Posts Tagged ‘Petersberg Abkommen’

Petersberg Agreement

Monday, October 10th, 2016

 

The Petersberg Agreement (Petersberg Abkommen) of 22 November 1949 was an accord between the three Allied High Commissioners (representatives of the United States, Great Britain and France) and the chancellor of West Germany. The agreement expanded the rights of the German Federal government. The rights had been previously defined by the three Western Allies in the Occupation Statute of Germany. The Petersberg Agreement was a first step toward West German sovereignty following the country’s adoption of a post-war democratic constitution on 24 May 1949. The agreement was signed at the Hotel Petersberg http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/hotel-petersberg-germanys-camp-david/. It was signed by Allied High Commissioners John J. McCloy (United States), Brian Hubert Robertson (Great Britain), André François-Poncet (France) and West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

The Statute of Occupation of Germany

The Occupation Statute of Germany (Besatzungsstatut) of 10 April 1949 specified the roles and responsibilities of the Allied High Commission and the newly created Federal government of Germany. The statute restricted Germany’s sovereignty and, at the same time, admitted the country into the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan). Based on Occupation Statute, the Western Allies (1) retained the right to keep occupational forces in Germany, (2) to keep complete control over Germany’s disarmament, demilitarization, war reparations, decartelization and coal and steel industry of the Ruhr area and (3) to control certain scientific research, foreign trade and exchange, and foreign affairs. The Statute of Occupation of Germany remained in force until the Treaties of Paris were ratified in 1955.

What did the Petersberg Agreement accomplish?

The Petersberg Agreement relaxed certain aspects of the roles and responsibilities of the Allied High Commission and the Federal government of Germany, as previously laid down in the Statute of Occupation of Germany. http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/Founding 8 ENG.pdf In accordance with the Petersberg Agreement

 

  1. West Germany was now permitted to join the Council of Europe as an associate member.
  2. West Germany agreed to sign a bilateral agreement with the U.S. regarding the Marshall Plan.
  3. West Germany agreed to send delegates to the International Authority for the Ruhr, effectively accepting some international control of the Ruhr district.
  4. West Germany agreed to remain demilitarized.
  5. West Germany was permitted to gradually initiate re-establishment of consular relations and international trade.
  6. West Germany agreed to pursue liberty, tolerance and humanity and to eradicate all traces of Nazism from German life and institutions and to halt any revival of totalitarian efforts.
  7. West Germany agreed to take legal action relative to decartelization and monopolistic practices according to the Occupation Statute.
  8. West Germany was permitted to construct ocean-going ships again, although with restricted capabilities.
  9. Several industrial plants were removed from the industrial dismantling list.
  10. West Germany requested to end the state of war. The request was noted but denied.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

 

Hotel Petersberg – Germany’s Camp David

Monday, October 3rd, 2016

The stately Hotel Petersberg is located on a mountaintop by the same name in Germany’s Siebengebirge across the river from the city of Bonn. It was the German equivalent of Camp David prior to Germany’s reunification. The hotel, with a long and colorful history, is open to the public. Since 1990 the 5-Star hotel is operated by the Steigenberger chain under the name “Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg.” Although still owned by the government, nowadays it rarely serves as Germany’s Bundesgaestehaus (Federal Guesthouse).

Aerial view of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg complex. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Aerial view of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg complex. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Pre-World War II History of Hotel Petersberg

Joseph Ludwig Mertens, a Cologne merchant, purchased the picturesque mountaintop area in 1834 and constructed his summer residence on the Petersberg. In 1892, following Mertens’ death, the brothers Paul and Joseph Nelles aquired the property, upgraded it and turned it into an elegant hotel. Among the first dignitaries to stay at the now stylish hotel were Prussian empress Victoria and Swedish Queen Sophie. But despite the noble clientele, the hotel proved unprofitable. And in 1912, Ferdinand Muelhens, owner of the 4711 Eau de Cologne company, acquired it at a foreclosure sale. Following extensive improvements he reopened it as a spa hotel two years later. Although by then financially successful, the hotel was forced to close its doors when World War I broke out and remained closed for the next six years. Following additional remodelling in the 1920s the hotel reopened once more, only to close again at the beginning of World War II.

Post-World-War II History of Hotel Petersberg

In 1945, American Forces confiscated the hotel on the Petersberg and turned it into troop quarters. Shortly thereafter, they handed it to the British Royal Engineers who, in turn, relinquished it to Belgian occupying forces to serve as a recuperation center.

In 1949, following another remodel to accommodate 340 offices, the Allied High Commision (Allierte Hohe Kommission) moved in. It was here that the Petersberg Agreement (Petersberger Abkommen) was signed on 22 November 1949. This was a treaty between the occupying forces of the United States, Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany, a the first major step toward West German sovereignty. In June 1952, the Allied High Commission moved to another location. The property reverted to its owners, the Muelhens family, who turned the buildings into a hotel once again to be operated by the Breidenbacher Hof, a luxory hotel in Duesseldorf. Since 1954, the hotel bears the name “Hotel Petersberg.”

Recent History of Hotel Petersberg

In 1954 the German Federal government rented the newly remodelled Hotel Petersberg to serve as a guesthouse for visiting dignitaries, which included Etheopian emperor Haile Selassi and British Queen Elizabeth II. Still unprofitable, the hotel closed again in 1969 and slowly deteriorated until 1973 when Soviet Union’s leader, Leonid Brezhnev, requested to stay at the Hotel Petersberg. Despite a partial restoration to host the Soviet head of state, the hotel soon closed again.

Current use of the Hotel Petersberg

The German Federal Government needed a place in which to host visiting dignitaries. The close proximity of Hotel Petersberg to Bonn, the post-war capital, and its idyllic and secure setting helped to make it the top choice. And in 1979, the German Federal government purchased the 270-acre piece of real estate for 18.5 million Deutsche Marks. After spending an additional 137 million Marks on extensive reconstruction, the Hotel Petersberg reopened in 1990. This time, the Steigenberger hotel chain became the operators. Over the next ten years, most heads of state with diplomatic relations to Germany have stayed at the Hotel Petersberg.

Inside the rotunda of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Inside the rotunda of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg. www.walled-in-berlin.com

In 1999, following German reunification, government offices moved from Bonn to Berlin, and the Hotel Petersberg was now too far away to continue to serve as a Bundesgaestehaus. Although the German government occasionally still rents it for its guests, Schloss Meseberg, 40 miles north of Berlin, has become Germany’s official guesthouse.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.