# German-occupied Europe

German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the Wehrmacht (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 and 1945, during World War II, administered by the Nazi regime under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.
The Wehrmacht occupied European territory:
* as far east as the town of Mozdok in the North Caucasus in the Soviet Union (1942–1943)
* as far north as the settlement of Barentsburg in Svalbard in the Kingdom of Norway
* as far south as the island of Gavdos in the Kingdom of Greece
* as far west as the island of Ushant in the French Republic
In 1941, around 280 million people in Europe, more than half the population, were governed by Germany or their allies and puppet states.
Outside of Europe, German forces controlled areas of North Africa, including Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia between 1940 and 1945. German military scientists established the Schatzgraber Weather Station as far north as Alexandra Land in Francis Joseph Land. Manned German weather stations also operated in North America included three in Greenland, Holzauge, Bassgeiger, and Edelweiss. German Kriegsmarine ships also operated in all oceans of the world throughout World War II.

## History

Several German-occupied countries initially entered World War II as Allies of the United Kingdom or the Soviet Union. Some were forced to surrender before the outbreak of the war 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 subsequently occupied by German forces, such as Italy and Hungary.

## Concentration camps

Germany operated thousands of concentration camps in German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Following the 1934 purge of the SA, the concentration camps were run exclusively by the SS via the Concentration Camps Inspectorate and later the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Initially, most prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany, but as time went on different groups were arrested, including "habitual criminals", "asocials", and Jews.
After the beginning of World War II, people from German-occupied Europe were imprisoned in the concentration camps. About 1.65 million people were registered prisoners in the camps, of whom about a million died during their imprisonment. Most of the fatalities occurred during the second half of World War II, including at least 4.7 million Soviet prisoners who were registered as of January 1945.
Following Allied military victories, the camps were gradually liberated in 1944 and 1945, although hundreds of thousands of prisoners died in the death marches.
After the expansion of Nazi Germany, people from countries occupied by the Wehrmacht were targeted and detained in concentration camps. In Western Europe, arrests focused on resistance fighters and saboteurs, but in Eastern Europe arrests included mass roundups aimed at the implementation of Nazi population policy and the forced recruitment of workers. This led to a predominance of Eastern Europeans, especially Poles, who made up the majority of the population of some camps. The ethnicities of captured people were various other groups from other different nationalities were transferred to Auschwitz or sent to local concentration camps.

## Occupied countries

The countries occupied included all, or most, of the following nations or territories:
| Country or territory of occupation | Puppet state(s) or military administration(s) | Timeline of occupation(s) | German annexed or occupied territory | Resistance movement(s) |
| Albanian Kingdom | Albanian Kingdom | 8 September 1943 – 29 November 1944 | None | Albanian resistance |
| Bailiwick of Guernsey Bailiwick of Jersey | German Occupied Channel Islands (Part of the Military Administration in France) | 30 June 1940 – 9 May 1945 (Guernsey) 1 July 1940 – 9 May 1945 (Jersey) | None | Channel Islands resistance |
| First Czechoslovak Republic Second Czechoslovak Republic Third Czechoslovak Republic | Slovak Republic German Zone of Protection in Slovakia | 1 October 1938 – 11 May 1945 | Gau Bayreuth Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Reichsgau Niederdonau Reichsgau Oberdonau Reichsgau Sudetenland | Czechoslovakian resistance |
| Federal State of Austria | Main article: Anschluss § End of an independent Austria None | 12 March 1938 – 9 May 1945 | Reichsgau Kärnten Reichsgau Niederdonau Reichsgau Oberdonau Reichsgau Salzburg Reichsgau Steiermark Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg Reichsgau Wien | Austrian resistance |
| Free City of Danzig | None | 1 September 1939 – 9 May 1945 | Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia | Danzigian resistance |
| French Republic Free France Provisional Government of the French Republic  French Tunisia | Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France Military Administration in France Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France | 10 May 1940 – 9 May 1945 | Gau Baden Gau Westmark Reichsgau Wallonien | French resistance |
| Luxembourg | Military Administration of Luxembourg Civil Administration of Luxembourg | 10 May 1940 – February 1945 | Gau Moselland | Luxembourg resistance |
| Italian Islands of the Aegean | Italian Islands of the Aegean | 8 September 1943 – 8 May 1945 | None | |
| Belgium | Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France | 10 May 1940 – 4 February 1945 | Gau Cologne-Aachen Reichsgau Wallonien | Belgian resistance |
| Denmark | Protectorate state | 9 April 1940 – 5 May 1945 | None | Danish resistance |
| Kingdom of Greece | Military Administration in Greece Hellenic State | 6 April 1941 – 8 May 1945 | None | Greek resistance |
| Kingdom of Hungary | Kingdom of Hungary Government of National Unity | 19 March 1944 – May 1945 | None | Hungarian resistance |
| Kingdom of Italy | Italian Social Republic Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills | 8 September 1943 – 2 May 1945 | None | Italian resistance |
| Norway | Reichskommissariat Norwegen National Government | 9 April 1940 – 8 May 1945 | None | Norwegian resistance |
| Netherlands | Reichskommissariat Niederlande | 10 May 1940 – 20 May 1945 | None | Dutch resistance |
| Kingdom of Yugoslavia | Albanian Kingdom German-occupied territory of Montenegro Independent State of Croatia German zone of influence Independent State of Macedonia Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia Commissioner Government Government of National Salvation | 6 April 1941 – 15 May 1945 | Reichsgau Kärnten Reichsgau Steiermark | Yugoslav resistance |
| Monaco | None | 8 September 1943 – 3 September 1944 | None | |
| Finland | None | September 15, 1944 – April 25, 1945 | None | Finnish resistance |
| Republic of Lithuania Provisional Government of Lithuania | Reichskommissariat Ostland | 22 March 1939 – 21 July 1940 23 June 1941 – 5 August 1941 | Gau East Prussia | Lithuanian resistance |
| Republic of Poland | Military Administration in Poland General Government administration Reichskommissariat Ostland Reichskommissariat Ukraine | 1 September 1939 – 9 May 1945 | Bezirk Bialystok Gau East Prussia Gau Schlesien Gau Oberschlesien General Government Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia Reichsgau Wartheland | Polish resistance |
| San Marino | None (military trespassing) | 17–20 September 1944 | None | |
| Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia | Commissioner Government Government of National Salvation | April 30, 1941 – January 1945 | None | Serbian resistance |
| Slovak Republic | German Zone of Protection in Slovakia | 23 March 1939 – May 1945 | None | Slovakian resistance |
| Territory of the Saar Basin | None. | 1 March 1935 – April 1945 | Gau Palatinate-Saar Gau Saar-Palatinate Gau Westmark | Saar Basinian resistance |
| Ukrainian National Government | Reichskommissariat Ukraine | 30 June 1941 – September 1941 | General Government | Ukrainian resistance |
| Parts of the Soviet Union | Lepel Republic Military Administration in the Soviet Union Lokot Autonomy Reichskommissariat Ostland Reichskommissariat Ukraine | 22 June 1941 – 10 May 1945 | Bezirk Bialystok General Government | Soviet resistance |

### Governments in exile
#### Allied governments in exile

| Government in exile | Capital in exile | Timeline of exile | Occupier(s) |
| Austrian Democratic Union | London | 1941–1945 | German Reich/Greater German Reich |
| Free France | London (1940–1941) Algiers, French Algeria (1942 – August 31, 1944) | 1940 – August 31, 1944 | French State German Reich/Greater German Reich Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France |
| Government of the Republic of Poland in exile | Paris (September 29/30, 1939 – 1940) Angers, French Republic (1940 – June 12, 1940) London (June 12, 1940 – 1990) | September 29/30, 1939 – December 22, 1990 | German Reich/Greater German Reich Reich Commissariat East Reich Commissariat Ukraine Slovak Republic Soviet Union People's Republic of Poland |
| Belgium | London (October 22, 1940 – September 8, 1944) | October 22, 1940 – September 8, 1944 | German Reich/Greater German Reich Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France |
| Denmark | None | 1943–1945 | German Reich/Greater German Reich |
| Luxembourg | London | 1940–1944 | German Reich/Greater German Reich |
| Kingdom of Greece | Cairo, Egypt | April 29, 1941 – October 12, 1944 | German Reich/Greater German Reich Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Bulgaria |
| Norway | London | June 7, 1940 – May 31, 1945 | Reichskommissariat Norwegen |
| Kingdom of Yugoslavia | London | June 7, 1941 – March 7, 1945 | Albanian Kingdom Commissioner Government German-occupied territory of Montenegro German Reich/Greater German Reich Government of National Salvation Independent State of Croatia Independent Macedonia Kingdom of Bulgaria Kingdom of Hungary Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia |
| Netherlands | London | 1940–1945 | Reichskommissariat Niederlande |
| Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia | Paris (October 2, 1939 – 1940) London (1940–1941) Aston Abbotts, United Kingdom (1941–1945) | October 2, 1939 – April 2, 1945 | German Reich/Greater German Reich Kingdom of Hungary Slovak Republic |

#### Axis governments in exile

| Government in exile | Capital in exile | Timeline of exile | Occupier(s) |
| Kingdom of Bulgaria | Vienna, Greater German Reich | September 16, 1944 – May 10, 1945 | Kingdom of Bulgaria Kingdom of Greece Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| French State | Sigmaringen, Greater German Reich | 1944 – April 22, 1945 | Provisional Government of the French Republic |
| Kingdom of Hungary | Vienna, Greater German Reich Munich, Greater German Reich | March 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 | April 4, 1945 – 8 May 1945 | Czechoslovak Republic |
| Government of National Salvation | Kitzbühel, Great-German Reich | October 7, 1944 – 8 May 1945 | Soviet Union |

#### Neutral governments in exile

| Government in exile | Capital in exile | Timeline of exile | Occupier(s) |
| Belarusian Democratic Republic | Prague, Czechoslovak Republic (1923–1938) Prague, Czecho-Slovak Republic (1938–1939) Prague, German Reich/Greater German Reich (1939–1945) | 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 – August 20, 1991) New York City, United States | June 17, 1940 – August 20, 1991 | Reichskommissariat Ostland Soviet Union |
| Ukrainian People's Republic | Warsaw, Republic of Poland (1920–1939) Prague, German Reich/Greater German Reich (1939–1944) | 1920 – August 22, 1992 | German Reich/Greater German Reich Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Romania Reichskommissariat Ukraine Soviet Union |