The Borders of the German Reich

Nazi Germany altered almost all the borders in Europe by force and the German Reich was extensively enlarged by the areas that were annexed. The populations of the incorporated territories were categorized as either "eindeutschungsfähig“ (capable of "Germanization") or "nicht eindeutschungsfähig“ (not capable of Germanization) and disenfranchised or expelled accordingly. Germany's allies and the newly created satellite states Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria were also rewarded with large swathes of territory.
The designations and definitions of the various states, entities and their populations used in Nazi statistics changed continuously between 1940 and 1944 as the borders changed. Until early 1942 forced laborers were classified by nationality, i.e. Pole, Dutch or "Soviet Russian." Later on geographical designations prevailed, e.g. General Government, Netherlands or Yugoslavia. From 1942 onward individuals from the Soviet Union were referred to as "Eastern Worker" (laborers from Former Soviet Territory). In accordance with the "Eastern Worker Edicts" promulgated in the Reichsgesetzblatt of July 2, 1942, these not only included ethnic Russians, but also White Russians, Ukrainians, Poles and other nationalities: "Eastern workers are those of non-German ethnicity recruited in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, the Generalkommissariat White Ruthenia, or in areas adjoining these territories and the former free states Latvia and Estonia." The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed on March 16, 1939 and comprised all those areas of Czechoslovakia that remained after the annexation of the Sudetenland and the independence of Slovakia. Thee Protectorate was part of the Greater German Reich. After the attack on Yugoslavia, the territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was divided up between the newly proclaimed Independent State of Croatia, Serbia, Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria. Individuals from those areas annexed by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria were registered as Germans, Italians, Hungarians and Bulgarians.