Dividing Germany: The Road to the Cold War

The origins of Germany's eventual division lay in the competing visions that the wartime Allies held for post-war Europe. The United States, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, initially favored a relatively lenient approach that would integrate a reformed Germany into a new international order based on democratic principles and economic cooperation. Roosevelt believed that harsh treatment would only breed resentment and future conflict, as had occurred after World War I. His vision emphasized the importance of maintaining Allied unity while ensuring that Germany could never again threaten world peace.

British planning, shaped by Winston Churchill's deep understanding of European power dynamics, was more concerned with maintaining the balance of power and preventing any single nation from dominating the continent. Churchill recognized earlier than his American counterpart that the Soviet Union might emerge from the war as a greater threat to Western interests than a defeated Germany. His approach to German policy was increasingly influenced by the need to create effective barriers against potential Soviet expansion westward.