PowerPoint Notes
|
The occupation of Germany
-In 1945 Germany was invaded by the Allies -Germany was temporarily divided after the Yalta and Potsdam conferences -The intention was to keep Germany as one economy that would eventually become an independent state again Long-Term Conflicts over Germany -The powers had differing aims in Germany -The USSR did not want a resurgent and threatening Germany -The US and UK saw the recovery of Germany as a way to fight Communism -There was an increasing lack of trust between the US and the USSR -The countries were in competition against each other to make a more powerful Germany -Stalin feared a pro-American and economically prosperous Germany -The West feared the influence of a Communist Germany Specific Disagreements over Germany -There were many economic disagreements -The USSR failed to deliver enough food, therefore the UK and USA stopped supplying the Soviet zone -By early 1947, the British and American zones were merged into one called ‘Bizonia’ -Many Political disagreements -By 1945 Stalin made moves to incorporate Germany into Moscow’s sphere of influence -The US, UK and France agreed to introduce a new currency, the Deutschmark, in the Western Zones -Stalin viewed this as the first step in the establishment of a new Germany What happened? -Stalin decided to blockade Berlin on the 23rd of June 1948 to avoid this -All road, railway and waterways linking West Berlin to the Western Zones of Germany were closed -the West didn’t want to risk war with the USSR but they didn’t want to let West Berlin fall to the Communists -The West bypassed the blockade entirely by airlifting supplies to West Berlin -By May 1949 Stalin realized the Berlin blockade had failed Results of the Blockade -The Berlin Blockade was the first major confrontation of the Cold War -Germany became permanently divided -The West created the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in May 1949. Konrad Adenauer became its first Chancellor. -In October, the USSR created the German Democratic Republic (GDR). -Berlin remained a divided city under four-power control -The Berlin wall was constructed in 1961 -The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in April 1949 -West Germany admitted to the NATO in May 1954 -The Warsaw Pact was created in 1955 to unite all the countries of Eastern Europe under the military command of the USSR |
We love new projects!
|