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several military commanders were in place until as late as 1994, when the respective occupying/protective forces were withdrawn, according to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany.

Commandants

American sector

Commandant 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

CommandantArmy Commands In Office Maj Gen Lewis Lyne 5 July 1945 – 30 August 1945 Maj Gen Eric Nares 30 August 1945 – 13 June 1947 Lt Gen Otway Herbert 13 June 1947 – 23 January 1949 Gen Geoffrey Bourne 23 January 1949 – 24 October 1951 Lt Gen Charles Coleman 24 October 1951 – 13 March 1954 Lt Gen William Oliver 13 March 1954 – 30 April 1955 Maj Gen Robert Cottrell-Hill 1 May 1955 – 6 February 1956 Maj Gen Francis Rome 26 March 1956 – 20 March 1959 Maj Gen Rohan Delacombe 23 March 1959 – 3 May 1962 Maj Gen Claude Dunbar May 1962 – December 1962 Lt Gen David Peel Yates December 1962 – January 1966 Maj Gen John Nelson February 1966 – February 1968 Maj Gen James Bowes-Lyon March 1968 – November 1970 Maj Gen Lord Cathcart November 1970 – July 1973 Lt Gen David Scott-Barrett August 1973 – November 1975 Maj Gen Roy Redgrave November 1975 – January 1978 Lt Gen Robert Richardson January 1978 – September 1980 Gen David Mostyn September 1980 – October 1983 Maj Gen Bernard Gordon Lennox October 1983 – December 1985 Maj Gen Patrick Brooking December 1985 – January 1989 Maj Gen Robert Corbett 1989 – 2 October 1990

French sector CommandantGerman states after 1945 In Office Geoffroi du Bois de Beauchesne 11 July 1945 – 12 March 1946 Charles Lançon 12 March 1946 – 4 October 1946 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 1964 – 1967 1967 – 1970 Maurice Routier 1970 – 1973 Camille Metzler 1973 – 1975 Jacques Mangin 1975 – 1977 1977 – 1980 Jean P. Liron 1980 – 1984 Olivier Le Taillendier de Gabory 1984 – 1985 Paul Cavarrot 1985 – 1987 1987 – 2 October 1990

Soviet sector Commandant In Office Soviet Commandants Nikolai Berzarin 28 April 1945 – 16 June 1945 Alexander Gorbatov 17 June 1945 – 19 November 1945 19 November 1945 – 1 April 1946 1 April 1946 – 7 June 1950 Sergey Dengin 7 June 1950 – 28 May 1953 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 1 January 1990 – 30 September 1990 Detlef Wendorf 30 September 1990 – 2 October 1990

See also

Cold War Allied-occupied Germany Allied Kommandatura Berlin Wall West Berlin / East Berlin Berlin border crossings United States Army Berlin (for the American forces in the city) Berlin Brigade Berlin Operations Base Berlin Infantry Brigade (for the British forces in the city) French Forces in Berlin 6th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (for the Soviet forces in the city)

References

Further reading