The Creation of Two Alternative Germanies

Even though the Nazi dictatorship had lasted for only twelve years, it had left because of the horrendous crimes committed, the war’s destructive effect on Europe, and the deep Nazification of German society a stain on Germany. It proved nearly impossible for the victorious Allies to distinguish between Germans and Nazis. New proceedings were needed to cleanse Germany of Nazism. The four occupying forces introduced in their occupation zones policies that were intended to deNazify society. The result was the incarceration of Nazis, the nationalization of industry, the expropriation of large landholdings, and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. The treatment of Germany by the Allies was, compared to the post-World War I treatment of Germany by the Allies, significantly harsher. And the territorial losses imposed by the Potsdam Conference and the removal of millions of Germans from the territories east of the rivers Oder and Neisse represented a much more severe treatment as the conditions imposed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. This much harsher treatment became feasible only because of the decision of all Allies to commit to long-term occupation and the remodeling of German society and state.