ABSTRACT
The Kreditanstalt fÜr Wiederaufbau's (KfW) provision of loans for West Berlin was motivated by political considerations more than any other of its activities. KfW aid for the city was motivated by the impact of the war and its legacy even more than this was true for the Federal Republic. A further measure to improve Berlin's situation came with the signing of the Bilateral Agreement by the Federal Republic in December 1949. The KfW began its support for the city immediately after the blockade had ended with a loan to a Berlin power plant, an investment project which was of crucial importance. Berlin was the biggest single beneficiary of subsidies in all forms in post-war German history. One of West Berlin's strategic problems was the electrical power supply. The Soviets had dismantled boilers and turbines with an electrical production capacity of 618,000 kW in the western zones of the city, much more than in their own zone.
