A Divided Germany

Upon the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the victorious Allied powers asserted their authority over all territory of the German Reich which lay west of the Oder–Neisse line, having formally abolished the government of Adolf Hitler (see 1945 Berlin Declaration). The four powers divided Germany into four occupation zones for administrative purposes, into what is collectively known now as Allied-occupied Germany (German: Alliierten-besetztes Deutschland). This division was ratified at the Potsdam Conference (17 July to 2 August 1945). In autumn 1944 the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union had agreed on the zones by the London Protocol.

What was left of Germany came close to breaking apart after the Second World War, nationalists in Bavaria sought Allied support for an establishment of an independent Bavaria. In the end, Bavaria accepted major autonomy within the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). What if the Allies listened to the demands of the Bavarian nationalist movement?

The Point of Divergence
In 1949, after a campaign by Bavarian nationalists, Bavaria regains her independence for the first time in 78 years. Crown Prince Robert is invited back to Bavaria to reclaim the throne, Robert accepts and he is crowned King of Bavaria. The independence of Bavaria made the Allies to think that a united Germany could pose a threat in the future, and so in 1951, the United Nations established the Free State of Baden-Württemberg.

Despite being enemies of the Warsaw Pact, NATO was against the unification of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The Saar Protectorate remains an independent nation under French and Belgian influence.

Following the end of the Cold War, Communist governments are overthrown throughout Eastern Europe. Initially, the people of East Germany wished to unify with West Germany. NATO, however, threatened military intervention in the event of unification and the idea perished. East Germany established a new fascist government and is allied with Russia.