Germany under Allied Occupation
1945–1949
After the capitulation the Allies divided the largely devastated country into four occupation zones. The regions east of the Oder and Neisse rivers were subject to Polish or Soviet administration. More than 12 million refugees and expellees streamed from the East into the zones administrated by the victorious powers. The daily struggle for survival taxed people’s energy and pushed any attempt to come to terms with the Nazi regime and its crimes into the background.
Initially the Germans only had very limited possibilities of shaping their political future. A common policy towards Germany among the Allied powers collapsed with the emergence of the "Cold War". The Soviet Union pressed ahead with the restructuring of their zone along Soviet-Socialist lines, whereas the Western Allies tried to integrate their occupation zones into the confederation of Western democracies.
Henry Ries, Landing Approach of a "Rosinenbomber" in Tempelhof, July 1948.
(Inv.Nr. Ph 2008/730)
Agentur Puck, Berliner with a Care Package, 1946-1949.
(Inv.Nr. Puck 28997)
Gerhard Hauptmann, Satirical Magazine "der Insulaner" with a Title Caricature of the "Rosinenbomber" during the Airlift, November 26, 1948.
(Inv.Nr. Do2 2000/1691)
CARE Package, after 1945.
(Inv.Nr. MK 85/45)
Soviet Soldier, 1945.
(Inv.Nr. Kg 64/18)
Stool Made from the Sliding Mechanism of an Aerial Bomb, 1945.
(Inv.Nr. MK 72/180)
Disease Control Poster, December 1945.
(Inv.Nr. 1988/1209.6)
Illustrated Propaganda Pamphlet by the SED against Western Europe’s Armament and the USA's "War Hysteria" against the Soviet Union, June 1949.
(Inv.Nr. DG 56/342.1)
Land Reform Poster, 1945.
(Inv.Nr. P 63/1738)
"Heute" Magazine with a Title Page on the CARE Fundraising Campaign, August 15, 1946.
(Inv.Nr. Do2 94/2360)
International Military Tribunal, Admission Ticket for Visitors of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, November 1945.
(Inv.Nr. 1989/133)
Handwritten Notice of Exchange – Apples and Pears for Sugar, 1945/1946.
(Inv.Nr. DG 67/259)
Alois Bayer, Handwritten Search Notice from a Man from Neisse, 1945.
(Inv.Nr. DG 65/790.2)
Order for a Movie Theater Owner, to make all Swastikas on Programs, Posters, etc. unrecognizable, 1945.
(Inv.Nr. 1991/613)
Wall Notice with the Central Command’s Order to the House Communities in Berlin to Produce Flags for the Victorious Powers, May 1945.
(Inv.Nr. DG 80/383)
Identification Card for the Imprisonment of Karl Dönitz by the British Occupying Forces with Signature and Fingerprints (Sheet from the Prisoner Register), May 23, 1945.
(Inv.Nr. Do2 95/1440)
Political-Administrative Map of Germany and Austria with the Zones of Occupation after World War II, ca. 1945.
(Inv.Nr. Do2 1988/219)
Transport Box for Banknotes of the Currency Reform in the Western Zones of Germany, 1948.
(Inv.Nr. N 93/274)
Certificate of Appreciation from the Soviet Army for Officers, Issued for Outstanding Military Performance in the Capture of Berlin, May 2, 1945.
(Inv.Nr. Do2 96/3856)