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Part of the motivation behind the territorial changes is based on events in the history of Germany and Europe, especially Eastern Europe. Migrations that took place over more than a millennium led to pockets of Germans living throughout Eastern Europe as far east as Russia. The existence of these pockets was used by German nationalists, most notably the Nazis, to justify wars of aggression that led up to World War II. The territorial changes at the end of World War II were part of negotiated agreements between the victorious Allies to redraw national borders and arrange for "orderly population transfers" to remove ethnic minorities that were viewed as troublesome. Historically, large populations of ethnic Germans have been concentrated in Central and Eastern Europe. ... This article is about the 1871 German Empire. ... This article is about the Treaty of Versailles of June 28 1919, which ended World War I. For other uses, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) . The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ... The Silesian Uprisings (German: ; Polish: ) were a series of three armed uprisings of the Poles of Upper Silesia, from 1919–1921, against Weimar rule; the resistance hoped to break away from Germany in order to join the Second Polish Republic, which had been established in the wake of World War... Polish Corridor (German: ; Polish: ) was the term used between the World Wars to refer to the Polish territory which separated the German exclave of East Prussia from the German province of Pomerania. ... The Saar, corresponding to the current German state of the Saarland, was from governed by the League of Nations under the Treaty of Versailles from 1920 until a plebicite in 1935, when it was returned to Germany. ... The Remilitarization of the Rhineland by the German Army took place on 7 March 1936 when German forces entered the Rhineland. ... German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ... For the annual global security meeting held in Munich, see Munich Conference on Security Policy Chamberlain holds the paper containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Germany in September 1938. ... National assembly meeting in St. ... Reichsgau and General Governement in 1941 At the beginning of World War II, significant Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany. ... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ... Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ... Former eastern territories of Germany (German: ) describes collectively those provinces or regions east of the Oder-Neisse line which were internationally recognised as part of the territory of Germany after the formation of the German Empire in 1871. ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... The Treaty of Zgorzelec (Full title The Agreement Concerning the Demarcation of the Established and the Existing Polish-German State Frontier, also known as the Treaty of Görlitz and Treaty of Zgorzelic) was signed on 6 July 1950 in Zgorzelec by Otto Grotewohl Prime Minister of the provisional government... The Treaty of Warsaw is a treaty between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... On 11 December 1973, in Prague, the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia signed a treaty in which the two States recognised each other diplomatically and declared the 1938 Munich Agreements to be null and void by acknowledging the inviolability of their common borders and abandoning all territorial claims. ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany is the final peace treaty negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States and... The Treaty between the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany on the Confirmation of the Existing Border between Them was signed on November 14, 1990. ... Main article: History of Poland In the period following its emergence in the 10th century, the Polish nation was led by a series of strong rulers who converted the Poles to Christianity, created a strong Central European state and integrated Poland into European culture. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The territorial changes of Germany after World War II must be interpreted in the context of the evolution of global nationalism in general and European nationalism in particular.

The latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century saw the rise of nationalism in Europe. Previously, a country consisted largely of whatever peoples lived on the land that was under the dominion of a particular ruler. Thus, as principalities and kingdoms grew through conquest and marriage, a ruler could wind up with peoples of many different ethnicities under his dominion. Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution 1830. ...

The concept of nationalism was based on the idea of a "people" who shared a common bond through race, religion, language and culture. Furthermore, nationalism asserted that each "people" had a right to its own nation. Thus, much of European history in the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century can be understood as efforts to realign national boundaries with this concept of "one people, one nation".

Much conflict would arise when one nation asserted territorial rights to land outside its borders on the basis of a common bond with the people living on that land. Another source of conflict arose when a group of people who constituted a minority in one nation would seek to secede from the nation, either to form an independent nation or join another nation with whom they felt stronger ties. Yet another source of conflict was the desire of some nations to expel people from territory within its borders on the ground that those people did not share a common bond with the majority of people living in that nation.

By World War I, there were isolated groups of Germans or so-called Schwaben as far southeast as the Bosphorus (Turkey), Georgia, and Azerbaijan. After the war, Germany's and Austria-Hungary's loss of territory and the rise of communism in the Soviet Union meant that more Germans than ever constituted sizable minorities in various countries.

German nationalists used the existence of large German minorities in other countries as a basis for territorial claims. Many of the propaganda themes of the Nazi regime against Czechoslovakia and Poland claimed that the ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) in those territories were persecuted. Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution 1830. ... For other uses, see Propaganda (disambiguation). ... Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ...

The Nazis negotiated a number of population transfers with Joseph Stalin and others with Benito Mussolini so that both Germany and the other country would increase their ethnic homogeneity. However, these population transfers were not sufficient to appease the demands of the Nazis. The "Heim ins Reich" rhetoric of the Nazis over the continued disjoint status of enclaves such as Danzig and Königsberg was an agitating factor in the politics leading up to World War II, and is considered by many to be among the major causes of Nazi aggressiveness and thus the war. Adolf Hitler used these issues as a pretext for waging wars of aggression against Czechoslovakia and Poland. Hitler redirects here. ...

The Allies decide the postwar German-Polish border

As it became evident that the Allies were going to defeat Nazi Germany decisively, the question arose as to how to redraw the borders of Eastern European countries after the war. In the context of those decisions, the problem arose of what to do about ethnic minorities within the redrawn borders.

Ethnic Germans in Eastern Europe

Main article: Ethnic German

Ethnic Germans – often simply called Germans – are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be ethnically German but do not live within the present-day Federal Republic of Germany, nor necessarily hold its citizenship. ...

The Yalta Conference

The final decision to move Poland's boundary westward was made by the US, Britain and the Soviets at the Yalta Conference, shortly before the end of the war. The precise location of the border was left open; the western Allies also accepted in general the principle of the Oder River as the future western border of Poland and of population transfer as the way to prevent future border disputes. The open question was whether the border should follow the eastern or western Neisse rivers, and whether Stettin, the traditional seaport of Berlin, should remain German or be included in Poland. Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ...

Originally, Germany was to retain Stettin while the Poles were to annex East Prussia with Königsberg. [1]. Eventually, however, Stalin decided that he wanted Königsberg as a year-round warm water port for the Soviet Navy and argued that the Poles should receive Stettin instead. The wartime Polish government in exile had little to say in these decisions. [2] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Former German name of the city of Kaliningrad. ... A warm water port is a port where the water does not freeze (rendering it unusable) in the winter. ...

Poland's old and new borders, 1945

Key points of the meeting that are relevant to the territorial changes of Germany are as follows: Image File history File links Map of Poland in 1945, drawn by User: Adam Carr. ... Image File history File links Map of Poland in 1945, drawn by User: Adam Carr. ...

• There was an agreement that the priority would be the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. After the war, Germany would be split into four occupied zones, with a quadripartite occupation of Berlin as well, prior unification of Germany.
• Stalin agreed to let France have the fourth occupation zone in Germany and Austria, carved out from the British and American zones. France would also be granted a seat in the Allied Control Council.
• Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification.
• The status of Poland was discussed, but was complicated by the fact that Poland was at this time under the control of the Red Army. It was agreed to reorganize the Provisionary Polish Government that had been set up by the Red Army through the inclusion of other groups such as the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity and to have democratic elections. This effectively excluded the Polish government-in-exile that had evacuated in 1939.
• The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive substantial territorial compensation in the west from Germany, although the exact border was to be determined at a later time.
• A "Committee on Dismemberment of Germany" was to be set up. The purpose was to decide whether Germany was to be divided into several nations, and if so, what borders and inter-relationships the new German states were to have.

Unconditional surrender refers to a surrender without conditions, except for those provided by international law. ... 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 and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Kammergericht, Headquarters of the Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in German as the Alliierter Kontrollrat, also referred to as the Four Powers, was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in... In military terms, a demilitarized zone (DMZ) is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more groups, where military activity is not permitted, usually by treaty or other agreement. ... Denazification (German: Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary and politics of any remnants of the Nazi regime. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Provisional Government of Republic of Poland (Polish: RzÄ…d Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, RTRP) has been created by Krajowa Rada Narodowa on the night of 31 December 1944 in place of the previous governmental body, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego). ... Provisional Government of National Unity (Polish: Tymczasowy RzÄ…d JednoÅ›ci Narodowej, TRJN) - was a government formed by the decree of State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa) on 28 June 1945. ... The Government of the Polish Republic in exile maintained a continuous existence in exile from the time of the German occupation of Poland in September 1939 until the end of the Communist rule in Poland in 1990. ... The Curzon Line was a demarcation line proposed in 1919 by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, as a possible armistice line between Poland, to the west, and Soviet Russia to the east, during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–20. ...

The Potsdam Conference

At the Potsdam Conference the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union placed the German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line (Poland referred to by the Polish communist government as the "Western Territories" or "Regained Territories") as formally under Polish administrative control. It was anticipated that a final peace treaty would follow shortly and either confirm this border or determine whatever alterations might be agreed upon. Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ... Note: although the term recovered territories has a clear meaning in Poland and Polish historiography, it is not a widely accepted term or concept in English speaking nations. ... A peace treaty is an agreement (a peace treaty) between two hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a war or armed conflict. ...

The final agreements in effect compensated Poland for 187,000 km² located east of the Curzon line with 112,000 km² of former German territories. The northerneastern third of East Prussia was directly annexed by the Soviet Union and remains part of Russia to this day. The Curzon Line was a demarcation line proposed in 1919 by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, as a possible armistice line between Poland, to the west, and Soviet Russia to the east, during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–20. ...

It was also decided that all Germans remaining in the new and old Polish territory should be expelled, to prevent any claims of minority rights. Among the provisions of the Potsdam Conference was a section that provided for the Orderly transfer of German populations. The specific wording of this section was as follows:

The Three Governments, having considered the question in all its aspects, recognize that the transfer to Germany of German populations, or elements thereof, remaining in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, will have to be undertaken. They agree that any transfers that take place should be effected in an orderly and humane manner.

At the end of the conference, the Three Heads of Government agreed on the following actions:

The Oder-Neisse Line (click to enlarge)

Poland's old and new borders, 1945. Territory previously part of Germany is identified in yellow

• Germany:

  See also Expulsion of Germans after World War II, The industrial plans for Germany and Oder-Neisse line

  • Issuance of a statement of aims of the occupation of Germany by the Allies: demilitarization, denazification, democratization and decartelization.
  • Division of Germany and Austria respectively into four occupation zones (earlier agreed in principle at Yalta), and the similar division of each's capital, Berlin and Vienna, into four zones.
  • Reversion of all German annexations in Europe after 1937, these included Sudetenland, Alsace-Lorraine, Austria and the westmost parts of Poland
  • Germany's eastern border was to be shifted westwards to the Oder-Neisse line, effectively reducing Germany in size by approximately 25% compared to her 1937 borders. The territories east of the new border comprised East Prussia, Silesia, West Prussia, and two thirds of Pomerania. These areas were mainly agricultural, with the exception of Upper Silesia which was the second largest centre of German heavy industry.
  • Expulsion of the German populations remaining beyond the new eastern borders of Germany.

• Poland:

  See also Western betrayal and Territorial changes of Poland after World War II

  • Creation of a Provisional Government of National Unity recognised by all three powers. Recognition of the Soviet controlled government by the Western Powers effectively meant end of recognition for the existing Polish government in Exile.
  • Poles who were serving in British Army formations should be free to return to Poland. With no security upon their return to the communist country guaranteed.
  • The provisional western border should be the Oder-Neisse line, parts of East Prussia and former free City of Danzig should be under Polish administration, but that the final delimitation of the western frontier of Poland should await the peace settlement, which had to await the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany in 1990.

Image File history File links Made myself from EC map of Poland File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Made myself from EC map of Poland File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... Image File history File links Map of Poland in 1945, drawn by User: Adam Carr. ... Image File history File links Map of Poland in 1945, drawn by User: Adam Carr. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... The industrial plans for Germany or Level of Industry plans for Germany were the plans to lower the German industrial potential after World War II. At the Potsdam conference the victorious Allies had decided to abolish the German armed forces as well as all munitions factories and civilian industries that... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... In military terms, a demilitarized zone (DMZ) is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more groups, where military activity is not permitted, usually by treaty or other agreement. ... Denazification (German: Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary and politics of any remnants of the Nazi regime. ... Democratization (British English: Democratisation) is the transition from an authoritarian or a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. ... Decartelization is the transition of a national economy from monopoly control by groups of large businesses, known as cartels, to a free market economy. ... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... “Wien” redirects here. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sudetenland (Czech and Polish: Sudety) was the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the Western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia. ... Imperial Province of Elsaß-Lothringen Alsace-Lorraine (German: , generally Elsass-Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 after the annexation of most of Alsace and parts of Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War. ... Reichsgau and General Governement in 1941 At the beginning of World War II, significant Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany. ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Silesia (English pronunciation [], Czech: ; German: ; Latin: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlůnsk) is a historical region in central Europe, located along the upper and middle Oder River, upper Vistula River, and along the Sudetes, Carpathian (Silesian Beskids) mountain range. ... One of four districts of East Prussia in 1920 - 1938. ... Pommern redirects here. ... Map of Upper Silesia, 1746 Upper Silesia (Polish: Górny ÅšlÄ…sk, German: Oberschlesien, Czech: Horní Slezsko) is the south-eastern part of Silesia, a historical and geographical region of Poland (Opole Voivodship and Silesian Voivodship) and of the Czech Republic (Silesian-Moravian Region). ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... Western betrayal is a popular term in many Central European nations (including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, the Baltic States, and East Germany) which refers to the foreign policy of several Western countries during the period from the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 through World War II and... Territorial changes of Poland after World War II have been very extensive. ... The Government of the Polish Republic in Exile was the government of Poland after the country had been occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union during September-October 1939. ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Flag of Danzig The Free City of Danzig refers to either of two short-lived city-states which were centered on the present-day Baltic port known as GdaÅ„sk (German: Danzig). ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany is the final peace treaty negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States and...

Post World War II politics

Since 1945, referring to the lands over which there had been a transfer of jurisdiction as "East Germany" has had political connotations, which means that any article which discusses this issue is likely to be contentious. The contention has been somewhat dissipated over the last twenty years by three related phenomena:

• The passage of time means that there are fewer and fewer people left who have firsthand experience of living in these regions under German jurisdiction.
• Until the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany, the official German government position on the status of areas vacated by settled German communities east of the Oder–Neisse rivers was that the areas were "temporarily under Polish [or Soviet] administration." In 1990 the German political establishment recognised the "facts on the ground" and accepted clauses in the Treaty on the Final Settlement, whereby Germany renounced all claims to territory east of the Oder–Neisse line. The problem with the status of these territories was that in 1945 the concluding document of the Potsdam Conference was not a legally binding treaty, but a memorandum Between the USSR, the USA and the UK. It regulated the issue of the eastern German border, which was to be the Oder–Neisse line, but the final article of the memorandum said that the final decisions concerning Germany were subject to a separate peace treaty. This treaty was signed in 1990 under the name of "Treaty on the Final Settlement" by both the German states and ratified in 1991 by the united Germany. This ended the legal limbo state which meant that for 45 years, people on both sides of the border could not be sure whether the settlement reached in 1945 might be changed at some future date.
• The eastern expansion of the European Union (EU) which occurred on May 1, 2004 means that any German who wishes to live and work in Poland, and thus east of the Oder–Neisse rivers, may do so without requiring a permit. Some restrictions on the purchase of land and buildings will be in place for a period of a few years. However, German expellees and refugees are now free to visit their former homes without difficulty. Poland is expected to have the Schengen Agreement provisions implemented in 2008 and all border controls on its border with Germany will be eliminated, making movement across the border even easier.

In the course of the German reunification process, Chancellor Helmut Kohl accepted the territorial changes made after WWII. This caused some outrage among the Federation of Expellees. Some Poles were concerned about a possible revival of their 1939 trauma through a second German invasion, this time with the Germans buying back their land, which was cheaply available at the time. This happened on a smaller scale than many expected, and since the Baltic Sea coast in Poland has become popular with German tourists, Germans are now frequent and welcome guests. The so-called "homesickness-tourism" which was often perceived as quite aggressive well into the 1990s now tends to be viewed as a good-natured nostalgia tour rather than a source of anger and desire for the return of the lost territories. The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany is the final peace treaty negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States and... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany (in place of a peace treaty), was negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United... The Potsdam Agreement, or the Potsdam Proclamation, was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945. ... Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... A memorandum or memo is a written form of communication most often employed in business environments. ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany (in place of a peace treaty), was negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United... This article is about the theological concept. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...  Implementing countries  Implementing through partnership with a signatory state  Members (not yet implemented)  Expressed interest in joining A monument to the Agreement in Schengen A typical Schengen border crossing without any border control post, just the common EU-state sign welcoming the visitor, as here between Germany and Austria The... German reunification (German: ) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). The start of this reunification process is commonly referred to... Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (born April 3, 1930) is a German conservative politician and statesman. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. ...

Notes

References