Attitudes to Germany

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USSR

  • Willing to accept four different political parties: communists, social democrats, liberals and Christian democrats
  • Communists (KPD) intended to dominate and form the nucleus of the German communist movement
  • February 1946 - German Socialist Unity Party formed
  • Socialists and KPD merged by the Soviet Military Administration of Germany
  • Socialists opposing the merger were ed by Kurt Schumaker
  • Political control failed
  • Wanted a united Germany either under Soviet influence or neutral
  • Wanted high reparations
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UK

  • Wanted to rebuild Germany but worried that a revived Germany might cooperate with or be dominated by the USSR
  • Concerned about Soviet/French influence in the Ruhr
  • UK zone was an economic centre
    •   It was important to German economic recovery
    • Politically important because whoever controlled the Ruhr controlled the size of reparations
  • Large population
  • Was costly to run
  • Many displaced citizens
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USA

  • Wanted German independence and economic recovery
  • 1945 - 1947: wanted joint cooperation with the USSR, UK and France to work
  • Spring 1947:
    • Against joint control in the Ruhr
    • Anti-deprivation of UK/US Germans
    • Anti-centralised Germany (this was a Soviet aim)
  • Allowed free elections
  • Saw the German state as a basis for a future federal government country, but still saw the division as temporary
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France

  • Wanted to divide Germany into separate individual states
  • Internationalisation of the Ruhr
  • Wanted a stronger French influence on administration
  • Wanted to ensure the Allied Control Council (ACC) could function
  • Heavy reparations - not as heavy as the USSR
  • Saw the permanent division of Germany as safer for France
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