Story: Cold War

Europe divided: Germany

Europe divided: Germany

At the end of the Second World War Germany was occupied by the victorious Allied forces. Following the Potsdam Conference in August 1945 the country was formally split into American, British, French and Soviet zones of occupation. The former capital, Berlin, was similarly divided.

Growing mistrust between the Soviets on the one hand and the American, British and French on the other created a climate of fear in which each side thought the other had expansionist aims. This led to the Berlin blockade of the city's western zone by the Soviet Union in 1948, and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. By the end of that year the three Western zones had been absorbed into a new state, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Soviet zone had become the German Democratic Republic. The border between the two countries became the main European front line in the Cold War – the symbolic 'iron curtain'.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Source: German History in Documents and Images

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Gerald Hensley, 'Cold War - Cold War beginnings, 1945 to 1948', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/map/32692/europe-divided-germany (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Gerald Hensley, published 20 Jun 2012