IV.

20th Century

In 1918, two days before the German surrender in World War I (1914-1918), an uprising forced the abdication of the Saxon king, and a republic was proclaimed; it subsequently became one of the founding states of the German Republic. After Germany's defeat in World War II (1939-1945), the state of Saxony became part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

After German unification in 1990, the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt were created. Saxony, in east central Germany, occupies basically the same area as the former kingdom. It is bordered by Bavaria, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Saxony-Anhalt, in central Germany, is bordered by Saxony, Thüringen, Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), and Brandenburg.