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Map of Germany
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Political map of Germany showing state boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries including Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. A small inset locator map in the top left highlights Germany's position within Europe. Historical map showing the regions of Germany in the 10th and 11th centuries, with color-coded territories such as Saxony, Bavaria, Swabia, Lorraine, Franconia, and Carinthia. The map includes major cities, bishoprics, archbishoprics, and neighboring areas like France, Bohemia, and Hungary, highlighting the political divisions and ecclesiastical centers of the era. Historical map showing the unification of Germany by Prussia in the late 19th century. The map highlights in green the Kingdom of Prussia as of 1866, and in yellow the additional territories that formed the German Empire by 1871-1918, encompassing most of north-central Europe. Neighboring countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland are labeled, with major regions and states within the empire clearly marked. A set of four historical maps showing changes in Germany's territory and internal status from 1914 to 1990. Each map highlights Germany in yellow, illustrating its larger borders in 1914, reduced and redefined borders between 1920 and 1938, division into East and West Germany from 1945 to 1990, and reunified Germany in 1990, with surrounding European countries labeled for context. Black and white map showing the zones of Allied occupation in Germany and Austria in 1945, following World War II. The map divides both countries into British, American, French, and Soviet zones, each marked with different shading patterns. Insets highlight the divided administration of Berlin and Vienna. Surrounding countries and major cities are labeled for context. Map of Germany from 1952 to 1990 showing the division between West Germany, shaded in light yellow, and East Germany, shaded in orange. State and district boundaries are marked, with major cities and national capitals such as Bonn, West Berlin, and East Berlin labeled. Neighboring countries including Denmark, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands are also shown. Map of divided Berlin, with the path of the Berlin Wall marked
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Map of Germany

Written by
Michael Ray
Michael Ray is an assistant managing editor who has worked at Britannica since 2003. In addition to leading the Geography and History team, he oversees coverage of European history and military affairs....
Michael Ray
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History
Political map of Germany showing state boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries including Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. A small inset locator map in the top left highlights Germany's position within Europe.
Political map of Germany, with state boundaries, capitals, and major cities

It is believed that Julius Caesar, in his commentarii on the Gallic Wars, was the first person to have described the peoples living near the Rhine as “Germans.” The idea of a German people and nation would persist—manifesting politically in a variety of duchies and kingdoms, many of which would be incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire—but almost 2,000 years would pass before a united Germany would take shape and forever change the map of Europe. The current borders of Germany reflect significant territorial changes that took place as a result of the First and Second World Wars.

Map of duchies and kingdoms of medieval Germany

Historical map showing the regions of Germany in the 10th and 11th centuries, with color-coded territories such as Saxony, Bavaria, Swabia, Lorraine, Franconia, and Carinthia. The map includes major cities, bishoprics, archbishoprics, and neighboring areas like France, Bohemia, and Hungary, highlighting the political divisions and ecclesiastical centers of the era.
Map of Germany in the 10th and 11th centuries

The lands of the Carolingian king Louis II (also called Louis the German) would form the core of medieval Germany. The East Frankish Carolingian line ended with the death of Louis IV in 911, and more than a half-century would pass before Otto I of Saxony could reunite the German lands as Holy Roman emperor (962).

Map of the unification of Germany

Historical map showing the unification of Germany by Prussia in the late 19th century. The map highlights in green the Kingdom of Prussia as of 1866, and in yellow the additional territories that formed the German Empire by 1871-1918, encompassing most of north-central Europe. Neighboring countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland are labeled, with major regions and states within the empire clearly marked.
Map of the unification of Germany by PrussiaThe unification of Germany by Prussia, which brought most of north-central Europe into one kingdom.

On January 18, 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed. Otto von Bismarck had unified the German states under the leadership of Prussia, and he had secured his new nation’s place among Europe’s great powers with a string of military victories against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870–71).

Changes to the map of Germany in the 20th century

A set of four historical maps showing changes in Germany's territory and internal status from 1914 to 1990. Each map highlights Germany in yellow, illustrating its larger borders in 1914, reduced and redefined borders between 1920 and 1938, division into East and West Germany from 1945 to 1990, and reunified Germany in 1990, with surrounding European countries labeled for context.
Map of changes in Germany's territory and internal status, 1914–90

The 20th century saw massive changes in the territory of Germany. After World War I, France reclaimed Alsace-Lorraine (annexed by Germany after the Franco-German War), and the Polish Corridor (a strip of land that provided a path to the sea for a reconstituted Poland) divided East Prussia from the rest of Germany. In the interwar years, the Third Reich annexed Austria and—after Czechoslovakia was forsaken by its allies—the Sudetenland. After World War II, Germany was occupied and subsequently divided into spheres of influence with the creation of East and West Germany. Pomerania and Silesia were given to Poland, as was the bulk of East Prussia. A strip of East Prussia along the Baltic was annexed by the Soviet Union and dubbed Kaliningrad. Prussia itself was formally abolished as a political entity by the Allies on February 25, 1947.

Map of Allied-occupied Germany and Austria

Black and white map showing the zones of Allied occupation in Germany and Austria in 1945, following World War II. The map divides both countries into British, American, French, and Soviet zones, each marked with different shading patterns. Insets highlight the divided administration of Berlin and Vienna. Surrounding countries and major cities are labeled for context.
Allied zones of occupationA map depicting the Allied occupation zones in Germany and Austria following World War II.

From 1945 to 1949, Allied armies occupied Germany. Berlin, which was deep in the Soviet zone, was itself divided among the four powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union). In June 1948, when the three Western Allies announced the introduction of a new currency (the deutsche mark) for their territories, the Soviets implemented a blockade of Berlin in the hopes of driving their former allies from the city. For the next 11 months, the Soviets maintained the blockade, while the Western Allies supplied the residents of West Berlin through a massive airlift campaign.

Map of East and West Germany

Map of Germany from 1952 to 1990 showing the division between West Germany, shaded in light yellow, and East Germany, shaded in orange. State and district boundaries are marked, with major cities and national capitals such as Bonn, West Berlin, and East Berlin labeled. Neighboring countries including Denmark, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands are also shown.
Map of East and West Germany (1952–90)

The Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland), commonly known as West Germany, came into being in May 1949 after all the Länder (states) of the Western Allies’ zones (except Bavaria) had ratified the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). It was established as a parliamentary democracy with its provisional capital in the small city of Bonn. On October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), commonly known as East Germany, was created from the Soviet occupation zone, with its capital in the Soviet sector of Berlin. Although nominally a parliamentary democracy, the government of East Germany served merely as the agent of an all-powerful communist-controlled party, which was in turn ruled from above by a self-selecting Politburo.

Map of East and West Berlin

Map of divided Berlin, with the path of the Berlin Wall marked
Map of divided Berlin, with the path of the Berlin Wall marked

Berlin was divided into zones of occupation at the end of World War II. Although this was intended to be a temporary arrangement, with Germany returning to self-government once the occupation had ended, the city (and the country as a whole) were divided into Western and Soviet spheres for most of the second half of the 20th century. The U.S. Marshall Plan and other postwar development programs helped enable the Wirtschaftswunder (“economic miracle”) that saw the West German economy recover swiftly in the postwar years. Seeing stagnation in the East, between 1949 and 1961, about 2.5 million East Germans had fled from East to West Germany, including steadily rising numbers of skilled workers, professionals, and intellectuals. This brain drain threatened the viability of the East German state, so on the night of August 12–13, 1961, the barrier that would become the Berlin Wall was erected. For the next 28 years, the wall would serve as a symbol of the Cold War divide between the West and the Soviet bloc.

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