because of how America at the time was dealing with race. The American military was segregated up to 1948, and from those that were trying to teach the German people tolerance this demonstrated that intolerance still existed in American democratic society. The situation in Berlin When the Soviets (who were the first occupying power) arrived in Berlin, they saw a city devastated by the air raids and street fighting. It was described as a Geisterstadt ("ghost town"). Extent of the devastation 48,000 of the 245,000 buildings in Berlin were destroyed. One third of all private apartments were totally destroyed. 23% of industrial capacity was obliterated and the rest was dismantled for transportation by the Russians in the demontage (disassembly). There were 75 million tons of rubble, which equated to th of all the rubble in Germany. All electricity, gas and water supplies were destroyed: It was forbidden to wash one's whole body. The transport network was badly destroyed: The underground stations had been flooded and over 90 of them had been bombed. The first buses resumed service on May 19. 78,000 deaths: 50,000 victims of the air raids. 977 suicides. A further 4,000 died daily in August 1945, because of the cholera and diphtheria epidemics. The population shrank and the demographics were significantly altered: 4.3 million lived in Berlin before the war, but only 2.8 million afterwards. One quarter of the population were over 60. 1 in 10 was under 30. There were 16 women to every 10 men. Das Aufräumen ("The clean-up") The job of cleaning up the city fell to the Soviets, as they were first (the Western Allies arrived on July 4, 1945) to enter the city. According to them, the clean-up operation would last 12 years. On May 29, all women aged between 15 and 65 were conscripted as Trümmerfrauen (rubble women). In all, 60,000 women worked to rebuild Berlin. Rations and starvation The biggest problem that the Berliners had to face was the threat of starvation. German war-time ration cards were no longer valid. Any remaining rations were either used to feed Russian troops or stolen by hungry Germans. On May 15, the Russians introduced a new five-tier ration-card system: The highest tier was reserved for intellectuals and artists; rubble women and Schwerarbeiter (manual workers) received the second-tier card, which was more valuable to them than the 12 Reichsmark they received for cleaning up a