JCS 1067
The crimes unleashed by the German Nazi Regime
sometimes eclipse the scope of suffering endured by German
civilians in the wake of World War II. General Lucius Clay,
charged with governing occupied Germany after the war, himself
declared, "Germans should suffer from hunger and from cold . . . such suffering is necessary to make them realize the
consequences of a war which they caused" (Wiggers, Richard
Dominic. “The United States and the
Refusal to Feed German Civilians after World War II," p. 281).
Nevertheless, between 1945 and 1950, the Victory Powers certainly
and deliberately subjected the German people to starvation,
expulsion and ethnic cleansing, the scope of which has yet to be
quantified.
The draconian Morgenthau
Plan, although never the de jure law for occupied
Germany, came into de facto effect under the guise of JCS
1067 (the full text of which may be found here), which
outlined a severe and punitive approach to the occupied
territories. In addition to mandating a radical
de-industrialization that would cripple the German economy, JCS
1067 also laid out in no uncertain terms a comprehensive goal to
inflict suffering.
I4a. It should be brought home to the Germans that Germany's ruthless warfare and the fanatical Nazi resistance have destroyed the German economy and made chaos and suffering inevitable and that the Germans cannot escape responsibility for what they have brought upon themselves.
II16. You
will
take no steps (a) looking toward the economic rehabilitation
of
Germany, or (b) designed to maintain or strengthen the
German
economy.
I5a. No
action
will be taken in execution of the reparations program or
otherwise
which would tend to support basic living conditions in
Germany or in
your zone on a higher level than that existing in any one of
the
neighboring United Nations.
Allied commanders were thus tasked
with overseeing a starvation economy in Germany. Perhaps
most telling is the third clause, which requires German living
standards to be below those of any of the United
Nations. The order goes on,
II21. You
will
estimate requirements of supplies necessary to prevent
starvation or
widespread disease or such civil unrest as would endanger
the
occupying forces . . . You
will
take all practicable economic and police measures to assure that
German resources are fully utilized and consumption held to the
minimum in order that imports may be strictly limited and that
surpluses may be made available for the occupying forces and
displaced persons and United Nations prisoners of war, and for
reparation. You will take no action that would tend to support
basic
living standards in Germany on a higher level than that existing
in
any one of the neighboring United Nations and you
will take appropriate measures to ensure that basic living
standards
of the German people are not higher than those existing in
any one of
the neighboring United Nations when such measures
will
contribute to raising the standards of any such nation.
Allied forces, therefore, could only provide medicine and
food at times when they felt directly threatened by civilian uprising, and were further tasked to
remove food and supplies when German levels exceeded those of
any neighboring nations. In the starvation winter of
1946-47, this led to mass hunger.
Perhaps most significantly,
Germans were not allowed to leave. JCS 1067 states:
I3d. Pending the formulation in the
Control Council of uniform policies and procedures with respect to
inter-zonal travel and movement of civilians, no civilians shall
be
permitted to leave or enter your zone without your authority, and no
Germans within your zone shall be permitted to leave Germany
except
for specific purposes approved by you.
The earlier Morgenthau Plan called for a radical
de-industrialization in Germany coupled with a
depopulation. The JCS plan, by limiting food supplies and
barring emigration, seems designed for just such a purpose.