— Ch. 1 · Founding And Formation —
West Germany.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
West Germany emerged from the ashes of World War II on the 23rd of May 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after the war ended in 1945. Twelve states created themselves within three zones held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. These zones divided the country into four parts initially. A French Zone existed in the far west while a British Zone covered the northwest. An American Zone occupied the south and a Soviet Zone took the east. Berlin stood separately divided into four sectors under joint control.
The Potsdam Agreement established that post-war Germany would be divided into these four occupation zones. Former German areas east of the rivers Oder and Neisse were officially separated from German sovereignty in August 1945. Eight million German expellees and refugees eventually settled in West Germany between 1946 and 1949. Three of the occupation zones began to merge during this period. First, the British and American zones combined into Bizonia. Soon afterwards, the French zone joined Trizonia. Conversely, the Soviet zone became East Germany.
New federal states formed in the Allied zones replacing pre-Nazi German states like Prussia. The Bonn, Paris conventions allowed West Germany to obtain full authority of a sovereign state on the 5th of May 1955. Four days later, West Germany joined NATO on the 9th of May 1955. The former occupying Western troops remained on the ground as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The UK and USA retained an especially strong presence acting as a deterrent against potential Soviet invasion.
Economic Miracle Era
The Wirtschaftswunder or economic miracle began in 1950 according to The Times newspaper. This improvement sustained itself through the currency reform of 1948 which replaced the Reichsmark with the Deutsche Mark. The reform halted rampant inflation that had plagued the country since the war ended. Demand for consumer goods increased after World War II creating shortages that helped overcome resistance to purchasing German products.
Germany possessed a large pool of skilled and cheap labour partly due to the flight and expulsion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe affecting up to 16.5 million people. Hard work and long hours at full capacity among the population provided a vital base for economic upturn. Extra labour supplied by thousands of guest workers arrived during the late 1950s and 1960s. These guest workers would have implications for successive governments trying to assimilate this group.
Konrad Adenauer became chancellor in 1949 at age 73 initially reckoned as a caretaker leader. He ruled for 14 years until his successor Ludwig Erhard took office in 1963. Adenauer remained in office until 1963 when he was dragged out almost literally from power. His tenure saw West Germany align fully with NATO rather than pursue neutrality.
In October 1962 the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel published an analysis of West German