British occupation zone in Germany

The British occupation zone in Germany (German: Britische Besatzungszone Deutschlands) was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. The United Kingdom – also representing the other Commonwealth countries – was one of the three major Allied powers that defeated Nazi Germany. By 1945, the Allies had divided the country into four occupation zones: British, Soviet, American and French lasting until 1949, whence the new country of West Germany was established. Out of all the four zones, the British had the largest population and contained within it the heavy industry region, the Ruhr, as well as the naval ports and Germany's coast lines.

By the end of 1942, Britain was already thinking about post-war strategy, and in particular the occupation of Germany. This became more of a reality when the British Liberation Army, consisting largely of the 21st Army Group, landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944. Having fought all the way through Northern France and the Low Countries, they had reached the German borders by the end of the year.

The "Big Three" (Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin) met at the Yalta Conference between 4 and 11 February 1945 to discuss Germany's post-war occupation, which included coming to a final determination of the inter-zonal borders. The three powers divided "Germany as a whole" into four occupation zones, each to be controlled by one Allied power: the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union or France. This division was ratified at the August 1945 Potsdam Conference, setting aside an earlier division into three zones (excluding France) proposed by the September 1944 London Protocol. Stalin agreed that France would have a fourth occupation zone in Germany and this was formed from parts of the American and the British zones.

In the final offensive the First Canadian Army wheeled left and liberated the northern part of the Netherlands and captured adjoining areas of Germany, and the British Second Army swept into and occupied much of north-west Germany. The liberation of the concentration camps such as Bergen Belsen moved the strategy of post-war Germany into a new direction; thus denazification was put at the forefront of British post-war policy in Germany.

On 4 May 1945, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands, in north west Germany and Denmark. This was followed by the German Instrument of Surrender three days later.

To form the French zone the Americans ceded land south of Baden-Baden, land south of the Free People's State of Württemberg (which became Württemberg-Hohenzollern), the Lindau region on Lake Constance, and four regions in Hesse east of the Rhine. The British ceded the Saarland, the Palatinate, and territories on the left bank of the Rhine as far as Remagen (including Trier, Koblenz, and Montabaur). Also created was the Inner German Border: the boundary between the Western and Soviet occupation zones.

As soon as the surrender of Germany had been announced British forces executed "Operation Eclipse": the disarmament of the German armed forces and the occupation, rehabilitation and de-nazification of Germany. Britain was responsible for north-west Germany, the Ruhr, the Netherlands and Denmark.

At the end of July 1945, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was made military governor of the British occupation zone, with Brian Robertson as Chief of Staff and Montgomery's deputy. Both were also on the Allied Control Council. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was formed on 25 August 1945 with the headquarters in Bad Oeynhausen and Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer serving as Director of Military Government. BAOR was made responsible for the occupation and administration of the British Zone. They requisitioned German buildings for military administration and accommodation. Some 800,000 soldiers from BAOR were in Germany by the end of 1945, and new barracks had to be built due to the intense damage done to German cities during the war, particularly Hamburg.