THE FRG AND GDR
Following the dismantling of the Berlin Blockade, 'Bizonia' formally merged with the French Zone to form West Germany or the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) under the leadership of Konrad Adenauer and the Soviet Zone became East Germany or German Democratic Republic (GDR) under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht. However, this development had been several years in the making.
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Negotiations between the West and USSR over Germany finally collapse
Since as early as 1946, the US and UK had been resigned to the division of Germany as this served their purposes of preventing the possibility of Communist takeover in the centre of Europe. For their part, the Soviet Union opposed the division of Germany because it would inevitably mean that wealthy industrial regions would become part of the Western half of Germany. When Ulbricht was leader of the SED (Communist Party in the German zones of occupation), he had been instructed by Stalin to rally support across Germany, form a delegation and attempt to gain entrance to a conference (held in London in late 1947) on the future of Germany held by the four occupying powers. Out of just over 2000 SED delegates, one third came from West Germany. Unfortunately for Ulbricht, these West Germany delegates came from large industrial towns and therefore not truly representative of West German opinion. As a result, Ernest Bevin, the UK foreign minister, forbade entrance of the SED to the London conference.
One major reason why the influence of the SED did not spread to the Western zones of occupation during this period were the stories of forced coercion and violent repression that emerged from the East.
The London Conference was attended by the foreign ministers of the USA, UK, France and USSR and fell apart without any agreement over Germany; the Soviets accused the Western powers of breaking the Potsdam agreement and preventing the USSR from gaining its fair share of reparations while the West feared that the USSR wanted to create a unified Germany with the intention of eventually gaining control using 'salami' tactics. The creation of two separate German states appeared inevitable and the perpetual cycle of mutual paranoia and mistrust between the two superpowers continued.
The London Conference was attended by the foreign ministers of the USA, UK, France and USSR and fell apart without any agreement over Germany; the Soviets accused the Western powers of breaking the Potsdam agreement and preventing the USSR from gaining its fair share of reparations while the West feared that the USSR wanted to create a unified Germany with the intention of eventually gaining control using 'salami' tactics. The creation of two separate German states appeared inevitable and the perpetual cycle of mutual paranoia and mistrust between the two superpowers continued.
French concerns over the creation of the FRG
However, the creation of West Germany was not a foregone conclusion. During the negotiations of 1948, the USA and the UK had to assuage French concerns over a resurgent Germany and promised to station NATO troops in the FRG to prevent a return to nascent aggressive nationalism. Moreover, industrial production would be regulated by the Western allies and the FRG had to accept the Occupation Statute, which gave the USA, UK and France final say on matters of economics, trade, foreign policy and disarmament. By early June 1948, a framework was in place to allow the creation of an independent and democratic West German state and 2 weeks later, the Western allies introduced a new currency (the Deutschmark) to be used in West Germany. The Soviets responded by introducing the Ostmark in the Soviet zone of occupation.
The failure of the Berlin Blockade and the creation of two separate German states
By the end of June 1948, alarmed by these developments, Stalin made one last attempt to prevent the creation of the FRG- the Berlin Blockade. However, by the end of January 1949 it was clear that the blockade had failed. The winter of 1948/9 was relatively mild (aiding the residents of Berlin) and Western allies had called Stalin's bluff by airlifting supplies into West Berlin. Stalin was not prepared to go to war over Germany and had failed to prevent the allies from continuing to establish a separate FRG. When the blockade was lifted in May 1949, the USA, UK and France pressed ahead with the creation of a West German state. Elections held in West Germany in August 1949 saw the Communists won only 5.7% of the vote and was confirmation to Stalin that the creation of the GDR was necessary to prevent the unification of a non-Communist (and anti-Soviet) Germany. Therefore, the GDR was created in October 1949. As in the FRG, although the GDR was nominally independent, the Soviets retained significant control.