The Allied High Commission (also known as the High Commission for Occupied Germany, HICOG; in German ''Alliierte Hohe Kommission'', ''AHK'') was established by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
after the 1948 breakdown of the
Allied Control Council to regulate and supervise the development of the newly established
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
(West Germany).
The Commission took its seat at the
Hotel Petersberg near
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
and started its work on September 21, 1949. It ceased to function under the terms of the
Bonn–Paris conventions
The Bonn–Paris conventions were signed in May 1952 and came into force after the 1955 ratification. The conventions put an end to the Allied occupation of West Germany.Joachim von ElbU.S. Embassy Bonn HistoryU.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germa ...
, on May 5, 1955.
The
Occupation Statute
The Occupation Statute of Germany (german: Besatzungsstatut) of April 10, 1949 specified the roles and responsibilities of the newly created government of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the Allied High Commission. It was draw ...
specified the prerogatives of the Western allies vis-à-vis the German government, and preserved the right to intervene in areas of military, economic, and foreign policy importance. These rights were revised in the
Petersberg Agreement
The Petersberg Agreement is an international treaty that extended the rights of the government of West Germany vis-a-vis the occupying forces of the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. It is viewed as the first major step of West Germa ...
several weeks later.
With the creation of the Federal Republic and the institution of the High Commission, the position of the ''Military Governors'' was abolished. Instead each of the three Western allies named a
High Commissioner.
High commissioners
See also
*
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
*
History of Germany since 1945
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
References
About the Occupation Statute and the Allied High Commission (German)h1>
Further reading
* Buse, Dieter K. and Doerr, Juergen C., eds. ''Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of History, People, and Culture, 1871-1990'' (2 vol. Garland, 1998) p 20.
* Garner, Curt. "Remaking German democracy in the 1950s: Was the civil service an asset or a liability?." ''German Politics'' 6.3 (1997): 16-53.
* Miller, Paul D. "A bibliographic essay on the Allied occupation and reconstruction of West Germany, 1945–1955." ''Small Wars & Insurgencies'' 24.4 (2013): 751-759.
* Plischke. Elmer. ''History of the Allied High Commission for Germany, Its Establishment, Structure, and Procedures'' ( Research Project No. 107 of the Allied High Commission for Germany. 1951) 122pp.
* Schwartz, Thomas Alan. ''America’s Germany: John J. McCloy and the Federal Republic of Germany'' (Harvard University Press, 2013).
External links
in the National Archives
{{Authority control
West Germany
Aftermath of World War II in Germany
Allied occupation of Germany
Petersberg (Siebengebirge)
1949 establishments in West Germany
1955 disestablishments in West Germany