Posts Tagged ‘Two Plus Four Treaty’

Allied Kommandatura governs Berlin

Monday, May 23rd, 2016

The Allied Kommandatura (Allierter Kontrolrat) – a military government council of four victorious powers – governed post-World War II Berlin. The Kommandatura subordinated to the Allied Control Council and was located at Kaiserswerther Str. 16-18 in Berlin’s district of Dahlem. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/allied-control-council-governs-germany

Former Allied Kommandatura, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2016, www. walled-in-berlin.com

Former Allied Kommandatura, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2016, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Creation of the Allied Kommandatura

Soviet forces captured Berlin in April 1945, taking control of the entire city. American and British forces did not enter Berlin until July. During the intervening weeks, the Soviets had plundered the city and removed most of the city’s industrial infrastructure, livestock and farm products. Although U.S. Colonel Frank L. Howley was initially tasked with the preparation of a plan for quadripartite governance of the city in situations when unanimity could not be obtained, Washington later stipulated that quadripartite governance was to be unanimous in all instances.

How the Allied Kommandatura operated

The first official business meeting of the Allied Kommandatura took place on 11 July 1945. Based on a coin toss, the Russians commandant chaired this first meeting. The Americans and British followed, along with the French after about three months. Translators stood behind each commandant. When the American commandant spoke, the French commandant’s interpreter translated the words into French. The Soviet commandant’s interpreter translated the French into Russian because he didn’t speak English. Initially, chairmanship at the meetings changed every two weeks, later monthly. The position of the flagpoles rotated in accordance with chairmanship.

What put the Soviets in the Kommandatura’s saddle?

The task of the Kommandatura was to determine which issues needed to be addressed and to issue orders accordingly. During the Kommandatura’s three-year active existence (1945-1948). the commandants signed nearly 1300 quadripartite orders. The very first order issued put the Soviets firmly in the saddle because it reinforced all preexisting Russian regulations that had been put into place throughout the city before the Western Allies had arrived. Thereafter, anytime the Western Allies protested a Russian action, the Soviets responded by stating that they were simply abiding by some statute that had already been in place prior to the arrival of the Americans, British, and French.

The end of the Allied Kommandatura

As time passed, meetings became more and more cantankerous. Issues would be debated for weeks and months. Then, without quadripartite approval, the Soviets issued Order No. 20 in their sector. At the next Kommandatura meeting on 16 June 1948, the French commandant and chair, General Jean Ganeval, proposed rescission of that order so that the fourteen points could be discussed separately. The Soviets refused. Near midnight, after over thirteen hours of heated discussion, the American commandant, Colonel Howley, asked to be excused due to a heavy schedule the following day. Chairman Ganeval granted permission, and Howley left his deputy in charge. The Soviet delegation, however, took offense and walked out, just as they had walked out of the Allied Control Council three months earlier.

Commemorative plaque at the former Allied Kommandatura site, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2016, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Commemorative plaque at the former Allied Kommandatura site, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2016, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Today’s Use of Allied Kommandatura building

Built between 1926 and 1927 as an administrative building for public fire and insurance carriers, the building continued to be used as Kommandatura headquarters until 15 March 1991 when the Two-Plus-Four-Treaty took effect. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/two-plus-four-treaty/ Since 1994, the building serves as the office of the President of the Free University of Berlin.

 

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.

Genscher: detoxifier of East-West relations

Monday, December 7th, 2015

Eight-eight-year-old Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a highly regarded elder statesman of German foreign policy. Last September, his party, the Free Democratic Party – FDP (Freie Demokratische Partei), honored him for his role in German detente politics. Genscher’s proposals frequently set the tone and direction of foreign affairs among Western European democracies. He was instrumental to the final accord reached at the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Helsinki in August 1975, the Two Plus Four Treaty (Zwei-Plus-Vier-Vertrag) signed in Moscow in 1990 and to the first parliamentary elections held in the reunified Germany that same year.

German statesman Hans-Dietrich Genscher - photo by 50jahre.freiheit.org

German statesman Hans-Dietrich Genscher – photo by 50jahre.freiheit.org

Genscher’s life

Born in 1927 in Halle, Germany, (which became part of East Germany in the post-World War II era), Genscher served in the German Army during the Second World War and studied law and economics in Leipzig and Halle after the war. In 1952, he fled to West Germany, joined the Free Democratic Party and began practicing law in Hamburg, West Germany. Throughout his political career, he held several key posts in the FDP, including that of party chairman. In 1974, he became foreign minister and Vice-Chancellor of West Germany and retained those positions until 1992 when he stepped down for health reasons.

Genscher’s “Ostpolitik”

Beginning in 1969, Hans-Dieter Genscher helped shape West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt’s vision of easing hostilities between West Germany and the communist East. The de-escalation of hostilities and normalization of strained relations between the West and Eastern Europe is commonly referred to as Ostpolitik.

Genscherism

As Foreign Minister, Hans-Dieter Genscher promoted compromise between East and West. He advocated compromise and negotiated settlements to international problems. During the Cold War, skepticism about detente with the East was widespread. Genscher’s tendency to seek a happy medium often annoyed US policy-makers. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was especially fearful of a reunified Germany. Genscherism is a term that was coined in London at that time. It was meant to be derogatory and referred to Genscher’s quasi-neutralism. But despite diplomatic conflicts, Genscher was able to stay the course. And on March 4, 1991, the Soviet Union became the last treaty partner to ratify the Two Plus Four Treaty. Genscherism, it seems, won out after all.

Genscher and the Two Plus Four Treaty

Representing the Federal Republic of Germany, Genscher, was one of the six foreign ministers who signed the historic Two Plus Four Treaty. Officially known as The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, this document embodies one of the great moments in diplomacy. It was signed on September 12, 1990 and is an agreement between the four victorious parties (United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union) and the two defeated parties (East and West Germany) of the Second World War. The treaty ended 45 years of German division. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/two-plus-four-treaty/ Hans-Dietrich Genscher is credited with being one of the main players to organize German reunification following the fall of the Wall. In a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Two Plus Four Treaty, Christian Lindner, current Chairman of the FDP, honored Mr. Genscher by calling him “detoxifier of East-West relations.” http://www.dw.com/en/german-unity-genscher-and-the-two-plus-four-agreement/a-18709829

 

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.

 

Allied Control Council governs Germany

Monday, November 30th, 2015

Originally headquartered in the Kammergericht building in Berlin http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlins-kammergericht-appellate-court/, the Allied Control Council (Allierter Kontrolrat) was in operation for only three years – 1945 to 1948. The following year, it morphed into the Allied High Commission (Allierte Hohe Kommission), which met at the Hotel Petersberg, near Bonn, Germany. The Allied Control Council was disbanded when the final peace treaty of 1990 restored full sovereignty to the reunified Germany.

Location of the Allied Control Council between 1945 and 1948. Today, Berlin's Kammergericht is housed again in the building, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Location of the Allied Control Council between 1945 and 1948. Today, Berlin’s Kammergericht is again housed in the building, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Creation of the Allied Control Council

Preparations for the postwar occupation and administration of German affairs following the surrender of the Third Reich began during the second half of 1944. The European Advisory Commission – formed in 1943 – did most of the planning. It recommended shared-power administration. Therefore, following Adolf Hitler’s death in 1945 and Germany’s unconditional surrender, the Allies signed a four-power document that created the Allied Control Council. The Allied Control Council’s initial members were Marshal Georgy Zhukov (Soviet Union), General Dwight D. Eisenhower (United States), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Great Britain) and General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France).

Potsdam Conference of 1945

The European Advisory Commission was dissolved at the Potsdam Conference. Germany was officially divided into four military occupation zones: American, British, French and Soviet. It was agreed that each occupying power would govern its zone. It was also agreed that all four Allies would jointly rule on all matters affecting Germany as a whole. A representative from each of the four powers would sit on the Allied Control Council.

Allied Occupation Zones of Germany (British, French, American and Soviet) - 1945 to 1990

Allied Occupation Zones of Germany (British, French, American and Soviet) – 1945 to 1990

Purpose of the Allied Control Council

During its three-year existence the Allied Control Council issued a substantial number of proclamations, laws, orders, directives and instructions. These dealt in large part with the abolition of Nazi laws and organizations, demilitarization and denazification.

Breakdown of the Allied Control Council

As time passed, the quadripartite meetings got more and more cantankerous. Relations between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union deteriorated, as did their cooperation in the administration of occupied Germany. On 20 March 1948, the Soviet representative on the Allied Control Council, Vasily Sokolovsky, walked out of the meeting and never returned. Since the Council was required to reach unanimous agreement on all decisions that pertained to the whole of Germany, Sokolovsky’s action effectively shut down the Council. Soon thereafter, the Soviet blockaded West Berlin. The three Western Allies countered with the Berlin Airlift. A Cold War between East and West ensued that continued until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Post-Allied Control Council Operations

Although the Allied Control Council effectively ceased all activity in 1948, it was not formally dissolved. The only four-power operations to continue were the management of the Berlin-Spandau Prison and that of the Berlin Air Safety Center. Germany remained under nominal military occupation until 15 March 1991, when the final ratification of the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany, also known as the Two Plus Four Treaty (Vertrag ueber die abschliessende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland or Zwei-Plus-Vier-Vertrag) was signed in 1990. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/two-plus-four-treaty As part of the treaty, the Allied Control Council was officially disbanded.

 

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.

 

 

Two Plus Four Treaty

Thursday, May 7th, 2015

The Two Plus Four Treaty (Zwei-Plus-Vier-Vertrag) is an agreement between the TWO post-World War II German states and the FOUR victorious Allied powers. The two German states in the agreement refer to the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The four victorious powers referred to the four occupying Allies: the United States of America, The United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union.

Effective date of the Two Plus Four Treaty

Representatives from each of the six countries signed the Treaty on the final settlement with respect to Germany. It was signed in Moscow on 12 September 1990. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/genscher-detoxifier-of-east-west-relations/ In a joint declaration the Four Allied Powers renounced their rights and responsibilities relative to Germany on 1 October 1990. Two days later, on 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. While the newly united Germany and the three western powers speedily ratified the Treaty, Moscow took its time. The Soviet Ambassador finally presented the German Foreign Minister with the instrument of ratification in March of 1991. Only then did the Two Plus Four Treaty go into effect. https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/development-dialogue/25th-anniversary-of-the-two-plus-four-treaty https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/germany-europe/two-plus-four-treaty

Terms of the Two Plus Four Treaty

Under the terms of the treaty,

(1) The Four Allied Powers renounced all rights in Germany, including those relative to the city of Berlin. The Allies returned full sovereignty to the reunited Germany.

(2) The treaty stipulated the withdrawal of Soviet troops from East Germany by the end of 1994.

(3) Germany agreed to limit its combined Armed Forces personnel to no more than 370,000. Germany further agreed to use military force only in accordance with the United Nations Charter and to continue to abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

(4) Germany confirmed to abide by the internationally recognized border with Poland and gave up any future claims to territory that had been part of Germany before 1945.

 

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.