El directorio enciclopédico desde la Wikipedia.
[edit] Background[edit] German settlement in Eastern EuropePart of the motivation behind the territorial changes are 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 and the Nazis to justify their territorial claims. [edit] The rise of European nationalismThe 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 nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth 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. 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 state. Thus, much of European history in the latter half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century can be understood as efforts to realign national boundaries with this concept of "one people, one state". 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. [edit] Formation of the German Empire
The North German Confederation, led by the Kingdom of Prussia, was combined with the southern states of Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse to form the German Empire in 1871. In some of Prussia's eastern provinces, such as the Province of Posen, the majority of the population was Polish. [edit] HeligolandBritain ceded Heligoland to Germany in 1890 in accordance with the terms of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty. [edit] World War I[edit] Brest-LitovskAs part of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia's new Bolshevik (communist) government renounced all claim to Finland, the future Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Poland, Belarus, Ukraine. Most of these territories were in effect ceded to the German Empire, intended to become economically dependent on and politically closely tied to that empire under different German kings and dukes. Regarding the ceded territories, the treaty stated that "Germany and Austria-Hungary intend to determine the future fate of these territories in agreement with their population" with few other effects than the appointment of German rulers to the new thrones of Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. [edit] Territorial changes after World War I[edit] Treaty of Versailles
Annexed by neighbouring countries Administered by the League of Nations Weimar Germany The provisions of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I obliged Germany to transfer some territory to other countries. Besides the loss of the German colonial empire the territories Germany lost were:
[edit] SudetenlandThe Sudeten Germans had attempted to prevent the German language border areas of former Austria from becoming part of Czechoslovakia in 1918. They had proclaimed the German-Austrian province Sudetenland in October 1918, voting instead to join the newly declared Republic of German Austria in November 1918. This had been forbidden by the victorious allied powers of the First World War (the Treaty of Saint-Germain) and by the Czechoslovak government, partly with force of arms in 1919. Many Sudeten Germans rejected an affiliation to Czechoslovakia, because they had been refused the right to self-determination promised by US president Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points of January 1918. [edit] Silesian uprisingsThe Silesian Uprisings (Polish: Powstania śląskie) were a series of three armed uprisings (1919–1921) of the Polish people in the Upper Silesia region against Weimar Republic in order to separate the region (where in some parts Poles constituted a majority) from Germany and join it with the Second Polish Republic. [edit] Interbellum
[edit] Territorial claims of German nationalistsBy 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. Indeed there was discrimination, harassment of ethnic Germans and confiscations of their property particularly in Poland.[citation needed] 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. [edit] Rhineland
On March 7, 1936, Hitler sent a small expeditionary force into the demilitarized Rhineland. This was a clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles (1919, official end of World War I), and as such, France and Britain were within their rights, via the Treaty, to oust the German forces. British public opinion blocked any use of military force, thus preventing French action, as they were internally divided and would not act without British support. [edit] Saar regionIn 1933, a considerable number of anti-Nazi Germans fled to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany left outside the Third Reich's control. As a result, anti-Nazi groups campaigned heavily for the Saarland to remain under control of League of Nations as long as Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. However, long-held sentiments against France remained entrenched, with very few sympathizing openly with France. When the 15-year-term was over, a plebiscite was held in the territory on 13 January, 1935: 90.3% of those voting wished to join Germany. On 17 January 1935, the territory's re-union with Germany was approved by the League Council. On March 1, the Nazi Germany took over the region, and appointed Josef Bürckel as Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes, "Imperial Commissioner for the re-union of Saarland". As the new Gau was extended to the Rhine, including the historic Palatinate, the region's name was changed again on 8 April 1940 to Saarpfalz, "Saar-Palatinate". After the Battle of France, the re-annexed French département of Moselle was incorporated in the Reichsgau. [edit] AnschlussThe Allies were, on paper, committed to upholding the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which specifically prohibited the union of Austria and Germany. This notwithstanding, the Anschluss was among the first major steps in Adolf Hitler's long-desired creation of an empire including German-speaking lands and territories Germany had lost after World War I. The events of March 12, 1938, marked the culmination of historical cross-national pressures to unify the German populations of Austria and Germany under one nation. However, the 1938 Anschluss, regardless of its popularity, was enacted by Germany. Earlier, Hitlerian Germany had provided support for the Austrian National Socialist Party (Austrian Nazi Party) in its bid to seize power from Austria's Austrofascist leadership. Fully devoted to remaining independent but amidst growing pressures, the chancellor of Austria, Kurt Schuschnigg, tried to hold a plebiscite. Although Schuschnigg expected Austria to vote in favour of maintaining autonomy, a well-planned internal overthrow by the Austrian Nazi Party of Austria's state institutions in Vienna took place on March 11, prior to the vote. With power quickly transferred over to Germany, the Wehrmacht troops entered Austria to enforce the Anschluss. The Nazis held a plebiscite within the following month, where they received 99.73% of the vote. No fighting ever took place and the strongest voices against the annexation, particularly Fascist Italy, France and the United Kingdom: the Stresa Front, were powerless or, in case of Italy, appeased. [edit] Memel TerritoryBy late 1938, Lithuania had lost control over the situation in the Memel Territory. In the early hours of 23 March 1939, after a political ultimatum had made a Lithuanian delegation travel to Berlin, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juozas Urbšys and his German counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop signed the Treaty of the Cession of the Memel Territory to Germany in exchange for a Lithuanian Free Zone in the port of Memel, using the facilities erected in previous years. [edit] Czechoslovakia[edit] Sudetenland
Hitler and Chamberlain signed an additional resolution determining to resolve all future disputes between Germany and the United Kingdom through peaceful means. This is often confused with the Four-Power Munich Agreement itself, not least because most photographs of Chamberlain's return show him waving the paper containing the resolution, not the Munich Agreement itself. [edit] Invasion of the rest of CzechoslovakiaOn 13 March 1939, Nazi armies entered Prague and proceeded to occupy the remainder of Bohemia and Moravia, which was transformed into a protectorate of the Reich. The eastern half of the country, Slovakia, became a separate pro-Nazi state, the Slovak Republic. Prime Minister Chamberlain felt betrayed by the Nazi seizure of Czechoslovakia, realising his policy of appeasement towards Hitler had failed, and immediately began to mobilize the British Empire's armed forces on a war footing. France did the same. Though no immediate action followed, Hitler's move on Poland in September started World War II in Europe. [edit] World War II
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/description/Image:Nazi_Germany.png, http://en.wikipedia.org/description/Image:GDR.png [edit] Poland
After invading Poland in 1939, Germany annexed the lands it was forced to give to a reformed Poland in 1919–1922 by the Treaty of Versailles, including the "Polish Corridor", West Prussia, the Province of Posen, and parts of eastern Upper Silesia. The council of the Free City of Danzig voted to become a part of Germany again, although Poles and Jews were deprived of their voting rights and all non-Nazi political parties were banned. Parts of Poland that had not been part of Wilhelmine Germany were also incorporated into the Reich. 
Two decrees by Adolf Hitler (October 8 and October 12, 1939) provided for the division of the annexed areas of Poland into the following administrative units:
These territories had an area of 94,000 km² and a population of 10,000,000 people. The remainder of the Polish territory was annexed by the Soviet Union (see Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) or made into the German-controlled General Government occupation zone. After the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, the district of Białystok, which included the Białystok, Bielsk Podlaski, Grajewo, Łomża, Sokółka, Volkovysk, and Grodno Counties, was "attached to" (not incorporated into) East Prussia. [edit] Alsace-LorraineAfter the invasion of France in 1940, Germany annexed Alsace-Lorraine. The German government never negotiated or declared a formal annexation, however, in order to preserve the possibility of an agreement with the West.[citation needed] [edit] Eupen and Malmedy[edit] Luxembourg[edit] Parts of SloveniaFrom: http://en.wikipedia.org/description/History_of_Slovenia "After Yugoslavia fell, Germany, Italy, and Hungary each annexed parts of Slovenia, the largest part being Lower Styria which was annexed to the "Ostmark" (Nazi German Austria)." [edit] South TyrolSee ”Annexation to Nazist Germany” in http://en.wikipedia.org/description/History_of_Alto_Adige-South_Tyrol See also, http://en.wikipedia.org/description/Italian_Social_Republic [edit] Territorial changes within 1937 Boundary after World War II
Note: The borders of Nazi Germany were considered to coincide with the 1937 boundaries of Germany for purposes of the Yalta, Potsdam, etc. agreements i.e., all areas that were incorporated into Nazi Germany between 1937 and 8 May 1945 were de facto repudiated (Yalta, Potsdam), and were therefore nonissues in the division of Nazi Germany. One exception was Memelland, which was incorporated into Nazi Germany at the end of March, 1939 (the U.S. didn't recognize that transfer, although the UK & France did). The Potsdam Conference declared that both East Prussia and Memelland should be placed under Soviet Administration. From Wikipedia on "Klaipėda Region": On 7 April 1946, the Königsberg Oblast (later renamed Kaliningrad Oblast) was founded that included the Memel Territory and became a new subject of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. On 7 April 1948, the Soviet Union transferred the Memel/Klaipeda District from Kaliningrad Oblast to the Lithuanian SSR. 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. 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. [edit] The Yalta ConferenceThe 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. Originally, Germany was to retain Stettin while the Poles were to annex East Prussia with Königsberg. [2]. 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. [3] Key points of the meeting that are relevant to the territorial changes of Germany are as follows:
[edit] The Potsdam ConferenceAt the Potsdam Conference the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union placed the German territories within the 1937 Nazi Germany borders east of the Oder-Neisse line, and with the exception of parts of East Prussia, as formally under Polish administrative control (These were referred to by the Polish communist government as the "Western Territories" or "Regained Territories"). It was anticipated that a final peace treaty would follow shortly and either confirm this border or determine whatever alterations might be agreed upon. Northern East Prussia and Memelland were placed under Soviet administrative control. The 1919 Versailles Treaty created City-State of Danzig was also placed under Polish administration. 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 northern part of East Prussia was directly annexed by the Soviet Union and remains part of Russia to this day. 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:
In fact, these transfers weren't orderly and humane at all. Caused by fear of the Red Army, most Germans in Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia fled to "the west". A lack of food and the frequency of military actions from the SS (it was forbidden to try to exit the region by order of Hitler) and the Red Army led to 1,8 million deaths. Women and children were most commonly victims of this chaotic transfer. At the end of the conference, the Three Heads of Government agreed on the following actions: 
.png)
[edit] Finalization of the Polish-German borderThe problem with the status of these territories was that the concluding document of the Potsdam Conference in 1945 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 to be subject to a separate peace treaty. Based upon this interpretation of the Potsdam Agreement, the CDU controlled German government maintained that the Oder-Neisse line was completely unacceptable and subject to negotiation. Even the Social Democrats of the SPD initially refused to accept the Oder-Neisse line. Thus, 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." Between 1970 and 1990, the West German political establishment gradually 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. In the Treaty of Warsaw (1970; ratified in 1972) West Germany recognized the Oder-Neisse line as Poland's western border and renounced any present and future territorial claims; this was reaffirmed by both German states in the 1990 Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany. The treaty was ratified in 1991 by the united Germany. This ended the legal limbo 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. [edit] BelgiumThe "Working Party on Provisional Adjustments to the Western Frontiers of Germany" approved in 1949 the provisional transfer of 20 km2 containing 500 inhabitants to Belgium:[1]
The detached territory, in 1956 containing 704 inhabitants including refugees, was prior to its 1956 dissolution and partition between West Germany and Belgium ruled as an independent territory by Belgian Army Major General Paul Bolle who enjoyed dictatorial powers.[2] [edit] Netherlands[edit] FranceFrance expanded the Saarland by attaching parts of the Rhineland and thereafter detached the territory in 1947. see Monnet plan [edit] Luxemburgh[edit] Notes
[edit] ReferencesPágina espejo de la WikipediaDirectorio de Enlaces Directorio dmoz Directorio espejo dmoz Pedro Bernardo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
