Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian ideology of the National Socialist German Workers Party, or Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator.

Aftermath

The winning allies first split Germany into occupation zones. At the Potsdam Conference German borders within the Soviet occupation zone were moved westward, with most territory given to Poland as a compensation for the annexation of eastern Polish territory by the Soviet Union. About half of German East Prussia was annexed by the Soviet Union, nowadays called Kaliningrad. The German exodus from Eastern Europe, which was initiated by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was after the war completed when virtually all Germans in Central Europe had been "resettled" to west of the Oder-Neisse line, with up to about 17 million ethnic Germans affected. The French, US and British occupation zones later became West Germany, while the Soviet zone became the communist East Germany. West Germany recovered economically by the 1960s, being called the economic miracle (German term Wirtschaftswunder) due to economic aid by the United States of America (Marshall Plan), while the East recovered at a slower pace under Communism until 1990, due to reparations paid to the Soviet Union and the effects of the centrally planned economy.

Related Topics:
Potsdam Conference - Poland - East Prussia - Soviet Union - Kaliningrad - German exodus from Eastern Europe - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - Germans - Central Europe - Oder-Neisse line - West Germany - Communist - East Germany - 1960s - Economic miracle - Wirtschaftswunder - Marshall Plan - 1990

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After the war, surviving Nazi leaders were put on trial by the Allied tribunal at Nuremberg for crimes against humanity. A minority were sentenced to death and executed, but most were released by the mid 1950s on account of health and old age. In the 60s, 70s and 80s some new efforts were made in West-Germany to take those who were directly responsible for crimes against humanity to court (e.g. Auschwitz trials). However, many of the not so prominent leaders continued to live well into the 1970s and 1980s.

Related Topics:
Nuremberg - 1950s - Auschwitz trials - 1970s - 1980s

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In all non-fascist European countries legal purges were established to punish the members of the former Nazi and Fascist parties. Also there, however, some of the former leaders found ways to accommodate themselves under the new circumstances. An uncontrolled punishment hit the children of Nazis and those fathered by German soldiers in occupied territories, including the "Lebensborn" children.

Related Topics:
Children of Nazis - Lebensborn

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:See Nuremberg Trials

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