Four Ds
Principles of the post-war occupation of Germany / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The term Four Ds refers to the four guiding principles of the allied occupation of Germany after World War II. Resulting from the Potsdam Conference in July to August 1945, they comprise: demilitarisation, denazification, decentralisation, and democratisation. Some historians add decartelisation or deindustrialisation to this list, creating the alternative name Five Ds.
While the disarmament of the Wehrmacht was accomplished soon after the end of hostilities, the remaining principles were applied to differing outcomes in the individual occupation zones. In the Western zones, denazification was achieved only partially in spite of the high-profile Nuremberg trials. Nevertheless, a federal and democratic state was soon created. In the Soviet occupation zone, society was cleansed of Nazi elements more thoroughly, but a Marxist–Leninist one-party state (East Germany) emerged in the wake of denazification.