Office of Military Government, United States facts for kids
The Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS) was a special government group. It was set up by the United States military. This happened right after World War II ended in Germany.
OMGUS helped manage the parts of Germany and Berlin that the United States Army controlled. General Lucius D. Clay was in charge. Other countries like the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and France also had military groups helping to govern Germany. They all worked together in the Allied Control Council.
OMGUS officially started on January 1, 1946. Before that, it was part of another group called the U.S. Group Control Council, Germany (USGCC). OMGUS stopped its work on December 5, 1949. After that, a new U.S. High Commissioner took over its duties.
One important job of OMGUS was to find and return items. These were things that the Nazis had stolen from other countries during the war. This was handled by their Restitution and Reparations Branch.
OMGUS also started its own newspaper in 1945, called Die Neue Zeitung. It was based in Munich. The newspaper was run by German and Jewish people who had moved to the United States before the war. Its main goal was to get rid of Nazi ideas and help Germans learn about democracy. It shared news about sports, politics, business, Hollywood, fashion, and world events.
How OMGUS Started
After World War II, the U.S. Army had a big job. They needed to occupy Germany, remove Nazi influences (called denazification), and help Germany become a democracy. This was a very difficult task.
At first, there was some confusion about who was in charge. Neither the U.S. government nor the U.S. Army really wanted the job of occupying Germany. But the Army ended up with the task. They were the only group big enough to handle it.
The Army had already planned for such situations. They had special rulebooks for military governments since 1940. These rules helped them manage areas they occupied. For example, when the U.S. Army occupied Sicily in 1943, they created a military government office. This office became a model for how they would govern Germany.
When Germany surrendered, the U.S. Army divisions had changing borders. This made things even more complicated. Different armies were in charge of different areas. For instance, the US Third Army led by General George S. Patton managed Bavaria. The U.S. Seventh Army managed other parts like Hesse.
Later, all these groups reported to the United States Forces - European Theater (USFET). General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in charge of USFET. He was also the Military Governor of Germany. General Lucius D. Clay was his deputy. Clay believed that the military government should be separate from the regular Army command.
In late 1945, General Clay changed the U.S. Group Control Council into OMGUS. He brought all the military government offices together in Berlin. This made OMGUS independent from the main Army command in Frankfurt. When General Eisenhower left, General Lucius Clay became the head of USFET and the Military Governor of Germany. He stayed in this role from 1945 to 1949.
OMGUS also faced a big problem: not enough people. After four years of war, many soldiers wanted to go home. This meant there weren't enough Army staff. Also, many Germans had been killed, imprisoned, or identified as Nazis. This made it hard to find enough people to help run things. For example, a court that handled appeals for Germans accused of being Nazis needed about 22,000 staff members.
How OMGUS Was Organized
OMGUS was made up of five main offices in different parts of Germany. These were OMG Wurttemberg-Baden, OMG Greater Hesse, OMG Bavaria, OMG Bremen, and OMG Berlin. Each of these offices reported to the main OMGUS headquarters. This headquarters was located in Frankfurt-am-Main. The Military Governor, General Clay, was at the top.
Before local elections in February 1946, the U.S. 3rd and 7th Armies handled daily tasks. These included keeping order and managing local affairs. They had special teams that reported to the military governors in each area.
There was also another important group called the Allied Control Council (ACC). This council helped the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France work together. They coordinated how they would all occupy Germany. The OMGUS Military Governor met with the military commanders from the other Allied countries here.
Below the ACC was the Coordinating Committee. This group did similar work but for the deputy military governors. OMG Berlin was special. It reported to a group called the Berlin Kommandsatura. This group helped coordinate the four Allied sections of occupied Berlin.
In the last few months of 1945, Germans started to take on more roles. They helped with local government and removing Nazi influences. General Clay set up the Council of Minister-Presidents (Länderrat) in October 1945. This council helped manage civil affairs. It also laid the groundwork for a new German parliament.
General Lucius Clay was the Military Governor for the entire time OMGUS existed, from 1946 to 1949. Each of the five OMGUS offices in the U.S. Zone was led by a brigadier general.
OMGUS also had other important departments. One was the Information Control Division. This division was in charge of controlling information. It also spread messages to remove Nazi ideas in the U.S. areas of Germany.
OMGUS and Information Control
Controlling information and using propaganda was a key tool for OMGUS and the Allies. This was important for two main reasons after World War II.
First, OMGUS wanted to remove all traces of the Nazi Party and its ideas. This was called denazification. From 1945 to 1947, OMGUS used information to convince Germans that they had truly lost the war. They also wanted to prepare Germans for a new democratic way of life.
Second, from 1947 to 1949, a new challenge arose. The Western Allies and the Soviet Union started to compete for influence. Germany became divided between these two powerful groups. OMGUS's information efforts then focused more on this new "Cold War" situation.
OMGUS used many types of media to spread its messages. These included newspapers, radios, journals, films, posters, and even art shows. The Information Control Division (ICD) did most of this work. The ICD used to be the psychological warfare division during the war. It became an independent office and then joined OMGUS in February 1946.
The U.S. Army's approach to information control changed over time.
- Stage 1: Media Control
* In the first few months of the occupation, the U.S. Army took control of all media. They shut down German newspapers, radios, and journals. * Only U.S. media sources were available. These included Radio Luxembourg, Army flyers, and Army newspapers.
- Stage 2: German Media with Oversight
* When OMGUS took over, they slowly allowed German media to restart. But it was under strict control and censorship by the ICD. * In 1945, the ICD approved 73 German editors to run newspapers and journals again. * These editors had to follow rules. If they didn't, their media licenses could be taken away. * OMGUS also created its own media, like the newspaper Die Neue Zeitung in Munich.
- Stage 3: Anti-Communism Focus
* At first, the U.S. focused on denazification and promoting diverse ideas in the German press. * But by 1947, the focus shifted to fighting Communism. * Editors who did not support the anti-Communist message from OMGUS were often fired or replaced.
