You learned earlier in this lesson that Germany was occupied by the Allies. France, Britain, the U.S., and the Soviet Union each took over the government of a section of Germany after the war. This involved shrinking Germany back down to its pre-war borders, then partitioning the new, smaller Germany. To "partition" is to break something into pieces. Click through the slideshow to see a map of Germany's borders during the war, its borders after the war, and the occupation zones.

Borders of Nazi Germany This map shows Nazi Germany (in red) in 1942, when its borders extended east into what used to be Poland and Czechoslovakia, south into what used to be Austria, and over the western border to take part of France. Borders of Occupied Germany This map shows occupied Germany in 1945. Austria and Czechoslovakia in the south are now free again, and France has regained its territory in the west. France also occupies the southwestern part of Germany. Poland has regained its lost territory in the east. The British occupy northwestern Germany, and the Soviets occupy the northeast (in red and purple). The U.S. occupies the southeastern part of Germany. Occupation Zones The British occupied the northwest section of Germany--the section closest to Britain, from where the Nazis had attempted to invade Britain. The Soviets occupied the northeast section--the section closest to Soviet Poland. The French occupied the southwest section--the section closest to the French border, from where Germany had invaded France. The Americans occupied the southeastern section--the section closest to the eastern European countries the Soviets wanted to annex. The German capital, Berlin, was in the Soviet-occupied area of Germany, but it mirrored the rest of the nation by being organized into four occupation zones. Britain, the U.S., France, and the Soviet Union each controlled a section of the city.

The occupation of Germany was meant to break up Nazi control of the country and prevent another fascist government from taking control of the entire country. But the Soviets and Americans each had another goal: to prevent each other from taking control of Germany. The Soviets occupied the northeastern part of Germany bordering Poland (a nation occupied by the Soviets). The Americans were right next to them in the southeast and relied on the French and the British to keep the Soviets in their section. The Americans wanted Germany to become a democratic nation while the Soviets wanted to annex the entire country and make it part of the Soviet Union.

Test your knowledge of occupied Germany by filling in the blanks below.