Allied Control Council

Allied Control Council

The Allied Control Council was a group formed after World War II in Europe ended. It helped govern Germany and Austria from 1945 until later years. The council had four big countries as members: the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France. These countries worked together to make decisions about how to rebuild the countries after the war.

After the Nazis were defeated, Germany and Austria were split into zones controlled by these four allies. The Allied Control Council met in Schöneberg, West Berlin, to decide many important things.

In 1948, the Soviet Union left the council because they disagreed with the other three countries. Later, in 1949, two separate German states were created: East Germany and West Germany.

Creation

Allied plans for controlling Germany after World War II started in 1944. Leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union decided how to manage the country when the war ended. They agreed that Germany would be split into four zones, each run by one of the Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and France.

When the war ended in May 1945, the leaders of these four countries created the Allied Control Council. This group made big decisions about Germany as a whole. The Control Council ensured that rules and policies were the same in all four zones. This helped rebuild Germany and avoid future fights.

Operation

On August 30, 1945, the Control Council began and sent its first message to the people of Germany. This message told them that the council existed and that the leaders of each zone still had their own powers.

The Control Council made many rules and messages. These were about ending Nazi laws and groups, stopping the use of weapons, and rebuilding Germany. They also made rules about everyday things like phone prices. However, the real power stayed with each Allied government's leaders, so not all of the council's rules became laws.

The council also worked on trying people who did wrong during the war and helped organize the return of people who had been moved away from their homes. They made sure that Germany could run its own courts and police again, little by little. They also stopped any activities linked to the Nazi Party and worked to remove books and ideas that promoted war or the Nazis.

Incapacitation of the council

France used its spot on the Allied Control Council to stop rules it thought would hurt itself. The leader of France, Charles de Gaulle, was not asked to a big meeting called the Potsdam Conference. Because of this, France did not follow the decisions made there. France did not want Germany to become one country again, so it made its own rules in the area it controlled, called the Saar Protectorate.

As time passed, the countries that won World War II did not work well together. Each country managed its own part of Germany in its own way. The United States and the United Kingdom decided to work closer together, and in 1947 they joined their areas to form the Bizone. They also planned to make a new kind of money called the Deutsche Mark and later created West Germany on 23 May 1949.

When the Soviet Union learned about these plans, they said the Western countries were not following the agreements and that the Control Council was no longer useful. In March 1948, the Soviet representative left the council and did not come back until the 1970s. Later, in 1949, the Soviet Union made East Germany.

After the breakdown

The Allied Control Council needed all four members to agree to make decisions, which often caused problems. This happened during a difficult time called the Cold War, especially when the Soviet Union blocked off Berlin in 1948–49. The council was never officially ended, and the four Allies still had the right to work together in Germany and Austria. However, they stopped meeting regularly except for a few important jobs, like running Spandau Prison and the Berlin Air Safety Centre.

In 1955, Austria became fully independent, and the council stopped having power there. The Western Allies created a new group to help West Germany become more independent, which happened in 1955. In East Germany, the Soviet Union was in charge until East Germany also became more independent in 1955. The council tried to give full control back to a new German government, but because it did not work well, the new governments in West and East Germany had some trouble saying they were fully in charge.

The council met again in 1971 to discuss important issues in Berlin. When Germany was getting ready to unite in 1989, the council met again to help solve problems about the rights of the Allies in Germany. Germany stayed under military control until March 15, 1991, when a final agreement was signed, giving Germany full independence. The council’s last meeting was on October 2, 1990, just before Germany reunited, to make sure Berlin could join the new united Germany.

The Kammergericht building

The Allied Control Council worked in a special building in Berlin called the Kammergericht. This building used to be the main court for the state of Prussia, located in the Schöneberg area.

Even though the building lost a tower during battles, it could still be used. After most of the council’s work ended in 1948, the different occupying powers left the building empty and dark.

One group, the Berlin Air Safety Center, stayed in the building until the end of 1990. They were the only ones there for many years. The building was guarded closely, and only certain people could enter.

After the Berlin Wall came down and Russian troops left in 1994, the building went back to the German government. Today, it is used again as a main court for the city of Berlin.