division of Germany
East meets West
The division of Germany refers to the splitting of Germany into separate states after World War II.
The Allied powers—the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union—occupied different zones, which by 1949 had consolidated into West Germany (democratic, Western-aligned) and East Germany (communist, Soviet-aligned).
The division lasted until German reunification in 1990, when the Berlin Wall fell and East Germany was absorbed into the Federal Republic.
The division of Germany symbolized the Cold War's ideological split.
- Berlin WallCold War partition
- wallVertical enclosing structure
- Potsdam Conference1945 summit reshaping Europe
- Cold WarProlonged East-West standoff
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
guard · East Berlin · Berlin Blockade · Iron Curtain · propaganda art · Marshall Plan · watchtower · checkpoint · death strip · no man's land · West Berlin · Warsaw Pact · border · escape attempts · tunnel · United States · migration patterns · Yalta Conference
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