World War Two and Germany, 1939-1945 - OCR BGermany's defeat and the aftermath
War greatly affected Germans, who had to cope with rationing and bombing, leading to opposition to the war. Persecution of Jews ended in the Final Solution, before Germany was defeated and divided.
The first German defeat in Europe came at Stalingrad in February 1943. Later, in 1945, Germany was invaded from both the east and west.
Germany was now occupied and divided into four military zones , each controlled by one of the four allied powers: USSR, USA, Britain and France. Its capital Berlin was similarly divided amongst the occupiers.