Office of Military Government, United States

The Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS; German: Amt der Militärregierung für Deutschland (U.S.)) was the United States military-established government created shortly after the end of hostilities in occupied Germany in World War II. Under General Lucius D. Clay, it administered the area of Germany and sector of Berlin controlled by the United States Army. The Allied Control Council comprised military authorities from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and France. Though created on January 1st, 1946, OMGUS previously reported to the U.S. Group Control Council, Germany (USGCC), which existed from May 8, 1945 until October 1, 1945. OMGUS was eliminated on December 5, 1949, and the U.S. High Commissioner for Germany assumed control of its functions.

The Restitution and Reparations Branch of OMGUS located and returned material to countries from which claimed property had been looted by the Nazis during World War II.

OMGUS in 1945 began its own newspaper based in Munich, Die Neue Zeitung. It was edited by German and Jewish émigrés who fled to the United States before the war. Its mission was to destroy Nazi cultural remnants, and encourage democracy by exposing Germans to how American culture operated. There was great detail on sports, politics, business, Hollywood, and fashions, as well as international affairs.

The US Army tasked with the occupation, Denazification, and democratization of post-war Germany was plagued by numerous problems immediately following the capitulation of Germany and the cessation of hostilities. One such problem was confusion emanating from the numerous chains of command and military authorities that succeeded the German occupation from May 1945 onwards. Initially, neither the United States Executive, nor the US Army wanted the responsibility of occupying Germany and seeing it along the path of democratization, though inevitably the US Army was given the task by default, "as the only force that had the logistic and administrative capability to perform the mission." One of the primary reasons for this outcome was the precedent of US Military Governance well before the initiation of post-war planning and the official formation of OMGUS to administer civil affairs. This precedent was accomplished through the publication of two Army Field Manuals, FM 27-5, Military Governance, and FM 27-10, The Rules of Land Warfare, as early as 1940, setting the stage for future occupation policy. The invasion and occupation of Sicily in 1943, saw to the creation of a Military Government Provisional Section (G-5 Civil-Affairs Staff Office) within the 7th Army on the order of Supreme Allied Commander for the Allied Expeditionary forces (SHAEF) Dwight D. Eisenhower, which would become the basis for military government in occupied Germany. Following suit, the US Third Army created its own G-5 Staff Office to administer the territories it occupied.

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