The years 1945-1948 became a thorough preparation, which led to the split of Germany and the appearance on the map of Europe of two countries formed in its place - the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. Deciphering the names of states is interesting in itself and serves as a good illustration of their various social vectors.
Post-war Germany
After the end of World War II, Germany was divided between the two occupation camps. The eastern part of this country was occupied by the troops of the Soviet Army, the western part was occupied by the allies. The western sector was gradually consolidating, the territories were divided into historical lands, which were managed by local authorities. In December 1946 a decision was made to unite the British and American occupation zones - the so-called Bisononia. It became possible to create a unified body of land management. So the Economic Council was created - a selective body authorized to make economic and financial decisions.
Split background
First of all, these decisions concerned the implementation of the Marshall Plan, a large-scale American financial project aimed at restoring the economies of European countries that were destroyed during the war. The Marshall Plan contributed to the separation of the eastern zone of occupation, as the Soviet government did not accept the assistance offered. Subsequently, a different vision by the allies and the USSR of the future of Germany led to a split in the country and predetermined the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.
The formation of Germany
The western zones needed complete unification and official state status. In 1948, consultations were held with the Western allied countries. The meeting resulted in the idea of creating a West German state. In the same year, the French occupation zone also joined Bison; in this way the so-called Trisonia was formed. In Western lands, a monetary reform was carried out with the introduction of its own monetary unit. The military governors of the united lands proclaimed the principles and conditions for the creation of a new state, with special emphasis on its federality. In May 1949, the preparation and discussion of its Constitution was completed. The state was called the Federal Republic of Germany. The transcript of the name sounds like the Federal Republic of Germany. Thus, the proposals of the land self-government bodies were taken into account, and the republican principles of governing the country were outlined.
The territorially new country was located on 3/4 of the land occupied by the former Germany. Germany had its capital - the city of Bonn. The governments of the Western allies of the anti-Hitler coalition through their governors exercised control over the observance of the rights and norms of the constitutional system, controlled its foreign policy, had the right to intervene in all spheres of the economic and scientific activities of the state. Over time, the status of lands was revised in favor of greater independence of the lands of Germany.
GDR formation
The process of creating the state went on in the eastern German lands occupied by the troops of the Soviet Union. The controlling authority in the east was the SVAG - the Soviet military administration. Under the control of the SVAG, local self-government bodies, the lantdags, were created. Marshal Zhukov was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the SVAG, and essentially the master of East Germany. Elections to new bodies of power were held according to the laws of the USSR, i.e., according to class grounds. By special order of February 25, 1947, the Prussian state was liquidated. Its territory was divided between the new lands. Part of the territory went to the newly formed Kaliningrad region, all settlements of the former Prussia were Russified and renamed, and the territory was inhabited by Russian settlers.
Officially, the SVAG led military control over the territory of East Germany. Administrative management was carried out by the central committee of the SED, which was completely controlled by the military administration. The first step was the nationalization of enterprises and lands, the confiscation of property and its distribution on a socialist basis. In the process of redistribution, an administrative apparatus has taken shape that has taken over the functions of state control. In December 1947, the German People's Congress began to function. In theory, Congress was supposed to combine the interests of West and East Germans, but in fact on Western lands its influence was insignificant. After the separation of the western lands, the NOC began to perform the functions of parliament exclusively in the eastern territories. The Second National Congress, formed in March 1948, held the main events related to the emerging Constitution of the emerging country. A special order issued the German mark - thus, five German lands located in the zone of Soviet occupation switched over to a single monetary unit. In May 1949, the Constitution of a socialist democratic state was adopted and the Inter-Party Socio-Political National Front was formed. The preparation of the eastern lands for the formation of a new state was completed. On October 7, 1949, at a meeting of the German Supreme Council, it was announced the creation of a new body of the highest state power, which was called the Provisional People’s Chamber. In fact, this day can be considered the date of birth of the new state, created in opposition to Germany. The name of the new state in East Germany is deciphered - the German Democratic Republic, East Berlin became the capital of the GDR. The status of West Berlin was negotiated separately. For many years, the ancient capital of Germany was divided into two parts by the Berlin Wall.
Germany development
The development of countries such as the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic was carried out according to different economic systems. The Marshall Plan and the efficient economic policy of Ludwig Erhrad made it possible to quickly boost the economy in West Germany. A large increase in GDP was declared a German economic miracle. Migrant workers arriving from the Middle East provided an influx of cheap labor. In the 50s, the ruling CDU party adopted a number of important laws. Among them - a ban on the activities of the Communist Party, the elimination of all the consequences of Nazi activity, a ban on certain professions. In 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO.
GDR development
The self-governing bodies of the GDR, which were in charge of the management of German lands, ceased to exist in 1956, when a decision was made to liquidate local self-government bodies. The lands became known as districts, and the councils of districts began to represent the executive branch. At the same time, the cult of personality of advanced communist ideologists began to be imposed. The policy of Sovietization and nationalization has led to the fact that the process of reconstruction of the post-war country has dragged on for a long time, especially against the backdrop of the economic successes of the FRG.
Settlement of relations of the GDR, Germany
Deciphering the contradictions between the two fragments of one state gradually normalized relations between countries. In 1973, the Treaty entered into force. He regulated the relationship between Germany and the GDR. In November of the same year, Germany recognized the GDR as an independent state, the countries established diplomatic relations. The idea of creating a unified German nation was introduced into the GDR Constitution.
The end of the GDR
In 1989, a powerful political movement, the New Forum, emerged in the GDR, which provoked a series of indignation and demonstrations in all major cities of East Germany. As a result of the resignation of the government, one of the New Noor activists G. Gisi became the chairman of the SED. A mass rally held in Berlin on November 4, 1989, which proclaimed the demands for freedom of speech, assembly, and expression of will, was already agreed with the authorities. The answer was the law allowing citizens of the GDR to cross the state border without good reason. This decision caused the fall of the Berlin Wall, which for many years divided the capital of Germany.
The union of Germany and the GDR
In 1990, the Christian Democratic Union came to power in the GDR, which immediately began to hold consultations with the German government on the question of uniting countries and creating a single state. On September 12, an agreement was signed in Moscow between representatives of the former allies of the anti-Hitler coalition on the final settlement of the German question.
The unification of Germany and the GDR would be impossible without the introduction of a single currency. An important step in this process was the recognition of the German brand of Germany as a common currency throughout Germany. On August 23, 1990, the People’s Chamber of the GDR decided to join the eastern lands to the Federal Republic of Germany. After this, a number of transformations were carried out, which eliminated the socialist institutions of power and reorganized state bodies according to the West German model. On October 3, the army and fleet of the GDR were abolished, and instead the Bundesmarine and the Bundeswehr — the armed forces of the FRG — were deployed in the eastern territories. The decoding of the names is based on the word "Bundes", which means "federal". The official recognition of the eastern lands as part of the Federal Republic of Germany was reinforced by the adoption by the Constitutions of new subjects of state law.