OF-8 Your Job In Germany 1945 US Army Orientation Film Post World War II Occupation 11min

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• published: 15 Jun 2012
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more at http://quickfound.net/links/military_news_and_links.html 'U.S. Army training film for U.S. soldiers embarking on occupation duty in Germany. Written by Dr. Seuss and the basis for the latter 1946 Oscar-winning film, "Hitler Lives."' Public domain film slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germany The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945--49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, United States forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the future zones of occupation, in some places by as much as 200 miles. The line of contact between Soviet and US forces at the end of hostilities was temporary. After two months in which they had held areas that had been assigned to the Soviet zone, US forces withdrew in the first days of July 1945... American Zone of Occupation The American zone consisted of Bavaria and Hesse in Southern Germany, and the northern portions of the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. The ports of Bremen (on the lower Weser River) and Bremerhaven (at the Weser estuary of the North Sea) were also placed under American control because of the American request to have certain toeholds in Northern Germany. The headquarters of the American military government was the former IG Farben Building in Frankfurt am Main. Beginning in May 1945, many of the American combat troops and airmen in and around Germany were sent back to the United States based on their Advanced Service Rating Scores. Some of the experienced officers and non-commissioned officers were selected to be sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations for the proposed Invasion of Japan, but most of those men who had served the longest in combat were discharged from the U.S. Army, the Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy upon their returns home. Following the Surrender of the Japanese Empire in mid-August 1945 -- by its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration -- a higher percentage of soldiers, airmen, and sailors were granted their final discharges from service. The official signing of the surrender took place on Septermber 2, 1945, but the hostilities had ended weeks earlier. Berlin While located wholly within the Soviet zone, because of its symbolic importance as the nation's capital and seat of the former Nazi government, the city of Berlin was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into four sectors. Berlin was not considered to be part of the Soviet zone. Governance and the emergence of two German states The original Allied plan to govern Germany as a single unit through the Allied Control Council broke down in 1946--1947 due to growing tensions between the West and the Soviet Union, and was never fully implemented. In practice, each of the four occupying powers wielded government authority in their respective zones and carried out different policies toward the population and local and state governments there. A uniform administration of the western zones evolved, known first as the Bizone (the American and British zones merged as of January 1, 1947) and later the Trizone (after inclusion of the French zone). The complete breakdown of east-west allied cooperation and joint administration in Germany became clear with the Soviet imposition of the Berlin Blockade that was enforced from June 1948 to May 1949. The three western zones were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949, and the Soviets followed suit in October 1949 with the establishment of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In the west, the occupation officially continued until May 5, 1955, when the General Treaty ("German: Deutschlandvertrag") entered into force... When the Deutschlandvertrag became law, the occupation officially ended, the western occupation zones ceased to exist, and the high commissioners were replaced by normal ambassadors. West Germany was also allowed to build a military, and the Bundeswehr, or Federal Defense Force, was officially established on November 12, 1955. A similar situation occurred in East Germany... the Soviet Union concluded a state treaty (Staatsvertrag) with the GDR on September 20, 1955. On March 1, 1956, the GDR established a military, the National People's Army. Despite the grants of general sovereignty to both German states in 1955, full and unrestricted sovereignty under international law was not enjoyed by any German government until after the reunification of Germany in October 1990...