History

Marxism and the National Question

A nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.

Only thing missing there is the shared territory due to the occupation. I don't tend to believe that the Rhinelanders share a language or common culture with France, for example. Other than that, balkanized Germany at the Polish border would serve less geopolitical interests than if they had managed to secure a neutral buffer country, with the possibility of an eventual SED victory.