GERMANY. STORY. 1948-2000
Divided Germany: 1949-1990. German history and history" cold war"in the period 1949-1990 are closely related to each other. The division of the country was one of the most important results of the rivalry between the two superpowers - the USA and the USSR. The reunification of Germany became possible in 1990, after the collapse of the communist system and as a result of a significant improvement in relations between East and West. Creation In 1949, the independent German states (the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic) consolidated the division of the country into two hostile societies. Under the rule of the SED, East Germany became a country with a dictatorial one-party system, a centralized economy and total state control. In contrast, West Germany became a democratic state with market economy. As the Cold War deepened, relations between the two Germanys became increasingly strained, although they were never completely interrupted. From the 1960s onwards, a marked increase in the volume of trade was achieved, and numerous personal contacts between residents of divided Germany showed that citizens of both countries can never become complete strangers to each other. In addition, the Federal Republic of Germany was a refuge for millions of Germans who fled the GDR (mainly in the 1940s and 1950s). Nevertheless, the development of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany proceeded in divergent directions. The construction of the Berlin Wall (1961), in combination with other methods of border security, firmly isolated the GDR. In 1968, the East German government declared that the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany had nothing in common except language. The new doctrine even denied historical community: the GDR personified everything noble and progressive in German history, the FRG - everything backward and reactionary. Creation of the German Democratic Republic. In the Soviet occupation zone, the creation of the German Democratic Republic was legitimized by the institutions of the People's Congresses. The 1st German People's Congress met in December 1947, it was attended by the SED, LDPD, a number of public organizations and the KKE from the western zones (the CDU refused to take part in the congress). Delegates came from all over Germany, but 80% of them represented residents of the Soviet occupation zone. The 2nd Congress was convened in March 1948, attended by delegates only from East Germany. It elected the German People's Council, whose task was to develop a constitution for a new democratic Germany. The Council adopted a constitution in March 1949, and in May of that year elections for delegates to the 3rd German People's Congress took place, following the model that had become the norm in the Soviet bloc: voters could only vote for a single list of candidates, the vast majority of whom were members of the SED . The 2nd German People's Council was elected at the congress. Although SED delegates did not constitute a majority in this council, the party secured a dominant position through the party leadership of delegates from public organizations (youth movement, trade unions, women's organization, cultural league). On October 7, 1949, the German People's Council proclaimed the creation of the German Democratic Republic. Wilhelm Pieck became the first president of the GDR, and Otto Grotewohl became the head of the Provisional Government. Five months before the adoption of the constitution and the proclamation of the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany was proclaimed in West Germany. Since the official creation of the GDR occurred after the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, East German leaders had a reason to blame the West for the division of Germany. Economic difficulties and worker discontent in the GDR. Throughout its existence, the GDR constantly experienced economic difficulties. Some of them were the result of scarce natural resources and poor economic infrastructure, but most were the result of policies pursued by the Soviet Union and East German authorities. There were no deposits of such important minerals as coal and iron ore on the territory of the GDR. There was also a lack of high-class managers and engineers who fled to the West. In 1952, the SED proclaimed that socialism would be built in the GDR. Following the Stalinist model, the leaders of the GDR imposed a rigid economic system with central planning and state control. Heavy industry was given priority for development. Ignoring the dissatisfaction of citizens caused by the shortage of consumer goods, the authorities tried by all means to force workers to increase labor productivity. After Stalin's death, the workers' situation did not improve, and they responded with an uprising on June 16-17, 1953. The action began as a strike by East Berlin construction workers. The unrest immediately spread to other industries in the capital, and then to the entire GDR. The strikers demanded not only an improvement in their economic situation, but also the holding of free elections. The authorities were in a state of panic. The paramilitary "People's Police" lost control of the situation, and the Soviet military administration brought in tanks. After the events of June 1953, the government switched to a policy of carrots and sticks. More lenient economic policies (the New Deal) included lower production standards for workers and increased production of some consumer goods. At the same time, large-scale repressions were carried out against the instigators of unrest and disloyal functionaries of the SED. About 20 demonstrators were executed, many were thrown into prison, almost a third of party officials were either removed from their posts or transferred to other jobs with the official motivation “for losing contact with the people.” Nevertheless, the regime managed to overcome the crisis. Two years later, the USSR officially recognized the sovereignty of the GDR, and in 1956 East Germany formed its armed forces and became a full member of the Warsaw Pact. Another shock for the countries of the Soviet bloc was the 20th Congress of the CPSU (1956), at which Chairman of the Council of Ministers N.S. Khrushchev denounced Stalin's repressions. The revelations of the leader of the USSR caused unrest in Poland and Hungary, but in the GDR the situation remained calm. The improvement in the economic situation caused by the new course, as well as the opportunity for dissatisfied citizens to “vote with their feet”, i.e. emigrate across the open border in Berlin helped prevent a repeat of the events of 1953. Some softening of Soviet policies after the 20th Congress of the CPSU encouraged those members of the SED who did not agree with the position of Walter Ulbricht, a key political figure in the country, and other hardliners. The reformers, led by Wolfgang Harich, a university teacher. Humboldt in East Berlin, advocated democratic elections, workers' control in production and the "socialist unification" of Germany. Ulbricht managed to overcome this opposition of the “revisionist deviationists.” Harich was sent to prison, where he stayed from 1957 to 1964.
Berlin Wall. Having defeated the supporters of reforms in their ranks, the East German leadership began accelerated nationalization. In 1959, mass collectivization of agriculture and the nationalization of numerous small enterprises began. In 1958, about 52% of land was owned by the private sector; by 1960 it had increased to 8%. Showing support for the GDR, Khrushchev took a tough line against Berlin. He demanded that the Western powers effectively recognize the GDR, threatening to close access to West Berlin. (Until the 1970s, the Western powers refused to recognize the GDR as an independent state, insisting that Germany must be unified in accordance with the post-war agreements.) Once again, the scale of the exodus from the GDR assumed daunting proportions for the government. In 1961, more than 207 thousand citizens left the GDR (in total, more than 3 million people moved to the West since 1945). In August 1961, the East German government blocked the flow of refugees by ordering the construction of a concrete wall and barbed wire fence between East and West Berlin. Within a few months, the border between the GDR and West Germany was equipped.
Stability and prosperity of the GDR. The exodus of the population stopped, specialists remained in the country. It became possible to carry out more effective government planning. As a result, the country managed to achieve modest levels of prosperity in the 1960s and 1970s. The rise in living standards was not accompanied by political liberalization or a weakening of dependence on the USSR. The SED continued to tightly control the areas of art and intellectual activity. East German intellectuals experienced significantly greater restrictions on their creativity than their Hungarian or Polish colleagues. The nation's well-known cultural prestige rested largely on left-leaning older writers such as Bertolt Brecht (with his wife, Helena Weigel, who directed the famous Berliner Ensemble theater group), Anna Seghers, Arnold Zweig, Willy Bredel and Ludwig Renn. . But several new significant names also appeared, among them Christa Wolf and Stefan Geim. It should also be noted that East German historians, such as Horst Drexler and other researchers of German colonial policy 1880-1918, in whose works a reassessment of individual events in recent German history were carried out. But the GDR was most successful in increasing its international prestige in the field of sports. A developed system of state sports clubs and training camps trained high-quality athletes who achieved amazing success in summer and winter sports. Olympic Games since 1972.
Changes in the leadership of the GDR. By the late 1960s, the Soviet Union, still tightly in control of East Germany, began to show dissatisfaction with Walter Ulbricht's policies. The leader of the SED actively opposed the new policy of the West German government led by Willy Brandt, aimed at improving relations between West Germany and the Soviet bloc. Dissatisfied with Ulbricht's attempts to sabotage Brandt's eastern policy, the Soviet leadership achieved his resignation from party posts. Ulbricht retained the insignificant post of head of state until his death in 1973. Ulbricht was succeeded as first secretary of the SED by Erich Honecker. A native of the Saarland, he joined the Communist Party at an early age and, after his release from prison at the end of World War II, became a professional SED functionary. For many years he headed the youth organization "Free German Youth". Honecker intended to strengthen what he called "real socialism." Under Honecker, the GDR began to play a prominent role in international politics, especially in relations with Third World countries. After the signing of the Basic Treaty with West Germany (1972), the GDR was recognized by the majority of countries in the world community and in 1973, like the FRG, became a member of the UN.
Collapse of the GDR. Although there were no further mass protests until the late 1980s, the East German population never fully adapted to the SED regime. In 1985, about 400 thousand citizens of the GDR applied for a permanent exit visa. Many intellectuals and church leaders openly criticized the regime for its lack of political and cultural freedoms. The government responded by increasing censorship and expelling some prominent dissidents from the country. Ordinary citizens expressed outrage at the system of total surveillance carried out by an army of informants who were in the service of the Stasi secret police. By the 1980s, the Stasi had become something of a corrupt state within a state, controlling its own industrial enterprises and even speculating on the international foreign exchange market. The coming to power in the USSR of M. S. Gorbachev and his policies of perestroika and glasnost undermined the basis for the existence of the ruling SED regime. East German leaders realized early on potential danger and abandoned perestroika in East Germany. But the SED could not hide information about changes in other countries of the Soviet bloc from the citizens of the GDR. West German television programs, which residents of the GDR watched much more often than East German television products, widely covered the progress of reforms in Eastern Europe. The dissatisfaction of most East German citizens with their government reached a climax in 1989. While neighboring Eastern European states quickly liberalized their regimes, the SED cheered the brutal suppression of the June 1989 Chinese student demonstration in Tiananmen Square. But it was no longer possible to contain the tide of impending changes in the GDR. In August, Hungary opened its border with Austria, allowing thousands of East German holidaymakers to emigrate to the west. At the end of 1989, popular discontent resulted in colossal protest demonstrations in the GDR itself. "Monday demonstrations" quickly became a tradition; hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets major cities GDR (the most massive protests took place in Leipzig) with demands for political liberalization. The GDR leadership was divided over how to deal with the dissatisfied, and it also became clear that it was now left to its own devices. At the beginning of October, M.S. arrived in East Germany to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the GDR. Gorbachev, who made it clear that the Soviet Union would no longer interfere in the affairs of the GDR to save the ruling regime. Honecker, who had just recovered from major surgery, advocated the use of force against protesters. But the majority of the SED Politburo did not agree with his opinion, and in mid-October Honecker and his main allies were forced to resign. Egon Krenz became the new General Secretary of the SED, as did Honecker, the former leader of the youth organization. The government was headed by Hans Modrow, secretary of the Dresden district committee of the SED, who was known as a supporter of economic and political reforms. The new leadership tried to stabilize the situation by meeting some of the demonstrators' particularly widespread demands: the right to free exit from the country was granted (the Berlin Wall was opened on November 9, 1989) and free elections were proclaimed. These steps turned out to be insufficient, and Krenz, having served as head of the party for 46 days, resigned. At a hastily convened congress in January 1990, the SED was renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), and a truly democratic party charter was adopted. The chairman of the renewed party was Gregor Gysi, a lawyer by profession who defended several East German dissidents during the Honecker era. In March 1990, citizens of the GDR participated in the first free elections in 58 years. Their results greatly disappointed those who had hoped for the preservation of a liberalized but still independent and socialist GDR. Although several newly emerged parties advocated a "third way" distinct from Soviet communism and West German capitalism, a bloc of parties allied with the West German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won a landslide victory. This voting bloc demanded unification with West Germany. Lothar de Maizière, leader of the East German CDU, became the first (and last) freely elected prime minister of the GDR. Short period His reign was marked by great changes. Under the leadership of de Maizières, the previous management apparatus was quickly dismantled. In August 1990, five states abolished in the GDR in 1952 were restored (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia). On October 3, 1990, the GDR ceased to exist, uniting with the Federal Republic of Germany.
Creation of the Federal Republic of Germany. Since 1947, American occupation authorities have put pressure on West German political leaders to create unified government structures for the Western occupation zones. The Germans, fearing that such actions would consolidate the division of the country, were in no hurry to take concrete steps. Nevertheless, the London Conference (of the three Western victorious countries) in the spring of 1948 gave official sanction for the convening of a constituent assembly (Parliamentary Council) to develop a constitution for West Germany. The Berlin blockade of 1948-1949 made it possible to overcome German resistance. The mayor of Berlin, Ernst Reuther, urged West German politicians to meet the wishes of the Allies, arguing that the actions of the Soviet administration had already led to the division of Germany. On September 1, 1948, the Parliamentary Council, which included representatives of the parliaments (landtags) of the states of the western zones and West Berlin, met in Bonn to develop the Basic Law. The largest factions were the two parties - CDU and SPD (27 delegates each). The Free Democratic Party (FDP) received 5 seats, the Communists, the conservative German Party (NP) and the Center Party - 2 seats each. The adoption of the Basic Law was not an easy task. The Parliamentary Council was subject to pressure from two sides. The Western Allies insisted on maintaining their control over the country even after the constitution came into force, the Germans sought the maximum possible sovereignty. The German side itself was split on the issue of state structure. Most delegates supported the idea of ​​some form of federalism, but the SPD, FDP and the left wing of the CDU favored a strong central government, while the right wing of the CDU, including its Bavarian partner the Christian Social Union (CSU), insisted on a looser federal structure. The Parliamentary Council worked quickly and efficiently under the leadership of its president, Konrad Adenauer (CDU), and the chairman of the drafting committee, Carlo Schmid (SPD). In May 1949, a compromise document was approved. It provided for the introduction of the posts of Federal Chancellor (Prime Minister) with broad powers and the Federal President with limited powers. A bicameral system was created from a Bundestag elected in general elections and a Bundesrat (federal council) with broad rights to represent the interests of the federal states. The document was called the "Basic Law" to emphasize that its creators were aware of its temporary nature, since the constitution was to be written for the whole of post-war Germany.
Adenauer era: 1949-1963. The first elections to the Bundestag were held in August 1949. The majority of seats in parliament were won by the CDU/CSU coalition (139 seats), followed by the SPD (131 seats). The FDP won 52 seats, the Communists - 15, the remaining 65 seats were shared by smaller parties. There were many politicians in the ranks of the CDU and SPD who advocated the creation of a “grand coalition” government of the CDU and SPD, but the leaders of the Christian Democrats and the SPD, Adenauer and Kurt Schumacher, rejected this plan. Instead, Adenauer organized a center-right coalition consisting of the CDU/CSU, the FDP of the German Party. In 1953 it was joined by a party created by German settlers from of Eastern Europe(until 1955). The coalition remained in power until 1950, when the FDP left it. She was replaced by the cabinet of the CDU/CSU and the German Party. Adenauer, who entered politics at the beginning of the century and was an active opponent of the Nazi regime (for which he was imprisoned), remained as chancellor until 1963. Although the “Old Man,” as the Germans called him, concentrated his efforts on foreign policy affairs, his success it owes primarily to the West German “economic miracle.” In 1949, the country's war-damaged national economy produced only 89% of its 1936 output, but skillful economic policies made it possible to bring West Germany to an unprecedentedly high level of prosperity. In 1957, West German industry, under Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhard, doubled production compared to 1936, and Germany became one of the leading industrial powers in the world. Economic growth made it possible to cope with the constant flow of refugees from East Germany, and the number of unemployed was constantly falling. By the early 1960s, West Germany was forced to massively attract foreign workers (guest workers) from Southern Europe, Turkey and North Africa. In area foreign policy Adenauer firmly sought to achieve two interrelated goals - the restoration of the full sovereignty of West Germany and the integration of the country into the community of Western countries. To do this, West Germany needed to win the trust of the Americans and the French. Adenauer was a supporter from the very beginning European integration. An important step in this direction was the entry of West Germany into the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), created in 1951, of which France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg became members (the ECSC Treaty was ratified by the Bundestag in January 1952). The attitude towards Adenauer was also influenced by West Germany's agreement to pay compensation to Israel and private victims of Nazi crimes against Jews. An important milestone in the policy of reconciliation with France pursued by Adenauer was the conclusion of the Franco-German cooperation agreement (1963), which was the result of negotiations with French President Charles de Gaulle. The beneficial results of policies aimed at alliance with Western countries , soon made themselves felt. In 1951, the Western allies agreed to change the occupation status, and on May 26, 1952, representatives of the United States, Great Britain and France, together with the West German Chancellor, signed the Bonn Agreement, according to which the military occupation was ended and the country's sovereignty was restored. Almost all states that were not part of the Soviet bloc recognized West Germany as an independent state. In 1957, a lightning-fast step was taken towards the unification of Germany: the Saar region, which had been governed by the French administration since 1945, became part of West Germany. Some of the steps taken by Adenauer in the field of foreign policy were very controversial. Despite the presence of significant forces in the country opposed to the remilitarization of West Germany, the Adenauer government approved American plans to turn West Germany into its military partner and political protégé. Impressed by the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, American military leaders argued that only in an alliance with the West German army could Europe be protected from possible Soviet aggression. After the French parliament rejected the plan to create a united European army (European Defense Community) in 1954, West Germany created its own armed forces, the Bundeswehr. In 1954, West Germany became the 15th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). As West Germany became a full member of the community of Western powers under Adenauer, the government failed to achieve its stated goal of unification with East Germany. Adenauer, supported by US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, was confident that only tough policies could convince the Soviet Union to release the GDR from its iron grip. West Germany made attempts to isolate the GDR in international affairs and did not recognize East Germany as an independent state. (It became customary to call the eastern neighbor the “so-called GDR” and the “Soviet zone”). In accordance with the “Halstein Doctrine” (named after Walter Hallstein, Adenauer’s foreign policy adviser), West Germany agreed to sever diplomatic relations with any country that recognized the GDR. The period from 1949 to the mid-1960s can be called the Adenauer era. The growing prestige of Germany in the West and prosperity within the country, as well as fear of the communist threat - all this contributed to the triumph of the CDU in the elections. The CDU/CSU bloc became the leading political force in all elections to the Bundestag from 1949 to 1969. The CDU/CSU benefited from the suppression of workers' protests in Berlin by Soviet troops in 1953 and the Soviet invasion of Hungary to pacify the uprising in 1956. At the same time, progressive social The reforms did not allow the Social Democrats to increase the number of their supporters. The new pension program has brought Germany to a leading position in this issue. In the production sector, trade unions achieved the adoption in 1951-1952 of laws on the participation of workers in the management of enterprises (in the steel and coal industries). Subsequently, the legislation was extended to enterprises that employed more than 2,000 workers. Theodor Hayes (1884-1963), the first president of West Germany (1949-1959), assisted Adenauer in creating a stable state that was respected in the world community. Hayes, leader of the FDP, was a prominent Liberal politician and writer in the 1920s. In 1959-1969, his successor as president was Heinrich Lübcke (1894-1972), a representative of the CDU.
Cultural life in West Germany. A landmark work in the reassessment of recent German history was Hamburg University professor Fritz Fischer's richly documented study, The Rush to World Power (1961), about the goals of the Kaiser's Germany in the First World War. Fischer argued that the main culprit of World War I was Germany, and thus supported the Treaty of Versailles clause regarding German guilt for starting the war. Fischer's thought was rejected by many hard-headed West Germans, but it foreshadowed the stream of critical studies of German history and West German society that emerged in the late 1960s. Among the main protagonists of the West German cultural revival of the late 1960s were the writers Günter Grass, Heinrich Böll, Uwe Jonsson, Peter Weiss, Siegfried Lenz, the film directors Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Volker Schlöndorff, Wim Wenders, and the composers Karlheinz Stockhausen and Hans Werner Henze.
The rise of social democracy. The lack of popular alternatives to the policies of the Christian Democrats worked to the advantage of the SPD. The party, led by Kurt Schumacher, continued to push for the nationalization of major industries, opposed a one-sided orientation towards the West, and played to German national chords. Some influential regional party leaders (such as Willy Brandt in Berlin, Wilhelm Kaisen in Bremen, Carlo Schmid in Baden-Württemberg and Max Brauer in Hamburg) criticized the lack of flexibility in the SPD program. Until his death (1952), Schumacher managed to outplay his rivals who were claiming leadership in the party. Schumacher's successor was Erich Ollenhauer, a party functionary who, however, agreed to change party policy. With Ollenhauer's tacit approval, reformers led by Carlo Schmid and Herbert Wehner, a hardline former communist politician who was the party's most active representative in the Bundestag, encouraged the party to abandon Marxist dogma. They succeeded in 1959, when the SPD, at a congress in Bad Godesberg, adopted a program that marked the rejection of Marxism. The SPD declared support for private initiative and an orientation towards the Scandinavian model of the welfare state. The party also advocated the development by the three main parties of a common approach to national defense policy. By a fortunate coincidence, the SPD changed its program just at the moment when the CDU began to lose public support. The SPD went to the 1961 elections under the leadership of Willy Brandt, an energetic and popular politician in society, the ruling burgomaster of West Berlin. Some voters were disappointed in the slowness of the CDU and wanted Adenauer to resign. The CDU/CSU bloc was losing votes, the SPD was gaining them, but it failed to remove Adenauer. The Free Democratic Party (FDP), which also criticized Adenauer, benefited the most. Despite its critical position, the FDP entered the coalition government together with the CDU/CSU. Adenauer promised to resign in two years. But before that, the real storm was caused by the so-called. Der Spiegel magazine case. The influential weekly Der Spiegel has long criticized the head of the CSU, Franz Josef Strauss, who professed extreme right-wing views and served as Minister of Defense since 1956. In 1962, the magazine published an article highlighting the dysfunctional situation in the West German armed forces. Accusing the magazine of disclosing information that was the subject of military secrets, Strauss ordered searches of the editorial premises and the arrest of employees on charges of treason. Five FDP ministers resigned in protest, and Strauss was removed from his post. In 1963, Adenauer resigned as Federal Chancellor, retaining his chairmanship of the party. The chancellor of the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition was Ludwig Erhard, who became known as the “father of the German economic miracle” for his role as a strategist in economic policy after 1949. His tenure in this post, which he sought for many years, cannot be called successful: Erhard was distinguished by indecisiveness, for which he received the nickname “rubber lion”. For the first time since the early 1950s, alarming symptoms appeared in the German economy. Production declined, growth rates slowed, and a balance of payments deficit appeared. Peasants were dissatisfied with government policies, and jobs were being cut in the mining, shipbuilding and textile industries. In 1965-1966, a general economic decline began in West Germany. In 1966-1969, the country was rocked by strikes, especially in the metallurgical industry; The peaceful period of development was coming to an end. Adenauer sharply criticized his successor, claiming that he was unable to cope with the duties of chancellor. Despite the economic recession, Erhard avoided defeat in the Bundestag elections in 1965. The CDU/CSU bloc even increased its representation in parliament, but victory did not solve the problems facing Erhard. He barely managed to resume the coalition with the Free Democrats. Representatives of the right wing of their own bloc, led by Strauss, and the land leaders of the CDU demonstrated hostility towards him. The influence of the latter increased as a result of the division of responsibilities between Erhard (Federal Chancellor) and Adenauer (Chairman of the CDU). Regional leaders criticized Erhard, linking the CDU's failures in a series of state elections to the chancellor's sluggish policies. In December 1966, the FDP, an awkward coalition partner, refused to support a tax increase bill and Erhard was forced to resign.
Grand coalition in Germany. To overcome dependence on the Free Democrats, the CDU/CSU bloc has now decided to enter into a “grand coalition” with the Social Democrats. The SPD leaders did not hesitate to join their rivals, claiming 9 ministerial portfolios against 11 for the CDU/CSU; Willy Brandt became Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor. Many Social Democrats did not like the prospect of working in a government that included Franz Joseph Strauss (which the CSU insisted on), and the candidacy of Kurt Georg Kiesinger, nominated by the CDU for the post of Bundeschancellor, was also questionable. Kiesinger headed the CDU branch in Baden-Württemberg, was considered a respected member of the Bundestag, but at one time was a member of the Nazi party. The grand coalition, although it did not bring radical changes in policy, changed West German politics in a number of important respects. The SPD had the opportunity to demonstrate to the West Germans its capabilities as a ruling party. But some voters perceived the unification of the largest parties and the failure of the FDP to play the role of an effective opposition party as an indication that the dominant political elite had united against the common people. As a result, voters supported new political groupings that previously did not have deputies in the Bundestag. The right-wing radical wing included the National Democratic Party of Germany (NDPD), which was formed in 1964. Its program had some similarities with the program of the Nazi party; many of its leaders were Nazis in the past. The NPD united the protest electorate by skillfully exploiting feelings of national disadvantage and resentment towards both superpowers, dissatisfaction with the continued persecution of Nazi criminals, hostility to perceived moral permissiveness and racially prejudiced fears about the influx of foreign workers. The party enjoyed support among residents of small towns and representatives of economically weak small entrepreneurs. She managed to get her deputies into some land parliaments (Landtags). But fears of a resurgence of Nazism turned out to be unfounded. The lack of a strong leader, as well as the improving economic situation in the country, played against the party. As a result, she lost the elections to the Bundestag in 1969, gaining only 4.3% of the vote. The left-wing opposition relied mainly on the student movement led by the Socialist Union of German Students (SDS), which was expelled from the SPD for refusing to accept the Bad Godesberg Program. The Students' Union program combined demands for educational reform and protest against US international policy. In the late 1960s, the country was rocked by massive student protests and the “extra-parliamentary opposition” movement.
Chancellor Willy Brandt. In 1969, the radicals experienced a decline in popularity. Many students welcomed the start of university education reforms, while others advocated giving the Social Democrats a chance to shine in governing the country. By 1969 the team of Social Democratic politicians was well known. The SPD stood for “modern Germany,” personified by Willy Brandt, accusing the CDU of backwardness. In addition, the Social Democrats benefited from the alliance with the FDP. Free Democrats helped elect Gustav Heinemann, the SPD candidate, to the presidency of Germany. In 1949-1950, Heinemann was Minister of the Interior in the Adenauer government, but resigned after disagreeing with Adenauer's plans to remilitarize the country. In 1952 he left the CDU, and in 1957 he joined the SPD. In the 1969 Bundestag elections, the CDU/CSU bloc, as before, formed the largest faction in the Bundestag (242 deputies), but the coalition government was formed by the SPD (224 deputies) and the FDP (30 deputies). Willy Brandt became chancellor. Although the SPD-FDP coalition embarked on a program of far-reaching reforms at home, especially in education, it is remembered primarily for its foreign policy initiatives. The main task that Willy Brandt set for himself can be formulated in two words - “Eastern policy”. Having abandoned the Hallstein Doctrine, following which West Germany tried to isolate the GDR and refused to recognize the border with Poland along the Oder-Neisse, as well as the invalidity of the Munich Agreement (1938) in relation to Czechoslovakia, the Brandt government sought to normalize relations between West Germany and its Eastern European neighbors, including from the GDR. Relations with the countries of Eastern Europe moved from a dead point during the Grand Coalition, but after 1969 the process of normalization accelerated significantly. There were several reasons for this: refugees from East Germany gradually integrated into West German society; The United States during this period was more interested in détente than in confrontation with the Soviet Union; large West German businesses sought to eliminate obstacles to trade with the East; In addition, the consequences of the construction of the Berlin Wall demonstrated that the GDR was far from collapse. Brandt, working closely with Foreign Minister Walter Scheel (FDP) and his closest adviser Egon Bahr (SPD), concluded treaties under which Germany recognized the existing borders: - with the Soviet Union and Poland in 1971, with Czechoslovakia in 1973 . In 1971, a quadripartite agreement on Berlin was signed: the Soviet Union recognized West Berlin as belonging to the West, guaranteed free access from West Germany to West Berlin, and recognized the right of residents of West Berlin to visit East Berlin. On November 8, 1972, East and West Germany officially recognized each other's sovereignty and agreed to exchange diplomatic missions. Just as Adenauer's efforts improved relations between West Germany and the Western Allies, the Eastern Treaties helped improve relations with the Soviet bloc countries. However, on one key issue, West Germany and the Soviet Union were unable to reach agreement. If the USSR insisted that the new treaties consolidated the division of Germany and Europe into East and West, the Brandt government argued that the “Eastern Treaties” did not cancel the possibility of the peaceful unification of Germany. Brandt's initiatives were approved by the majority of West Germans, which strengthened the position of the SPD. The Christian Democrats had difficulty settling into the role of an opposition party. The shock caused by the removal from power gave way to discontent, and hidden conflicts began to emerge, especially between the right wing of the CSU (Strauss) and the centrist faction of the CDU (Rainer Barzel). When the “Eastern Treaties” came to the Bundestag for ratification, many members of the CDU/CSU bloc abstained from voting on the treaties with Poland and the Soviet Union. In April 1972, the opposition attempted to remove the government. The SPD-FDP coalition had a slight majority in the Bundestag, and the opposition hoped that some members of the more right-wing FDP faction would support a vote of no confidence in the cabinet. The vote on the issue of no confidence in the government and the appointment of Rainer Barzel to the post of chancellor ended in defeat for the opposition, which fell short of two votes. Brandt, confident of the support of voters, took advantage of the opportunity provided by the constitution, dissolved the Bundestag and called new elections. In the elections of November 19, 1972, the SPD for the first time became the largest political force in the Bundestag (230 seats). For the first time, the SPD managed to defeat the CDU in the Catholic Saarland. The CDU/CSU bloc received approximately the same number of seats in parliament (225), but its representation decreased by 17 seats compared to 1969. The FDP was rewarded for its participation in the coalition with an increase in its faction in the Bundestag (41 seats). The decisive factor in this election was Willy Brandt's international prestige. However, the left wing of the SPD demanded more energetic reforms within the country (some deputies were former student leaders). In the winter of 1974, Germany felt the consequences of the global oil crisis. Inflation increased in the country, and the number of unemployed grew. The Social Democrats lost municipal and land elections. In this difficult situation, Brandt’s position became critical after the exposure of Gunther Guillaume, the Chancellor’s personal assistant, who turned out to be an East German spy. In May 1974, Brandt resigned.
Helmut Schmidt is Brandt's successor. Helmut Schmidt, Minister of Economics in Brandt's government, became the new Federal Chancellor. A Social Democrat from Hamburg, Schmidt successfully overcame the economic difficulties that arose in the country. By cutting government spending and increasing interest rates, he curbed the rate of inflation. By 1975, West Germany had overcome the crisis, achieving a solid balance of payments surplus and relatively low inflation rates. However, after the 1976 elections, the CDU/CSU bloc again managed to form the largest faction in parliament, since the government could not effectively cope with two other problems: the outbreak of terrorism and relations between the West and the East. In the mid-1970s, the Red Army Faction (RAF), also known as the Baader-Meinhof group, carried out a number of terrorist attacks. In October 1977, the RAF kidnapped and then killed Hans Martin Schleyer, president of the West German Employers' Union. The right, led by F.J. Strauss, tried to benefit from this event, accusing the government of failing to stop terrorism, and the left and social democratic intelligentsia of encouraging terrorists with their criticism of capitalism and West German society. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, defense policy issues came to the fore. Under US pressure, NATO in 1979 set a course for simultaneous modernization of weapons (including American-controlled nuclear-tipped missiles stationed in Germany) and discussion of disarmament initiatives with the Soviet Union. There has been a strong movement for peace and environmental protection in West Germany.
Christian Democrats return to power. Shortly after the 1980 Bundestag elections, when the SPD-FDP coalition managed to slightly increase its majority in parliament, its ability to govern the country was undermined by serious internal strife. Brandt, who retained the post of chairman of the SPD, under the influence of his wife, began to profess more leftist views and, together with a number of deputies, formed an anti-Schmidt group within the party. The SPD was torn by differences over issues of defense and social policy, the FDP was dominated by supporters of increasing defense spending and reducing social spending. In the land elections of 1981-1982, the CDU/CSU and the Greens, new batch, who advocated strengthening environmental protection, stopping the growth industrial production and the renunciation of the use of atomic energy and nuclear weapons, increased their representation in the Landtags, while the SPD and FDP lost some voters. The Free Democrats even feared that they would not be able to overcome the 5 percent barrier in the next Bundestag elections. Partly for this reason, partly because of disagreements with the Social Democrats on the issue of government spending The FDP left the coalition with the SPD and joined the CDU/CSU bloc. The Christian Democrats and Free Democrats agreed to remove Chancellor Schmidt by putting a “constructive vote of no confidence” to a vote in the Bundestag (during such a vote, a new chancellor is simultaneously elected). CDU leader Helmut Kohl was nominated as a candidate for the post of chancellor. On October 1, 1982, Helmut Kohl became the new Federal Chancellor. A politician from Rhineland-Palatinate, Kohl in May 1973 replaced the retired R. Barzel as chairman of the CDU. Shortly after his election, Kohl called elections to the Bundestag for March 6, 1983. In these elections, the CDU/CSU bloc, which advocated reducing social spending and reducing state intervention in the economy, for a return to traditional German values ​​(diligence and self-sacrifice), for the placement if new American missiles are needed medium range, capable of carrying nuclear weapon, to counter similar Soviet SS-20 missiles (name according to NATO classification), significantly improved its position in the Bundestag. Together with its coalition partners (the FDP received 6.9% of the votes), the CDU/CSU bloc won a solid majority in parliament. The Greens, with 5.6% of the vote, entered the Bundestag for the first time. The Social Democrats, led by their candidate for the post of Federal Chancellor Hans Jochen Vogel, suffered heavy losses. At first, it seemed that political luck had turned against the new chancellor. In 1985, a joint visit by Chancellor Kohl and US President Ronald Reagan to the military cemetery in Bitburg resulted in a public scandal, as it turned out that soldiers and officers of the SS military units of the Waffen-SS were also buried in this cemetery. Predictions of Kohl's imminent political death turned out to be premature. In 1989, when the East German leadership fell, Kohl quickly seized the initiative and led the movement for German reunification, securing his immediate political future.
Berlin problem, 1949-1991. For more than 40 years after World War II, Berlin served as a barometer, sensitive to changes in relations between the United States and the USSR. The occupation of the city in 1945 by the Big Four troops symbolized the unity of the military alliance directed against Nazi Germany. But Berlin soon became the center of all the contradictions of the Cold War. Relations between East and West became extremely strained after the Soviet Union organized a blockade of the western sectors of the city in 1948-1949. In Berlin itself, the blockade accelerated the process of dividing the city, which was an independent territorial unit not included in any of the four occupation zones of Germany. The city was divided into western and eastern parts. Western sectors became an integral part of the West German economy. Thanks to the Deutsche Mark and West German subsidies, West Berlin achieved a level of prosperity that contrasted sharply with the situation in the GDR. Politically, Berlin was not officially considered part of the Federal Republic of Germany, since the city remained occupied by the troops of the four victorious powers. West Berlin attracted East German citizens like a magnet. In the period 1948-1961, hundreds of thousands of refugees entered the Federal Republic of Germany through West Berlin. In the late 1950s, the Soviet government and East German leadership showed growing concern about the outflow of population from the GDR. After the construction of the Berlin Wall, which divided the city and isolated its western part, entry into and exit from West Berlin became impossible without permission from the East German authorities. East Germany insisted that the Soviet sector was an integral part of the GDR. The Western Allies sought to maintain their rights in West Berlin and maintain its economic and cultural ties with West Germany. The situation in Berlin over the next decade can be described as a painful impasse. Contacts between East and West Berlin were kept to a minimum. In 1963, Willy Brandt convinced the GDR government to allow West Berlin citizens to visit relatives in East Berlin on holidays (Christmas, Easter, etc.). But residents of East Berlin were not allowed to travel to West Berlin. Important changes occurred after Soviet-American détente and the implementation of West German Ostpolitik paved the way for a new agreement on Berlin (September 1971). The Soviet side did not allow a significant increase in traffic through border points in the Berlin Wall, but agreed to respect the rights of Western powers in West Berlin, as well as West Berlin ties with West Germany. The Western allies agreed to officially recognize the GDR. The situation continued at this level until the dramatic events of 1989, when the collapse of the East German regime led to the rapid and unexpected unification of the city. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened, and for the first time since 1961, residents of both parts of the city were able to move freely throughout Berlin. The wall was torn down and in December 1990, shortly after the official reunification of Germany, no trace remained of this hated symbol of a divided city. Residents of both parts of Berlin elected the ruling mayor of the entire city, Eberhard Diepgen (CDU), the former ruling mayor of West Berlin. In mid-1991, the Bundestag decided to move the capital of Germany from Bonn to Berlin.
Unification of Germany. After the GDR's borders opened to trade and travel, East German goods were replaced by Western products. The population demanded the introduction of a common currency, and although the West German central bank, the Bundesbank, urged caution, the governments of East and West Germany agreed to recognize the German mark as a common currency on July 1, 1990. The introduction of the West German mark in East Germany was of great importance for relations between the two Germanys. In December 1989, Chancellor Kohl proposed a ten-stage unification program over five years, but East Germans refused to wait. Their desire for political freedom and Western economic standards could only be satisfied by immediate unification. It is not surprising that the hated East German regime that ruled them for so long was subjected to all sorts of vilification. It became clear that if East Germany was not integrated into the Federal Republic of Germany as soon as possible, it would literally lose its population. If the Western system had not come to the East, then all the inhabitants of East Germany would have moved to the West. The unification was completed on October 3, 1990, after Kohl, Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher and USSR President M.S. Gorbachev agreed that the number of new German armed forces would not exceed 346 thousand people. The united country was able to continue its membership in NATO. The costs of returning Soviet soldiers stationed in the former GDR to their homeland were borne by the Federal Republic of Germany. Agreement to the unification of Germany was a concession on the part of the USSR, and on surprisingly modest terms. Initially, especially in the fall of 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down, Germany was gripped by general euphoria. However, the practical aspects of the integration of two different states turned out to be very difficult. Not only the economy, but simply the material condition of the GDR was in much worse shape than expected in the West. Almost no industrial enterprise could be preserved for further use. Transport, communications, and energy and gas supply systems required almost complete replacement. Housing stock and commercial real estate were badly worn out and did not meet standards. To accomplish the task of privatizing the colossal state property of the GDR - industrial enterprises, state and cooperative farms, forests and sales networks - the government has established a Board of Trustees. By the end of 1994, he had almost completed his work, having privatized about 15,000 firms or their subsidiaries; about 3.6 thousand enterprises had to be closed. The unrealistic expectations of the "Ossies" (as the inhabitants of the eastern lands of Germany came to be called) combined with the complacency of the "Wessies" forced the Kohl government to abandon the necessary changes and reduce all issues of unification to a simple transfer of West German methods to the East. This created two serious problems. The first was associated with the costs of the western part of Germany to provide goods and services to the eastern lands, which led to a significant flight of capital. Many hundreds of billions of marks from public funds were transferred to the new lands. Another problem was the dissatisfaction of relatively poor East Germans, who did not expect the transformation to be so painful. Unemployment remained the most serious problem. Most East German businesses of varying sizes closed after 1990 due to their economic unviability in a free market economy. The few enterprises that survived in the new conditions remained afloat only thanks to the ruthless reduction of personnel. As a rule, they all faced an oversupply of workers, because the GDR management system did not strive to minimize costs and increase production efficiency. As a result, the number of jobs in East Germany fell by almost 40% over three years. The industrial sector lost three-quarters of its jobs. Unemployment in the east of Germany was several times higher than in its western part, reaching, according to unofficial estimates, 40% (in the west - 11%). At the end of the 1990s, the share of unemployed in eastern lands remained twice as high as in Western countries. In the port city of Rostock it reached 57%. After the unification, Rostock was unable to compete with Hamburg and Kiel, and most of the workers were redundant. In 1991, every citizen received access to information from the former secret police of the GDR. It was revealed that the East German secret police were recruiting West Germans to hunt down and kill defectors and critics of the East German regime. Even writers such as Christa Wolf and Stefan Heim, who carefully guarded their reputations as writers independent of the GDR authorities, were accused of collaborating with the Stasi. It was also not easy to decide whether to punish the former leaders of the GDR for crimes committed during their rule, especially for the killings of East German citizens trying to flee to the West by the GDR secret services. Erich Honecker, who had sought refuge in Moscow, was returned to Berlin, where he stood trial in July 1992, but was released because he was dying of incurable disease, and sent into exile in Chile (d. 1994). Other leaders of the GDR (E. Krenz, Markus Wolf and others), responsible for atrocities against defectors, were put on trial; some were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. The issue of asylum became essential. The legacy of the Second World War led to the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany had a very liberal policy regarding the reception of foreigners who were persecuted in their homeland. All persons who applied for asylum could remain in Germany until their applications were examined and a decision was made on granting them a permanent residence permit. During this period they received an allowance of 400-500 marks per month. And although most applications were not granted (for example, in 1997 only 4.9% of refugees were granted asylum), the process itself took several years. Such generous policies were a magnet for disadvantaged people in the post-Soviet world. If in 1984 only 35 thousand applications for asylum were accepted, then in 1990, when the Soviet bloc began to collapse, their number increased to 193 thousand, and in 1992 - to 438 thousand. In addition, about 600 thousand ethnic Germans from different countries zhedadi to return to the homeland of their ancestors. In the summer of 1992, exasperation among refugees over the privileges they were receiving and their inability to assimilate German norms of life and behavior erupted in riots in Rostock, a city of about a quarter of a million people. Groups of teenagers with links to neo-Nazis set fire to houses housing about 200 Roma refugees and 115 Vietnamese guest workers. The attacks on refugees quickly spread to other East German cities and involved many West German neo-Nazis. Some Rostock residents supported the demonstrators. Mass anti-Nazi rallies were held in large West German cities (Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, etc.), at which almost 3 million people expressed their protest. The riots in Rostock continued for almost a week, followed by smaller demonstrations throughout East Germany for several weeks afterwards. The memorial to the Jews who died in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was set on fire. The second anniversary of German reunification, October 3, 1992, was marked by mass protests by neo-Nazis in Dresden and Arnstadt. Given the explosiveness of the situation, Kohl's government persuaded Romania to repatriate several thousand Roma refugees. Then, with the consent of the opposition parties, the government passed legislation restricting the entry of refugees into Germany. As a result, the number of asylum applicants decreased in 1993 to 323 thousand, and in 1994 to 127 thousand. Another law limiting the provision of asylum was adopted in 1994. Since 1994, the number of persons applying for asylum has increased or less constant level (about 100,000 applications per year). In 1994, the government passed laws against right-wing extremists and violence against foreigners and launched an intensive education campaign. After this, the number of xenophobic incidents began to decline. In the 1994 Bundestag elections, the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition, although it retained a majority, lost some of its previous seats; Kohl formed a new government. The PDS party retained support in the new states and won 30 seats, while the Greens received more votes than the Free Democrats for the first time. Before the disastrous results of the economic policies pursued in the GDR became apparent, Kohl believed that additional taxes would not be necessary to finance reconstruction work. When these hopes were dashed, the income tax had to be increased by 7.5% for one year. By 1994 the full extent was revealed necessary work on reconstruction, and the federal states adopted a package of legislation that increased taxes and reduced budget expenditures. By 1996, fiscal problems had worsened due to the need to reduce the budget deficit to 3%, which was required for entry into the European Monetary Union. The government proposed reducing the burden on the budget by cutting social programs. When the SPD and the Greens did not support the government, Kohl found himself in a desperate situation due to a lack of agreement in the Social Democratic-controlled Bundesrat. The solution to the problem was postponed until the elections of 1998. Nevertheless, Germany became a member of the European Monetary Union when it began its activities on January 1, 1999. The defeat of the CDU/CSU bloc in the elections to the Bundestag in the fall of 1998 ended the Kohl era. He resigned after serving as Federal Chancellor for 16 years. The SPD candidate Gerhard Schröder, who formed a coalition with the Green Party, became chancellor. Shredder - former prime minister state of Lower Saxony, moderate pragmatist politician with left-of-center orientation. The presence of left-wing ideologue Oscar Lafontaine at the head of the powerful Finance Ministry has led some analysts to question the government's commitment to centrist policies. (In March 1999, Lafontaine was replaced as finance minister by Social Democratic representative Gudrun Roos.) The emergence of the Greens in the federal government also indicated a turn to the left. Joschka Fischer, who headed the “realpolitik” faction in the party, and two of his party colleagues received ministerial portfolios (Fischer became Minister of Foreign Affairs). Before formally joining the coalition, both parties developed an extensive, detailed government program for the next four years. It included efforts to reduce unemployment, overhaul the tax system, close 19 remaining nuclear power plants and liberalize the citizenship and asylum process. The program emphasizes the continuity of international and defense policy, but recognizes the need to modernize the Bundeswehr.

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

Thus, back in 1945, at a meeting in Potsdam, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill divided Germany into four occupation zones and established quadripartite control of Berlin. This agreement was to remain in force until the Soviet Union, the USA, England and France agreed on the creation of a pan-German state and concluded a peace treaty with it.

The Cold War “buried” these plans. In September 1949, a new state emerged on the territory of the three western occupation zones - the Federal Republic of Germany. In response, in October of that year, Stalin created the German Democratic Republic.

Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)

In September 1949, the ruling circles of the USA, England and France completed the split of Germany, forming a separate state in the western part of the country. The West German monopolies were given the opportunity to create their own state as payment for Germany's participation in the aggressive imperialist blocs led by the United States. Simultaneously with the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany, on September 21, 1949, the occupation statute developed by the governments of the United States, England and France came into force, which retained the supreme power in the Federal Republic of Germany for these powers.

The Statute of Occupation defines the powers that are retained by the occupying authorities in the exercise of their supreme power, which is exercised by the governments of France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

In order to ensure the achievement of the main goals pursued by the occupation, these powers (to the occupying powers) are specifically specified.

The governments of the USA, Great Britain and France took the path of refusing to implement the decisions of the Potsdam Conference (July - August 1945), which provided for the demilitarization of Germany, the eradication of German militarism and Nazism, the elimination of monopolies and the broad democratization of the country.

In the western zones of German occupation, demilitarization and denazification were practically not carried out. Many former Nazis returned to important positions.

The Soviet Union consistently advocates the development of friendly relations with the entire German people. Believing that the normalization of relations between the USSR and the Federal Republic of Germany would help strengthen peace in Europe, resolve the German problem and develop mutually beneficial trade, the Soviet government addressed the German government on June 7, 1955 with a proposal to establish direct diplomatic, trade and cultural relations between both countries. And in September 1955, both governments exchanged letters on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the establishment of embassies.

Having set a course for restoring the power of monopoly capital in West Germany and dividing the country, the Western powers set as their goal the revival of German militarism in order to then use it in their interests against the USSR and other socialist countries. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Soviet Union's repeated proposals aimed at preserving German unity were rejected by the Western powers, who viewed West Germany as their future political and military ally.

The occupation authorities of the Western powers contributed in every possible way to the restoration and strengthening of the economic and political positions of the West German bourgeoisie and helped it consolidate its forces. Parties were created to represent the interests of monopoly capital. In Germany, a state apparatus was created with the help of which monopoly capital could strengthen and expand its positions and control the entire life of the country. The Western powers banned the organization of the Socialist Unity Party in West Germany. These policies, combined with the anti-communist stance of the leaders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), prevented the unification of communists and social democrats.

The labor movement was also in the process of re-establishing proletarian organizations. The lack of unity of the West German labor movement seriously hampered the struggle of progressive forces against the split of the country. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany formally proclaimed the basic democratic rights of citizens - their equality before the law, personal freedom, equality of men and women, freedom of political views, press, meetings, etc. The adoption of these points to a certain extent took into account the intensification of the struggle of West German workers for their interests .

An expression of the systematic line of the Western powers aimed at splitting Germany was the creation in 1947 of the so-called “Bisonia”, which united the American and British zones of occupation, and then “Trizonia” (in 1948), as well as the implementation of a separate monetary reform.

After the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Western powers set a course for restoring the military-industrial potential and rearmament of West Germany, and for involving it in military blocs directed against the USSR and other socialist countries.

Chancellor Konradom Adenauer did everything possible to implement the plans for the remilitarization of the Federal Republic of Germany, which were hatched by the West German monopolies. In August 1950, he handed over a memorandum to the American High Commissioner in which he “reiterated his readiness to contribute in the form of a German contingent in the event of the creation of a Western European army.” The Western powers agreed to this proposal of the German Chancellor. Revanchist demands aimed at revising the results of the Second World War increasingly became the basis of the official policy of the ruling circles of Germany.

Taking a course towards the remilitarization of the country, the Adenauer government rejected all peace initiatives of the Soviet Union, in particular, its draft peace treaty with Germany of March 10, 1952. And on March 26, 1952, the Western powers signed a general agreement on relations with Germany, according to which the formal occupation of West Germany, but US, British and French troops remained on its territory. But the entire working class, all the democratic forces of the country resisted the policy of restoring West German monopoly capital and its course towards the remilitarization of West Germany. And despite the persecution, the communists continued to fight against the remilitarization of the country and to overcome the division of Germany.

As for the development of economics and politics, by the beginning of the 60s, Germany was increasingly asserting itself as the leader of Western European states. Its ruling circles have increased their foreign economic and foreign policy activity. But by the end of the 60s, Germany was affected by economic and political crises.

In 1969, the SPD-FDP coalition government was formed. Chairman of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) Wili Brandt became Federal Chancellor, and Chairman of the FDP (Free Democratic Party) Walter Scheel became Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the field of foreign policy, the government took a realistic approach to assessing the situation in post-war Europe; it took into account the desire of broad sections of the West German population for détente, their desire to put an end to the dangerous remnants of the Cold War. The Brandt-Scheel government moved to improve relations with socialist countries and accepted the Soviet Union's proposal to hold negotiations. As a result, on August 12, 1970, the Moscow Treaty was signed between the USSR and Germany. Both sides expressed their desire to promote peaceful relations between all European states, pledged to resolve their disputes exclusively by peaceful means and to refrain in their mutual relations from the threat or use of force. The third article of the treaty, which established the inviolability of the borders of all states in Europe, was of key importance. The Moscow Treaty created the necessary political preconditions for a serious turn in Soviet-West German relations, which were normalized on the basis of Germany's renunciation of claims to change the existing European borders.

Great importance To alleviate tensions in Europe, there was an agreement signed in September 1971 by four powers - the USSR, Great Britain, the USA and France on West Berlin, an important point of which was the provision that West Berlin is not an integral part of the Federal Republic of Germany and will not be governed by it and henceforth.

The conclusion of the Moscow Treaty, negotiations between L. I. Brezhnev and V. Brandt in Crimea in September 1971, especially the visit of L. I. Brezhnev in May 1973 to Germany gave impetus to the development economic ties between the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany, brought them to a qualitatively new level. Of great importance was the signing in May 1973 of an agreement between the USSR and Germany on the development of economic, industrial and technical cooperation for a period of 10 years.

German Democratic Republic (GDR)

In October 1949, the Western imperialist powers completed the division of Germany, creating a separate West German state. Under these conditions, the democratic and patriotic forces of Germany decided that the time had come to take the fate of the country into their own hands, to repel the reviving German militarism, and to prevent the spread of power of revanchists and fascists throughout Germany. To this end, the democratic forces of East Germany, on October 7, 1949, proclaimed the creation of the German Democratic Republic. The GDR emerged as the first state of workers and peasants in German history. Exercising supreme power here, the Soviet Military Administration (SVAG) carried out a number of measures for demilitarization, denazification and democratization, and created favorable conditions for the formation of a united, peace-loving, democratic Germany.

The struggle of the peace-loving forces of the German people for a new Germany was led by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Immediately after the legalization of its activities on June 11, 1945, the Central Committee of the KKE addressed the people with an appeal containing a program for democratic reforms throughout the country. The KKE oriented the working class and the working masses towards establishing an anti-fascist-democratic system in Germany. She called for the creation of new government bodies from below, to punish war criminals, to expel the Nazis from administrative and economic bodies and replace them with anti-fascists, to liquidate monopolistic associations and transfer large industrial enterprises, junker estates, as well as banks and the hands of the people. The appeal of the KPD received the approval of the working class and other sections of the German people, as well as all democratic parties and organizations.

The unity of action of the working class in East Germany was the basis for the establishment of a strong alliance of the working class with the peasantry, petty and middle bourgeoisie.

With the defeat of fascism, the old state apparatus was liquidated. In East Germany, the Nazis were removed from administrative and economic institutions. On the initiative of the communists and other anti-fascists and with the support of the SVAG, new government bodies (Landtags) were created on the ruins of Hitler's Reich, which expressed and defended the interests of the broad masses.

Of great importance for strengthening the new anti-fascist-democratic system in East Germany was the liquidation of the property of monopoly capital, this most important support of fascism. Carrying out the Potsdam decisions, SVAG in October 1945 imposed sequestration on all property belonging to the Hitlerite state, war criminals, active Nazis, as well as monopolies that participated in the outbreak of the war.

The most important distinctive feature of the development of Germany after liberation was the interweaving of the social (class) struggle of the masses with the struggle against the schismatic actions of the American-British imperialists and German reactionaries, who prevented the creation of a single independent German state. The decisions of the 2nd German People's Congress, held in March 1948, were of great importance in the struggle for the national unity of the country. It proclaimed the slogan of the struggle for a united German Democratic Republic and elected the governing body of the movement - the German People's Council. He adopted the draft constitution of the GDR and proclaimed the formation of the German Democratic Republic on October 7, 1949.

The government of the GDR declared as its program the struggle for further democratic reforms, the economic and cultural rise of the German people, for national unity, for friendship and cooperation with the Soviet | Union and all peace-loving peoples of the world. The formation of the GDR met with full support and approval from the Soviet government, which immediately recognized it and transferred all administrative functions belonging to SVAG to the GDR government. The formation of the GDR was a turning point in the history of the German people, a powerful blow to German imperialism and militarism.

Thus, with regard to relations between the Soviet Union and the GDR, in 1954 the Government of the Soviet Union was invariably guided by the desire to promote the settlement of the German problem in accordance with the interests of strengthening peace and ensuring the national reunification of Germany on a democratic basis.

In view of this situation and as a result of the negotiations that the Soviet government held with the government of the German Democratic Republic, the government of the USSR recognizes the need to take further steps to meet the interests of the German people, namely:

1. The Soviet Union establishes the same relations with the German Democratic Republic as with other sovereign states.

The German Democratic Republic will be free to decide at its own discretion its internal and external affairs, including questions of relations with West Germany.

2. The Soviet Union retains in the German Democratic Republic functions related to ensuring security arising from the obligations assigned to the USSR under the agreements of the four powers.

The Soviet government took note of the statement of the government of the German Democratic Republic that it would comply with the obligations arising for the German Democratic Republic from the Potsdam Agreement on the development of Germany as a democratic and peace-loving state, as well as the obligations associated with the temporary presence of Soviet troops on the territory of the GDR.



Education of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic

The beginning of the Cold War in 1946-1947 and the growing confrontation between the USSR and the Western powers made it impossible to recreate a unified German state. The differences in the approach of the USSR and the USA to solving the German problem turned out to be insurmountable. The USSR advocated the reunification of Germany, its demilitarization and neutral status. The United States opposed the neutral status of a united Germany. They sought to see Germany as a dependent ally. As a result of the USSR's victory in the war, the countries of Eastern Europe came under its control. Power in them gradually passed to local communists loyal to the USSR. The United States and Western states, in opposition to the USSR, sought to maintain West Germany in their sphere of influence. This predetermined the state split in Germany.

Western states decided to create a special West German state in those territories that were under their occupation control. For this purpose, an Economic Council was established in Frankfurt from representatives of the Landtags of the states. He resolved financial and economic issues. The Economic Council had a majority of the CDU, CSU and FDP parties, which advocated a social market economy. In 1948, by decision Economic Council monetary reform took place in the three western occupation zones. A stable German mark was introduced into circulation, and price controls were abolished. West Germany embarked on the path of creating a social market economy, and its economic revival began.

In 1948, to develop and adopt a draft constitution for the West German state, a special Parliamentary Council was convened - the Constituent Assembly, elected by the Landtags of the West German states. The draft constitution was developed in committees of the Parliamentary Council with the participation of German jurists and approved by military governors. In May 1949, the Parliamentary Council adopted the Basic Law. It received ratification and approval from the Landtags of the West German states, except for Bavaria, but is also valid for it, and came into force. This is how the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) came into being. It covered half of the former territory of the country and two-thirds of the Germans lived there. Western states adopted an occupation statute in 1949. It limited the sovereignty of Germany in the field of foreign policy, defense, foreign trade until 1955 Germany is still occupied by American troops.

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany is officially called the Basic Law, since when adopted, this act was considered temporary until the unification of the German lands into a single state, after which it was planned to develop a constitution for a united Germany. According to the Basic Law, Germany was open to the annexation of the remaining German states. After German unity is achieved, the Basic Law applies to the entire German people and ceases to be valid on the day when a new constitution comes into force, which will be adopted by the free decision of the German people. The Constitution of 1949 was also called Bonn - after the name of the new capital of the Federal Republic of Germany - Bonn.

In the Soviet zone of occupation, that is, in the eastern part of Germany, in October 1949, its own constitution was adopted, created on the Soviet model, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was proclaimed. As a result, a long forty-year period of existence of two independent German states began. They did not remain neutral, but entered military-political alliances opposing each other. In 1955, Germany joined NATO, and the GDR joined the Warsaw Pact.

IN Central Europe in the 1949-90s, on the territory of the modern lands of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia of the Federal Republic of Germany. The capital is Berlin (Eastern). Population: about 17 million people (1989).

The GDR arose on October 7, 1949 on the territory of the Soviet zone of occupation of Germany as a temporary state formation in response to the establishment in May 1949 of a separate West German state - the Federal Republic of Germany - on the basis of the American, British and French zones of occupation (see Trizonia) (for more details, see the articles Germany, Berlin crises , German Question 1945-90). Administratively, since 1949 it has been divided into 5 lands, and since 1952 - into 14 districts. East Berlin had the status of a separate administrative-territorial unit.

In the political system of the GDR, the leading role was played by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), formed in 1946 as a result of the merger of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the territory of the Soviet occupation zone. Traditional German parties also operated in the GDR: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany and the newly created National Democratic Party of Germany and the Democratic Peasant Party of Germany. All parties united into the Democratic Bloc and declared their commitment to the ideals of socialism. Parties and mass organizations (the Association of Free German Trade Unions, the Union of Free German Youth, etc.) were part of the National Front of the GDR.

The highest legislative body of the GDR was the People's Chamber (400 deputies, 1949-63, 1990; 500 deputies, 1964-89), elected through universal direct secret elections. The head of state in 1949-60 was the president (this position was held by the co-chairman of the SED V. Pieck). After the death of V. Pick, the post of president was abolished, the State Council elected by the People's Chamber and accountable to it, headed by the chairman, became the collective head of state (chairmen of the State Council: W. Ulbricht, 1960-73; W. Shtof, 1973-76; E. Honecker, 1976-89; E. Krenz, 1990). Supreme body The executive branch was the Council of Ministers, which was also elected by the People's Chamber and was accountable to it (Chairmen of the Council of Ministers: O. Grotewohl, 1949-64; V. Shtof, 1964-73, 1976-89; H. Zinderman, 1973-76; H. Modrov, 1989-90). The People's Chamber elected its chairman National Council Defense, the President and members of the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General of the GDR.

The normal functioning of the economy of East Germany, and then the GDR, which was heavily damaged by the war, was complicated from the very beginning by the payment of reparations in favor of the USSR and Poland. In violation of the decisions of the Berlin (Potsdam) Conference of 1945, the USA, Great Britain and France disrupted reparation supplies from their zones, as a result of which almost the entire burden of reparations fell on the GDR, which was initially inferior to the FRG economically. On 12/31/1953, the amount of reparations paid by the Federal Republic of Germany amounted to 2.1 billion German marks, while the reparation payments of the GDR for the same period amounted to 99.1 billion German marks. The share of dismantling industrial enterprises and deductions from the current production of the GDR reached critical levels in the early 1950s. The exorbitant burden of reparations, along with the mistakes of the leadership of the SED led by W. Ulbricht, who set a course for the “accelerated construction of socialism,” led to an overstrain of the republic’s economy and caused open discontent among the population, which manifested itself during the events of June 17, 1953. The unrest, which began as a strike by East Berlin construction workers against increasing production standards, covered most of the territory of the GDR and took on the character of anti-government protests. The support of the USSR allowed the GDR authorities to gain time, restructure their policies and then independently stabilize the situation in the republic in a short time. A “new course” was proclaimed, one of the goals of which was to improve the living conditions of the population (in 1954, the line of preferential development of heavy industry was, however, restored). To strengthen the GDR economy, the USSR and Poland refused to collect the remaining $2.54 billion in reparations from it.

While supporting the government of the GDR, the leadership of the USSR, however, pursued a policy of restoring a unified German state. At the Berlin meeting of the foreign ministers of the four powers in 1954, it again took the initiative to ensure the unity of Germany as a peace-loving, democratic state not participating in military alliances and blocs, and made a proposal to form a provisional all-German government on the basis of an agreement between the GDR and the FRG and entrust it with holding free elections. The all-German National Assembly, created as a result of the elections, was supposed to develop a constitution for a united Germany and form a government competent to conclude a peace treaty. However, the USSR's proposal did not receive support from the Western powers, who insisted on the membership of a united Germany in NATO.

The position of the governments of the USA, Great Britain and France on the German question and the subsequent entry of Germany into NATO in May 1955, which fundamentally changed the military-political situation in Central Europe, became the reason for the beginning of a revision by the leadership of the USSR of the line on the issue of German unification. The existence of the GDR and the Group of Soviet Forces stationed on its territory in Germany began to be given importance as a central element in the system of ensuring the security of the USSR in the European direction. The socialist social system began to be seen as an additional guarantee against the absorption of the GDR by the West German state and the development of allied relations with the USSR. In August 1954, the Soviet occupation authorities completed the process of transferring the GDR state sovereignty, in September 1955, the Soviet Union signed a fundamental agreement with the GDR on the basis of relations. At the same time, the GDR was comprehensively integrated into the economic and political structures of the community of European socialist states. In May 1955, the GDR became a member of the Warsaw Pact.

The situation around the GDR and the internal situation in the republic itself in the 2nd half of the 1950s continued to remain tense. In the West, circles became more active and were ready to use military force against the GDR with the aim of its annexation to the Federal Republic of Germany. On international arena Since the autumn of 1955, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany has persistently pursued the policy of isolating the GDR and made a claim to the sole representation of the Germans (see the “Halstein Doctrine”). A particularly dangerous situation developed in Berlin. West Berlin, which was under the control of the occupation administrations of the USA, Great Britain and France and was not separated from the GDR by a state border, actually turned into a center of subversive activities against it, both economic and political. The economic losses of the GDR due to the open border with West Berlin in 1949-61 amounted to about 120 billion marks. During the same period, approximately 1.6 million people illegally left the GDR through West Berlin. These were mainly skilled workers, engineers, doctors, trained medical personnel, teachers, professors, etc., whose departure seriously complicated the functioning of the entire state mechanism of the GDR.

In an effort to strengthen the security of the GDR and defuse the situation in Central Europe, the USSR in November 1958 took the initiative to grant West Berlin the status of a demilitarized free city, that is, to turn it into an independent political unit with a controlled and guarded border. In January 1959, the Soviet Union presented a draft peace treaty with Germany, which could be signed by the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic or their confederation. However, the USSR's proposals again did not receive support from the USA, Great Britain and France. On 13.8.1961, on the recommendation of the Meeting of Secretaries of Communist and Workers' Parties of the Warsaw Pact countries (3-5.8.1961), the government of the GDR unilaterally introduced a state border regime in relation to West Berlin and began installing border barriers (see Berlin Wall).

The construction of the Berlin Wall forced the ruling circles of the Federal Republic of Germany to reconsider their course both in the German question and in relations with the socialist countries of Europe. After August 1961, the GDR gained the opportunity for relatively calm development and internal consolidation. The strengthening of the position of the GDR was facilitated by its Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance and Cooperation with the USSR (June 12, 1964), in which the inviolability of the borders of the GDR was declared one of the main factors of European security. By 1970, the economy of the GDR in its main indicators surpassed the level of industrial production in Germany in 1936, although its population was only 1/4 of the population of the former Reich. In 1968, a new Constitution was adopted, which defined the GDR as the “socialist state of the German nation” and secured the leading role of the SED in the state and society. In October 1974, a clarification was made to the text of the Constitution about the presence of a “socialist German nation” in the GDR.

The coming to power in Germany in 1969 of the government of W. Brandt, who took the path of normalizing relations with socialist countries (see “New Eastern Policy”), stimulated the warming of Soviet-West German relations. In May 1971, E. Honecker was elected to the post of 1st Secretary of the SED Central Committee, who spoke out for the normalization of relations between the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany and for carrying out economic and social reforms in order to strengthen socialism in the GDR.

From the beginning of the 1970s, the government of the GDR began to develop a dialogue with the leadership of the Federal Republic of Germany, which led to the signing in December 1972 of an agreement on the fundamentals of relations between the two states. Following this, the GDR was recognized by the Western powers, and in September 1973 it was admitted to the UN. The republic has achieved significant success in economic and social spheres. Among the CMEA member countries, its industry and Agriculture achieved the highest levels of productivity, as well as the highest degree of scientific and technological development in the non-military sector; The GDR had the highest level of per capita consumption among the socialist countries. In terms of industrial development in the 1970s, the GDR ranked 10th in the world. However, despite significant progress, by the end of the 1980s the GDR still seriously lagged behind the Federal Republic of Germany in terms of living standards, which negatively affected the mood of the population.

In the conditions of détente in the 1970-80s, the ruling circles of the Federal Republic of Germany pursued a policy of “change through rapprochement” towards the GDR, placing the main emphasis on expanding economic, cultural and “human contacts” with the GDR without recognizing it as a full-fledged state. When establishing diplomatic relations, the GDR and the FRG exchanged not embassies, as is customary in world practice, but permanent missions with diplomatic status. Citizens of the GDR, entering West German territory, could still, without any conditions, become citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany, be called up to serve in the Bundeswehr, etc. For citizens of the GDR who visited the Federal Republic of Germany, the payment of “welcome money” remained, the amount of which by the end of the 1980s was 100 German marks for each family member, including infants. Active anti-socialist propaganda and criticism of the policies of the leadership of the GDR were carried out by radio and television of the Federal Republic of Germany, whose broadcasts were received almost throughout the entire territory of the GDR. The political circles of the Federal Republic of Germany supported any manifestations of opposition among the citizens of the GDR and encouraged their flight from the republic.

In conditions of acute ideological confrontation, at the center of which was the problem of quality of life and democratic freedoms, the leadership of the GDR tried to regulate “human contacts” between the two states by limiting the travel of GDR citizens to Germany, and exercised increased control over the mood of the population, persecuted opposition figures. All this only intensified the internal tension in the republic that had been growing since the early 1980s.

The majority of the population of the GDR greeted perestroika in the USSR with enthusiasm, in the hope that it would contribute to the expansion of democratic freedoms in the GDR and the lifting of restrictions on travel to Germany. However, the leadership of the republic had a negative attitude towards the processes unfolding in the Soviet Union, viewing them as dangerous for the cause of socialism, and refused to take the path of reform. By the autumn of 1989, the situation in the GDR had become critical. The population of the republic began to flee across the border with Austria opened by the Hungarian government and to the territory of the German embassies in Eastern European countries. Mass protest demonstrations took place in the cities of the GDR. Trying to stabilize the situation, the leadership of the SED on October 18, 1989 announced the release of E. Honecker from all positions he held. But E. Krenz, who replaced Honecker, could not save the situation.

On November 9, 1989, in conditions of administrative confusion, free movement was restored across the border of the GDR with the Federal Republic of Germany and the checkpoints of the Berlin Wall. The crisis of the political system grew into a crisis of the state. On December 1, 1989, the clause on the leading role of the SED was removed from the Constitution of the GDR. On December 7, 1989, real power in the republic passed to the Round Table, created on the initiative of the Evangelical Church, in which the old parties, mass organizations of the GDR and new informal political organizations were equally represented. In the parliamentary elections held on March 18, 1990, the SED, renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism, was defeated. Supporters of the GDR's entry into the Federal Republic of Germany received a qualified majority in the People's Chamber. By the decision of the new parliament, the State Council of the GDR was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the Presidium of the People's Chamber. The leader of the Christian Democrats of the GDR, L. de Maizières, was elected head of the coalition government. The new government of the GDR declared the laws that enshrined the socialist government structure The GDR entered into negotiations with the leadership of the Federal Republic of Germany on the terms of the unification of the two states and on May 18, 1990 signed a state agreement with them on a monetary, economic and social union. In parallel, negotiations were held between the governments of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic with the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France on problems related to the unification of Germany. The leadership of the USSR, led by M. S. Gorbachev, almost from the very beginning agreed with the liquidation of the GDR and the membership of a united Germany in NATO. On its own initiative, it raised the question of the withdrawal of the Soviet military contingent from the territory of the GDR (from mid-1989 it was called the Western Group of Forces) and pledged to carry out this withdrawal in a short time - within 4 years.

On July 1, 1990, the state treaty on the union of the GDR with the Federal Republic of Germany came into force. On the territory of the GDR, West German economic law began to operate, and the German stamp became a means of payment. On August 31, 1990, the governments of the two German states signed a unification agreement. On September 12, 1990 in Moscow, representatives of six states (Germany and the German Democratic Republic, as well as the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France) signed the “Treaty on the Final Settlement regarding Germany”, according to which the victorious powers in World War II declared the termination of "their rights and responsibilities in relation to Berlin and Germany as a whole" and granted the united Germany "full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs." On October 3, 1990, the agreement on the unification of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany came into force, the West Berlin police took protection of the government offices of the GDR in East Berlin. The GDR as a state ceased to exist. There was no plebiscite on this issue in either the GDR or the Federal Republic of Germany.

Lit.: History of the German Democratic Republic. 1949-1979. M., 1979; Geschichte der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. V., 1984; Socialism of the national colors of the GDR. M., 1989; Bahrmann N., Links S. Chronik der Wende. V., 1994-1995. Bd 1-2; Lehmann N. G. Deutschland-Chronik 1945-1995. Bonn, 1996; Modrow N. Ich wollte ein neues Deutschland. V., 1998; Wolle S. Die heile Welt der Diktatur. Alltag und Herrschaft in der DDR 1971-1989. 2. Aufl. Bonn, 1999; Pavlov N.V. Germany on the way to the third millennium. M., 2001; Maksimychev I.F. “The people will not forgive us...”: The last months of the GDR. Diary of the Minister-Counselor of the USSR Embassy in Berlin. M., 2002; Kuzmin I. N. 41st year of the German Democratic Republic. M., 2004; Das letzte Jahr der DDR: zwischen Revolution und Selbstaufgabe. V., 2004.

In the period from 1949 to 1990, there were two separate states on the territory of modern Germany - the communist GDR and the capitalist West Germany. The formation of these states was associated with one of the first serious crises of the Cold War, and the unification of Germany with the final fall of the communist regime in Europe.

Reasons for separation

The main and, perhaps, the only reason for the division of Germany was the lack of consensus among the victorious countries regarding the post-war structure of the state. Already in the second half of 1945, the former allies became rivals, and the territory of Germany became a place of collision between two contradictory political systems.

Plans of the victorious countries and the separation process

The first projects concerning the post-war structure of Germany appeared back in 1943. This issue was raised at the Tehran Conference, where Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt met. Since the conference took place after the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk, the leaders of the Big Three were well aware that the fall of the Nazi regime would occur within the next few years.

The most daring project was proposed by the American president. He believed that it was necessary to create five separate states on German territory. Churchill also believed that after the war Germany should not exist within its previous borders. Stalin, who was more concerned about the opening of a second front in Europe, considered the issue of dividing Germany premature and not the most important. He believed that nothing could further prevent Germany from becoming a unified state again.

The issue of the dismemberment of Germany was also raised at subsequent meetings of the Big Three leaders. During the Potsdam Conference (summer 1945), a four-way occupation system was established:

• England,
• THE USSR,
• France.

It was decided that the Allies would treat Germany as a single whole and encourage the emergence of democratic institutions on the territory of the state. Resolution of most issues related to denazification, demilitarization, restoration of the economy destroyed by the war, revival of the pre-war political structure etc., required the cooperation of all winners. However, immediately after the end of the war, it became increasingly difficult for the Soviet Union and its Western allies to find a common language.

The main reason for the split among the former allies was the reluctance of the Western powers to liquidate German military enterprises, which contradicted the demilitarization plan. In 1946, the British, French and Americans united their zones of occupation, forming Trizonia. In this territory they created a separate system of economic management, and in September 1949 the emergence of a new state was announced - the Federal Republic of Germany. The leadership of the USSR immediately took retaliatory measures by creating the German Democratic Republic in its occupation zone.