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Germany after the Second World War (September 1, 1945)

This map shows the territories lost by Germany after the Second World War. It also shows the division of the new, smaller territory into Zones of Occupation. Allied troops had slowly begun occupying Germany even before its surrender on May 8, 1945. Binding borders for occupation and administration were first established in August 1945 after the Potsdam Conference. The borders appear on this map, which reflects the state of affairs on September 1, 1945. Germany lost all of its territories east of the Oder-Neisse line; these were placed under Polish (i.e., Soviet) administration. In the west, Germany lost the Saarland, which was provisionally given to France. The island of Heligoland was placed under British military authority, the city of Kehl under French. The rest of Germany was divided into four Zones of Occupation, and the city of Berlin was divided into four sectors. Bremen, situated in the British zone, was used by American forces as a port and thus fell under American administration. (A. Kunz)

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Germany after the Second World War (September 1, 1945)

IEG-Maps, Institute of European History, Mainz / © A. Kunz, 2005