Kammergericht, Headquarters of the Allied Control Council

The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in German as the Alliierter Kontrollrat, also referred to as the Four Powers, was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe; the members were the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. France was later added with a vote but had no duties. The Allied Control Council was based in Berlin-Schöneberg. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (599x712, 257 KB)Kammergericht Stamp This file is in the public domain, because stamp in public domain Please verify that the reason given above is valid! Note: if there is a specific licence tag for the reason supplied here, please use... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (599x712, 257 KB)Kammergericht Stamp This file is in the public domain, because stamp in public domain Please verify that the reason given above is valid! Note: if there is a specific licence tag for the reason supplied here, please use... The four Allied occupation zones in post-war Germany and Austria The Allied powers who defeated Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during the period 1945-1949. ... This article chronicles the end of the European Theatre of World War II. On April 25, 1945 United States and Soviet troops linked-up, cutting Germany in two. ... Schöneberg is a district of Berlin. ...

Creation

After the death of Adolf Hitler, Karl Dönitz became president of Germany in accordance with Hitler's last political testament. He authorised the signing, at Rheims, of the unconditional surrender of all German forces, which took effect on 8 May 1945, and tried to establish a government under Chancellor von Krosigk. This government was not recognised by the Allies, however, and Dönitz and the other members were arrested on 23 May by British forces. Hitler redirects here. ... Karl Dönitz (IPA pronunciation:  ); September 16, 1891–December 24, 1980) was a German naval leader, famous for his command of the Kriegsmarine during World War II and for his twenty-day term as President of Germany after Adolf Hitlers suicide. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with President of Germany. ... The last will and testament of Adolf Hitler was dictated by Hitler to his secretary Traudl Junge in his Berlin Führerbunker on April 29, 1945, the day he and Eva Braun married. ... Reims (English traditionally Rheims) is a city of north-eastern France, 98 miles east-northeast of Paris. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... The head of government of Germany has been known as the Chancellor (German: Kanzler) ever since the creation of the post. ... Count Johann Ludwig (Lutz) Schwerin von Krosigk, EK, (August 22, 1887–March 4, 1977) was a German politician. ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ...

The surrender document used by Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force at Rheims, was modeled on the one used a few days earlier to allow the German forces in Italy to surrender.^[1] They did not use the one which had been drafted for the surrender of Germany by the "European Advisory Commission" (EAC). This created a legal problem for the Allies, because although the German armed forces had surrendered unconditionally, the civilian German government had not been included in the surrender. This was considered a very important issue, given that Hitler had used the surrender of the civilian government, but not of the military, in 1918, to create the "stab in the back" argument.^[2] The Allies understandably did not want to give any future hostile German regime any kind of legal argument to resurrect an old quarrel. Eventually they decided not to recognise Dönitz, but to sign a four power document instead, creating the Allied Control Council. On 5 June 1945, in Berlin, the supreme commanders of the four occupying powers signed a common Declaration Regarding the Defeat of Germany (the so-called Berlin Declaration), which formally abolished any German governance over the nation: Badge of SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (abbreviated as SHAEF) (acronym pronounced as shāf), was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. General Dwight Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence. ... The formation of the European Advisory Commission (EAC) was agreed on at the Moscow Conference on October 30, 1943 between the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Anthony Eden, the United States of America, Cordell Hull, and the Soviet Union, Vyacheslav Molotov, and confirmed at the Teheran Conference in November. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Berlin is the capital city and a state of Germany. ...

The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic, hereby assume supreme authority with respect to Germany, including all the powers possessed by the German Government, the High Command and any state, municipal, or local government or authority. The assumption, for the purposes stated above, of the said authority and powers does not affect the annexation of Germany. [US Department of State, Treaties and Other International Acts Series, No. 1520.]^[3]

In reality, of course, all German central civilian authority had ceased to exist with the death of Hitler and the fall of Berlin at the latest. These parts of the Berlin declaration, therefore, merely formalised the de facto status and placed the Allied military rule over Germany on a solid legal basis. De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

The actual exertion of power was carried out according to the model first laid out in the "Agreement on Control Machinery in Germany" that had been signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 25 November 1944 in London based on the work of the European Advisory Commission. Germany was divided into three zones of occupation, an American, a British, and a Soviet one, and each zone was ruled by the Commander-in-Chief of the respective occupational forces. (Later a French zone was added.) "Matters that affect Germany as a whole," however, would have to be decided jointly by all three Commanders-in-Chief, who for this purpose would form a single organ of control. This authority was called the Control Council. November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... The formation of the European Advisory Commission (EAC) was agreed on at the Moscow Conference on October 30, 1943 between the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Anthony Eden, the United States of America, Cordell Hull, and the Soviet Union, Vyacheslav Molotov, and confirmed at the Teheran Conference in November. ...

The purpose of the Allied Control Council in Germany, like the other Allied Control Commissions and Councils which were established by the Allies over every defeated Axis power, was to deal with the central administration of the country, an idea that hardly materialised in the case of Germany, as that administration totally broke down with the end of the war, and to assure that the military administration was carried out with a certain uniformity throughout all of Germany. The Potsdam Agreement of 2 August 1945 further specified the tasks of the Control Council. Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allied Powers were in control of the defeated Axis countries. ... The Potsdam Agreement, or the Potsdam Proclamation, was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945. ... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

Operation

On 30 August 1945 the Control Council constituted itself and issued its first proclamation, which informed the German people of the Council's existence and asserted that the commands and directives issued by the Commanders-in-Chief in their respective zones were not affected by the establishment of the Council. The initial members of the Control Council were as follows: Marshal Georgy Zhukov for the Soviet Union, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery for the United Kingdom, General Dwight Eisenhower for the United States, and General Jean Joseph-Marie Gabriel Lattre de Tassigny for France. August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, GCB (Russian: ) (December 1, 1896 [O.S. November 19]–June 18, 1974), was a Soviet military commander and politician who, in the course of World War II, led the Red Army to liberate the Soviet Union from the Nazi occupation... Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976) was a British Army officer, often referred to as Monty. He successfully commanded Allied forces at the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in World War II, and... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (February 2, 1889 - January 11, 1952) was a French military hero of World War II. Born at Mouilleron-en-Pareds (during the time of Georges Clemenceau, who was also born there), he graduated from school in 1911, and fought in World War I. He specialized...

In the following time, the Allied Control Council issued a substantial number of laws, directives, orders, and proclamations. They dealt with the abolishment of Nazi laws and organisations, demilitarisation, denazification, but also with such comparatively pedestrian matters as telephone tariffs or the combat of venereal diseases. However, relations between the Western Allies (especially the United States and the United Kingdom) and the Soviet Union quickly deteriorated, and so did their cooperation in the administration of occupied Germany. Against Soviet protests, the two English-speaking powers pushed for a heightened economic collaboration between the different zones, and on 1 January 1947 the British and American zones merged to form the Bizone. Over the course of 1947 and early 1948, they began to prepare the currency reform that would introduce the Deutsche Mark, and ultimately the creation of an independent West German state. When the Soviets learnt about this, they claimed that such plans were in violation of the Potsdam Agreement, that obviously the Western powers were not interested in further regular four-power control of Germany, and that under such circumstances the Control Council had no purpose anymore. On 20 March 1948, Marshal Sokolovsky, the Soviet representative, walked out of the meeting of the Council, never to attend one again. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In military terms, a demilitarized zone (DMZ) is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more groups, where military activity is not permitted, usually by treaty or other agreement. ... Denazification (German: Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary and politics of any remnants of the Nazi regime. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Occupation zones of Germany after 1945 The Bizone was the combination of the American and the British occupation zones during the occupation of Germany after World War II. With the addition of the French occupation zone, the entity became the Trizone. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The Deutsche Mark (DM, DEM) was the official currency of West and, from 1990, unified Germany. ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

After the breakdown

As the Control Council could only act with the agreement of all four members, this move basically shut down the institution, while the Cold War reached an early high point during the Soviet blockade of Berlin. The Allied Control Council was not formally dissolved, but ceased all activity except the operations of the Four-Power Authorities, namely the management of the Spandau Prison where persons convicted at the Nuremberg Trials were held until 1987, and the Berlin Air Safety Center For other uses, please see Cold War (disambiguation). ... occupation zone after 1945 The Berlin Blockade (June 24, 1948 to May 11, 1949) became one of the first major crises of the new Cold War, when the Soviet Union blocked railroad and street access to West Berlin. ... Following the defeat of Nazi Germany and then the partition of German territory, two Four-Power Authorities, in which all 4 of the conquering forces (The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union) managed equally were created. ... Spandau Prison from the air Spandau Prison was a prison situated in the borough of Spandau in western Berlin, constructed in 1876. ... The Süddeutsche Zeitung announces The Verdict in Nuremberg. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Berlin Air Safety Center (BASC) came into existence immediately after the close of World War II and was one of only two Cold War, four-power organizations to ever exist. ...

The Western powers instituted the Allied High Commission by September of 1949 which remained in operation until 1955. In Eastern Germany, the Soviet administration with its representative of the ACC was the highest authority, later this position was converted to a High Commissioner as well, until the German Democratic Republic gained sovereignty. The Allied High Commission (in German Alliierte Hohe Kommission, AHK) was established by Great Britain, France, and the United States of America after the 1948 breakdown of the Allied Control Council to regulate and supervise the development of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany. ... The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (Russian initials: SVAG (Советская военная администрация в Германии, СВ&#1040... Anthem: Auferstanden aus Ruinen   Capital East Berlin, in spite of status as part of an occupied city Government Socialist state  - Last Head of State Sabine Bergmann-Pohl  - Last Head of Government Lothar de Maizière History    - Established October 7, 1949   - Final Settlement September 25, 1990   - Disestablished October 3, 1990  Area...

Germany remained under nominal military occupation until 12 September 1990, when the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany, the final peace treaty, was signed by the four powers and the two German governments, restoring German sovereignty. This meant the official end of the Allied Control Council, insofar as it still existed at all. Portal:Currentevents September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany is the final peace treaty negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States and... A peace treaty is an agreement (a peace treaty) between two hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a war or armed conflict. ...

The building

During its short active life, the Allied Control Council was housed in and operated from the former building of the Kammergericht, the supreme court of the state of Prussia, which is situated in Berlin's Schöneberg borough in the American sector. The building itself had suffered some battle damage, losing a central tower, but had remained mostly usable. After the cessation of most Council activity in 1948, all occupying powers quickly withdrew from the building to their respective sectors of the city, leaving the facility cold, empty and dark. Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ... Schöneberg is a district of Berlin. ...

Only one four-power organisation, the Berlin Air Safety Center (BASC), remained in the building from 1945 until the fall of the wall in 1989. As a symbol of the BASC's continued presence, the four national flags of the occupying powers still flew over the large front doors every day. The only other signs of occupancy were the few, sparse office lights that emanated from a small corner room of the building — the BASC Operations Room — in the evenings. Of the 550 rooms in the building, the BASC office complex and guards' quarters occupied fewer than forty. Following the fall of Nazism in 1945, Germany was divided up between four major authorities; United States, Britain, France, Soviet Union. ... The Berlin Air Safety Center (BASC) came into existence immediately after the close of World War II and was one of only two Cold War, four-power organizations to ever exist. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Because of the BASC's presence, the building remained closely guarded by United States Embassy guards, with access granted only to select members of the four powers. This led to mysterious legends and ghost stories about the eerie, dark facility with its grand, granite statuary overlooking the beautiful park. A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ...

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, and after the Soviet troops left Berlin in 1994, the building was returned to the German government. In 1997, its erstwhile occupant, the Kammergericht, moved in. It now functions as the supreme court of the state of Berlin. East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Berlin is the capital city and a state of Germany. ...

See also

• Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
• History of Germany
• Military rule

The four Allied occupation zones in post-war Germany and Austria The Allied powers who defeated Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during the period 1945-1949. ... This article gives an overview of the History of Germany. ... US General Douglas MacArthur (left), military ruler of Japan 1945-1952, next to Japans defeated Emperor, Hirohito Military rule may mean: Militarism as an ideology of government Military occupation (or Belligerent occupation), when a country or area is conquered after invasion List of military occupations Martial law, where military...

References

1. ^ Ziemke, Earl F. (1990). The U.S. Army in the Occupation of Germany 1944-1946. Washington, D. C.: Center of Military History United States Army, 256. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-619027. First Printed 1975-CMH Pub 30-6
2. ^ The U.S. Army in the Occupation of Germany 1944-1946, 109.
3. ^ Declaration Regarding the Defeat of Germany

External links

• Cornerstone of Steel Time Magazine Jan. 21, 1946
• Photos from the 1970-71 Four Power negotiations on the Status of Berlin.