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West Germany. The Western Allies turned over more authority to German officials. As the division between the Eastern and Western zones grew, the Allies arranged for a German council to write a constitution. The Allies approved the written constitution in May 1949. On Sept. 21, 1949, the Western zones were officially combined as the Federal Republic of Germany (also called West Germany). The military occupation ended, and the Allied High Commission, a civilian agency, replaced the military governors. On May 5, 1955, the Allied High Commission was dissolved, and West Germany became completely independent. Military occupation continued in West Berlin because treaties uniting Germany had not been signed.
The new West German parliament met for the first time in Bonn, the country's capital, in September 1949. It elected Konrad Adenauer chancellor. Under Adenauer, West Germany helped found the Council of Europe and several organizations that eventually became the European Community (EC), an economic association. The EC was later incorporated into the European Union. In 1955, West Germany joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and began to establish its armed forces. West Germany began printing its stamps in 1944 and the first Marian stamps were printed in 1936. * Taken from The World Book Encyclopedia. (Chicago: World Book, Inc.), pg 175. |
