Question

Using complete sentences, explain how Germany was partitioned following World War II.

Answer 1

After Germany’s defeat in World War II, the victorious Allies agreed to occupy and administer the country jointly, and they divided Germany into four occupation zones controlled by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. Berlin, although located deep inside the Soviet zone, was likewise divided into four sectors under the same four powers. The division was intended as a temporary administrative arrangement agreed at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences in 1945, but growing political and economic differences between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies turned the arrangement into a lasting split. In 1947–1949 the three western zones moved toward closer integration (including a joint currency reform in June 1948), while the Soviets consolidated control over their zone; the currency reform triggered the Soviet blockade of West Berlin and the Western airlift to supply the city (1948–49). Political separation followed: the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was established in May 1949 from the western zones, and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was founded in October 1949 in the Soviet zone. In addition, large parts of prewar eastern Germany were transferred to Poland and the Soviet Union under the Potsdam decisions, and the Saarland was placed under French influence until it rejoined West Germany in 1957. The division of Germany and Berlin remained in place through the Cold War until German reunification in 1990.