JCS 1779

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JCS 1779 is the abbreviation for the directive 1779 of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to the Commander-in-Chief of the US occupation forces in Germany . In its Revision 1 (JCS 1779/1) on July 15, 1947, it replaced Directive JCS 1067/6 , which had been created during the fighting of the Second World War and had been in force since April 1945. The JCS 1779/1 directive, on the other hand, was already shaped by the East-West conflict . In turn, it was replaced on September 21, 1949 by the occupation statute for the Trizone or the "small occupation statute " for the three West Berlin sectors .

prehistory

Already in April 1945 Dwight D. Eisenhower had received the JCS 1067/6 directive for the first time after the surrender ( the initial post-defeat period ). Accordingly, the primary goal is that Germany never again poses a threat to world peace. To this end, National Socialist ideas and militarism were to be eliminated, war criminals to be punished, industry to be converted to civilian products, the country to be demilitarized and preparations made for a later rebuilding of political life on a democratic basis.

Also in April 1945, Josef Stalin explained to Milovan Djilas what he saw as a result of military occupations: “Whoever occupies an area will also determine its social system. Everyone will introduce his system as far as his army can advance. ”In fact, the Western powers had to take note that since 1944 the Soviet Union had replaced the previously independent Eastern European states Poland (1944), Albania (1944), Bulgaria (1944) and Turned Hungary (1945) and, since 1945, the Soviet occupied zone (SBZ) into satellite states with propaganda, threats of violence and violence and tried to do this in Turkey , Iran and Greece . Discussions began in the USA and Great Britain as to whether Germany's economic suppression, as provided in the extreme by the Morgenthau Plan and implemented in a milder form by JCS 1067/6, was actually in its own economic and global political interest.

Change in Anglo-American occupation policy

General Lucius D. Clay , Deputy Commander in Chief of the American Occupation Forces in Germany since May 1945 and Deputy Military Governor of the American Zone of Occupation and the American Sector of Berlin since October 1945, supported by foreign policy advisor Robert Murphy , had been through official channels since August 1945 own knowledge of the conditions in occupied Germany a generous interpretation and addition of the directive JCS 1067/6 in favor of the German population recommended and argued:

"The decision is clear when you have to choose between communism at 1,500 kcal a day and belief in democracy at 1,000 kcal a day."

Clay's concerns supported several of his commissioned surveys by the US military administration (OMGUS) as well as the Hoover report of October 1945 and the Byron Price report of late 1945. On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill spoke in a speech the Soviet Spread of power behind the Iron Curtain publicly. In the context of the developing Cold War, the western side pursued a containment policy , the specifications of which on the US side were initially the Truman Doctrine of March 1947. Both parties to the East-West conflict tried to pull the people of divided and occupied Germany to their side.
In the US-American zone, the change in occupation policy had practical consequences as early as May 1946: While the Four Powers had agreed at the end of March 1946 on extensive dismantling of German facilities as a reparation payment , primarily to the Soviet Union and France, US President Truman will now stop all reparations from the US zone. The new line of US policy was announced and explained to the German public primarily through the speech of hope , which the US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes gave in Stuttgart on September 6, 1946 , and which was essentially based on a memorandum from Clay. At that time, Clay also commissioned industrialist Lewis Herold Brown to get an impression of the economic situation in Germany and to formulate proposals for reconstruction measures by the US occupation. This resulted in an expert report on the economic revitalization of the three western zones in 1947 , one of the foundations of the Marshall Plan that was just emerging . US Secretary of State Marshall confirmed to his Soviet colleague Molotov during the Four Power Conference in March 1947 that the US had changed its strategy vis-à-vis occupied Germany: The US was against a policy that would leave Germany as an overcrowded slum and economic poorhouse in the middle of Europe . Now the time has come to authorize the Germans to form a central provisional government to deal with national issues. At the end of June 1947, Clay's political advisor Murphy sent the US State Department a statement on the desired future role for West Germany: He recommended a revision of the Level of Industry Plan adopted by the Four Powers with the aim of achieving a market economy Reconstruction. In this way, Germany could also contribute to the reconstruction of Europe. This should be promoted by a European low-threshold economic area independent of the dollar.

Adoption of JCS 1779

Against this background, diplomats and representatives of the economy as well as politicians and the military in the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC) struggled to find a text that should replace Directive JCS 1067/6. Finally, from draft SWNCC 327/4, revision 1 of the JCS 1779 directive (JCS 1779/1) emerged. After approval by US President Truman and confirmation by the US Department of State, War and Navy, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent Directive JCS 1779/1 to the addressee, General Clay, since March 15 on July 11, 1947 1947 Military Governor of the American Zone of Occupation and the American Sector of Berlin. On July 15, 1947, this directive came into force, replacing JCS 1067/6.

content

Directive JCS 1779/1 no longer prohibited measures for economic recovery in Germany (no steps toward the economic rehabilitation) beyond the occupying power's own interest in peace and order, as did directive 1067/6, and it no longer provided punishment for the Germans and the reparation (retribution) by Germany in the foreground, but declared in contrast:

"An orderly, economically flourishing Europe requires economic support from a stable and efficient Germany"

even if at the same time a resurgence of “destructive militarism” can be ruled out.

For this purpose, directive JCS 1779/1 contained more than ten pages of detailed explanations and instructions to the US commander in the American zone of occupation: New or more prominent than the previous directive (JCS 1067) were:

  • the restoration of the rule of law in the German judiciary and administration
  • the omission of arbitrary and patronizing measures
  • promoting scientific, cultural and religious institutions
  • promoting exchange with foreign academic institutions
  • promoting democratic conditions through re-orientation (instead of re-education)
  • strengthening private sector structures
  • the admission of state industries if this is functionally necessary
  • except for armaments, the lifting of production restrictions
  • promoting the rebuilding of supply routes
  • supporting union representation
  • promoting the exchange of goods with neighboring states other than those under Soviet influence

In contrast, some requirements from Directive 1067 were repeated, but sometimes formulated less strictly or relativized, for example:

  • the reparation
  • the reparations
  • the provision of people made homeless by the German Reich
  • refunding stolen goods (e.g. works of art, gold) or compensation
  • the demilitarization of industry

Clay received another directive in the autumn of 1947, which was intended to clarify and emphasize (amplification) some passages of the JCS 1779/1 directive and to replace other directives dating from 1945 and 1946. Among other things, Clay received the order, with the proviso that no ultra-nationalist or anti-democratic communities or ideas arise and that the security of the occupying power and world peace and independence of other nations are not endangered:

  • to enable Germans to develop their own political, economic and cultural developments
  • Do not impose any strange thoughts or behavior on the Germans
  • to promote the closest possible connections between German and other Western European countries
  • to promote the participation of Germans in the political and economic organization of a free Europe
  • To seek and promote personal contact and exchange of ideas between German leaders in all fields of the public and those of other democratic states
  • to mitigate the consequences of the division of Germany
  • to support all constructive efforts for unification
  • to closely monitor political and economic developments in the Soviet-occupied zone

Accompanying measures

The plan to restrict German industry (Level of Industry Plan) passed by all four powers on March 29, 1946 for the four zones of occupation was replaced by a new version by the Americans and British on August 29, 1947 (Revised Level of Industry Plan). According to this, the German economy in the bizone should only be throttled with regard to military purposes, while it should be promoted in the other areas. The change is necessary because otherwise Germany would remain dependent on support from the occupying powers and the neighboring states would also be affected.
On April 3, 1948, President Truman put the European Recovery Program (ERP) into effect, which under the name Marshall Plan benefited Trizone along with many other European countries until 1952, while the USSR had a stake in the states in its sphere of influence, including the Soviet Zone prohibited.

Replacement by the occupation statute

The JCS 1779/1 directive had a decisive influence on American policy in Germany until the occupation statute came into force in the fall for the Trizone and the "small occupation statute " came into force for the West Berlin sectors.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Directive to Commander-in-Chief of US Forces of Occupation, Regarding the Military Government of Germany, July 11, 1947
  2. ↑ a b c d Dieter Waibel: From benevolent despotism to the rule of law: stages of development of the American occupation of Germany 1944-1949 . In: Contributions to the legal history of the 20th century, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, 1996, ISBN 978-3-16146-604-5 , pp. 373–384
  3. ^ Directive to Commander-in-Chief of United States Forces of Occupation Regarding the Military Government of Germany, April 1945
  4. ^ Geoffrey Roberts: Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939-1953 . Yale University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-30011-204-7 , p. 405.
  5. ↑ John Lamberton Harper: American Visions of Europe: Franklin D. Roosevelt, George F. Kennan, and Dean G. Acheson . Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-52156-628-5 , p. 122.
  6. ^ Allied Occupation of Germany, 1945-52 in: Archive for the US Department of State
  7. ^ Michael R. Decision: The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945 . Simon & Schuster, New York, 2003, SN 978-0-74324-454-1
  8. ↑ "There is no choice between being a communist on 1,500 calories a day and a believer in democracy on 1,000 calories"
  9. ^ Lewis Herold Brown: A Report on Germany . Farrar, Straus and Co., New York, 1947
  10. ↑ "The United States is opposed to policies which will continue Germany as a congested slum or an economic poorhouse in the center of Europe"
  11. ^ A b Robert A. Selig: America's Long Road to the Federal Republic of Germany (West) . In: German Life, June / July 1998 pdf 131 kB
  12. ^ Robert Murphy: The Political Adviser for Germany (Murphy) to the Secretary of State , statement of June 30, 1947
  13. ↑ "an orderly, prosperous Europe requires the economic contributions of a stable and productive Germany"
  14. ↑ "as well as the necessary restraints to insure that Germany is not allowed to revive its destructive militarism"
  15. ^ Directive to the United States Military Governor for Germany (Clay) . Instruction to Clay on the application of the JCS 1779/1 directive. Ed .: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, US State Department
  16. ^ Revised Plan for Level of Industry in the Anglo-American Zones (August 29, 1947) . In: German History in Documents and Images, Volume 8: Occupation and the Ermergence of Two States, 1945-1961 pdf 76 kB