German-occupied Europe
Between 1938 and 1945, Nazi Germany occupied or controlled large parts of Europe. At its peak in 1941–1942, Germany and the other Axis powers, including Italy, governed more than half of the continent's population. They did this through direct rule, civil occupation, military occupation, and puppet states. Germany's expansion under the Nazi Party of Adolf Hitler led to the start of World War II in 1939. Inside some of the occupied states, especially Poland, there was a large network of Nazi camps that helped carry out what later became known as the Holocaust.
The Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, occupied European land stretching as far north and east as Franz Josef Land in the Soviet Union, as far south as Gavdos in Greece, and as far west as Ushant in France.
German weather stations in Europe reached as far north as Schatzgräber on Franz Josef Land's Alexandra Land. The Kriegsmarine, Germany's navy, operated around the world during World War II. However, it focused mainly on gaining and keeping control of the North Atlantic, especially the North Sea.
History
See also: Areas annexed by Nazi Germany
Several German-occupied countries first entered World War II as Allies of the United Kingdom or the Soviet Union. Some were forced to surrender before the war began, such as Czechoslovakia. Others, like Poland (invaded on 1 September 1939), were conquered in battle and then occupied.
In some cases, the legitimate governments went into exile. In other cases, the governments-in-exile were formed by their citizens in other Allied countries. Some countries occupied by Nazi Germany were officially neutral. Others were former members of the Axis powers that were later occupied by German forces, such as Italy and Hungary.
Concentration camps
Main article: Nazi concentration camps
Germany ran thousands of concentration camps in German-occupied Europe. The first camps were set up in March 1933, right after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. After the 1934 purge of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the camps were run only by the Schutzstaffel (SS). At first, most prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany, but over time other groups were arrested, including "habitual criminals", "asocials", and Jews.
After World War II began, people from German-occupied Europe were also imprisoned in the camps. About 1.65 million people were registered as prisoners, and about a million of them died. Most of these deaths happened in the second half of the war. The camps were gradually freed in 1944 and 1945 after Allied victories, but hundreds of thousands of prisoners died on the death marches. In Eastern Europe, many people were rounded up in large groups, and Poles made up most of the prisoners in some camps. Some prisoners were sent to Auschwitz or to other local camps.
Occupied countries
The countries that were occupied included all, or most, of the following nations or territories:
Governments in exile
Allied governments in exile
Axis governments in exile
Neutral governments in exile
| Government in exile | Capital in exile | Timeline of exile | Occupier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Kingdom of Bulgaria |  Vienna, Greater German Reich | Sep 16, 1944 – May 10, 1945 | Kingdom of Bulgaria Kingdom of Greece Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
 French State | Sigmaringen, Greater German Reich | 1944 – Apr 22, 1945 |  Provisional Government of the French Republic |
 Kingdom of Hungary | Vienna, Greater German Reich | Mar 28/29, 1945 – May 7, 1945 |  Czechoslovak Republic Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Romania Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| Kingdom of Romania | Vienna, Greater German Reich | 1944–1945 | Kingdom of Romania |
 Montenegrin State Council |  Zagreb, Independent State of Croatia | Summer of 1944 – May 8, 1945 | Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
 Slovak Republic | Kremsmünster, Great-German Reich | Apr 4, 1945 – 8 May 1945 | Czechoslovak Republic |
 Government of National Salvation | Kitzbühel, Great-German Reich | Oct 7, 1944 – 8 May 1945 |  Soviet Union |
| Government in exile | Capital in exile | Timeline of exile | Occupier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Belarusian Democratic Republic | Prague, Czechoslovak Republic (1923–1938) | 1919 – present | German Reich/Greater German Reich Realm Commissariat East Realm Commissariat Ukraine Republic of Poland Soviet Union |
 Republic of Estonia |  Stockholm, Kingdom of Sweden(1944 – Aug 20, 1991) | Jun 17, 1940 – Aug 20, 1991 | Reichskommissariat Ostland Soviet Union |
 Ukrainian People's Republic | Warsaw, Republic of Poland (1920–1939) | 1920 – Aug 22, 1992 | German Reich/Greater German Reich Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Romania Reichskommissariat Ukraine Soviet Union |
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