How the Allies Prevailed in Postwar Germany

Ask most Americans about the occupation of Germany after World War II, and they'll probably tell you about the Marshall Plan and Berlin Airlift. But the Marshall Plan didn't pass Congress until April 2, 1948, and the Soviets didn't blockade West Berlin until June 1948--three years after Germany's unconditional surrender in May 1945. So, what did Allied occupiers do before 1948?

From 1939 to 1945, Nazi Germany waged total war. In 1945, the nation faced total defeat. An estimated 3.5 million German soldiers were dead or missing, along with some 750,000 civilians. Millions more were crippled or imprisoned. Food was scarce. Inflation was rampant. Refugees were everywhere. Allied bombs had flattened 25 percent of Germany's available housing. An entire district in Hamburg had to be walled in to prevent the spread of diseases from the corpses piled there.

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