- European Advisory Commission
The formation of the European Advisory Commission (EAC) was agreed on at the Moscow Conference on
October 30 1943 between the foreign ministers of theUnited Kingdom ,Anthony Eden , theUnited States ,Cordell Hull , and theSoviet Union ,Vyacheslav Molotov , and confirmed at theTehran Conference in November. In anticipation of the defeat ofNazi Germany and its allies this commission was to study the postwar political problems in Europe and make recommendation to the three governments, including the surrender of the European enemy states and the machinery of its fulfillment. After the EAC completed its task it was dissolved at thePotsdam Conference in August 1945.1944
The EAC had its seat in
London atLancaster House and started its work onJanuary 14 1944 . William Strang was the British delegate, while on the American and Soviet side the respective ambassadors were the delegates,John G. Winant andFeodor T Gousev . The American military advisor wasCornelius Wickersham .George F. Kennan was a member of the American delegation in 1944.At the
Tehran Conference it was decided to hand over a large portion of German territory toPoland with theOder-Neisse line as the eastern border of post-war Germany, and discussion about a possible partition of Germany were initiated by Roosevelt. Based on these premises, the EAC worked out the following recommendations during 1944:
* Partition of Germany into three occupied zones, each controlled by one power.
* Creation of theAllied Control Council (ACC)
* The ACC could only act inconsensus .
* Partition ofBerlin in three sectors.
* Separation ofAustria which would also undergo a tripartite occupation, andVienna to be occupied by three powers.
* Establishment of an Allied Commission for Austria.
* Draft instructions for the “unconditional surrender of Germany”
* Proposals for control machinery for administration.
* Establishment of anAllied Commission forItaly .1945
The work of the EAC was discussed at the
Yalta Conference in 1945 where a major modification was approved asFrance received a seat on the ACC, and a future occupation zone in Germany was carved out from territory assigned to Great Britain and the United States. In addition, France received a future occupation zone in western Austria.On
June 5 1945 the European Advisory Commission assumed briefly full control over Germany. Members included General Dwight Eisenhower for the US, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery for Britain, and MarshalGeorgy Zhukov for the Soviet Union. The commission delimited German territory to its territory ofDecember 31 1937 minus territory handed over to Poland and the Soviet Union, divided Germany into four zones of occupation under American, British, French, and Soviet military administration and separately divided Berlin into four sectors. The Commission ceased to exist after the Potsdam Conference, and the ACC was nominally the highest power in Germany, while in reality, each occupied zone was ruled by the respective occupying powerAftermath
The recommendations of the EAC shaped the development of postwar Europe. While it was by no means obvious at the Potsdam Conference that Germany would be partitioned into two states, the recommendations of the EAC allowed each occupying power full control over its occupied zone and deprived the ACC of an overruling influence. The subsequent
Cold War thus was reflected in the partition of Germany as each occupying force could develop its zone on its own.The EAC failed to be specific about length and terms of occupation and different zones underwent different occupation experiences. The Soviet-occupied zone suffered disproportionally from
war reparations while the Western Zone benefited from stimulatory economic impacts such as theMarshall Plan . Fact|date=September 2008ee also
*
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
*Allied Control Council
*London Protocol
*Legal status of Germany External links
* [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1945v03 European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany] Foreign relations of the United States : diplomatic papers, 1945.
References
Smyser WR: From Yalta to Berlin. St.Martin’s Press, New York, 1999
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