American capitalism. Even during the Great Depression, the United States was able to get out of the crisis by conquering the European market.

The "mechanism" is simple - the greater the demand in Europe, the greater the supply from the United States, the more jobs there, the higher the purchasing power of American citizens. [С-BLOCK]

In the post-war period, Europe needed American goods more than ever. There was only one problem - there was nothing to buy them, national currencies depreciated. Therefore, in 1947, the United States found itself at a crossroads - either to abandon promising markets and slow down the growth of its own economy, or to provide material support to post-war Europe and receive not only a "regular customer and client", but also an ally. The United States put on the second and did not lose.

"Prosperity for all"

Thus, the basis for the economic revival of Germany was to be free enterprise. Erhard wrote: “I see the ideal situation where an ordinary person can say: I have enough strength to stand up for myself, I want to be responsible for my own destiny. You, the state, do not worry about my affairs, but give me so much freedom and leave me so much from the result of my work that I myself and at my own discretion provide for the existence of myself and my family.

The introduction of a free market economy in post-war Germany was not an easy decision. It was Erhard's only initiative, an "anti-law", which contradicted the policy of the occupying authorities and nullified all previous attempts to pull Germany out of the crisis through a planned economy and state regulation.

New brand

But for free enterprise, another important condition was necessary - currency stability. In the post-war period, the Reichsmark was valued no more than once the "Kerenki" in the RSFSR.

The monetary reform was prepared in the strictest secrecy. Firstly, in order not to provoke the intervention of the USSR, and secondly, in order to avoid panic getting rid of the old Reichsmarks.

Freedom to prices!

It was followed by antimonopoly decrees, according to which the share of one company in the market could not exceed 33%, two or three - 50%, and four or five - no more than 65%.[С-BLOCK]

On the same topic:

Why Germany and the USSR signed a peace treaty only in 1955 Why did the USSR and Germany sign a peace treaty only in 1955 "Stalin's miracle": how the USSR was able to recover so quickly after the war

Germany after World War II. Formation of two German states

Plan

1. Post-war settlement of the German question

2. Period of occupation

3. The Berlin crisis of 1948 and the split of Germany

1. Post-war settlement of the German question

The question of the fate of Germany WAS one of the central questions in the discussions by the heads of state of the anti-Hitler coalition on the ways of a post-war settlement. The leitmotif of these negotiations was the ideas of just retribution for the perpetrators of the war and the protection of the world community from the new threat from Germany. Already at the Soviet-British negotiations in Moscow in December 1941, both sides announced the need to reject part of the territory of the Reich: the restoration of sovereign Austria, the return of East Prussia to Poland and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia, and possibly the creation of independent states in the Rhineland and Bavaria. In the American administration, the idea of dismembering Germany had both supporters and opponents. In October 1943, at the Moscow Conference, the United States presented the document "Basic Principles for the Surrender of Germany", which dealt only with the "decentralization" of Germany, aimed at "reducing Prussian influence on the Reich."

In November 1943, the American and British delegations spoke at the Tehran Conference in support of the toughest solution to the German question. The formation of five autonomous states on the territory of Germany or the rejection of the South German lands for the formation of the Danube Federation together with Austria and Hungary was supposed. Stalin took a different position, believing that the radical dismemberment of Germany could only become the basis for a new outbreak of German nationalism and revanchism, while the eradication of militarism and Nazism in Germany would be more facilitated by the post-war cooperation of the coalition countries. On January 15, 1944, the British government submitted a plan for the division of Germany into occupation zones for consideration by the Allies. For the first time, the line was marked in it, which later became the border between the FRG and the GDR. At the Quebec Conference in September 1944, Churchill also agreed with the plan for post-war policy towards Germany, developed by the US Secretary of the Treasury under Morgenthau. This project involved the territorial division of Ternia, the reduction of its industrial potential and the stimulation of agricultural production under strict international control. Only as the end of the war approached did the position of the United States and Great Britain soften significantly.

At the Yalta Conference in 1945, the question of the territorial division of Germany was no longer directly raised. The project for the formation of zones of occupation was only confirmed, and the territory was allocated from the American and British zones to form the zone of occupation of France. In the Yalta communiqué, it was first made public general formula post-war settlement of Germany - "demilitarization and democratization of the country" The fulfillment of these tasks required the denazification of the political system of Germany with the provision of the Germans with the right to subsequently decide the issue of state structure and decentralization (demonopolization) of the German economy as the basis for the destruction of its military-industrial potential. The question raised by the Soviet side about collecting reparations from Germany was not resolved, although the validity of such compensation for material damage was recognized by all delegations.

The German question was finally resolved at the Potsdam Conference, which took place from July 17 to August 2, 1945. The Conference approved the Declaration on the Defeat of Germany and a communiqué confirming the principles of policy towards Germany formulated in Yalta. The territory of Germany, including the territory of Berlin, was divided into four zones of occupation. At the same time, the Soviet zone included 40% of the territory, 30% of the population and 33% of the production potential. For coordination, the Council of Foreign Ministers of the five powers (USSR, USA, France, Great Britain, China), as well as the Control Council of Commanders-in-Chief, and joint commandant's offices in Berlin were created. The principle of preserving the economic unity of Germany and the right of the German people to create a single democratic state was consolidated. But it is characteristic that the concept of "Western zones" was already introduced into the text of the Potsdam Agreement.

The Potsdam Conference established the new frontiers of Germany: East Prussia was given Soviet Union, the territory up to the Oder and the Western Neisse - Poland, the Sudetenland was returned to Czechoslovakia, the sovereignty of Austria was restored. Germans living in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary were subject to deportation to Germany.

The question of the amounts and sources of reparation payments caused a discussion. As a result, the proposal of the American delegation was accepted, according to which reparations were to be collected by each government in its zone of occupation, as well as from German assets abroad (in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Finland and Austria). The USSR abandoned the gold seized in Germany in favor of the Western powers, but received the right to 10% of industrial equipment from the western zones of occupation. The German fleet was divided equally between the USSR, Great Britain and the USA. The final amount of reparations was not determined, since the British and American delegations expressed doubt about the ability of Germany to meet the demands of the SSSK

The Allied Control Council (SCS), consisting of the commanders-in-chief of the occupying forces of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France, was created in June 1945. In the first months of its work, the SCS adopted directives "On the liquidation of the Wehrmacht", military construction in Germany”, specifying the communiqué of the Potsdam Conference. SCS received full power in Germany. Its decisions were taken by consensus with the possibility of any party to use the right of veto. But administrative rule was carried out autonomously in the occupation zones. Under the control of the occupying authorities were recreated local government and German political parties. As a preliminary step towards the formation of a unified German government, it was supposed to create central departments (finance, transport, foreign trade and industry) operating under the control of the SCS.

2. Period of occupation

german war occupation crisis

The crushing defeat in the war brought Germany to the brink of an economic and socio-psychological circle. Only the losses of the Wehrmacht amounted to 13.5 million people. In total, Germany lost about a tenth of its population during the war years. Many cities, especially in the eastern part of the country, lay in ruins. Much of the industrial equipment was destroyed by bombardment or dismantled by the victors. In 1946, industrial production was about 1/3 of the pre-war level, it was thrown back for three decades Agriculture. The economy experienced an acute shortage of workers. The transport infrastructure and energy system were completely destroyed, interregional trade links were broken. General speculation, the dominance of the "black market" and empty store shelves have become commonplace. Due to the destruction of the war and the displacement of the population, the housing problem has worsened. In 1945, the level of provision of the population with basic necessities per capita was as follows: a pair of shoes for twelve years, a suit for fifty years, a plate for five years, one diaper for five years. Most of the Germans were starving.

Material losses were supplemented by the complete disorganization of the financial system. The amount of money in circulation was many times greater than the cash commodity reserves, and the public debt from 27.2 billion marks at the end of 1938 increased by May 1945 to 377.3 billion. Inflation reached 600% in relation to the pre-war level . The working day was 16 hours or more, and wage remained at the level of 1940.

The psychological shock that engulfed German society had no less devastating consequences. characteristic features mentality became internal emptiness, apathy, embittered aversion to politics, fear of the future. The most difficult problem was the revival of national self-consciousness, a new understanding of one's place in the world, and the solution of the question of guilt in the war. The formation of civil authorities was extremely complicated. The political activity of the masses remained minimal. Most of the former bureaucratic and political elite were accused of links with the Nazis and removed from public positions. There was no mass resistance movement, which, in a similar situation in France and Italy, provided personnel for the new administrative apparatus. Failed to reach agreement on the formation of the German government and the allies.

Already in October 1945, the American administration raised the question of creating central German departments in accordance with the decisions of the Potsdam Conference. But these proposals caused a strong protest from France, which sought the maximum decentralization of the German state. Unable to overcome the French veto, the United States submitted to the SCS in November 1945 a proposal to create central departments for three or two zones. The Soviet administration, striving to maintain friendly relations with France and distrustful of the Americans, declared this a violation of the principle of four-sided control of Germany and a step towards its split. The management of the reconstruction process remained entirely under the control of the occupying authorities.

The activities of the Soviet Military Administration of Germany (SVAG) were complicated by the need to combine steps towards normalization material support population and the seizure of industrial equipment, consumer goods, transport and raw materials as reparations. Nearly 22,000 wagons of “convoy and household property” and more than 73,000 wagons of “apartment property” were taken out of Germany, including 154 wagons of fabrics and furs, and even 24 wagons musical instruments. More than 2 million heads of cattle were sent to the USSR. The dismantling of industrial equipment took place at 3474 industrial and economic facilities. It was only in January 1947 that it was decided to stop dismantling and create Soviet joint-stock companies on the basis of large enterprises, the products of which came to the USSR as reparations.

The officers of the SVAG had no experience in administrative work and were guided by strict methods of management, the formation of an orderly economic system. A special place in the structure of the SVAG was occupied by the Security Service and the Department of Propaganda and Censorship. The NKVD and SMERSH services were also very active in East Germany. In contrast to the western zones, German administrative bodies were soon created in the east of Germany. But their actions were entirely determined by the Soviet administration.

Already from the end of 1945, active steps were taken in the Soviet zone of occupation to carry out economic reform. The confiscation of industrial enterprises from persons recognized as military and Nazi criminals has acquired an exceptionally wide character. The SVAG organized a referendum on the fate of the confiscated enterprises, as a result of which they were declared people's property. Thus, about 60% of East German industry passed into the state sector of the economy. The functioning of this sector began to be carried out on the principles of planning, with the provision of broad rights for self-management to factory councils and trade unions.

During 1945-1946. agrarian reform was carried out. 3.3 million hectares of land confiscated from the junkers and bauers, together with outbuildings, livestock and 6,000 tractors, were transferred to 560,000 landless and land-poor peasants. These lands accounted for 33% of the agricultural area of the eastern zone. Communal associations of peasant mutual assistance began to be created on them, and in 1949 all plots transferred to peasants during the reform were declared people's property and became the basis for the formation of collective farms (“people's estates”).

Economic transformations in the western zones initially took on a different direction. Despite the smaller scale of destruction, the situation of the population here was more difficult than in the east. Even in the last period of the war, masses of refugees began to accumulate in southern Germany. Emigrants from the Soviet zone, as well as most of the settlers from Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland, also rushed here. If in East Germany in 1945 the population was 17 million Germans, then in the western lands - 44 million. Subsequently, this difference increased even more.

The plight of the German population forced the Western administration to refrain from large-scale seizure of goods and dismantling of equipment in the form of reparations, and to ensure that German workers receive wages, regardless of the stoppage of production. An important circumstance was the fact that the influx of free German industrial goods was actually dumping for the "overheated" American economy. That is why it was exported mainly from the western zones of ChlPie, as well as special equipment of scientific laboratories of technical centers.

The occupying authorities of the western zones initially did not have a clear plan of economic measures. In all three zones, measures were taken to confiscate the property of military and Nazi criminals. But the prepared projects of nationalization or the formation of any centralized administrative structures within a particular zone were never implemented. In addition, the preservation of the "black market" was beneficial for the well-supplied soldiers and officers of the American contingent.

The different approach of the occupying authorities to the implementation of stabilization measures was manifested during the Paris session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in May 1946, where neither general principles conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany, no unified plans for economic reforms. Soon the first steps were taken towards the split of the occupied country. The reason was the intensification of speculative barter between the zones, during which the inhabitants of the western lands, who received stable wages and benefits, bought cheaper goods and food in the Soviet zone. With the consent of the administration of all four zones, on June 30, 1946, a regime of strict control over the movement of people and goods was introduced on the border between the Soviet and Western zones.

From the summer of 1946, the situation in Germany began to deteriorate rapidly. In July, the US State Department announced its intention to merge the American and British occupation zones to ensure effective administration. The agreement on the formation of an "economic united region" (Bisony) was signed in December 1946. Within the framework of the united occupation zones, a more coordinated policy began to be pursued aimed at restoring the economic infrastructure, the consumer market, and a balanced labor market. A significant role in this process was already played by the German administrative bodies, including the Economic Council, and in its composition - the Management of the Economy under the leadership of L. Erhard. All these measures were taken without coordination with the SVAG.

Political changes in the eastern and western lands of Germany also took on a different direction. Initially, this process took place in line with the Potsdam agreements. The liquidation of the NSDAP and its "subsidiaries" organizations, the German armed forces, the officer corps, and paramilitary organizations followed. To participate in political activity and only persons "capable of their political and moral qualities to help the development of democratic institutions in Germany" were allowed to fill civil positions. In accordance with the principles of civil, racial, national equality, the judicial system. In November 1945 - October 1946, the work of the International Tribunal in Nuremberg took place, during which Nazi and war criminals were brought to justice. A system of local German denazification commissions (spruhkammer) was created, which, together with the Allied tribunals, determined the degree of guilt of suspects. In total, five categories of such cases were identified (“primary perpetrators”, “burdened with guilt”, “less burdened”, “fellow travelers” and “unaffected”). Criminal punishment was supposed mainly for the first category, so 95% of the accused were acquitted or only partially deprived of their rights.

The process of denazification and democratization was combined with the formation of a renewed German political elite. In the eastern and western zones, party building has acquired significant specifics. In 1945, the Soviet administration permitted the activities of four parties in the East German lands - the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD). Already in 1948, with the support of the SVAG, the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Democratic Peasant Party (DKP) were created, designed to expand the social base of the left bloc. Under the influence of the SVAG, the communists gained an advantage in the selection of personnel for the new police and judicial and prosecutorial bodies in the Soviet zone. The KKE had a decisive influence on the course of the radical reform of the education system, the regulation of the activities of the creative intelligentsia, and took the initiative of agrarian reform. In the leadership of the KKE there was a strong left-wing wing under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht, who defended orthodox ideological principles and the need for socialist construction in Germany. The leader of the KPD, Wilhelm Pieck, took a more moderate position, declaring in 1945-1946. about the orientation of the party towards the creation of a parliamentary democratic republic on the scale of the entire German state.

Even tougher was the struggle between the radical left and the moderate currents in the SPD. The first of them was headed by the Berlin Central Committee headed by O. Grotewohl, the second - by the Hanoverian party bureau under the leadership of K. Schumacher, supported by the administration of the British zone. The leadership of the SPD advocated unification with the communists and the formation of a single all-German leftist party. This course triumphed at the Unity Congress of the KPD and the SPD in April 1946. The new party was named the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Its program was focused on solving pressing economic problems, "liberation from exploitation and oppression, poverty, unemployment and the imperialist military threat", in the long term - socialist construction. W. Pick and O. Grotewohl became two equal chairmen of the SED. Members of the SPD who did not support the program guidelines of a single workers' party were expelled from its ranks.

The Schumacher group did not recognize the results of the unification congress. The right-wing Social Democrats re-established the SPD in May 1946 at a congress in Hannover. Schumacher took an exceptionally tough stance towards the Communists and the Social Democrats who united with them, considering the former to be the "Soviet Party", and the latter to be traitors to German national interests. Refusing to operate in the eastern lands, the SPD nevertheless advocated a revision of the border along the Oder-Neisse and the termination of reparation payments within all zones of occupation. Schumacher was an ardent opponent of separatism and a supporter of the idea of a single, independent German state. But in the post-war conditions, he was ready to put up with even a split in the country in order to avoid the threat of a Soviet military-political presence. In the region of domestic policy The SPD took a very radical position, seeking the immediate "introduction of socialism" through the complete expropriation of the entire bourgeoisie. K. Schumacher himself enjoyed immense personal popularity as an uncompromising anti-fascist who spent ten years in Nazi camps. His leadership in Western social democracy was undeniable.

The creation of the SED, accompanied by a split in the German social democratic movement, led to the isolation of the West German communist movement. The Western occupation authorities banned the creation of unified communist and social democratic organizations under the auspices of the SED. In April 1948 a conference of West German communist organizations elected their own board under the leadership of Max Reimann. The final separation of the KKE from the SED took place on January 3, 1949. An important place in the post-war political elite of Germany was occupied by the Christian Democrats. Germany had a fairly long tradition of Christian political movement. But in the Weimar Republic, neither the Catholic Center Party nor the Protestant German People's Party held a leading position. The situation began to change in the 1930s, when the church became one of the leading opposition forces in Nazi Germany. At the end of World War II, the Christian Democratic movement consolidated not only in Germany, but also in Italy, Austria, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Christian democracy began to develop on the basis of an ideological synthesis - the liberal-democratic vision of the ways of state building was combined with the traditions of social Catholicism, the ideology of the "third way of development". Christian democracy, which abandoned the corporate ideas of social Catholicism, retained its focus on the values of social solidarity, the idea of society as a single interconnected organism, of man as God's creation, his responsibility to his conscience and God. The Christian Democratic parties abandoned clericalism, considering Christianity only as the moral and ethical basis of politics and building their program guidelines on the principles of pragmatism, advocating the humanization and modernization of society. Conservative values (order, stability, state, family, nation) in their programs turned out to be organically linked with neoliberal attitudes towards stimulating the free market, ensuring the individual's right to freedom of self-realization.

For Germany, the renaissance of Christian democracy was especially important. Christian democracy has managed to organically fill the spiritual vacuum that has formed in a country that has been destroyed, disillusioned with its past and doubting its future, to preserve the continuity of the national idea, and to formulate new positive values.

The all-German organization of the CDU was formed in Berlin in June 1945. Its leader, Andras Hermes, was soon forced to resign under severe pressure from the Soviet administration. He was replaced by trade union leader Jacob Kaiser. The CDU became an active opponent of left-wing parties on the issues of economic reforms in the Soviet zone. After the formation of the SED, the Christian Democrats took a particularly radical stance. At the second congress of the CDU in Berlin in October 1947, Kaiser declared the need to turn the party into "a breakwater against dogmatic Marxism and its totalitarian tendencies." The SVAG took active steps to discredit the CDU and restrict its activities in the East German lands. The Kaiser was accused of espionage. Persecution forced Kaiser and a number of his colleagues to leave for West Germany, O. Nushke became the leader of the party, which finally turned into East German.

The leader of the West German Christian Democracy was Konrad Adenauer, the former mayor of Cologne, dismissed in 1933 by the Nazis and appointed to this post by the Americans when the city was liberated. When Cologne passed into the British zone of occupation, Adenauer was fired again. The British authorities sympathized with Schumacher and did not trust the experienced and ambitious Adenauer, known for his conservative views, commitment to the idea of reviving Germany. Adenauer headed the Christian Democratic Union of the Western Lands, created on September 2, 1945 at a congress in Cologne. With the support of the American authorities, he began active work to form the core of their party from authoritative public figures and representatives of influential political groups. Adenauer abandoned the "activist" model of party building. The tactics of the CDU assumed the support of the widest possible range of voters and the formation on this basis of the social base of a new democratic statehood. The CDU was seen as an association of "all Christians" and "all estates", that is, a party that reflects the interests of all social groups and both Christian denominations. At the same time, Adenauer insisted on the hard anti-communist course of the CDU, equally denying both Nazi and Marxist ideological extremism.

Support for the CDU on the part of the occupying authorities in the western zones especially increased from the end of 1946, when alienation began to grow rapidly in relations between the allies, and a split in Germany became more and more likely. Adenauer was one of those German politicians who openly supported the idea of forming a West German state. Adenauer did not believe in the German spirit, hated Prussian traditions and dreamed of reviving the greatness of Germany in the bosom of Western civilization. From a Rhenish separatist, Adenauer made his way to an active defender of the idea of German and, later, European federalism. A reliable ally of the CDU in pursuing such a political course was the Christian Social Union, which arose in 1946 in Bavaria as a Catholic Christian party (later - inter-confessional). Franz Josef Strauss became the leader of the CSU. Sharing the general principles of Christian democracy, supporting the political program of Adenauer, the leadership of the CSU sought to preserve the autonomy of its movement. In the rest of the West German states, the consolidation of the Christian Democratic movement took place in 1947. The Alen program of the CDU of the British zone, adopted in February of the same year, became the general party program.

Political parties liberal orientation failed to acquire in post-war Germany as strong a position as the left and the Christian Democrats. The Liberal Democratic Party arose in the eastern zone of occupation already in 1945, but it failed to spread its influence over the entire territory of Germany, being under severe pressure from the Soviet administration. From the beginning of 1946, the formation of an autonomous political movement of liberals in the western zones began. On its basis, in December 1948, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) was formed. Its leader was Theodor Hayes. The program settings of the FDP were initially very eclectic. They combined national liberal ideas and classical liberal democratic values. The FDP became an opponent of the Christian Democratic bloc and the SPD, opposing both the confessionalization and the etatization of politics.

The elections to the land representations (landtags) held in 1946 demonstrated the approximate equality of the leading political forces in Germany. Even in the Soviet zone of occupation, elections took place in a relatively democratic atmosphere. The SED managed to win about as many seats in Landtags and land governments as the LDPG and CDU combined. In the western zones, the Christian Democrats managed to head 6 land governments, the Social Democrats - 5. But soon the specifics of the East German and West German political elites also began to appear. In addition to the direct intervention of the occupation authorities, the regional characteristics of German society itself had an effect.

For several decades, North and East Germany have been distinguished by the organization of the labor movement, the greatest influence of the Communists on the scale of Germany. Historically, the Lutheran political culture prevailed here, focused on the high importance of the state principle in public life, the "Prussian psychological complex" - a penchant for centralized forms of political and social activity, respect for the military and public service. It was this region that became the most natural stronghold for the development of the socialist system on German soil. Western and Southern Germany have historically been a zone of separatist movements, a significant influence of Catholicism. The Rhine and Bavarian Germans possessed ethno-psychological characteristics that significantly distinguished them from the ethnic core of the German nation. The massive movement of refugees and immigrants in the early post-war years also contributed to the polarization of German society and its political elite. Many Germans, unwilling to put up with the communist threat, fled to the western lands. Communists and left-wing socialists returning from concentration camps and emigration, as a rule, ended up in the east of the country.

3. The Berlin crisis of 1948 and the split of Germany

Already at the beginning of 1947, it became obvious that the political dialogue of the Allies on the ways of Germany's development had finally reached a dead end. During the Moscow session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held in March-April 1947, the Soviet delegation renewed its demands for organizing the supply of current products as reparations. Her opponents insisted on stopping the reparation seizures and giving the Germans the opportunity to restore the economic system.

The discussion did not lead to any concrete result. An attempt to hold a meeting of representatives of all German lands, dedicated to the development of a unified strategy for restoration measures, also failed. The next London session of the Ministerial Council, held in November-December 1947, also ended without results, even without agreeing on the place and time of the next meeting.

In addition to the rigid position of the USSR in the payment of reparations, the aggravation of the German issue was associated with a change in the US foreign policy. The adoption of the "Truman Doctrine" and the beginning of an open confrontation between the two "superpowers" primarily affected the fate of European countries. The US began to view Europe in the context of a bloc strategy. One of the first steps along this path was the development of a program for the "restoration and development of Europe" (Marshall Plan). Adopted in June 1947 and considered at the Paris Conference in July 1947, this plan was approved as US law in April 1948. Initially, neither Germany as a whole nor its western zones were considered as a participant in the economic aid program. The situation changed in 1948.

In January 1948, at a meeting of Bison ministers, it was decided to carry out a set of measures to prepare for economic reform in these lands. The Supreme Court and the Central Bank were created, the functions of the Economic Council were expanded and central offices united in the directorate. A compromise was reached with the French government. After the Saar region was transferred under French control as a pledge of reparation payments, France agreed to annex its occupation zone to the Anglo-American one. In February 1948, Trizonia was formed. The Saarland was under the control of France until it returned to the FRG in 1957 following a referendum in 1955.

In February-June 1948, two rounds of the London Conference on the German Question took place, at which for the first time there was no Soviet delegation, but representatives of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg took part. The conference decided to convene a Constituent Assembly to draw up a constitution for the new German state. In the same period, the American administration decided to extend the Marshall Plan to the western occupation zones of Germany. The agreement on this matter stipulated that the revival of the West German economy was part of a plan for European development based on the principles of individual freedom, free institutions, building "healthy economic conditions", strong international ties, ensuring financial stability. Conditions were provided for the control of American special bodies over the course of economic reform, the removal of customs restrictions on the German market, and the continuation of the policy of demonopolization. In the first year of the Marshall Plan, West Germany received $2,422 billion from the United States (almost as much as Britain and France combined, and nearly three and a half times as much as Italy). But since some of the German products immediately began to go to the United States to pay off the debt, in the end, Germany did not receive the largest part of American aid - a total of about 10% (6.7 billion marks).

The key problem for the deployment of economic reform in Germany was the creation of "hard money", the elimination of the disastrous consequences of hyperinflation. In the Economic Council since 1947, an active discussion of supporters of the creation of a centrally planned economy and monetarists continued. A group of experts led by Ludwig Erhard prepared a draft financial reform designed to get rid of a huge amount of depreciated money. Erhard himself believed that such a reform should be combined with measures to actively stimulate production and protect the most vulnerable consumer groups, a number of additional measures to stabilize the consumer market and enhance consumer and production motivation. The initial proposals of the American administration to carry out reform in all four zones of occupation by 1948 turned out to be unrealistic, and the proposed measures were being prepared only within Trizonia.

Monetary reform in the western zones began on June 20, 1948. The official exchange ratio was set at 10 Reichsmarks for one new German mark (in addition, each person could exchange 40 marks at a 1:1 rate). At first, only 5% of the exchanged amount could be received in hand. After checking the legitimacy of income, the tax authorities issued another 20%, then 10%. The remaining 65% were liquidated. The final exchange quota was 100 Reichsmarks for 6.5 DM. Pensions, wages, benefits were recalculated at a ratio of 1:1. All old state obligations were annulled. Thus, a huge money supply was eliminated. The emergence of "hard money" destroyed the "black market" and undermined the system of barter transactions.

Two days after the start of the reform, a package of legislative acts was enacted that abolished central planning and freed up pricing. But at the same time, restrictive controls were maintained over the prices of transport and postal services, basic foodstuffs, and housing. Catalogs of so-called "relevant prices" were published regularly, taking into account real production costs and "reasonable profits". Was accepted special program"To each person" to provide the population at reduced prices with a narrow range of the most necessary goods. Erhard continued to insist on maintaining a policy of curbing extreme forms of monopoly, developing a system of "state entrepreneurship" (direct participation of the state in the production of goods and services of public importance, in the development of transport, energy, and information infrastructure). Such an economic mechanism was considered by Erhard as a "social market economy" that equally meets the interests of society and the individual.

successful economic reform 1948 was accompanied by an aggravation of the political situation in Germany. Despite the availability of information about the preparations for the exchange of banknotes in the western zones (the western governors officially informed the Soviet side about the upcoming reform only two days before its implementation, but operational data made it possible to trace the entire course of preparation), the SVAG did not take any measures to prevent the emergence of East Germany masses of depreciated old stamps, capable of undermining the consumer market. True, the interzonal border, which had been closed since June 30, 1946, created a certain barrier, but Berlin, divided into four sectors, remained an exception. On June 24, Soviet troops blocked West Berlin, cutting off all communication with the western zones. This action was mostly political in nature. It was on June 24 that the Soviet zone carried out its own reform, during which special coupons were pasted on old stamps. The economic danger of an influx of money from the West was thus largely removed. The blockade of West Berlin was a means of putting pressure on the Western powers in order to force them to make concessions in the negotiations. The result of the action turned out to be the opposite.

To save the population of West Berlin, the United States organized an air bridge. 13,000 tons of food were delivered to the city every day, which was three times the level of deliveries in previous months. In response, the Western powers imposed an embargo on the supply of goods to the Soviet zone. After difficult negotiations, on August 30, 1948, a four-party agreement was reached to remove the western mark from Berlin. But its implementation was delayed for technical reasons, and as the West German statehood was formalized, it turned out to be impossible.

In the midst of the Berlin crisis, from July 15 to July 22, 1948, a meeting of ministers-presidents of the Western states took place in Rüdesheim, during which the Berlin mayor Ernst Reuter called for the speedy creation of a West German “core” state with the inclusion of West Berlin in it. The meeting participants confirmed the decision to convene the Constituent Assembly by September 1, 1948. But then the terms "Constituent Assembly" and "constitution" were removed in order to avoid discussions about separatism. The Parliamentary Council was formed from representatives of the Landtags, which received the authority to develop the Basic Law of the West German state as a temporary constitution, designed to operate until the final decision on the issue of German reunification.

In April 1949, the "Statute of Occupation" sent out by the three powers was handed over to the Parliamentary Council. On May 8, 1949, the Parliamentary Council adopted the Basic Law federal republic Germany, approved by the military governors on May 12 (coincidentally, on the same day, the inter-allied agreement to end the "blockade" of Berlin and the Western "counter-blockade" came into force). The solemn act of promulgation of the Basic Law on May 23 became the day of the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany. The transformation of the institution of military governors into the institution of High Commissioners of the Western Powers in Germany on June 20 secured the granting of limited sovereignty to West Germany.

At the same time, the formation of the East German state was also taking place. Back in 1947, the German People's Congress (NNK) began to function in the Soviet zone. During its first meeting in December 1947, the task was set to develop a broad popular movement for a united Germany. The second NNK in March 1948 put forward the initiative to hold a referendum in all German states on the adoption of a law on the unity of Germany. But at the same time, the German People's Council was formed, which received the authority to prepare a draft constitution for the East German state. Such a draft was prepared by representatives of the SED and adopted at a meeting of the German People's Council on March 19, 1949. The third NNK, held on May 29-30, 1949, approved the constitution of the German Democratic Republic and proclaimed the inter-party National Front of Democratic Germany as the leading political force. October 7, 1949, when the provisional People's Chamber was formed, became the official day of the formation of the GDR. The division of Germany is over. The last Paris session of the Ministerial Council, which worked in May-June 1949, did not prevent this process. The German question has become one of the most complex international problems of post-war history.