ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Final//EN"> <HTML> <head> <title> World War II -- aftermath in Germany : Berlin </title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="title" content=" Scottish boys clothes " > <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/imagef/gif/faviconh.ico"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/imagef/gif/faviconh.ico"> <META NAME="Description" CONTENT=" Economic policy in Berlin was the same as the rest og occupied Germany. Economic policy was set by the four power the Allied Control Council. Berlin had its oen Council, but did not set separate economic policy. The only differnce was that there were few limits on movement between yje zones while in the Soviet Zine as a whole there were increasing limts on movement. The occupation authorities continued NAZI economic policies involving the heavy regulation of the economy. This was a process that began with World War I. It adversely affected economic growth, but was obscured first by the massive rearmament program and then the War-time exploitation of occupied countries. The Mark had lost much of its value. It was still used in bth the Allied and Soviet sectors as part of the common economic policy. Cigarettes became a defacto curency along with other consumer items like chocolate and nylons. One Berliner, a boy at the time, recalls, "[Cigarettes were] very welcome because the currency at that time was cigarettes. If you had cigarettes, you had it made. So I remember, we looked for all brands of cigarettes were welcome, but Camels, the most valuable, and I still remember forever Lucky Stripe, and what was it, Old Gold, and even Raleigh. But this was absolutely the currency." [Gluckstein] Berliners like other Germans suffered through 3 miserable years. The economy was stick in a serious rut. No growth and few jobs. The Soviets were happy with the situation and nationalized business in their zone. The Western Allies did not do this and debated how to jump start the German economy. The Americans and some Germans believed that the heavy regulation regime and a virtually valueless currency were what was impeding economic growth. The Allied Control Council had the authority to chage economic policy, but any one of the four powers could block new meaures. The Soviets ould and id execize their veto. The British and French were not convinced that loosening regulations and reforming the currency was a good idea, but the Americans and German economists convinced them. The Sovietreoresentatives in the Allied Cintrol Council were adament--=5B. Finally frustrated the Westen allies decided to go ahead with the market refirms in their zones, breaking the common economic policy. And the West German currency reform (June 1948) launched the German Econimic Miracle. The sane reforns were instituted in the Allied zomes if Berlin. The reforms also set in motion the Soviet blockade of Berlin. With photos and text. "> <META NAME="KeyWords" CONTENT="World War II, Second World war, Germany, German NAZI, occupation, defeat, denazification, America, Britain, United States, boy, boys, children, school uniform, garments, caps, military, tunics, sailor suits, shirts, history, historical, fashion, aftermath, Berlin, conditions, economics, economic policy, "> </head> <BODY BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#FFFF00" LINK="#FF0000" ALINK="#FFFF00" VLINK="#99CCFF"> <br> <br> <img src="/imagef/gif/cih-pur.png"> <br> <br> <HR> <br> <br> <br> <br> <center><h1>World War II Aftermath in Germany: Berlin -- Economic Policy (1945-48)</h1></center> <table border=0 cellpadding=20 width=950 height=751 align=right> <tbody> <tr> <td> <table border=5 width=100% align=right bgcolor=##7f00ff"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <IMG SRC="/imagef/date/2016/01/ber-punch46s.jpg"></a> <hr> <i>Figure 1.--This is a Punch and Judy show in Berlin several months after the end of the War. No one was starving, but food supplies were very sparse. Coal for heating was also in short supply. And as West Berlin was surounded by Soviet occupation zones, the city could not produce the food needed. Food and coal had to be brought in from the Allied occupation zones. And over the next 3 years there was little success in reviving the economy. The press caption reads, "Punch and Judy Get a Laugh in Berlin: Most of them do not have enough to eat, but these Berlin children laugh heartily at the antics of 'Punch and Judy'. The beloved puppet characters that have amused generations. The show was given at the battered Berlin Zoo. [The Zoo hadbeen a battleground during the Soviet assault on the NAZI capital less thn a year earlir.] The children are too young to realize that it was only an Allied victory that saved them from being puppets, too, with NAZI dictators pulling the strings." The photograph was dated January 7, 1846. </i> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> Economic policy in Berlin was the same as the rest of occupied Germany. Economic policy was set by the four power the Allied Control Council. Berlin had its own Council, but did not set separate economic policy. The only duffernce was that there were few limits on movement between the zones while in the Soviet Zone as a whole there were increasing limts on movement. The occupation authorities continued NAZI economic policies involving the <a href="/essay/war/ww2/tol/ger/eco/nazi-eco.html">heavy regulation</a> of the economy. This was a process that began with World War I. It adversely affected economic growth, but was obscured first by the massive rearmament program and then the War-time exploitation of occupied countries. The Mark had lost much of its value. It was still used in both the Allied and Soviet sectors as part of the occupation common economic policy. Cigarettes became a defacto curency along with other consumer items like chocolate and nylons. One Berliner, a boy at the time, recalls, "[Cigarettes were] very welcome because the currency at that time was cigarettes. If you had cigarettes, you had it made. So I remember, we looked for all brands of cigarettes were welcome, but Camels, the most valuable, and I still remember forever Lucky Stripe, and what was it, Old Gold, and even Raleigh. But this was absolutely the currency." [Gluckstein] Berliners like other Germans suffered through 3 miserable years. The economy was stuck in a serious rut. No growth and few jobs. The Soviets were happy with the situation and nationalized business in their zone. The Western Allies did not do this and debated how to jump start the German economy. The Americans and some Germans believed that the heavy regulation regime and a virtually valueless currency were what was impeding economic growth. The Allied Control Council had the authority to chage economic policy, but any one of the four powers could block new meaures. The Soviets ould and id execize their veto. The British and French were not convinced that loosening regulations and reforming the currency was a good idea, but the Americans and German economists convinced them. The Soviet representatives in the Allied Control Council were adament--=5B. Finally frustrated the Westen Allies decided to go ahead with the market reforms in their own zones, breaking the common economic policy. And the <a href="/country/ger/chron/20/pw/dec/1950/gem/gem-cr.html">West German currency reform</a> (June 1948) which would launch the German Economic Miracle. The same reforms were instituted in the Allied zones of Berlin. This mean that different currencies came into use in the two occupation zones. Stalin's opposition to the marker reforms also set in motion the Soviet blockade of Berlin. <br> <h2>Sources</h2> <p> Gluckstein, Fritz. "Fritz Gluckstein: Berlin in the Aftermath of World War II, First Person Program (U.S. Holocaust Museum (June 24, 2009). Gluckstein had a Jewish father and Christian mother. He was classified under Nazi law as Mischlinge (a person of mixed ancestry. He spent the war in Berlin assigned to various forced labor battalions. The NAZIs were preparing plans to go after the Mischlinge after they won the War. <br> <br> <br> <br> <HR> <br> <br> <br> <CENTER> <H1>CIH</H1> <P> <A HREF="/email.html"><img src="/imagef/mail1.gif"></A><BR> </CENTER><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <center> <p><i>Navigate the CIH World War II Pages:<br> [Return to <a href="/essay/war/ww2/after/ger/ber/ber-aft.html">World War II aftermath in Berlin</a>]<br> [Return to <a href="/essay/war/cold/wc-ber.html">Main Cold War Berlin page</a>]<br> [Return to <a href="/essay/war/ww2/after/ww2a-ger.html">Main World War II German aftermath page</a>]<br> [Return to <a href="/essay/war/ww2/ww2-ger.html">Main World War II German page</a>]<br> [Return to <a href="/essay/war-ww2.html">Main World War II page</a>]<br> [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/ww2-bio.html">Biographies</a>] [<a href="/essay/war-ww2c.html">Campaigns</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/child/wc-ww2.html">Children</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/cou/ww2-cou.html">Countries</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/var/ww2-df.html">Deciding factors</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/dip/ww2-dip.html">Diplomacy</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/over/ww2-crisis.html">Geo-political crisis</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/ww2-eco.html">Economics</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/home/ww2-home.html">Home front</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/code/ww2-int.html">Intelligence</a>]<br> [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/ww2-pow.html">POWs</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/ww2-res.html">Resistance</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/race/ww2-rac.html">Race</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/ref/ww2-ref.html">Refugees</a>] [<a href="/essay/war/ww2/ww2-tech.html">Technology</a>]<br> [<a href="/bib.html">Bibliographies</a>] [<a href="/cont/contm.html">Contributions</a>] [<a href="/faq.html">FAQs</a>] [<a href="/cont/image.html">Images</a>] [<a href="/link.html">Links</a>] [<a href="/cont/contr.html">Registration</a>] [<a href="/index2at.html">Tools</a>] <br> [Return to <a href="/essay/war-ww2.html">Main World War II page</a>]<br> [Return to <a href="/essay/war.html">Main war essay page</a>]<br></b> </center> <br> <br> <br> Created: 8:34 AM 1/20/2016<br> Last updated: 8:34 AM 1/20/2016 <br> <br> <br> <img src="/imagef/gif/cih-pur.png" align=right> <br> <br> </body> </HTML>