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
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Short answers first, then the main details.
1) Czechoslovakia — Lost territory (Carpathian Ruthenia). Regained pre‑1938 Czech and Slovak lands from Germany but otherwise only minor border adjustments.
2) Finland — Lost territory (to the USSR): Karelian Isthmus including Viipuri, Ladoga Karelia, parts of Salla, Petsamo; Porkkala leased (returned 1956). No significant gains.
3) Romania — Both: Lost Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR (1940/1944–47); regained Northern Transylvania from Hungary (returned after 1944, confirmed 1947).
4) Lithuania — Both (complex): Lost independence and was incorporated into the USSR (1940); before that (1939) it temporarily gained Vilnius region (transferred after Soviet seizure of eastern Poland) and lost/then regained the Klaipėda (Memel) area during the war. In the immediate postwar order Lithuania existed as the Lithuanian SSR within the USSR.
5) Poland — Both: Lost its eastern “Kresy” territories to the Soviet Union (areas east of the Curzon Line: e.g. Lwów/Lviv, Wilno/Vilnius area etc.); gained large former German territories in the west and north (Silesia, Pomerania, southern East Prussia — the so‑called “Recovered Territories”).
6) Soviet Union — Gained substantial territory in Europe: the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), West Ukraine and West Belarus (eastern Poland), Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (from Romania), parts of Finland (Karelia, Petsamo), and northern East Prussia (Kaliningrad/Königsberg area). Very little if anything of consequence was lost.
Brief notes/keys:
- Dates: many changes occurred in 1939–41 and were finally fixed after Germany’s defeat and the 1945–47 peace/armistice treaties (notably the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties and Soviet occupation/annexations formalized earlier).
- “Gained” for some countries means territory transferred to them (or restored to pre‑1938 control); “lost” includes loss of sovereignty (Lithuania).
If you want, I can provide maps or a timeline for each country showing the exact border shifts and treaty references.
1) Czechoslovakia — Lost territory (Carpathian Ruthenia). Regained pre‑1938 Czech and Slovak lands from Germany but otherwise only minor border adjustments.
2) Finland — Lost territory (to the USSR): Karelian Isthmus including Viipuri, Ladoga Karelia, parts of Salla, Petsamo; Porkkala leased (returned 1956). No significant gains.
3) Romania — Both: Lost Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR (1940/1944–47); regained Northern Transylvania from Hungary (returned after 1944, confirmed 1947).
4) Lithuania — Both (complex): Lost independence and was incorporated into the USSR (1940); before that (1939) it temporarily gained Vilnius region (transferred after Soviet seizure of eastern Poland) and lost/then regained the Klaipėda (Memel) area during the war. In the immediate postwar order Lithuania existed as the Lithuanian SSR within the USSR.
5) Poland — Both: Lost its eastern “Kresy” territories to the Soviet Union (areas east of the Curzon Line: e.g. Lwów/Lviv, Wilno/Vilnius area etc.); gained large former German territories in the west and north (Silesia, Pomerania, southern East Prussia — the so‑called “Recovered Territories”).
6) Soviet Union — Gained substantial territory in Europe: the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), West Ukraine and West Belarus (eastern Poland), Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (from Romania), parts of Finland (Karelia, Petsamo), and northern East Prussia (Kaliningrad/Königsberg area). Very little if anything of consequence was lost.
Brief notes/keys:
- Dates: many changes occurred in 1939–41 and were finally fixed after Germany’s defeat and the 1945–47 peace/armistice treaties (notably the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties and Soviet occupation/annexations formalized earlier).
- “Gained” for some countries means territory transferred to them (or restored to pre‑1938 control); “lost” includes loss of sovereignty (Lithuania).
If you want, I can provide maps or a timeline for each country showing the exact border shifts and treaty references.
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