British Policies Towards Germany During The World WarⅡand Early Postwar Period (1943-1949)

This thesis is about how British government made and implemented the policies toward Germany during the period between 1943 and 1949. It mainly discusses how British Government to deal with great Powers, the Soviet Union, the United States, France on the German question during the end of World War II to the outbreak of the Cold War.In the second half of 1943, the war situation is favorable for the Allies. As a member of allies, Britain discussed with United States and Soviet Union about policies on German.These policies concerned some important decisions:whether to dismember the Germany, how to reconstruct the political and economic system of German, how to make policies of military occupation on German.At the Potsdam Conference held in February 1945 and the Yalta Conference held in July 1945, Britain discussed the policy towards Germany with the United States and Soviet Union. On one hand, the governments of Britain, America and Soviet Union reached some agreements which were about the dismemberment of Germany, France getting its occupied zone in Germany and joining in the a plan for regulating German. On the other hand, there were bitter quarrels between Britain and the Soviet Union, which were about German reparations and making German eastern borders. Many problems remained unsettled since the three countries basically are far from reaching a compromise in some root problems concerning the interests of their own. and thus lead to the division of German in the days to come.After the World WarⅡ, the Allied Control Commission for Germany which marked the beginning of occupying Germany by districts of four Great Powers was founded. In the Occupied Zone of Britain, the British occupation authorities faced many challenges including economic problems and food crises. At the same time, Britain had to coordinate with American and France about policies toward German. Interests and strategy divergence——the implementation of the German reparations agreement, the circulation of goods and people in the occupied territories between East and West——existing between Britain and the Soviet Union, Britain were not willing to break up alliance with Soviet Union in the immediate postwar years.After the outbreak of the Cold War, the contradictions between Britain and the Soviet Union about Germany problem were even more serious, and the British government regarded the Soviet Union as the greatest threat to themselves and Western Europe. In order to promote the economic integration in west occupied zones in Germany, British and American governments took actions to integrate their zones into Bizone. Britain was not only very positive in the foundation of Bizone, but also the fusion of three Western Occupation Zones in order to fight against the Soviet Union. As a consequence, British government made alliances with France and meanwhile forces the French government to agree to integrate French occupied zone into the Bizone together with America via the stick and the carrot. At the Six Countries Conference of London in 1948, the fusion of Western Occupation Zones' agreement was made. Those policies and actions taken by Britain promote the division of Germany and intensify the confrontation of East and West in Germany.After Six Countries Conference of London, The Soviet Union took fierce counter-measures to cope with western countries'actions of dividing Germany. The Soviet government tried to force the West to delay the establishment of the West German government and got Western forces out of Berlin by way of blockading Berlin. To against the blockade, Britain did its utmost to avoid any action which would lead to war with the Soviet Union; and meanwhile adopted a hard line against the Soviet Union and did not retreat from Berlin. At the same time, Britain convinced the America and France to take a same attitude to keep the control of the West Berlin in the hands of western countries. America and Britain supplied West Berlin by large-scale airlift, which demonstrated the west countries' determination to defend West Berlin. At last, the Soviet government stopped the blockade of West Berlin. The government of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was established in September 1949 by the efforts of the America and Britain afterwards. The essence of British policy towards Germany is no longer starting from the dispose of the defeated of Germany, but to establish West Germany as the forefront against the communist and Soviet Union.