Editing Four-Power Authorities

{{Short description|Post-World War II arrangements among the four major Allied powers}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
Following the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] and then the partition of German territory, two '''Four-Power Authorities''', in which the four main victor nations (the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Soviet Union]] and [[France]]) managed equally, were created.

The intended governing body of Germany until it could run itself was called the '''[[Allied Control Council]]'''. The commanders-in-chief exercised supreme authority in their respective zones and acted in concert on questions affecting the whole country. The capital [[Berlin]], which lay in the Soviet sector, was also divided into four sectors.

Only two jointly run four-power organizations survived the division of Germany. Both were in [[West Berlin]], [[Germany]], and existed during the [[Cold War]] from 1948 to 1989.  These were the [[Berlin Air Safety Centre]] and [[Spandau Prison]] (which was demolished in 1987 when  [[Rudolf Hess]], the sole remaining prisoner, died).

==Status==
These two organisations were uniquely four-powered in that American, British, French, and Soviet authorities cooperated in their management. This was different from the intensely adversarial relations the allies had with the [[Warsaw Pact]] leader in almost every other aspect of world affairs during this time. Both organisations remained low-profile and secretive during their existences to avoid highlighting the politically sensitive nature of their interactions and co-operation.

==See also==
* [[Four Power (disambiguation)]]
* [[Four Power Naval Commission]]
* [[Four Power Agreement on Berlin]] 
* [[Council of Foreign Ministers]]
* [[European Advisory Commission]]
* [[Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany]]
* [[History of Germany since 1945]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{France–United States relations}}

[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in Germany]]
[[Category:Allied occupation of Germany]]
[[Category:France–United Kingdom military relations]]
[[Category:France–United States military relations]]
[[Category:France–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–United States relations]]
[[Category:United Kingdom–United States military relations]]

{{Germany-hist-stub}}