<P> Upon the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II , the victorious Allies asserted their joint authority and sovereignty over ' Germany as a whole ' , defined as all territories of the former German Reich which lay west of the Oder -- Neisse line , having declared the destruction of Nazi Germany at the death of Adolf Hitler ( see 1945 Berlin Declaration ) . The four powers divided ' Germany as a whole ' into four occupation zones for administrative purposes , under the United States , United Kingdom , France and the Soviet Union respectively ; creating what became collectively known as Allied - occupied Germany ( German : Alliierten - besetztes Deutschland ) . This division was ratified at the Potsdam Conference ( 17 July to 2 August 1945 ) . The four zones were as agreed in February 1945 by the United States , United Kingdom and Soviet Union meeting at the Yalta Conference ; setting aside an earlier division into three zones ( excluding France ) proposed by the London Protocol . </P>
<P> Upon the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II , the victorious Allies asserted their joint authority and sovereignty over ' Germany as a whole ' , defined as all territories of the former German Reich which lay west of the Oder -- Neisse line , having declared the destruction of Nazi Germany at the death of Adolf Hitler ( see 1945 Berlin Declaration ) . The four powers divided ' Germany as a whole ' into four occupation zones for administrative purposes , under the United States , United Kingdom , France and the Soviet Union respectively ; creating what became collectively known as Allied - occupied Germany ( German : Alliierten - besetztes Deutschland ) . This division was ratified at the Potsdam Conference ( 17 July to 2 August 1945 ) . The four zones were as agreed in February 1945 by the United States , United Kingdom and Soviet Union meeting at the Yalta Conference ; setting aside an earlier division into three zones ( excluding France ) proposed by the London Protocol . </P>
why did the allies occupy germany after ww2
why did the allies occupy germany after ww2
asserted their joint authority and sovereignty
asserted their joint authority and sovereignty