Editing Nazi Germany (section)

== Geography ==
=== Territorial changes ===
{{Main|Areas annexed by Nazi Germany}}
{{See also|Territorial evolution of Germany}}
[[File:Das Grossdeutsche Reich.jpeg|300px|thumb|Territorial expansion of German Reich from 1933 to 1941 as explained to Wehrmacht soldiers, a Nazi era map in German]]
As a result of their defeat in World War I and the resulting Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost [[Alsace-Lorraine]], [[Northern Schleswig]], and [[Klaipėda Region|Memel]]. The [[Saarland]] became [[Saar Protectorate|a protectorate]] of France under the condition that its residents would later decide by referendum which country to join, and Poland became a separate nation and was given access to the sea by the creation of the [[Polish Corridor]], which separated Prussia from the rest of Germany, while [[Free City of Danzig|Danzig was made a free city]].{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=62}}

Germany regained control of the Saarland through a referendum held in 1935 and annexed Austria in the ''Anschluss'' of 1938.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=623, 646–652}} The Munich Agreement of 1938 gave Germany control of the Sudetenland, and they seized the remainder of Czechoslovakia six months later.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=671–674}} [[1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania|Under threat]] of invasion by sea, Lithuania surrendered the Memel district in March 1939.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=461–462}}

Between 1939 and 1941, German forces [[Invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]], [[Invasion of Denmark|Denmark]], [[Operation Weserübung|Norway]], [[Battle of France|France]], [[Invasion of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], [[Battle of the Netherlands|the Netherlands]], [[Battle of Belgium|Belgium]], [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], [[Battle of Greece|Greece]], and [[Operation Barbarossa|the Soviet Union]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=696–730}} Germany [[Slovene Lands in World War II|annexed parts of northern Yugoslavia]] in April 1941,{{sfn|Tomasevich|1975|pp=52–53}}{{sfn|Richter|1998|p=616}} while Mussolini ceded [[Trieste]], [[South Tyrol]], and [[Istria]] to Germany in 1943.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1005}}

=== Occupied territories ===
{{Main|German-occupied Europe}}
[[File:Public execution of 54 Poles in Rożki (1942).jpg|thumb|left|Public execution of 54 Poles in [[Rożki, Masovian Voivodeship]] (near [[Radom]]), German-occupied Poland, 1942]]
Some of the conquered territories were incorporated into Germany as part of Hitler's long-term goal of creating a [[Greater Germanic Reich]]. Several areas, such as Alsace-Lorraine, were placed under the authority of an adjacent ''[[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]]'' (regional district). The ''[[Reichskommissariat]]e'' (Reich Commissariats), quasi-colonial regimes, were established in some occupied countries. Areas placed under German administration included the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]], ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]'' (encompassing the Baltic states and Belarus), and ''[[Reichskommissariat Ukraine]]''. Conquered areas of Belgium and France were placed under control of the [[Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France]].{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=373}} Belgian [[Eupen-Malmedy]], which had been part of Germany until 1919, was annexed. Part of Poland was incorporated into the Reich, and the [[General Government]] was established in occupied central Poland.{{sfn|Longerich|2010|p=147}} The governments of Denmark, Norway (''[[Reichskommissariat Norwegen]]''), and the Netherlands (''[[Reichskommissariat Niederlande]]'') were placed under civilian administrations staffed largely by natives.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=373}}{{efn|More such districts, such as the ''[[Reichskommissariat Moskowien]]'' (Moscow), ''[[Reichskommissariat Kaukasien]]'' (Caucasus) and ''[[Reichskommissariat Turkestan]]'' (Turkestan) were proposed in case these areas were brought under German rule.}} Hitler intended to eventually incorporate many of these areas into the Reich.{{sfn|Umbreit|2003|p=26}} Germany occupied the [[Italian protectorate of Albania (1939–1943)|Italian protectorate of Albania]] and the [[Italian governorate of Montenegro]] in 1943{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1006}} and installed [[Government of National Salvation|a puppet government]] in [[Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia|occupied Serbia]] in 1941.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=824, 841}}
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