This article lists the military commandants of divided Berlin between 1945 and 1994. Following the end of World War II in Europe , the Allies divided Berlin into distinct, occupied sectors, each had its own military governor, often referred to as commandant. This practice ended officially with the German reunification in 1990, but the several military commanders were in place until as late as 1994, when the respective occupying/protective forces were withdrawn, according to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany .
The occupied sectors of Berlin.
Commandants
American sector Road sign delimiting the American sector of Berlin, 1965. Commandant[ 1] In Office MG Floyd L. Parks 4 July 1945 – 2 September 1945 MG James M. Gavin 3 September 1945 – 10 October 1945 MG Ray W. Barker 11 October 1945 – 1 May 1946 MG Frank A. Keating 1 May 1946 – 13 May 1947 MG Cornelius E. Ryan 14 May 1947 – 23 September 1947 MG William Hesketh 24 September 1947 – 30 November 1947 BG Frank L. Howley 1 December 1947 – 31 August 1949 MG Maxwell D. Taylor 31 August 1949 – 31 January 1951 MG Lemuel Mathewson 1 February 1951 – 2 January 1953 MG Thomas S. Timberman 3 January 1953 – 4 August 1954 MG George B. Honnen 5 August 1954 – 9 September 1955 MG Charles L. Dasher 10 September 1955 – 3 June 1957 MG Barksdale Hamlett 4 June 1957 – 15 December 1959 MG Ralph Osborne 20 December 1959 – 3 May 1961 MG Albert Watson II 4 May 1961 – 2 January 1963 MG James H. Polk 2 January 1963 – 31 August 1964 MG John F. Franklin, Jr. 1 September 1964 – 3 June 1967 MG Robert G. Fergusson 3 June 1967 – 28 February 1970 MG George M. Seignious 28 February 1970 – 12 May 1971 MG William W. Cobb 12 May 1971 – 10 June 1974 MG Sam S. Walker 10 June 1974 – 11 August 1975 MG Joseph C. McDonough 11 August 1975 – 7 June 1978 MG Calvert P. Benedict 7 June 1978 – 5 July 1981 MG James G. Boatner 5 July 1981 – 27 June 1984 MG John H. Mitchell 27 June 1984 – 1 June 1988 MG Raymond E. Haddock 1 June 1988 – 2 October 1990
British sector Road sign delimiting the British sector of Berlin, 1984.
French sector Commandant[ 3] In Office Geoffroi du Bois de Beauchesne 11 July 1945 – 12 March 1946 Charles Lançon 12 March 1946 – 4 October 1946 Jean Ganeval 4 October 1946 – 5 October 1950 Pierre Carolet 1 October 1950 – 31 December 1952 Pierre Manceaux-Démiau 1 January 1953 – 31 December 1954 Amédée J.B. Gèze 1 January 1955 – 30 September 1958 Jean Lacomme 1 October 1958 – 25 February 1962 Edouard K. Toulouse 1962 – 1964 François Binoche 1964 – 1967 Bertrand Huchet de Quénétain 1967 – 1970 Maurice Routier 1970 – 1973 Camille Metzler 1973 – 1975 Jacques Mangin 1975 – 1977 Bernard d'Astorg 1977 – 1980 Jean P. Liron 1980 – 1984 Olivier Le Taillendier de Gabory 1984 – 1985 Paul Cavarrot 1985 – 1987 François Cann 1987 – 2 October 1990
Soviet sector Commandant[ 3] In Office Soviet Commandants Nikolai Berzarin 28 April 1945 – 16 June 1945 Alexander Gorbatov 17 June 1945 – 19 November 1945 Dmitry Smirnov 19 November 1945 – 1 April 1946 Aleksandr Kotikov 1 April 1946 – 7 June 1950 Sergey Dengin 7 June 1950 – 28 May 1953 Pyotr Dibrova 28 May 1953 – 23 June 1956 Andrey Chamov 28 June 1956 – 26 February 1958 Matvei Zakharov 26 February 1958 – 9 May 1961 Andrey Soloviev 9 May 1961 – 22 August 1962 East German Commandants Helmut Poppe 22 August 1962 – 31 May 1971 Arthur Kunath 1 June 1971 – 31 August 1978 Karl-Heinz Drews 1 September 1978 – 31 December 1989 Wolfgang Dombrowski 1 January 1990 – 30 September 1990 Detlef Wendorf 30 September 1990 – 2 October 1990
See also The four Allied commandants of Berlin, 1949
References
Further reading Durie, William (2012). The British Garrison Berlin 1945 - 1994: nowhere to go ... a pictorial historiography of the British Military occupation / presence in Berlin . Berlin: Vergangenheitsverlag (de ). ISBN 978-3-86408-068-5 . OCLC 978161722 .
American sector British sector French sector Geoffroi du Bois de Beauchesne (1945–46) Charles Lançon (1946) Jean Ganeval (1946–50) Pierre Carolet (1950–52) Pierre Manceaux-Démiau (1953–54) Amédée J.B. Gèze (1955–58) Jean Lacomme (1958–62) Edouard K. Toulouse (1962–64) François Binoche (1964–67) Bertrand Huchet de Quénétain (1967–70) Maurice Routier (1970–73) Camille Metzler (1973–75) Jacques Mangin (1975–77) Bernard d'Astorg (1977–80) Jean P. Liron (1980–84) Olivier Le Taillendier de Gabory (1984–85) Paul Cavarrot (1985–87) François Cann (1987–90) Soviet sector
Soviet Commandants East German Commandants Helmut Poppe (1962–71) Arthur Kunath (1971–78) Karl-Heinz Drews (1978–89) Wolfgang Dombrowski (1990) Detlef Wendorf (1990)