AFTER its defeat in World War II, Germany was divided into four zones under the control of the United States, Britain, France and the former Soviet Union. The division, nevertheless, was provisional.
In accordance with the Potsdam Conference of 1945, ''there shall be uniformity of treatment of the German population throughout Germany'' and ''certain essential central German administrative departments shall be established.'' What the Powers desired was an economically united Germany rather than a divided one because the country's economic recovery was a prerequisite of the revival of postwar Europe.
However, the postwar development of Germany turned out to be different from the settlement of the Potsdam Conference. The Powers failed to adhere to what they had decided in the conference and began to pursue their own interest in their occupation zones.
Different policies were carried out in the four zones, so economic unity and inter-zonal agreements had never been achieved. The most serious divergence existed in the US zone and the Russian zone, and consequently frictions developed between them.
The problem of reparations was the focus of dispute. For the Russians, the extraction of the greatest possible amount of reparations from Germany was of primary importance, so equipment was removed from the German factories and products were seized. For the Western Powers, the economic reconstruction of Germany was given priority.
The endless requirement of reparation made by the Russians looked certain to retard the economic plans of the Western Allies, so General Clay, the Commander of the American zone, made efforts to search for a mutual understanding with the Russians on the reparation issue.
An agreement was reached in March 1946 on an industrial plan, but the Americans withdrew from it after a month because of Russia's insincerity. The conflict over reparations between the Russians and the Western Allies surfaced when General Clay stoppedthe reparations deliveries to the Russian zone in May 1946.