The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949

In 1945, when the Red Army marched in, eastern Germany was not occupied but liberated. This, until the recent collapse of the Soviet Bloc, is what passed for history in the German Democratic Republic. Making use of newly opened archives in Russia and Germany, Norman Naimark reveals what happened during the Soviet occupation of eastern Germany from 1945 through 1949. His book offers a comprehensive look at Soviet policies in the occupied zone and their pratical consequences for Germans and Russians alike - and, ultimately, for postwar Europe.