William Tyler
The West German Miracle

In the immediate aftermath of the third Reich, Germany was divided up between the four victorious allies (USSR, USA, UK, and France). Each of the allies was given an area of Germany to govern. Although there was an agreement between all four to hold free elections, it soon became apparent that a gulf existed between The USSR and the other three.

By 1949, France, the USA, and the UK held elections and established the federal republic of West Germany. The USSR then went ahead and established the democratic republic of East Germany. Konrad Adenauer became Chancellor of West Germany and a multi-party democracy ensued for the rest of the country’s short history. In East Germany, the Russians had a puppet communist leader in Walter Ulbricht. In addition to this division of the country, Berlin was divided between West and East Berlin, with the actual capital of Berlin moving entirely within East Berlin. As a result, Bonn became the capital of West Germany.

West Germany speedily recovered in the 1950s with the so-called West German economic miracle. France led the way to western European economic collaboration with the Treaty of Rome, which established the Common Market, in 1957. It also re-engaged with international bodies joining NATO in 1955, and joining the United Nations in in 1973. In 1976, West Germany became a member of the G6 group of countries. In the 1970s, on the basis of a sound economy, numerous social reforms took place, finally sealing the country into the liberal democracies of Western Europe. The shadow of Nazism was being lifted, at least in the West. The story of the East, with communism and the stasi, is another story, as is the reunification of the 1990s.