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We left Germany defeated and divided. The war in Europe was over, the victorious powers had occupied the Germanic country, but the question of how to act in the future was still open. After Potsdam, the consensus solution seemed closer than ever, with a united but decentralized Germany as the preferable option. However, the rapid cooling and separation of relations between the Soviet Union on the one hand, and the United States, Great Britain and France on the other, caused the “German question” to never be closed.

Allied Control Council (1945-1948)

When the Potsdam agreements were signed in early August, it seemed that the German question was closed, at least in the short term. The ACC would take over the German government, following the policies known as “4 D”, that is, denazify, demilitarize, decentralize and democratize Germany, while the Council of Foreign Ministers I was looking for a definitive solution for the German country.

However, internal problems soon followed. The first of the stumbling blocks was due to French intransigence. Although its presence in the ACC was approved unanimously in Yalta, from the beginning the problems that the USSR warned would be seen, since the French representatives began an obstructionist policy towards the work of government, looking after their own interests instead of common interests.

But France would not be the only problem to be faced in the ACC. Relations between the United States and Great Britain with the USSR began to cool rapidly after the war. The conjunctural alliance to defeat the common enemy had ended, and very soon the ideological clashes between the two began to be seen. The tensions, which, except for specific moments, seemed to smooth over without problems during the war, became irreconcilable after it.

In addition, the fear that the unified Germany would align itself with one or the other side in the incipient Cold War, taking with it all its economic, industrial and strategic power, helped to take extreme precautions. And statements like those made by Stalin in Yugoslavia in 1946, assuring that “All of Germany must be ours”They only increased the distances. Even internally, the United States was divided among those who still advocated the implementation of the Morgenthau Plan; those who defended the German recovery but not its unification; and those who did expect both economic recovery and the unity of the Central European country.

Therefore, these fractures, together with the fact that the decisions concerning Germany as a unit were only approved unanimously, meant that by the end of 1946, the ACC was a useless body, and that the German future was strongly conditioned by the power occupant of each zone. On March 20, 1948, the Soviet marshal and representative of the USSR in the ACC, Vasili Sokolokvski, left the council due to the enormous disagreements with the Western powers. It is then that the council, although it was not dissolved, ceased its functions.

Council of Foreign Ministers (1945-1948)

But the failure of the ACC was not the only one. In parallel, the Council of Foreign Ministers it continued its meetings, equally unsuccessful, to decide the future of Germany and of the also quadripartite Austria.

The lack of consensus among the members of the council was more and more evident. The beginning of the “Truman Doctrine” (avoid the expansion of communism in the “free peoples”), caused that by the summer of 1946, they began to look for alternative solutions to the future of Germany. A few months earlier, George Kennan, an important member of the US State Department, claimed that the only alternative left, seeing the course that was being taken, was to ensure the independence and freedom of the German West.

For Kennan, negotiations have broken down, and each power must work for its own goal. Following this line, the foreign ministers of Great Britain (Ernst Bevin) and the USA (James Byrnes), agreed, at the end of 1946, the economic union of their occupation zones. It is what is known as Bizona. The Bizona became operational in January 1947. In addition, the first German-led government agencies were created, albeit at a local and regional level (Länder).

However, the new US Secretary of State, George Marshall, still believed in the possibility of reunifying Germany. So, accompanied by his counterparts from Britain and France, he traveled to Moscow in the spring of 1947, meeting with the Soviet foreign minister, to try to negotiate a unified German future. Despite numerous meetings, the result was unsuccessful. Aware of the impossibility of reaching an agreement with the USSR, the three Western powers began to collaborate much more closely.

Despite the deadlock in the negotiations, the meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers they continued to be held, even though it was practically impossible to reach a joint agreement. When the council meeting held in London at the end of 1947 ended again without any agreement on Germany or Austria, and the differences with the USSR were more than evident, France, Great Britain and the United States began to work openly on their own. unified Germany.

London Conference (February-June 1948)

Thus, in February 1948, the sessions of a new conference for the future of Germany began, the London Conference or Conference of the 6 Powers. It brought together the three Western countries that occupied German territory, France, Great Britain and the USA, together with the Benelux countries (Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg). The goal was clear,overcome the present difficulties and do everything possible to see a unified Germany under a German government with sufficient power to rule.”although the idea of ​​a unified Germany was not abandoned.

The meetings took place in two periods. The first of them from February to March. The second between April and June 1948. Shortly before, in January, the American and British representatives of the Economic Councilthe regulatory body of the Bizona, has already established a series of political, economic and jurisdictional principles for the western part of Germany.

Despite the long duration of the conference, the negotiations were relatively smooth. Again France took the most radical position with respect to unification, demanding tight governmental and economic control. Despite this, in the first part of the London Conference it was possible to reach a collaboration agreement between the Bizone and France, which shortly after, in April, would end up creating the Trizone. But much more important turned out to be the decision to include said Trizone in the European Recovery Program or more commonly known as the Marshall Plan, which marked a strong separation with the Soviet part.

After the recess, the second period of meetings was much more decisive for the political future. Although in the first block of agreements there were already some brushstrokes of the organization of the new German state, it will be now when much firmer foundations are laid. Between March and April, the military government of the Trizone discussed these first outlines defining the path of the new State of West Germany, which was scheduled to come into existence on October 1, 1948.

A basic guide for the political organization of the West Germanic zone was elaborated, based on the decisions taken in the previous meetings, and following some of the recommendations of the governmental organs of the Trizona. Once again, the future of the Ruhr was one of the most complicated aspects to deal with, since France, and to a lesser extent the Benelux, remained reluctant to recover and integrate it into the new Germany.

Except for that point, the negotiations for the creation and development of the entire German political and judicial apparatus continued to be quite fluid. The positions, except for small discrepancies, were quite close. In addition, general principles for the elaboration of a Constitution began to be established. The objective was that this Constitution would allow the correct integration and development of Germany among the Western powers. Parallel to the meetings in London, the military government of the Trizone was informed of the progress that was taking place, since they were the highest political body and the one in charge of applying these decisions.

Finally, the six countries gathered issued the London Recommendations on June 7, 1948. These recommendations are a series of guidelines, not mandatory but advisable, sent to the military government of the Trizone with the aim of creating a state in the western part of Germany. These recommendations do not close the door to a possible future unification of the entire German country. But after the London Conference of 1948, relations between the West and the USSR broke down almost completely. The tension began to rise. An example is the Blockade of West Berlin by the Soviets between June 1948 and May 1949 in response to the London Agreements. The rupture would culminate months later with the division of Germany into two independent countries.

effective division. FRG and GDR (1949-1955)

Just after the London Conference, the military representatives of the three occupying powers, together with the German representatives of the Länder that had been created with the Bizone and the Trizone, met in Frankfurt am Main, on July 1, 1948. There the attendees ratified their intention to enforce the London Recommendations and create a Fundamental Law (Grundgesetz) for the new state of West Germany.

Their decisions would be reflected in the Frankfurt Documents. They lay down the steps to be taken for the creation of a German state in the west. However, there was a surprising meeting, shortly after, between July 8 and 10, in Koblenz. In it, some German politicians called for delaying the implementation of the London Recommendations. The idea was that they would apply to all of Germany, not just the western part, but the request was rejected.

The next step was taken when a series of political pundits from each Land, met between August 10 and 23, 1948 at Herrenchiemsee Castle in Bavaria. At this meeting, the experts agreed on the legal bases of the Basic Law of the new state of West Germany. Bases such as the bicameral system, the clear separation of powers between the Head of State and the Chancellor or the powers of the central State and the Länder.

With everything ready, on September 1, 1948, you begin the meetings, in Bonn, of the Parliamentary Council, the West German constituent assembly. After various pressures in one direction or another, finally, the 65 representatives with the right to vote reached an agreement. The new Basic Law for the Republic of Germany was approved on May 8, 1949…