West Germany

I

Introduction

West Germany, common name for a former republic (1949-1990) of central Europe, which was bordered on the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; on the east by the former East Germany and Czechoslovakia; on the south by Austria and Switzerland; and on the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

West Germany had an area of 248,577 sq km (95,976 sq mi). It was established officially as the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; German, Bundesrepublik Deutschland) on May 23, 1949, as one of two successor states—East Germany (officially the German Democratic Republic, or GDR) being the other—to the nation of Germany after its defeat in World War II. West Germany ceased to exist in 1990 when it merged with East Germany into a single nation known as Germany (officially the Federal Republic of Germany).

II

The Birth of West Germany

After the end of World War II in 1945, the leaders of the United States (President Harry S. Truman), Britain (Prime Minister Winston Churchill), and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Premier Joseph Stalin) met at the Potsdam Conference to debate the future of Germany. They decided to divide it temporarily into four zones of occupation—a French zone in the south-west, a British one in the north-west, an American zone in the south, and a Soviet equivalent in the east. The city of Berlin, located inside the Soviet zone, was also divided among the four powers into four sectors.

Once the USSR began to establish communist governments in Eastern Europe, the alliance suffered a breakdown. With Western powers opposed to and fearful of Soviet expansion, the Cold War set in and tensions over cooperation in Germany increased. The Soviets set about increasing the isolation of the zones of Germany and Berlin under their control, distancing them from the democratic development encouraged by the Western powers in the rest of the country. Unable to agree with the Western powers on a policy for Germany, the Soviets set up a communist government in the eastern part of the country (East Germany). The United States, France, and Great Britain supported the fledgling free market democracy in the west (West Germany). In 1948 the Soviets imposed a ban on travel between Berlin and the western zones of Germany—the Berlin Blockade. A successful airlift by the western powers continued to provide relief supplies to isolated residents of West Berlin for nearly a year.

West Germany comprised the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and Schleswig-Holstein. Bonn, an old university city on the River Rhine, served as the West German capital.

III

The Konrad Adenauer Years

From 1949 to 1963 the government of West Germany was dominated by the Christian Democratic Union. Its leader, Konrad Adenauer, was elected the republic’s chancellor in 1949. As West Germany’s first leader, Adenauer sought to transform the country from a post-war occupied zone to an independent nation accepted as an equal by other countries. The goal of independence became more attainable after the United States, Britain, and France recognized that Western Europe could not withstand Soviet pressure without the aid of a strong West Germany. Accordingly, military occupation of West Germany was ended with the Bonn Convention of 1952.

IV

European Cooperation

In 1955 West Germany was internationally recognized as an independent nation. Allowed to re-arm, it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which had been established in 1949 for the defence of Europe. West Germany also cooperated with the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community, and the Council of Europe (see European Union).

As partial reparation for war crimes and out of gratitude for post-war aid from the United States, West Germany assumed aid obligations to Israel and developing nations. Although not a member of the United Nations (UN) until 1973, the republic joined many UN agencies and made large contributions to UN projects. In 1963, in a move to reverse long-standing hostility between the French and Germans, Adenauer and French president Charles de Gaulle agreed to hold regular conferences. West Germany also improved relations with Eastern European countries. With reunification as his goal, Adenauer encouraged trade with East Germany but steadfastly refused to recognize it as a sovereign state.