why was germany divided into two countries after world war ii
History of Germany (1945–90) As a consequence of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Germany was cut between the two global blocs in the East and West, a period known as the division of Germany. Germany was stripped of its war gains and lost territories in the east to Poland and the Soviet Union. At the end of the war, there were in Germany some eight million foreign displaced persons[1]Â ; mainly forced laborers and prisoners; including around 400,000 from the concentration camp system,[2] survivors from a much larger number who had died from starvation, harsh conditions, murder, or being worked to death. Over 10 million German-speaking refugees arrived in Germany from other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.[3] Some 9 million Germans were POWs,[4] many of whom were kept as forced laborers for several years to provide restitution to the countries Germany had devastated in the war, and some industrial equipment was removed as reparations.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Following the death of Tito on 4 May 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics. With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, inter-republic talks on transformation of the federation also failed and led to recognition of their independence by some European states in 1991. This led to the federation collapsing along federal borders, followed by the start of the Yugoslav Wars and the final downfall and breakup of the federation on 27 April 1992. Two of its republics, Serbia and Montenegro, remained within the reconstituted Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but the union was not recognized internationally as the official successor state to the SFRY. The term "former Yugoslavia" (bivša Jugoslavija/бивша Југославија) is now commonly used retrospectively.
European theatre of World War II Axis  Germany  Italy (until 1943)  Romania (1940-1944)  Hungary (until 1945)  Bulgaria (until 1944)
Aftermath of World War II As a consequence of the war, the Allies created the United Nations, an organization for international cooperation and diplomacy, similar to the League of Nations. Members of the United Nations agreed to outlaw wars of aggression in an attempt to avoid a third world war. The devastated great powers of Western Europe formed the European Coal and Steel Community, which later evolved into the European Common Market and ultimately into the current European Union. This effort primarily began as an attempt to avoid another war between Germany and France by economic cooperation and integration, and a common market for important natural resources.