Escalating Cold War Tensions

The early 1950s saw further entrenchment of the East-West divide in Germany:

In March 1952, Stalin proposed a unified, neutral Germany with free elections supervised by occupying powers. However, Western powers rejected this offer, fearing it could lead to a communist-controlled Germany.

Vocabulary: Neutrality in this context refers to a state of non-alignment with either the Western or Eastern bloc during the Cold War.

The GDR began intensifying the Sovietization of its economy:

• East Germany joined COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance)
• The economy was reorganized on the Soviet model, including Five-Year Plans
• In July 1952, workers' production targets were raised by 10%
• Collectivization of agriculture led many farmers to flee to the West

These economic changes, coupled with political repression, led to increased emigration from East to West Germany. In response, the GDR began tightening border controls in 1952, foreshadowing the more complete closure of the border that would come with the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.

Highlight: The increasing Sovietization of East Germany's economy and society in the early 1950s widened the gap between the two German states and contributed to the exodus of East Germans to the West.

Post-War Division of Germany

The immediate post-war period saw the Allied powers attempting to cooperate in governing occupied Germany, but tensions quickly emerged between the Soviet Union and Western Allies.

In 1945, Stalin announced plans for the German Communist Party (KPD) to gain support from workers, while using the Red Army to control the Soviet occupation zone. At the Potsdam Conference, the Allies agreed on demilitarization, denazification and punishing war criminals. An Allied Control Council was established, but in practice each power controlled its own zone.

Highlight: The Potsdam Agreement laid out initial plans for governing post-war Germany, but implementation proved difficult as Cold War tensions increased.

By 1946, the Soviets had forcibly merged the Communist and Social Democratic parties in their zone to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED). This move was rejected in the Western zones.

Example: At least 20,000 Social Democrats were interrogated and imprisoned during the forced merger with the Communist Party in East Germany.

In January 1947, the United States and Britain merged their zones economically to form Bizonia. This was partly in response to disagreements with the Soviet Union over reparations and economic policy. The creation of Bizonia was a significant step towards the eventual division of Germany.

Definition: Bizonia refers to the merger of the British and American occupation zones in Germany in 1947, creating a larger economic unit that excluded the Soviet zone.

The Moscow Conference in spring 1947 failed to resolve differences between the Soviet Union and Western powers regarding Germany's future. This failure further entrenched the developing East-West divide in Germany.