-
(#14) Allied Forces And German Citizens Came Together During Reconstruction
The German defeat was unilateral, and with information about the cruelties of the regime becoming public, there was little support left for the Third Reich. The Nuremberg Trials began in 1945 and only added to the shame and resentment the people felt toward their former ruling party. Citizens and soldiers began working together to clean up the devastation in Berlin, and especially with the passing of the Marshall Plan, an atmosphere of cooperation was established.
Besides, with all of the weapons, ammunition, and able bodies going to the front, there weren't really the resources to mount much of a resistance.
-
(#2) People Lived Amid The Destruction
Berlin was devastated by bombing from WWII (estimates say up to 80 percent of historic buildings in the country's main cities were lost), and reconstruction efforts were slow to get underway. Much of the city was unsafe and uninhabitable, with certain areas falling entirely into disuse.
People were forced to simply make due, continuing their lives as best they could amid the destruction. Businesses got back underway in buildings that were missing walls and roofs, people moved in with family members whose homes were still standing, and patchwork fixes were implemented until real construction work could be done.
-
(#1) Berlin Was Divided
After Germany's defeat, Berlin was divided into four zones, one for each Allied power. As the Allies' relationship with Russia began to deteriorate, it was the Berliners that bore the brunt of that tension. Russia set up what was known as the Berlin Blockade, cutting off all access to the eastern side of Berlin and forcing the other Allies to airlift relief supplies to the needy residents. The early seeds of the Cold War were sewn in the post-WWII tension over Germany; both sides were unwilling to open fire, but Berlin and Germany became cards to be played by the larger world powers.
This would eventually lead to the 1961 erection of the Berlin Wall, which would stand as both a physical barrier and a metaphorical symbol for the bifurcation of Berlin for almost 30 years.
-
(#4) Children Ran Wild
As the denazified school system - not to mention the rest of the German government - was reassembled, the children of Berlin had little to no structure in their lives. Many had been orphaned by the conflict or had lost at least one parent, leading to an overall lack of adult supervisors. Children, and especially teens and preteens, roamed the streets in packs.
When schools did reopen, often in half-ruined facilities, they were underfunded and understaffed, with some schools reporting student-to-faculty ratios of 89 to 1.
-
(#8) The Reichsmark Was Worthless
One major problem with the German economy was that by the end of WWII, the Reichsmark had been so devalued that trading with it had become nearly impossible. Inflation caused by desperate overprinting, coupled with the influx of new Allied-printed Marks, had rendered the notes almost worthless and reduced Berlin to what was practically a barter economy. When the Allied occupation introduced the new Deutsche Mark as part of the Marshall Plan, it had a profoundly stabilizing effect on the German economy.
With an established, usable currency, businesses could pay their employees again and people began returning to work. Commerce was actually able to function again, and slowly the machine of the German economy began cranking back to life.
-
(#10) Fraternization Between Allied Troops And German Citizens Was Illegal
- Military Policy
When the US first took Berlin, there were strict non-fraternization rules in place. American soldiers were prohibited from engaging in private correspondence, receiving gifts, or even speaking to German citizens. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a large number of soldiers violated these orders. There were hundreds of arrests made, and even the Army acknowledges that this was just a small percentage of the fraternization that they knew was happening, with as much as 80 percent of enlisted men estimated to have broken the rules at some point.
Despite the risk of court-martial, imprisonment, loss of pay, or dishonorable discharge, contact between soldiers and citizens - particularly women - was seen as almost unavoidable. According to Major William Hill, "Soldiers are going to have their fling regardless of rules or orders. If they are caught they know what the punishment will be. However, that is not stopping them and nothing is going to stop them."
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
In May 1945, Germany, which launched WWII, declared defeat under the joint resistance of the anti-fascist allies. The armored forces of the Soviet Union that invaded Germany almost used tanks to blow up most cities into rubble. 55% of the ancient buildings in Munich have been destroyed, and only broken walls in the capital Berlin, the Cologne Cathedral stood alone in the ruins, which all shows the harsh life in Germany after WWII.
As a defeated country, Germany's economy collapsed, production stagnated, and supplies were extremely scarce. The German nobles could not protect themselves, let alone the poor people. The random tool explained 14 details about the harsh realities in Germany after WWII.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.