🪖1.1 The post-war division of Germany
Why did events in the years 1945 to 1949 lead to the division of Germany?
Describe the Allied policies in germany following World War II
● Short term strategies for Germany
- Allies knew that Germany could never again become an aggressive military
power
- PRIORITIES: 1. Denatify 2. Get it functioning again from humanitarian crises
● Yalta
- Division into 4 military zones > occupation zone
- Overseen by an Allied Control Council of each 4 allies
- STALIN: wanted Germany’s eastern borders
● Potsdam
- Denazification - former Nazi leaders brought to justice
- Demilitarisation - military reduction to ensure no more aggressive wars
- Deindustrialisation - Germany’s large industrial concerns kept dismantled so
they remained weak
- Democratisation - prepare for democracy
● Reparations
- Didn't agree on reparations
- STALIN: wanted $20 billion BUT USA said NO
- AGREED: that each power would take reparations from their own zones
- (H) STALIN could have additional 10% of industrial machinery in each of
western zones and 15% in return for food and materials
● Problem
- Short time which means no plan to permanently divide germany
- Assumed germany would reunite
- Difference in ideology: western = capitalist democracy. Stalin = emphasises
demilitarised
Explain how the Soviet Zone was administered and its impact on the division of
Germany
● Population
- 1939: 17 million
- 1947: 19 million
● Reparations
- 4 roads, 2 railways and 3 air corridors linked the western sectors of Berlin
with their zones of occupation within Germany
● Stalin
- Inconsistent in his policies
- 1. No desire to transform east germany into communist republic separate
from the other zones and wanted to see a reunited Germany
- (H) 2. But wanted to control his zone by creating ‘anti-fascist democracy’ to
provide a model for the rest of Germany
- His priorities were to keep Germany weak and ensure ideas of nationalism
did not re-emerge
Why did events in the years 1945 to 1949 lead to the division of Germany?
Describe the Allied policies in germany following World War II
● Short term strategies for Germany
- Allies knew that Germany could never again become an aggressive military
power
- PRIORITIES: 1. Denatify 2. Get it functioning again from humanitarian crises
● Yalta
- Division into 4 military zones > occupation zone
- Overseen by an Allied Control Council of each 4 allies
- STALIN: wanted Germany’s eastern borders
● Potsdam
- Denazification - former Nazi leaders brought to justice
- Demilitarisation - military reduction to ensure no more aggressive wars
- Deindustrialisation - Germany’s large industrial concerns kept dismantled so
they remained weak
- Democratisation - prepare for democracy
● Reparations
- Didn't agree on reparations
- STALIN: wanted $20 billion BUT USA said NO
- AGREED: that each power would take reparations from their own zones
- (H) STALIN could have additional 10% of industrial machinery in each of
western zones and 15% in return for food and materials
● Problem
- Short time which means no plan to permanently divide germany
- Assumed germany would reunite
- Difference in ideology: western = capitalist democracy. Stalin = emphasises
demilitarised
Explain how the Soviet Zone was administered and its impact on the division of
Germany
● Population
- 1939: 17 million
- 1947: 19 million
● Reparations
- 4 roads, 2 railways and 3 air corridors linked the western sectors of Berlin
with their zones of occupation within Germany
● Stalin
- Inconsistent in his policies
- 1. No desire to transform east germany into communist republic separate
from the other zones and wanted to see a reunited Germany
- (H) 2. But wanted to control his zone by creating ‘anti-fascist democracy’ to
provide a model for the rest of Germany
- His priorities were to keep Germany weak and ensure ideas of nationalism
did not re-emerge
