ABSTRACT
The notion of federation resonated among Germans because it recalled the many small kingdoms and principalities that had comprised Germany before Bismarck's unification in 1871. One of the most important means of "democratizing" West Germany on the part of the Western occupation forces was to decentralize the political structure by instituting a federated nation. For more than a century Germans had been the undisputed world leaders of the world in educational programs, and they demanded that they be given the right to restore this source of pride in the Western zones. Certain generalizations can be made about regional differences in West Germany by looking at political party affiliations within these areas. The Soviet Union was the most thorough of the occupational powers in that it attempted to alter the very nature of German society. To ensure that socialism would become a reality, the Soviets and their German collaborators instituted and integrated a highly centralized state.
