Occupation

The occupation exposed the weakness of Hitler’s earlier claim that he only wanted to unite German-speaking people. His seizure of Czech territory could not be explained as bringing a predominantly German population into Germany. It demonstrated wider ambitions to increase German power.

Authority passed to the victorious Allies: the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. They were responsible for restoring order, feeding the population and beginning reconstruction. This made occupation both a restriction on German freedom and a means of meeting urgent needs.

Occupation meant that a foreign power controlled a territory and could impose its own rules on the population. However, Nazi occupation did not work in exactly the same way everywhere.