Animated Map Depicting German Control of Europe

Click on the image to animate this map depicting the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - then click on it again to greatly enlarge it.  Be patient as it loads. 

Although the map uses German descriptions for each country, you do not need to understand German to understand the expanding (then shrinking) power of the Third Reich during the Second World War. 

Blue depicts territory owned (or captured) by Germany (and countries friendly to it).  Red depicts territory owned (or captured) by the Allies.

Credits

Animated map, created with maps from the University of Texas, at Austin.