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| 1946, Jan. 27 |
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| Local elections in the U.S. zone resulted in victory for the Christian Democrats, with the Social Democrats in second place. | 1 |
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| March 26 |
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| The Allied Control Council limited the future level of German production to half its 1938 volume, with German steel capacity set at 7.5 million tons. These limitations soon proved unworkable, since they seriously hampered German recovery. | 2 |
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| April 21 |
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| The Social Democrats and Communists in the Soviet zone merged into the Communist-directed Socialist Unity Party (SED), which received majorities in all subsequent elections. The Liberal Democrats and the Christian Democrats continued to exist but had no power. | 3 |
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| May |
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| The closing of the American zone to any further Soviet extraction of industrial equipment marked the rapid deterioration of discussions on the issue of reparations. | 4 |
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| June 30 |
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| Elections for constituent assemblies in the American zone brought victories for the Christian Socialists in Bavaria, the Christian Democrats in Wuerttemberg-Baden, and the Social Democrats in Greater Hesse. | 5 |
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| July 2 |
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| The first of several political amnesties was declared by the Americans, to help overcome some of the difficulties of large-scale denazification. | 6 |
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| Sept. 30 |
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| The International Tribunal at Nuremberg announced its decisions. The Nazi Leadership Corps, the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Security Police, and the Gestapo were found to have been criminal organizations, while the SA (Sturm Abteilung), the cabinet, and the general staff were acquitted. Of the 22 defendants, 3 were acquitted and the rest received sentences ranging from ten years' imprisonment to death. Shortly before his scheduled execution, Hermann Göring committed suicide (Oct. 15). | 7 |
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| Dec. 2 |
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| U.S. secretary of state James F. Byrnes and British secretary of state for foreign affairs Ernest Bevin signed an agreement for the economic fusion of the U.S. and British zones (Bizonia), inviting France and the Soviet Union to join. | 8 |
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