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Revision as of 14:50, 11 March 2005 view sourceHeimdal (talk | contribs)945 edits Luis rib, I think I have worked on the history section more than anyone else here over the winter to balance the text. "Too long" is no excuse for removing images and undoing my efforts.← Previous edit Revision as of 16:30, 11 March 2005 view source 169.244.70.148 (talk)No edit summaryNext edit →
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KILL ALL GERMANS! THEY ARE AL NAZIS, SO KILL THEM NOW!
The '''Federal Republic of Germany''' (]: ''Bundesrepublik Deutschland'') is one of ] ] countries, located in the heart of ]. It is bordered to the north by the ], ] and the ], to the east by ], and the ], to the south by ] and ], and to the west by ], ], ] and the ].

The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the ], ], the ] nations and a founder member of the ], now the ].
{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|+<big>'''Bundesrepublik Deutschland'''</big>
| align="center" colspan="2"|
{| border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="background:#f9f9f9; text-align:center;"
| width="130px"| ] || align=center width=130px| ]
|-
| width="130px"| (])
| align=center width=130px| (])
|}
|-
| align=center colspan=2 | <small>''National ]: Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit<br>(]: Unity and Justice and Freedom)''</small>
|-
| align=center colspan=2 style="background:#f9f9f9;" | ]
|-
|''']''' || ]<sup>1</sup>
|-
|''']''' || ]
|-
|'''Largest City''' || ]
|-
|''']''' || ]
|-
|''']''' || ]
|-
|''']'''<br>- Total<br>- % water
|]<br>] <br>2.416%
|-
|''']'''<br>- Total (])<br>- ]
|]<br>82,531,700<br>242/km&sup2;
|-
|'''Formation<br>Unification<br><br><br>'''
|] (])<br>] ]<br>] ]<br>] ]
|-
|''']'''<br> - Total (])<br> - GDP/capita
|| ]<br>$2.271 trillion<br>$27,600
|-
|''']''' || ] (&euro;)<sup>2</sup>
|-
| ''']'''<br>- in ]
| ] (]+1)<br>] (]+2)
|-
| ''']''' || ]
|-
| ''']''' || ]
|-
| ''']''' || +49
|-
|colspan="2"| <small>
<sup>1</sup> ], ], ], ] and ] are officially recognized and protected as minority languages per the ].<br>
<sup>2</sup> Prior to ]: ].</small>
|}

== History ==

''Main article: ]''

While the German language and the feeling of "Germanhood" go back more than a thousand years, the state now known as Germany was unified as a modern nation-state only in ], when the ], dominated by the ], was forged. This was the second German ''Reich'', usually translated as "empire", but also meaning "realm".

'''From the Age of Charlemagne to the German Empire: 800-1871.''' The first ''Reich'' &ndash; known for much of its existence as the ] of the German Nation &ndash; stemmed from a division of the ] in ], which was founded by ] on December 25th, 800, and existed in varying forms until ]. During these almost thousand years, the Germans expanded their influence successfully with the help of the organization of the Catholic Church, Northern Crusades and the ]. In ], the attempt of ] of Catholicism turned out to have failed, and a separate Protestant church was acknowledged as new state religion in many states of Germany. This led to inter-German strife, the ] (]) and finally the Peace of Westphalia (1618), that resulted in a drastically enfeebled and politically disunited Germany, unable to resist the stroke of the ], during which the ''Reich'' was overrun and dissolved (]). After that, ] was for long perceived as Germany's arch-enemy. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Germany took revenge, but also during ], the invasion of France (1914) was a chief objective. The lasting effect of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire came to be the division between ], formerly the leading state of Germany, from the more western and northern parts. Between 1815 and 1871 Germany consisted of dozens of independent states, thirty-nine of which formed the ] (''Deutscher Bund'').

]
'''German Empire: 1871-1918.''' The second ''Reich'', i.e. the ], was proclaimed in ] on ]th, ], after the French defeat. This was mainly the result of the efforts of ], Germany's most prominent statesman of the 19th century, among other things known for an anti-Catholic ''"Kulturkampf"'' and for fighting Socialists with reforms. From 1] to ], the Emperor Wilhelm I sought to make Germany a world power ("a place in the sun"); German colonies were established in ], the ], ], ], etc. In ], Bismarck was dismissed by Emperor Wilhelm II on account of policy and personal differences. From 1898 onwards, negotiations for an alliance between Germany and ] broke down as a result of Admiral Tirpitz's programme of warship construction. Germany was increasingly isolated. Imperialist power politics and the determined pursuit of national interests led to the outbreak in ] of ].

]
'''World War I: 1914-1918.''' The incident which sparked off the war was the assassination of the Austrian heir apparent and his wife at ] in ] on Jily 28th 1914. The causes were the opposing policies of the European states, the armaments race, German-British Rivalry, the difficulties of the Austro-Hungarian multinational state, Russia's Balkan policy and overhasty mobilisations and ultimatums. Germany declared war on ] on August 1st, and on France on the 3rd; Britain declared war on Germany on August 4th. There was fighting in western, southern, central and eastern Europe, in the Middle East and the German colonies. In the west, Germany fought a war of position with bloody battles, while in the east no decisive victories were won. The British blockade crippled Germany's supplies of raw materials and foodstuffs. The entry of the ] into the war in ] marked a decisive turning-pint. World War I ended in ] with the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Russia and Germany. The Emperor Wilhelm II and all ruling princes abdicated.

]
'''Weimar Republic: 1918-1933.''' After the German Revolution on November 1918, a Republic was proclaimed. That year, the German Communist Party was established, and on January ] the German Workers' Party, later known as the National Socialist Party (NSDAP). On August 11th 1919 the Weimar Constitution came into effect. The democracy was made unpopular in part because of the economic hardship due to both the world wide Great Depression and the harsh peace conditions dictated by the ]. The German voters increasingly supported anti-democratic parties, both right- and left-wing. In the two extraordinary elections of ], the anti-democratic Nazis got 37.2% and 33.0%. A series of dramatic events marked the end of the Weimar Republic. On 30th January ], President ] appointed ] Chancellor of Germany. On February 27th the Reichstag was set on fire. Basic rights were abrogated under an emergency decree. An ] gave Hitler's government full legislative power. A centralised totalitarian state was established, no longer based on the ].

]
'''Third Reich: 1933-1945.''' The new regime quickly dissolved the Länder and all parties and trade unions. From the start the Nazis displayed open hostility to religion and the Church. The persecution of ]s began. From ] onwards, 412 ]s were set up. germany left the ]. In ], the shooting of ] and political opponents marked the beginning of the "SS state". In ] the ] came into force: Jews were deprived of their German citizenship, and were banned from marrying Germans. In ] German troops marched into the demilitarised ]. A "Rome-Berlin axis" was built between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and an Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded between Germany and Japan. The ] of the same year in Berlin and Garmisch-Partenkirchen were used by Hitler's regime as an occasion to show to the world the new Germany. From ] onwards Nazi Germany executed a policy of ], starting with the ]. following the Munich Agreement, ] german territory in ] was ceded to Germany. In ] Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia as the "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia". In the same year Germany formed a military alliance with Italy, and concluded a ] with the ]. The ''Blitzkrieg'' against Poland on September 1st 1939 ultimately ignited ].

]
'''World War II: 1939-1945.''' In ], most of ] was occupied, but ] ]. In ], ] and ] was conquered, then the ] was attacked, and in December war was declared also on the ]. Thereby, Hitler had engaged enemies ultimately too strong for Germany, which started to become obvious by the defeat in February ] at the ]. German cities increasingly became targets of Allied air attacks, and in 1945 all of Germany was occupied by the Allies, Hitler suicided, the war was over, and most of Europe's cities were mere ruins

The Allied occupation revealed for the world, and for the German public, the scale of the racially motivated killing of civilians: chiefly ] from behind the Eastern Front and virtually all Jews from the territories in German hands. Figures for the ] in the East remain controversial and diverging, but the figure 6 million for the Jews who lost their lifes in the ]s of the ] is established.

], described by the East German authorities as "a protection against fascists", partitioned the city from 1961 to 1989]]
'''Division of Germany: 1945-1990.''' The war resulted in ] and ] from what had been ]. The remaining German territory was occupied by the victors. The city of ], though lying in the Soviet zone, was partitioned among the four Allies as well, with ] being controlled by the Western allies.

In ], during the ], Western forces ] ], after it had been cut off from ]-controlled ]. West Germany benefitted from the American ] for the reconstruction of Europe after the war and was a founding state of the ]. The reconstructed ] once again became one of the world's major economies. ] and ] were restored and stabilised to prevent a second Weimar Republic. ], by contrast, became one of the socialist ]s of the ]. The flight of growing numbers of East Germans via West Berlin led on ], ], to East Germany erecting the ] and a fortified border to West Germany.

] is a symbol of division and reunification.]]
'''Reunification: 1989/1990.''' During the summer of ], following growing unrest, large numbers of ] citizens took refuge in ] embassies in ] and ] countries in the hope of emigrating to the West. The East German government's confusion grew during the autumn of 1989, as events all over the Warsaw Pact countries turned to the favour of proponents of democracy. On November 9th, the East German authorities unexpectedly allowed East German citizens to enter West Berlin and West Germany. Hundreds of thousands of people took advantage of the opportunity; new crossing points were opened in the Berlin Wall and along the border with West Germany. This marked the ''de facto'' end of East Germany.

On July 1st ], economic, currency and social union between the two Germanys prepared the way for a full union. The ] of the two Germanys came into force on October 3rd, which was declared a national public holiday (]).

== Politics ==
''Main article: ]''

Germany is a constitutional federal ], whose political system is laid out in the 1949 ] called '']'' (Basic Law). It has a ] in which the ], the ] (Chancellor), is elected by the parliament.

]]]
]
'''Parliament.''' German Parliament is made up of the ] and the ]. The supreme legislative body is the Bundestag (Federal Assembly), the lower house of Parliament, which is elected every four years. It in turn elects the Federal Chancellor (]. The Bundesrat (Federal Council), the upper house of Parliament, represents the 16 federal states (]) and cooperates in law-making and administering the federation. Its members are appointed by the individual ''Länder'', or states. Lately, there has been much concern about the ] and the ] blocking each other, making effective government very difficult.


]
'''Head of state.''' The function of ] is performed by the Federal President (]). He is elected every five years by the Federal Assembly (the ] plus the corresponding number of ] representatives), and his powers are limited mostly to ceremonial and representative duties.

'''Federal Constitutional Court.''' The Federal Constitutional Court (]), located in ], acts as the highest legal authority and ensures that legislative and judicial practice conforms with the ], the German constitution. It acts independently of the other state bodies but cannot act on its own behalf.

'''Social welfare.''' Germany's ] system has deep roots, which go back to the strong bonds between individual and society which grew out of the ], to the revival of the ]n state after the ], as well as to the early ]; and the welfare system remains one of the aspects of the German society of which most Germans are quite proud. The system provides for universal (but not government-run) medical care, unemployment compensation, child benefits, and other social needs. As in other Northern/Western European countries with similar systems, many economists consider a reform process of the ] to be necessary and this is currently (]) a major theme in domestic politics.

'''Foreign relations.''' Together with ], Germany plays a leading role in the ]. Germany is at the forefront of European states seeking to advance the creation of a more unified and capable European political, defense, and security apparatus. In ] ]'s government broke with the German post-war tradition of keeping a notably low profile in international relations by sending German troops into combat for the first time since ], when it joined the ] against ]. Currently, Germany also has troops stationed in ]. More recently, a German permanent seat on the ] has become one of Schröder's major foreign policy objectives.

Germany and France were protagonists of the coalition of nations opposing the ], which was led by the ], together with a "Coalition of the Willing" including ], ], ], the ] ], and several other nations.

==States==
''Main article: ]''

Germany is divided into sixteen ]s (in German called ''Bundesländer'', singular '']''). It is further subdivided into 439 '']'' (districts) and cities (''kreisfreie Städte'') (]).

]
{| border style="border-collapse:collapse"
!] !! ] !! ] !!
|-
|'''1''' ]||]||Baden-Württemberg||Stuttgart
|-
|'''2''' ]||]||Freistaat Bayern||München
|-
|'''3''' ]||Berlin||Berlin||Berlin
|-
|'''4''' ]||]||Brandenburg||Potsdam
|-
|'''5''' ]||]||Freie Hansestadt Bremen||Bremen
|-
|'''6''' ]||Hamburg||Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg||Hamburg
|-
|'''7''' ]||]||Hessen||Wiesbaden
|-
|'''8''' ]||]||Mecklenburg-Vorpommern||Schwerin
|-
|'''9''' ]||]||Niedersachsen||Hannover
|-
|'''10''' ]||]||Nordrhein-Westfalen||Düsseldorf
|-
|'''11''' ]||]||Rheinland-Pfalz||Mainz
|-
|'''12''' ]||]||Saarland||Saarbrücken
|-
|'''13''' ]||]||Freistaat Sachsen||Dresden
|-
|'''14''' ]||]||Sachsen-Anhalt||Magdeburg
|-
|'''15''' ]||]||Schleswig-Holstein||Kiel
|-
|'''16''' ]||]||Freistaat Thüringen||Erfurt
|}

==Geography==
''Main article: ]''

]
'''The land.''' Since ] of the two parts of the country Germany has resumed its traditional role as the major centre between ] in the north and the ] region in the south, as well as between the ] west and the countries of ] and ].

The territory of Germany stretches from the high mountains of the ] (highest point: the ] at 2,962 m) in the south to the shores of the ] in the north-west and the ] in the north-east. In between are found the forested uplands of central Germany and the low-lying lands of northern Germany (lowest point: ]/] at 3.54 meters below sea level), traversed by some of Europe's major rivers such as the ], ] and ].

Thanks to its central situation Germany has more neighbours than any other European country; these are ] in the north, ] and the ] in the east, ] and ] in the south, ] and ] in the south-west and ] and the ] in the north-west.


'''Climate.''' The greater part of Germany lies in the cool/temperate climatic zone in which humid westerly winds predominate.

In the ''north-west'' and the ''north'' the climate is extremely oceanic and rain falls all the year round. Winters there are relatively mild and summers comparatively cool.

In the ''east'' the climate shows clear continental features; winters can be very cold for long periods, and summers can become very warm. Here, too, long dry periods are often recorded.

In the ''centre'' and the ''south'' there is a transitional climate which may be predominantly oceanic or continental, according to the general weather situation.

There have been several large-scale river floodings in the last few years; while floods of such severity are quite rare in the long term, their frequency has been increasing lately, partly due to changes in land use in the flood plains.

== Economy ==
''Main article: ]''

] coin features the Brandenburg Gate]]
Germany is the world's third largest economy measured by ], placed behind the ] and ]. As of ], Germany was also the world's largest exporter for the second year in a row, despite the skyrocketing strength of the ]. Its major trading partners include ], the ], the ], ] and the ]. A major issue of concern remains the persistently high ] rate - especially in the eastern ] -, and partly as a result of it, weak domestic demand which slows down economic growth.

'''Agriculture.''' For many years now agriculture in Germany has been in a state of decline. Poor earnings and lack of profitability are counted to the main reasons for the failure of many medium and small concerns. The main crops grown are ]es, ], ], ] and ]. Germany ranks among the world's largest producers of ], milk products and ].

'''Industrial sector.''' As in most other large economic nations, Germany's industrial sector has declined in favour of the service sector. Germany is among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of ], ], ], ], ], ], ]s and ]s, as well as a world leader in the ] industry. Major automakers like ] and ], and huge international corporations like ] rank among the world's largest firms.

'''Service sector.''' The service sector has grown steadily in recent years and now contributes the largest share of GDP. This sector includes ]. As of ], the largest numbers of foreign visitors to Germany came from the ], followed by the ] and the ].

'''Natural resources.''' Germany is lacking in natural raw materials, if one disregards the hard ] deposits in the ], in the ] district and in the ], where mining is profitable only thanks to state subsidies. Brown coal from mines in the ]er Bucht and the Niederlausitz is still the major energy source in the eastern ], while ] enjoys this position in the western Länder. The current ] coalition government is pursuing a long-term strategy of phasing out ] in favour of ] sources of energy.

==Demographics==
''Main article: ]''

'''The people.''' Germany has many large cities but only three with a population of one million or more (Berlin: 3 million, Hamburg: 1.8 million, Munich: 1.2 Million); the population is thus much less centralized and oriented towards a single large capital than in most other European countries. The largest cities are ], ], ] ''(München),'' ] ''(Köln),'' ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].

By far the largest urban conurbation is the ]-] region including the Düsseldorf-Cologne district. Leaving aside the ]s of the cities with over a million inhabitants, other large heavily populated areas are the ] around Frankfurt/Main, ] and ], the ], the ]-] region around ] and ], the ] foothills around ] and ], the central ] valley around ], the ]-] area, as well as the catchment areas of Hanover and ].

As of 31 December 2003, about 7.3 million non-citizen residents were living in Germany. By far the largest number came from ], followed by ], ], ], ], ], ], ], the ], ] and ] . About 2/3s of these have been in the country for more than 8 years, 20% were born in Germany; both groups qualify for citizenship after recent changes in immigration law (2002 data), if the individuals involved choose to apply for it (which regularly involves renunciation of previous citizenship(s)). Germany is still a primary destination for political and economic ]s from many ], but the number of asylum seekers has been dropping in recent years, reaching about 50,000 in 2003. A new immigration law recently took effect (1 January 2005), which provides a more systematic treatment of immigration issues as well as increased support for German language classes for immigrants.

An ] minority of about 50,000 people lives in ], mostly close to the Danish border, in the north; a small number of ] people known as the ] lives in the states of ] (about 40,000) and ] (about 20.000). The ] is ] to about 12,000 speakers in Germany, the rest living in the ]. In rural areas of Northern Germany ] is widely spoken.

There are also a large number of ] immigrants from the former ] area (1.7 million), ] (0.7 million) and ] (0.3 million) (]&ndash;] totals), who are automatically granted German citizenship, and thus do not show up in foreign resident statistics; unlike the foreigners they have been settled by the government almost evenly spread throughout Germany. Many of them speak the languages of their former resident countries at home.

'''Education.''' Germany has one of the world's ]. Since the end of ], the number of youths entering universities has more than tripled, but university attendance still lags behind many other European nations. In the annual league of top-ranking universities compiled by ] in ], Germany came 4th overall, but with only 7 universities in the top 100 (USA: 51). The highest ranking university, at no. 45, was the ].

==Religion==
], Father of the German Reformation and reformer of the German language, 1529]]
:''Main article:]

] is the major religion, with ] (particularly in the north and east) comprising 33% of the population and ] (particularly in the south and west) also 33%. In total more than 55 million people officially belong to a Christian denomination. Most German Protestants are members of the ]. Independent and congregational churches exist in all larger towns and many smaller ones, but most such churches are small.

] was Germany's top religion in the ], but the ] changed this drastically. In 1517 ] challenged this religion as he saw it as a commercialisation of his faith. Through this, he altered the course of European and world history and established ], the largest denomination in Germany today.

In eastern Germany, there is much less religious feeling &mdash; probably the result of forty years of ] &mdash; than in the West. Only 5% attend at least once per week, compared to 14% in the West according to a recent . About 30% of the total population are officially religiously unaffiliated. In the East this number is also considerably higher.

] (mostly of ] descent) live in Germany. Lately there have been heated discussions about the question of whether Muslim women working in public service, such as schoolteachers, should be allowed to wear headscarves to work or not.

Besides this there are a few hundred thousand ], 400,000 ], numerous other small groups, and 160,000 ], of which around 100,000 belong to a synagogue.

Today Germany, especially its capital ], has the fastest growing Jewish community worldwide. Some ten thousands of Jews from the former ], mostly from ex-] countries, settled in Germany since the fall of the ]. Prior to ], about 600,000 Jews lived in Germany, most of them long-time resident families.

==Culture==
''Main article: ]''
]
Germany's contributions to the world's cultural heritage are numerous, and the country is often known as ''das Land der Dichter und Denker'' (The Land of Poets and Thinkers). Germany was the birthplace of composers such as ], ], ], ] and ]; poets such as ] and ] as well as ]; philosophers including ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ], theologians like ], authors including ], ], ] and ]; scientists including ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]; and inventors and engineers such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. There are also numerous fine artists from Germany such as the ] artist ], the surrealist ], the expressionist ], the conceptual artist ] or the neo expressionist ].

The ] was once the ] of central, eastern and northern Europe, and remains one of the most popular foreign languages taught worldwide, in Europe it is the second most popular language after English. Many important historical figures, though not citizens of Germany in the modern sense, were nevertheless seen as '']'' in the sense that they were immersed in the German culture, for example ], ] and ].

Since about ] Germany has once again had a thriving popular culture, now increasingly being led by its new old capital ] and the city of ], and a self-confident music and art culture. Germany is also well known for its many opera houses.

''See also: ], ], ], ]: ], ], ]''

== Miscellaneous topics ==
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== External links ==
* &mdash; Official site published by the German Federal Foreign Office
* &mdash; Official German portal
* &mdash; Study and Research in Germany (multilingual)
* Germany's international broadcaster, 30 language website
* &mdash; Federal Statistical Office Germany (in English)
* &mdash; More official statistical data
* &mdash; Official site of the German Federal Government
* &mdash; Official site of the German President
* &mdash; Official site of the German Parliament
* &mdash; How Germany works, published by the German Federal Government
* &mdash; The World fact book page of Germany (source : CIA)
* &mdash; Panoramic views of numerous German Cities
*
*
*
*Axel Boldt, ''''
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* &mdash; German newspaper portal
* &mdash; Ex-Pat Guide To Germany in English
*
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{{EU_countries}}
{{Europe}}
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Revision as of 16:30, 11 March 2005

KILL ALL GERMANS! THEY ARE AL NAZIS, SO KILL THEM NOW!