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D
January
THE AGREEMENT between the
governments of the United States
and the United Kingdom for the eco-
nomic fusion of their zones in Ger-
many formally came into effect at the
start of the year, but the way was
left permanently open for the entryof
the French and Soviet Zones at any
time their occupying governments
desired to accept the original in-
vitation.
Five functional US-UK Zone groups
-communications, economics, finance,
food and agriculture, and transpor-
tation-already had been in operation.
A sixth-civil service-was inaugu-
rated in order to insure that the staffs
of the bizonal agencies would be
selected on the basis of standards
which were reasonable, fair, and im-
partial.
A coalition government in Land
Hesse, headed by Christian Stock
(SPD), was agreed on at a caucus of
the Social Democratic Party and
Christian Democratic Union. The Ger-
man Communist and Liberal Demo-
cratic parties were not included. The
SPD-CDU coalition controlled 66 out
of the 90 Landtag mandates and the
ministerial posts were equally divided
between the two parties.
The Hessian Ministry of Labor and
Welfare issued new regulations con-
cerning public and private correc-
tional schools forjuveniledelinquents,
whereby democratic self-government,
vocational training, and abolition of
corporal punishment were provided.
The hoard of RM 2,500,000,000,
found by the US Army in the Merker's
salt mine in Thuringia during the
early days of the occupation and held
in the MG deposit with the Frankfurt
Reichsbank, was turned over to the
custody of the trustee for the Reichs-
bank in the US Zone. This money was
designated for use only to replace
mutilated currency.
Christmas vacations for most schools
throughout the zone were prolonged
chiefly because of the extreme cold
weather and the lack of space-heating
fuels.
US-controlled radio stations gave
special attention to the announce-
ments from Washington of the appoint-
ments of General George C. Marshall
as US Secretary of State and of Lt.
Gen. Lucius D. Clay as successor to
General Joseph T. McNarney as Euro-
pean Theater commander and Military
Governor.
Thornton Wilder's "The'Skin of Our
Teeth" was adjudged the most in-
teresting play presented in Munich
since the start of the occupation be-
cause of its philosophy on destruction
and reconstruction.
Non-German Europeans, formerly
closely affiliated with German cartel
interests, were  blocked  in their
endeavors to renew ties with old
WINTER-(Left) Neckar River frozen over at Heidelberg In January, halting
all
water traffic. (Right) Memorial Bridge over the Weser River at Bremen torn
out in March by ice floes and rising water.                 (Signal Corps)
This Review is assembled from
official data taken from:
Monthly Reports of the Mili-
tary Governor, Nos. 19 to 29.
Weekly/Semimonthly Military
Government, Reports. Nos. 58
to 81.
Weekly Information Bulletin,
Issues No. 74 to 125.