With the establishment of the bizone, a feeling of uncertainty hung over occupied Germany. While the country was palpably splitting in two, there had been no clear policy decision by any of the Allies that this was desirable. On the American and British sides, the forthcoming Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers was viewed as climactic. Either the Allies would find a way to harmonize differences and reintegrate the zones, or Germany would be divided.

The rapid emergence of bizonal institutions was precipitating a choice. Over the next months, the bizone could become the foundation for a unified Germany, or a more separate and ultimately sovereign entity. Inside the British cabinet, the matter was virtually settled. The new partnership with the United States was providing the necessary confidence to attempt to exclude the Soviets from western Germany. Among American policy makers, whose responsibility for the final outcome was so much greater, there was more disquiet. The continuing pressure from Military Government to strive for German unification and to salvage eastern Germany, disrupted consensus.