The London Six-Power Conference in 1948 was held between the three Western occupation forces in Germany after the World War II (

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Britain and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) and the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

countries. The aim of the conference was to pave the way for Germany's participation in the international community through the creation of a democratic and federal government in the area of the U.S., British and French zones of the country. The conference was held in two sessions, the first from 23 February to 6 March, the second from 20 April to 2 June 1948. The reason for summoning the conference was that the Foreign Secretary Conference 15 December 1947 between the four victorious nations United States, Britain, France and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

had ended without result in the German question. The recent Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia made it urgent for the western allies to help create a democratic (West) Germany. The Soviet Union was not invited to the London Conference. The conference conclusions were later called London recommendations. The three western military governors in Germany were assigned to make recommendations to the Minister Presidents in western Germany about how the new state should be established. The Minister Presidents should convene a constitutional Assembly (Parliamentary Council) to found a free and democratic state. The Military Governors recommendations were called the Frankfurt Documents after the place where the German Minister Presidents met. Conditions were made that Germany should not have weapons of mass destruction and other similar weapons, and that the country should not be able to invade the Soviet occupation zone. France voted for the merger of the three western occupation zones on conditions that the

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

was financially merged with France and that the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

area became subject to international control. USSR ended its efforts in the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council (ACC) or Allied Control Authority (), also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allies of World War II, Allied Allied-occupied Germany, occupation zones in Germany (1945–1949/1991) and Al ...

as a consequence of the London Conference.

References

{{Reflist Allied occupation of Germany Conferences in London

See also

Further reading

References