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The formation of the '''European  Advisory Commission''' (EAC)  was agreed  on at  the [[Moscow Conference (1943)|Moscow Conference]] on 30 October 1943 between the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, [[Anthony Eden]], the United States, [[Cordell Hull]], and the [[Soviet Union]], [[Vyacheslav Molotov]], and confirmed at the [[Tehran Conference]] in November. In anticipation of the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] and its allies this commission was to study the postwar political problems in Europe and make recommendation to the three governments, including the surrender of the European enemy states and the machinery of its fulfillment. After the EAC completed its task it was dissolved at the [[Potsdam Conference]] in August 1945.

==1944==
The EAC had its seat in London at [[Lancaster House]] and started its work on 14 January 1944. [[William Strang, 1st Baron Strang|William Strang]] was the British delegate, while on the American and Soviet sides the respective ambassadors were the delegates [[John Gilbert Winant|John G. Winant]] and [[Fedor Tarasovich Gusev]]. The American military advisor was [[Cornelius Wendell Wickersham]]. [[George F. Kennan]] was a member of the American delegation in 1944.

At the [[Tehran Conference]] it was decided to hand over a large portion of German territory to Poland with the [[Oder–Neisse line]] as the eastern border of post-war Germany, and discussion about a possible partition of Germany were initiated by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]. Based on these premises, the EAC worked out the following recommendations during 1944:
* Partition of Germany into three occupied zones, each controlled by one power.
* Creation of  the [[Allied Control Council]] (ACC) 
* The ACC could only act in [[Consensus decision-making|consensus]].
* Partition of Berlin in three sectors.
* Separation of Austria which would also undergo a tripartite occupation, and [[Vienna]] to be occupied by three powers. 
* Establishment of an Allied Commission for Austria.
* Draft instructions for the "[[unconditional surrender]] of Germany"
* Proposals for control machinery for administration.
* Establishment of an [[Allied Commission]] for Italy.

==1945==
The work of the EAC was discussed at the [[Yalta Conference]] in 1945 where a major modification was approved as France received a seat on the ACC, and a future occupation zone in Germany was carved out from territory assigned to Great Britain and the United States. In addition, France received a future occupation zone in western Austria.

On 5 June 1945 the European Advisory Commission assumed briefly full control over Germany. Members included General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight Eisenhower]] for the US, Field Marshal Sir [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]] for Britain, and Marshal [[Georgy Zhukov]] for the Soviet Union. The commission delimited German territory to its territory of 31 December 1937 minus territory handed over to Poland and the Soviet Union, divided  Germany into [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany|four zones of occupation]] under American, British, French, and Soviet military administration and separately divided Berlin into four sectors. The Commission ceased to exist after the Potsdam Conference, and the ACC was nominally the highest power in Germany, while in reality, each occupied zone was ruled by the respective occupying power.

==Aftermath==
The recommendations of the EAC shaped the development of postwar Europe. While it was by no means obvious at the Potsdam Conference that Germany would be partitioned into two states, the recommendations of the EAC allowed each occupying power full control over its occupied zone and deprived the ACC of an overruling influence. The subsequent [[Cold War]] thus was reflected in the partition of Germany as each occupying force could develop its zone on its own.

The EAC failed to be specific about length and terms of occupation and different zones underwent different occupation experiences. The Soviet-occupied zone suffered disproportionally from [[war reparations]] while the Western Zone benefited from stimulatory economic impacts such as the [[Marshall Plan]]. {{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

Legally, the EAC ceased to function following the establishment of the [[Council of Foreign Ministers]] at the [[Potsdam Conference]].

==See also==
* [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany]]
* [[Allied Control Council]]
* [[London Protocol (1944)]]
* [[Legal status of Germany]]
* [[Nuremberg Charter]]

==External links==
*[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1945v03 European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany] Foreign relations of the United States : diplomatic papers, 1945.
*[https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945Berlinv01/d233 An official report on the work of the EAC from Jan. 1944 to July 1945, ''FRUS Potsdam Conference'', vol. 1, doc. 233]

==References==
Smyser WR, ''From Yalta to Berlin'' St.Martin's Press, New York, 1999

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[[Category:Germany in World War II]]
[[Category:Austria in World War II]]
[[Category:Politics of World War II]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1944]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–United States relations]]
[[Category:Germany–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Power sharing]]
[[Category:Anthony Eden]]