What was Germany like post ww2?

The situation in Germany after World War II was dire. Millions of Germans were homeless from Allied bombing campaigns that razed entire cities. And millions more Germans living in Poland and East Prussia became refugees when the Soviet Union expelled them.

What changed in Germany after ww2?

Following its defeat in World War II, Germany was stripped of its gains, and beyond that, more than a quarter of its old pre-war territory was annexed to Poland and the Soviet Union. Their German populations were expelled to the West. Also, Saarland was under French control until 1957.

How were German soldiers treated after ww2?

In the years following World War II, large numbers of German civilians and captured soldiers were forced into labor by the Allied forces. The topic of using Germans as forced labor for reparations was first broached at the Tehran conference in 1943, where Soviet premier Joseph Stalin demanded 4,000,000 German workers.

What problems did Germany face after ww2?

Most of Germany’s institutions had crumbled, and its populace was on the brink of starvation. The Allies exacted reparations for World War II, too. They weren’t paid in actual money, but through industrial dismantling, the removal of intellectual property and forced labor for millions of German POWs.

How were German people’s lives affected by ww2?

Over the next 3 years: 61 German cities, with a combined population of 25 million, were attacked; 3.6 million homes were destroyed; 7.5 million people were made homeless; 300,000 – 400,000 Germans were killed in the raids; and 800,000 people were wounded.

What happened to the German military after ww2?

After World War II, Germany was divided into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), which both formed their own militaries: on 12 November 1955 the first recruits began their service in the West German Heer, while on 1 March 1956 the East German …

What was the position of the German soldiers after the war?

After the First World War, the soldiers came to be placed above civilians all over Europe. Politicians and the media glorified the life of a soldier. Aggressive war propaganda and national honour became the theme of public debate.

How did Germany become so powerful after ww2?

The answer is relatively simple, they just focused much more on it then most other people. From the very beginning of the regime rearmament was the major focus of the regime. The amount of government budget dedicated to the armed forced rose extremely fast with few exception all the way up to 1939.