Berlin 1949-1969






Germany Occupied, 1945-1949 : Berlin



In theory, the 4 occupying zones together were to decide upon Germany's future, and upon Berlin's future. However, immediately after the war it became evident that this concept would not work. Both the USSR and the western allies paid lip service to their commitments regarding the control council, but proceeded taking unilateral steps in their respective zones of occupation.
When the CURRENCY REFORM was undertaken in the three western zones - ostensibly initiated by German authorities (LUDWIG ERHARDT), the allied military administrations refused any credit for it, it was done without informing the USSR : a fait accompli. The Soviet Union refused to allow the new currency to be used in it's zone of occupation - Germany's economic unity was ended. Stalin was especially infuriated about the introduction of the new DM in the western sectors of Berlin, carried out without consultation of the USSR. He ordered the roads, railway lines and canals connecting west Berlin and western Germany to be severed. The BERLIN BLOCKADE had begun.
West Berlin, (half) a city, over 2 million inhabitants suddenly found their supply lines cut, most importantly the supply of food and fuel. Stalin offered to supply them, but the Berliners, lead by city mayor ERNST REUTER, refused, fearing for the city to become dependent on the USSR. The western allies then organized the BERLIN AIRLIFT, supplying the city from the air with food (potatos) and coal for 11 months. In 1949, after 11 months of bad press, Stalin gave in and ordered the streets, railway lines and canals leading to Berlin to be reopened.







EXTERNAL
FILES 		Charles F. Pennacchio, "The East German Communists and the Origins of the Berlin Blockade Crisis," East European Quarterly, Vol. 29, no. 3 (Fall 1995), from Cold War Page at Mt.Holyoke
DOCUMENTS Politische Plakate in Deutschland : Besatzungszeit 1945-1949 (political posters in Germany : occupation years 1945-1949) by Ziko Marcus Sikosek
War Department Classified Message Center, Incoming Classified Message, April 1948. (6 pages), on the situation in Berlin, from Project Whistlestop, facsimile
CNN weekly summaries on the Berlin Airlift 1948-1949, from CNN Cold War Site
U.S., Central Intelligence Agency, ORE 41-48, "Effect of Soviet Restrictions on the US Position in Berlin," 14 June 1948, from ODCI, downloadable
The Berlin Airlift, a pictorial history, by Michael Coleman
U.S., Central Intelligence Agency, Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense on the subject of Berlin, 28 June 1948, from ODCI, downloadable
U.S., Central Intelligence Agency, Memorandum to the President on the Russian Directive Indicating that the Soviets Intend to Incorporate Berlin into the Soviet Zone, 30 June 1948, from ODCI, downloadable
U.S., Central Intelligence Agency, Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense on the subject of Berlin, 30 June 1948, from ODCI, downloadable
CIA memorandum, dated June 30, 1948, for President Harry S. Truman from Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, R.H. Hillenkoetter, Director of the CIA. The memo, from the President's Secretary's Files, concerns a Russian directive indicating that the Soviets intend to incorporate Berlin into the Soviet zone, from Project Whistlestop
U.S., Central Intelligence Agency, Information Report on the Russian Unilateral Dismissal of Police Officials in Berlin, 14 July 1948, from ODCI, downloadable
Translation of a letter, dated July 14, 1948, by Alexander S. Payushkin (Soviet Ambassador) to U.S. Secretary of State. The letter, from the President's Secretary's Files, counters a US charge that the USSR precipitated the Berlin Crisis, arguing that the US, Great Britain, and France violated four-power agreements by introducing a special currency into their sector of Berlin and by pursuing a policy of "dismemberment" of Germany, from Project Whistlestop
Top Secret Memorandum, not dated, probably for the U.S. Secretary of State, concerning a possible diplomatic opening for negotiating a resolution of the Berlin Crisis. Attached is a draft of a U.S. State Department statement that, upon clearance by the British and French, would be read to Mr. Malik, the Soviet Representative on the United Nations Security Council. From the President's Secretary's Files., from Project Whistlestop
Memorandum for the President: The following notes contain a summary of the discussion at the 15th meeting of the National Security Council, July 16, 1948, from Project Whistlestop
Memorandum for the President: The following notes contain a summary of the discussion at the 16th meeting of the National Security Council, July 23, 1948, from Project Whistlestop
The Ambassador to the Soviet Union (Smith) to Secretary of State", Notes on discussions concerning Berlin, Moscow, Foreign Relations of the United States, vol. 2 (Washington, Government Printing Office, Department of State, 1948), pp. 999-1007, , August 3, 1948, from The Great Powers and the Division of Europe : 1945-1949
Memorandum, dated August 30, 1948, from Charles E. Bohlen to the U.S. Secretary of State, summarizing developments in negotiations on the occupation of Berlin between the three Western powers and the Soviet Union. The memo includes the text of a communique and a directive issued by the governments of France, the UK, the US and the USSR, from Project Whistlestop
U.S., Central Intelligence Agency, Memorandum for the President on the Situation in Berlin, 10 December 1948, from ODCI, downloadable
U.S., Intelligence Report on Soviet Measures to Further Tighten the Sector Blockade in Berlin, 30 December 1948, from ODCI, downloadable
REFERENCE Article Berlin, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1946, p. 119 (on events in 1945) [G]
Article Berlin, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1947, p. 124 (on events in 1946) [G]
Article Berlin, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1948, pp. 118-119 (on events in 1947) [G]
Article Berlin, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1949, pp. 100-103 (on events in 1948) [G]
Deutschland 1945-1949. Besatzungszeit und Staatengründung, Informationen zur politischen Bildung 259, Ndr. 2002 [G]
First posted in 2000, last revised on January 3rd 2007



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on January 3rd 2007

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