republic · Germany and Central Europe
Free State of Mecklenburg
Origins
On 1 January 1934 a Reich law merged the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz into a single Land of Mecklenburg, with Schwerin as capital, ending the division that dated from 1701.
Rule and society
Under the Nazis the state was run by Reich governor Friedrich Hildebrandt. Rostock's Heinkel and Arado aircraft works made it a target of Allied bombing. In 1945 it was occupied by Soviet and British forces and placed in the Soviet zone, gaining western Pomerania and receiving many expellees. A land reform in 1945 broke up the large estates.
Decline and legacy
Known as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern until 1947, the Land became part of the German Democratic Republic in 1949. In 1952 it was divided into the districts of Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg; the state was re-established in 1990 as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Lineage
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- Free State of Mecklenburg was part of Nazi Germany1934 CE – 1945 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Free State of Mecklenburg. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-mecklenburg
- MLA
- “Free State of Mecklenburg.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-mecklenburg. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Free State of Mecklenburg.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-mecklenburg.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Free State of Mecklenburg’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-mecklenburg (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻