WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -West Germany, or the Federal Republic of Germany, was officially established in May 1949. East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic, was established in October 1949. Under their occupying governments, the two Germanys followed very different paths.

Detailed explanation-2: -For purposes of occupation, the Americans, British, French, and Soviets divided Germany into four zones. The American, British, and French zones together made up the western two-thirds of Germany, while the Soviet zone comprised the eastern third.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1949, Germany formally split into two independent nations: the Federal Republic of Germany (FDR or West Germany), allied to the Western democracies, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany), allied to the Soviet Union.

Detailed explanation-4: -On the night of August 12 to August 13, 1961, East German soldiers in Berlin laid out miles of barbed wire that would become the Berlin Wall, sealing the border with West Germany for the next 28 years.

Detailed explanation-5: -Germany was divided after WWII because it was to blame for WWI and WWII. The Allied powers did not want Germany to have to possibility of waging another war. Germany had also forced ethnic Germans out of the country, and raped, and starved many of the German citizens.