<P> 1944--1946, Soviet troops occupied northern Norway and the Danish island of Bornholm, strategically situated at the Baltic sea entrance . Stalin's intent was to attempt to gain bases at these locations late in the war . The Soviet deputy ambassador suggested seizing Bornholm in March 1945 and on 4 May the Baltic Fleet was ordered to seize the island . </P> <P> Bornholm was heavily bombarded by Soviet forces in May 1945 . Gerhard von Kamptz, the German superior officer in charge failed to provide a written capitulation as demanded by the Soviet commanders, several Soviet aircraft relentlessly bombed and destroyed more than 800 civilian houses in Rønne and Nexø and seriously damaged roughly 3000 more during 7--8 May 1945 . On 9 May, Soviet troops landed on the island and after a short fight the German garrison did surrender . Soviet forces left the island on 5 April 1946 . </P> <P> Soviet occupation zone of Germany was the area of eastern Germany occupied by the Soviet Union from 1945 on . In 1949 it became The German Democratic Republic known in English as East Germany . </P> <P> In 1955 the Republic was declared by the Soviet Union to be fully sovereign; however, Soviet troops remained, based on the four - power Potsdam agreement . As NATO troops remained in West Berlin and West Germany, the GDR and Berlin in particular became focal points of Cold War tensions . </P>

What did the soviets control by the end of ww2