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Germany Divided: Postwar Context, Cold War Dynamics, and Political Transformations

This lecture explores the complex history of Germany following World War II, examining the devastation and mass migration that characterized the postwar period. It highlights the establishment of occupation zones, the process of de-Nazification, and the impact of the Nuremberg Trials. The emergence of the Cold War and the Berlin Airlift are discussed in relation to the solidification of East and West Germany. Political developments, such as the creation of the SED in the East and the CDU in the West, are analyzed. The lecture concludes with a look at economic changes and the building of the Berlin Wall.

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Germany Divided: Postwar Context, Cold War Dynamics, and Political Transformations

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  1. HIST 2117: Modern GermanySpring 2014 Lecture Twenty: Germany Divided

  2. Postwar Context of Division • Stunde Null • Devastation and Mass Migration • Establishment of Occupation Zones • De-Nazification and Nuremberg Trials • Emergence of Cold War/Iron Curtain • The Berlin Airlift and Solidification of Boundaries

  3. German Perspectives on Cold War • Assumption of Return to Unity • Settlement of Heimatvertriebene • The Creation of the SED (Socialist Unity Party) in the East • Attitude of the SPD in the West • Konrad Adenauer and the Creation of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) • Third Pillar of Western Democratic Parties – the FDP (Free Democratic Party)

  4. Steps to Accelerate Division • Problem of Currency Reform • Drafting ofBasic Law (Grundgesetz) for West • Promulgation of Federal Republic of Germany (BRD) • First Election 1949 • Selection of a Capital and Flag • Promulgation of the German Democratic Republic (DDR)

  5. West Germany after 1949 • Reintegration into the Democratic West • CDU Regime • NATO and Germany as Front Lines of Cold War • The “Wirtschaftswunder” • From European Coal and Steel Community to European Economic Community

  6. East Germany after 1949 • Otto Ulbricht and Stalinist Orthodoxy • Introduction of Five Year Plan • Establishment of the Staatssicherheitsdienst (Stasi) • Workers Uprising 1953 • Escape to the West • Building the Berlin Wall • Economic Slowdown

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