The post World War I government of Germany was called the Weimar Republic and reigned from 1919 to 1933. It attempted to establish a peaceful, liberal democratic regime. This government was eventually doomed by economic problems and the weaknesses due to the inflation of the early 1920s, the world depression of the 1930s, and social unrest. The National Socialist, or Nazi, party gained support quickly in the 1930s. It stressed nationalist themes and promised to put the unemployed back to work. The party, led by Adolf Hitler, blamed many of Germany"s problems on alleged Jewish conspiracies. In January of 1933, Hitler was asked to form a new government as Reich Chancellor. After President Paul Von Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler assumed the role as President of Germany as well. Once in power, Hitler and his party abolished democratic institutions and opposition parties. They attempted to remove all non-German people in Germany by forced migration and, ultimately genocide. Hitler restored Germany"s economic and military strength, but his ambitions of power led Germany into World War II. World War II resulted in the destruction of Germany"s political and economic structures, led to its ultimate division, and left a humiliating legacy (U.S. Dept. of State, 1997). Forty million people were dead and Europe lay in ruins. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 8, 1945. Hitler committed suicide. Germany was occupied and the administration controlled by Russia, Britain, France, and the United States. Germany was zoned into four sections and each country exercised supreme authority in their respective zones. The commanders-in-chief acted together on questions affecting the country as a whole. The four controlling powers agreed that Germany would be treated as a single economic unit with some central administrative departments.The Greater Berlin Area, which was 340 square miles, was divided into four sectors also--one for each of the Allied Powers.