Allied Control Council

The Allied Control Council was an important 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, like changing borders and moving people in Central Europe.

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

After the war ended in May 1945, the leaders of these four countries formed the Allied Control Council. This group was responsible for making important decisions about Germany as a whole. The Control Council made sure that rules and policies were applied fairly across all four zones. This helped rebuild Germany and prevent future conflicts.

Operation

On August 30, 1945, the Control Council started and shared its first message with the people of Germany. This message explained that the council existed and that the leaders of each zone still had their own powers.

The Control Council created many rules, orders, and messages 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, bit by bit. 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 position on the Allied Control Council to block policies it thought hurt its own interests. The leader of France, Charles de Gaulle, was not invited to a key meeting called the Potsdam Conference, so France did not agree to follow the decisions made there. France especially 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 went on, the countries that won World War II did not work well together. Each country ran its own part of Germany in its own way. The United States and the United Kingdom decided to work more closely together, and in 1947 they joined their zones to form the Bizone. They also planned to create a new money called the Deutsche Mark and later formed West Germany on 23 May 1949.

When the Soviet Union found out 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 return until the 1970s. Later, in 1949, the Soviet Union created East Germany.

After the breakdown

The Allied Control Council could only make decisions if all four members agreed, which often stopped it from working well. This happened during a tense time called the Cold War, especially when the Soviet Union blocked off Berlin in 1948–49. The council was not officially ended, and the four Allies still had the right to work together in Germany and Austria, but 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 set up 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 back full control to a new German government, but because it stopped working well, the new governments in West and East Germany had some problems saying they were fully in charge.

The council met again in 1971 to talk about 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 from a special building in Berlin called the Kammergericht. This building used to be the top court for the state of Prussia, located in the Schöneberg area.

Even though the building lost a tower during battles, it was still usable. After most of the council's work ended in 1948, the different occupying powers left the building, leaving it 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 top court for the city of Berlin.