Asked by l
Which nations lost territory and which gained territory in Europe during or immediately after the Second World War? Some may have lost territory in one region and gained land in another.
lost territory:
gained new territory:
1. Czechoslovakia
2. Finland
3. Romania
4. Lithuania
5. Poland
6. Soviet Union
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Below are the main territorial losses and gains in Europe during or immediately after the Second World War for the six states you listed. I list the principal transfers and the year(s) when they happened (or were confirmed).
1) Czechoslovakia
- Lost territory
- Carpathian Ruthenia (Subcarpathian Rus’) → transferred to the Soviet Union (1945) and incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR (today Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine).
- Gained new territory
- No significant new territory beyond restoration of the pre‑1938 Czechoslovak state (i.e., recovery of lands lost by the Munich Agreement). There were some minor postwar border adjustments with Germany and Poland, but no major net territorial gain.
2) Finland
- Lost territory
- Large parts of Finnish Karelia (including Viipuri/Vyborg), the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia, parts of Salla and the Petsamo area (the main losses resulted from the Moscow Peace Treaty 1940 and were confirmed after the 1944 armistice and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty).
- Finland also ceded control of the Hanko naval base (returned later) and evacuated populations from ceded areas.
- Gained new territory
- None of significance in Europe; Finland was a net loser of territory.
3) Romania
- Lost territory
- Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina → annexed by the Soviet Union (June 1940; reconfirmed after 1944/1947).
- Southern Dobruja (the Cadrilater) → ceded to Bulgaria (Treaty of Craiova, 1940) and remained with Bulgaria after the war.
- Gained new territory
- Northern Transylvania → returned to Romania from Hungary after 1944/1945 and confirmed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty (Romania had temporarily lost it under the Second Vienna Award of 1940).
4) Lithuania
- Lost territory / sovereignty
- Independent Lithuania was occupied and then annexed by the Soviet Union (1940; re‑annexed after 1944) — de facto loss of independence and incorporation into the USSR as the Lithuanian SSR.
- As a sovereign state Lithuania ceased to exist until 1990.
- Gained new territory (as the Lithuanian SSR)
- The Klaipėda (Memel) region, taken from Germany at the end of the war, was incorporated into the Lithuanian SSR.
- The Vilnius region had been transferred to Lithuania by the Soviet Union in 1939–40 (from interwar Poland) and remained part of the Lithuanian SSR after the war.
- Note: there were also small internal USSR republic border adjustments; the big picture is loss of independence and incorporation into the USSR plus incorporation of Memel/Klaipėda.
5) Poland
- Lost territory
- Poland lost its eastern provinces (the Kresy: eastern Galicia, Volhynia, much of what had been eastern Poland including the Vilnius region and Brest area) to the Soviet Union — these eastern border changes were imposed in 1939–40 and confirmed after 1945 (Poland’s border shifted west).
- Gained new territory
- Poland acquired large western and northern territories from defeated Germany (the so‑called "Recovered Territories"): most of Silesia, Pomerania (including the port of Gdańsk/Danzig and areas up to the Oder–Neisse line), and the southern part of East Prussia (the northern part of East Prussia, including Königsberg, went to the USSR as Kaliningrad). These westward gains were established at Potsdam (1945) and by the postwar settlements.
6) Soviet Union
- Lost territory
- No major net territorial losses in Europe as a result of WWII; the USSR was a net gainer. (Some very small, temporary wartime occupations/exchanges aside.)
- Gained territory
- Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) — incorporated as Soviet republics (first in 1940, re‑annexed 1944–45 and internationally confirmed de facto after the war).
- Eastern Poland (the former Polish Kresy) — incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR and Byelorussian SSR (agreed/confirmed after the war).
- Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina → from Romania (1940; confirmed after the war) — incorporated into the Moldavian SSR and Ukrainian SSR.
- Parts of Finland (Karelia, Petsamo etc.) — taken after the 1940/1944 agreements and confirmed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.
- Carpathian Ruthenia → from Czechoslovakia (1945) and incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR.
- Northern part of East Prussia (Königsberg area) → became Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian SFSR (occupied 1945 and later incorporated).
If you want, I can provide maps or a timeline showing the big shifts (Poland westward, USSR expansion westward and into the Baltics and parts of Romania/Finland, Finland and Romania as net losers, Czechoslovakia’s one clear loss in Ruthenia, and Lithuania’s incorporation into the USSR).
1) Czechoslovakia
- Lost territory
- Carpathian Ruthenia (Subcarpathian Rus’) → transferred to the Soviet Union (1945) and incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR (today Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine).
- Gained new territory
- No significant new territory beyond restoration of the pre‑1938 Czechoslovak state (i.e., recovery of lands lost by the Munich Agreement). There were some minor postwar border adjustments with Germany and Poland, but no major net territorial gain.
2) Finland
- Lost territory
- Large parts of Finnish Karelia (including Viipuri/Vyborg), the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia, parts of Salla and the Petsamo area (the main losses resulted from the Moscow Peace Treaty 1940 and were confirmed after the 1944 armistice and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty).
- Finland also ceded control of the Hanko naval base (returned later) and evacuated populations from ceded areas.
- Gained new territory
- None of significance in Europe; Finland was a net loser of territory.
3) Romania
- Lost territory
- Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina → annexed by the Soviet Union (June 1940; reconfirmed after 1944/1947).
- Southern Dobruja (the Cadrilater) → ceded to Bulgaria (Treaty of Craiova, 1940) and remained with Bulgaria after the war.
- Gained new territory
- Northern Transylvania → returned to Romania from Hungary after 1944/1945 and confirmed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty (Romania had temporarily lost it under the Second Vienna Award of 1940).
4) Lithuania
- Lost territory / sovereignty
- Independent Lithuania was occupied and then annexed by the Soviet Union (1940; re‑annexed after 1944) — de facto loss of independence and incorporation into the USSR as the Lithuanian SSR.
- As a sovereign state Lithuania ceased to exist until 1990.
- Gained new territory (as the Lithuanian SSR)
- The Klaipėda (Memel) region, taken from Germany at the end of the war, was incorporated into the Lithuanian SSR.
- The Vilnius region had been transferred to Lithuania by the Soviet Union in 1939–40 (from interwar Poland) and remained part of the Lithuanian SSR after the war.
- Note: there were also small internal USSR republic border adjustments; the big picture is loss of independence and incorporation into the USSR plus incorporation of Memel/Klaipėda.
5) Poland
- Lost territory
- Poland lost its eastern provinces (the Kresy: eastern Galicia, Volhynia, much of what had been eastern Poland including the Vilnius region and Brest area) to the Soviet Union — these eastern border changes were imposed in 1939–40 and confirmed after 1945 (Poland’s border shifted west).
- Gained new territory
- Poland acquired large western and northern territories from defeated Germany (the so‑called "Recovered Territories"): most of Silesia, Pomerania (including the port of Gdańsk/Danzig and areas up to the Oder–Neisse line), and the southern part of East Prussia (the northern part of East Prussia, including Königsberg, went to the USSR as Kaliningrad). These westward gains were established at Potsdam (1945) and by the postwar settlements.
6) Soviet Union
- Lost territory
- No major net territorial losses in Europe as a result of WWII; the USSR was a net gainer. (Some very small, temporary wartime occupations/exchanges aside.)
- Gained territory
- Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) — incorporated as Soviet republics (first in 1940, re‑annexed 1944–45 and internationally confirmed de facto after the war).
- Eastern Poland (the former Polish Kresy) — incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR and Byelorussian SSR (agreed/confirmed after the war).
- Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina → from Romania (1940; confirmed after the war) — incorporated into the Moldavian SSR and Ukrainian SSR.
- Parts of Finland (Karelia, Petsamo etc.) — taken after the 1940/1944 agreements and confirmed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.
- Carpathian Ruthenia → from Czechoslovakia (1945) and incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR.
- Northern part of East Prussia (Königsberg area) → became Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian SFSR (occupied 1945 and later incorporated).
If you want, I can provide maps or a timeline showing the big shifts (Poland westward, USSR expansion westward and into the Baltics and parts of Romania/Finland, Finland and Romania as net losers, Czechoslovakia’s one clear loss in Ruthenia, and Lithuania’s incorporation into the USSR).
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