Relationship Between
East and West
Germany
The Cold War
•
The period of conflict, tension and
competition between United States
and the Soviet Union and their
respective allies from the mid-1940's
until the early 1990's. Both the US
and the Soviet Union had been allied
against Nazi Germany. During the
Cold War the first major battle
happened in Germany comprising of
the US, France and Britain. They
became the Federal Republic of
Germany (West Germany) and the
Soviet Union became the German
Democratic Republic (East
Germany)
Establishment of East and West
Germany
– After the end of World War Two
what territory remained of Nazi
Germany was divided into four
occupation zones each one
controlled by one of the four
occupying Allied powers: the
Americans (yellow zone),
British (Green zone), French
(Blue Zone) and Soviets (Red
Zone). It was planned that the
occupying powers were to
govern Germany together.
However the tension of the
Cold War caused the French,
British and American zones to
form the Federal Republic of
Germany (West Germany) in
1947. The remaining Soviet
zone then formed the
Democratic Republic (East
Germany including Berlin)
East's and West's Differences
•West Germany developed into a western
capitalist country with a social market economy
and a democratic parliamentary government.
•Continual economic growth starting in the
1950s felled a 30-year "economic miracle"
• Across the inner-German border, East
Germany established an authoritarian
government with a Soviet-style planned
economy.
•While West Germany became rich, many East
Germans wanted to move to West Germany.
And some West Germans wanted to move to
East Germany.
•The East Germans constructed the Berlin
Wall to stop East Germans from fleeing.
However, East German soldiers allowed West
Berliners to cross into East Germany.
The Berlin Wall
•
On 1 April, 1952, East German leaders met
the Soviet leader Stalin in Moscow.
Vyacheslav Molotov Stalin's foreign
minister proposed that the East Germans
should "introduce a system of passes for
visits of West Berlin residents to the
territory of East Berlin which they thought
might stop free movement of Western
agents" in the GDR (German Democratic
Republic). Stalin agreed, calling the
situation "intolerable". He advised the East
Germans to build up their border defenses,
telling them that "The demarcation line
between East and West Germany should
be considered a border – and not just any
border, but a dangerous one. The Germans
will guard the line of defense with their
lives."
•
The relationship between East and
West Germany was that of
distance. Many people tried to
leave East Germany, because of
the large supplies of food and
protection given by the West.
However the people were
barricaded in by the Berlin wall
made by the Soviets. The idea of
the wall showed the Soviets view
of communism, the cold war and
the power and control they had
over the East Germans. Due to
the Soviet’s communist
establishment in East Germany,
once the war was over and the
Berlin wall came down, the East
and west were still divided due to
a lack of progression by East
Germans.
THE END