2-WWII+Germany+OT

What were the circumstances in the Occupied Territory that compelled the policies implemented by the occupying power there? How was policy shaped to address these circumstances? > > >
 * Post-war Germany was incredibly weak and in shambles. Germany was split four ways after the war between the allied nations of Britain, the US, the Soviet Union and France as a result of the Potsdam Conference. France, Great Britain, and the US occupied West Germany and West Berlin while the Soviet Union occupied East Germany and East Berlin. This was done because the Allied nations wanted to prevent Germany from rising up back to its former strength. Each zone would be governed by the Allied Control Council (ACC). The ACC would make unanimous decisions between the four military governors in preparation for the eventual reunification of Germany. However, this soon failed as the British and Americans worked for cooperation that the Soviet Union opposed. Tensions between the the West and the East eventually led to the division of the country and contributed to Cold War Tensions.
 * Another result of the Potsdam Conference was that the Allied nations agreed that each occupying power should receive reparations as compensation for the war. This resulted in the Soviet Union seizing much of Germany’s industrial equipment.
 * The last major political tenet of the Potsdam Conference called for demilitarization, denazification, and reconstruction of German politics to instill democratic principles.

What were the effects of the occupation of your territory on the occupying power's war effort? This should include basic data such as numbers of troops diverted to the occupation and so forth, but should also take into account less logistical factors such as the psychological effect of occupation on the occupying power, issues of morale, attitudes of occupation forces toward the local population (and vice versa) and the degree to which that sharpened or dulled the occupiers' resolve, etc. > > > What were the motivations/methods/outcomes of resistance and collaboration? How did this affect the Occupied Territory after the war? Use case studies to illustrate. >
 * As a result of the Potsdam Conference, Germans were expelled from Poland and Czechoslovakia. All Germans east of the Oder and western Neisse rivers were forced to move back west which resulted in the death or disappearance of nearly 2 million Germans. Over 12 million Germans lost their homes and their possessions. This reabsorption into the western part of Germany stressed both local populations and the occupying nations in Germany.
 * Under occupation, Germans felt as though they were under an oppressive regime, much like the Nazi regime, and felt like victims of the occupation. With the start of the occupation, many soon disregarded the war and victimized themselves. Loss of property, husbands, and other loved ones in the war cited themselves as victims.
 * Another result of the occupation was a time of severe hunger and scarcity. For example, in 1946 the British sector was limited to around 1,200 calories per person, even though the normal amount of caloric intake would be around 2,500 to 3,000 calories. Results of this malnutrition were lack of protein and spread of sickness. This all lead to German social classes being essentially non-existent. The only two classes that remained were between those who could self supply and those who could not.
 * One of the most well-known resistance movements organized by the Nazis at the end of World War II to prohibit the occupation of Germany by Allied nations was called Werwolf, a direct cognate to the word “werewolf” in English. The term refers to the name that was given to the SS officers who attacked coalition forces. Their targets of attack were occupying, Allied troops and any German who attempted to work in collaboration or coalition with these forces. The SS officers would sabotage factories and power plants as well as destroy police stations and government buildings. Through leaflets, they warned Germans to not participate or cooperate with occupying forces and went so far as to give children snipers to encourage fear in the German population. However, this resistance movement failed because much of the German population wanted the war to end by the time occupying forces were invading.

What were the effects of occupation on women & youth in the Occupied Territory? Use case studies to illustrate. >
 * With the occupation forces in Germany, tensions rose as a result intermingling between the occupying nation’s military men and the German women. Many women found the foreign men much more appealing because they frequently were much better off than native Germans. Oftentimes, for example, the American soldier received a pay five to ten times greater than that of an average German male. This created a competitive edge between German men and Allied men and resulted in the anti-fraternization movement. This also pertained to the youth because many were upset by the competition the foreign nation posed. This lead to many instances of soldiers and their significant, German others being either killed or attacked by German men and youth. This was scene especially in October of 1945 when a skirmish broke out between US soldiers and Germans over the preferences for dating among the female population. The US Army cited several attacks on American soldiers escorting German women and attacks on German women who were known to fraternize with the Americans.

Sources: " Allied Occupation of Germany, 1945-52." Archive. US Department of State, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .

Diefendorf, Jeffry M., ed. American Policy and the Reconstruction of West Germany, 1945-1955. N.p.: Cambridge UP, 1993. Google Books. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .

Enssle, Manfred J. "Five Theses on German Everyday Life after World War II." Central European History 26.01 (1993): 1-19. JSTOR. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .

Geller, Jay Howard. Jews in Post-Holocaust Germany, 1945-1953. N.p.: Cambridge UP, 2005. Google Books. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .

"Germany - Postwar Occupation and Division." Country Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .

Roehner, Bertrand M. RELATIONS BETWEEN ALLIED FORCES AND THE POPULATIONS OF GERMANY AND AUSTRIA. Working paper. University of Paris 7, 14 Apr. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .

Von Hodenberg, Christina. "Of German Fräuleins, Nazi Werewolves, and Iraqi Insurgents: The American Fascination with Hitler's Last Foray." Central European History 41.1 (2008): 71-92. JSTOR. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .