How was Germany divided by the allies after world war ll?

Germany was initially divided into four zones of occupation, with each of the victorious Allies - the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union - controlling one zone. Berlin, the capital city, was also divided into four sectors, with each Ally controlling one sector. Initially, Allied efforts focused on:

- Demilitarization: Germany's military was completely dismantled, and all war industries were closed down.

- Denazification: Efforts were made to remove all traces of the Nazi regime from German society, including Nazi symbols, literature, and ideology. War criminals and Nazi leaders were put on trial, and many were executed or imprisoned.

- Deindustrialization: As reparations for the war, the Allies initially dismantled many German industries, especially in the heavy industry sector, to prevent the country from re-arming.

- Decentralization: The Allies wanted to prevent the rise of a centralized and authoritarian government in Germany. They took steps to decentralize the German administration and encouraged the formation of democratic institutions at the state and local levels.

However, the division of Germany along ideological lines and the beginning of the Cold War quickly led to tensions between the Allies. In 1949, the Western zones of occupation - the United States, the United Kingdom, and France - merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany, while the Soviet zone of occupation became the German Democratic Republic. Berlin remained a divided city, and the border between East and West Germany became one of the most heavily fortified frontiers in the world, known as the Iron Curtain.