After the end of the war, a conference was held in Potsdam, Germany, to set up peace treaties . The countries that fought with Hitler lost territory and had to pay reparations to the Allies . Germany and its capital Berlin were divided into four parts. The zones were to be controlled by Great Britain, the United States, France and the Soviet Union. The three western Allies and the Soviet Union disagreed on many things and as time went on Germany was divided into two separate countries : East Germany , which had a Communist government and West Germany, which was a democratic state . Berlin was also divided into East and West Berlin. Austria was also occupied by the four Allies from 1945 to 1955.