Final answer:
The division of Germany post-WWII led to East Germany becoming a Communist state and West Germany becoming a capitalist democracy. They were physically divided by the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. Germany was reunited in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Step-by-step explanation:
The results of the division of Germany after World War II can best be summarized by option (a), indicating that East Germany became communist, and West Germany aligned with the Western powers. After the war, Germany was divided into four sectors, assigned to Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union, with Berlin also divided into sectors within the Soviet one. Eventually, due to political tensions and the goal to prevent the spread of Communism, the American, British, and French sectors merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany, a capitalist democracy, in 1949. Meanwhile, the Soviet sector became the German Democratic Republic or East Germany, a Communist state. The Iron Curtain and later the construction of the Berlin Wall symbolized the deep divide between East and West. These physical barriers marked the front lines of the Cold War confrontation.
The division caused centrifugal divisions within Europe, separating capitalist democracies in the West from Communist regimes in the East. It wasn't until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 that the reintegration of East and West Germany began, culminating in their unification in 1990. Today, Germany remains an influential and integral part of a more united yet diverse Europe, as an active member of the European Union (EU).