History of Germany

Germany

                   

                    History of Germany

The idea of Germany as anindividual region in Europe can be traced back to the Era the Roman Commander, Julius Caesar. He had conquered Ghaul (France)and referred to the unconquered area which was further eastof the Rhine as Germania. The Germanic tribes wonthe Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD againstthe Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the West Germanic Tribes wereconquered by the Franks. Later when the Frankish Empirewas divided among the heirs of Charlemagne in 843, the eastern partcame to be known as East Francia. 

Otto I became the first emperorof the Holy Roman Empire in 962. During the High Middle Ages,the emperors were the ones who gave power and titles to thebishops, dukes and princes. In the year 1517, MartinLuther headed the Protestant Reformation in contradictionto the Catholic churches, converting the entire Northernstates into Protestants, while the Southern statesremained Catholic. There was a thirty years longwar between the two parts of the Holy Roman Empire from the year 1618 - 1648. It had a catastrophic effect on thetwenty million civilians of that time. 1648 finally saw the endof Holy Roman Empire and the rise of a modernnation state system, with that, Germany was dividedinto several independent states like Bavaria,Saxony and Prussia. 

Roman Empire

Germany saw the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars in the years 1803 - 1815, with time feudalism fell away, patriotismand liberalism clashed with their response. The March Revolution in theyear 1848 was a failure. Though the industrial Revolutionrationalised the economy of Germany which led to rapid growth the cities andemergence of the Socialist Movement. Berlin a big city, grew in powerand became the capital of Prussia. 

The Universities of Germany became excellent centres for study ofhumanities and Science. Music and Art flourishedwith the same flair. Amalgamation of the two only happened after the formation of the German Empire in the year 1871 lead by OttoVon Bismarck the Prussian Chancellor. By 1900s Germany was a dominantpower on the continent with its rapidly expandingindustrial economy. 

In the World War I 1914-1918,Germany had much to do in leading the centralpowers against few States. The German Revolutionof 1918-1919 overthrew many kings and princes offtheir titles, leading to the foundation of an unstable Parliamentarydemocracy known as the Weimar Republic. The year 1930 was a depressing year for thepeople of Germany, unemployment soared and people lost hope in the government,this in turn gave way to the rise of Nazis. Adolf Hitler came to power in the year1933 and established his dictatorship. The Aggressive Nazi policesinitiated the World War II. In 1941 the systematicgenocide known as the Holocaust killed millionsof innocent people. The United States enteredthe war in 1942, Germany fought, however they finallycollapsed in May 1945. The German Territories were split,cold war resulted in the country to divide into the Communist East Germany and the Democratic West Germany. Millions of indigenous Germans found it outrageous to stay in the communist areas and fledto the West Germany instead. Rapid economic growth wasexperienced by the West Germany and soon it became a dominanteconomy in Western Europe. 

World War I 

West Germany’s found its way inthe European Union through the Franco-German friendship, whichled to the political integration. The Berlin Wall wasdestroyed and East Germany was reunited with West Germany in the year 1990. Germany was one of the foundingcountries of the Eurozone and till today remains theeconomic power house of Europe. Prehistory Human presence in Germany atleast 600,000 years back was proved when the Mauer 1 mandiblewas discovered in 1907. In 1995, 380,000 year old javelins madeof wood measuring 6 to 7.5 feet about 1.8 to 2.3 meter long were unearthedin a coal mine in Schoningen, Germany. These weapons are considered to be theoldest to be found anywhere in the world. The first non-modern human fossil wasunearthed in the Neander Valley, 

Germany in 1856 and the new speciesof man was named as Neanderthal man. The fossils of the Neanderthal 1 are about40,000 years old and evidence of modern humans of about the same age has been discoveredin the caves of Swabian Jura near Ulm. The excavations also include a 42,000year old bird bone and flutes made out of mammoth ivory, these are the oldest musicalinstruments to have been unearthed.

 There was a 35,000 old uncontested humanfigurative art which has been discovered, this Venus of Hohle Fels is the oldestamong all figurative arts to be unearthed and then there is the oldest uncontestedfigurative art known as the Lowenmensch figurine discovered which is 40,000year old and belongs to the Ice Age. Germanic Tribes 750 BC to 768 AD Conquest and Migration The origin of the Germanic tribeis presumed to have transpired in the Nordic Bronze Age orlatest by the Pre-Roman Iron Age. 

Their original homes was the SouthernScandinavia and Northern Germany, eventually the tribes began expanding to the south,west and east during the 1st century BC. They came in contact with the Celtic tribeswho were of Ghaul, the Baltic, Iranian and Slavic tribes as well, mixing with the cultures of the central and Eastern Europe. The researchers havelittle knowledge about the early activities ofthe Germanic tribes. With the help of archaeological finds and etymological researches, researchers have been able to record few interactionsof the tribe with the Roman Empire.

 In the beginning of the 1stcentury AD the Roman legions led movement in the east of Rhine andupper Danube regions of Germania. The Romans did this in an effortto expand their Empire’s frontier. Rome subdues many Germanic tribes like the Cherusci. The tribe learnt all thewarfare tactics of the Romans. The Cherusci chieftain known as Arminius by the Romans, defeated the Roman Army in the Battle of theTeutoburg Forest fought in 9 AD. 

The victory of the tribesmarked the beginning of the German recorded historyand put a complete stop on the Romans advancetowards the Germanic territories of theeastern parts of Rhine In the 3rd century West Germanic tribesemerged, seven tribes moved west and witnessed the fall of the Roman Empire and theformation of the old Western Roman Empire.

 By the end of the 4th centurythe unoccupied areas of Germany were invaded by the Huns, thusstarting the Migration Period. Stem Duchies and Marches The stem duchies or tribalduchies originated as the regions of the Germanic tribesof a particular terrain. The idea of duchies likethis endured specifically in the regions which laterbecame a part of East Francia like Swabia, Bavaria, Thuringia,Franconia and Saxony rather than the advance west in Middle Francialike Lorraine and Burgundy. Germanic migrations or‘Völkerwanderung’ in the 5th century brought many barbaric tribes intothe already dying Roman Empire. The original tribes of Saxons,Burgundians, Alamanni, Franks, Rugii and Thuringiihad become stem duchies. Unlike the later duchies these bodies didnot have proper defined administrative confines but came close to the area wheremost of the Germanic tribes had settled. In the next few hundreds of yearsthe tribes migrated, merged and battled and ultimately all of themwere conquered by the Franks. Nevertheless remains ofmany stem duchies can be seen in Western Europe asmodern states and regions; German states like Saxony and Bavariaand German regions like Swabia, some of the French regions are Lorraineand Burgundy or Franche-Comte.

 Ruler of East Germany discoveredmany border counties or marches. Towards north, the lands comprisedof Lusatia, Billung March, Prussia and the North Marchwhich later became Brandenburg. Styria, Carniola and Marchof Austria which later became Austria were amongthe south marches. Frankish Empire In the 5th century the WesternRoman Empire also fell. The Franks built their ownempire under the Merovingian Kings, conquering theneighbouring Germanic tribes. The Merovingian king conqueredthe northern Ghaul in 486 AD. 

In 496 AD after theBattle of Tolbiac, Swabia became a duchy underthe Frankish Empire. The Merovingian kingsconquered many Germanic kingdoms and tribes in the5th and 6th centuries. Out of all the kings, King ChlotharI who reigned from 558-561 AD ruled the parts of Germany and made excursions to Saxony. Semi-autonomous dukes likelocal rulers or Franks, were put in charge of various regionsof the Frankish Empire. The local Germanic tribeswere forced to embrace Christianity by the Frankish Colonists The North eastern parts of the MerovingianFranks came under the region of Austrasia. The regions which came underAustrasia are today’s parts of France, Belgium, Germany,Luxembourg and Netherlands.

 With the death of King Clovis I in 511, the kingdom was divided into fouramong the four sons. Austrasia had a rough time being tossedback and forth from royal subjugation to autonomy as the successivekings subdivided and united Frankish landsfrom time to time. Pippin III who was the Mayor of thePalace in 751, self-proclaimed himself to be the king and gothimself anointed by the church. After that instance, the kings wereknown to be the protectors of the Pope. Charles the great, ruler of the Franksfrom 774-814 propelled a military campaign against the Saxons and Avarswho had been rivals of the Franks. The Franks overcame both the rivalsand forced the people to convert to Christianity, and seized their landsto create the Carolingian Empire. Middle Ages Charles the Great Charles was the son the Frankish King Pepinthe short, who dies in the year 768 AD. On taking over the rule of his father,Charles amalgamated the control over his Kingdom and came to be knownas Charles the great or Charlemagne. He extended the Carolingian empire into Northern parts of Italy and all the territoriesof the west of Germany. 

Finally in 800 his authority was confirmed by the Pope who crowned him emperor onthe Christmas Day in Rome. The Carolingian empire was divided intoseveral parts according to the treaty of Verdun in the year 843, treaty of Meerssenin the year 870 and the treaty of Ribemont, because the Grand children of Charles theGreat fought for it amongst each other. Otto the Great Otto I was crowned as the king in 936 atAachen, in 962 the Pope crowned him emperor in Rome with which theHoly Roman Empire was inaugurated, which isidentified with Germany.

 He strengthened the authority ofthe royal power by re-asserting the old Carolingian rightsover church appointments. Otto grappled from the aristocratsthe power of appointment of abbots and bishops, whocontrolled properties of land. Otto also invigorated the old practice ofassigning missionaries in the border areas. He continued to support celibacyfor the higher priesthood, so that the appointmentsdid not become hereditary. 

By letting the Bishops andabbots have pieces of lands, Otto actually made them theprinces of the Empire. This way, he was able toinstitute a National church. There were many battles that were allwon by Otto, this kept the rivals away. He marched on Rome andoverthrew John XII from the papal throne,henceforth he controlled the election of thepope, and set a strong example of the regalcontrol over the papacy. At time of the reign of HenryIII from 1039 - 1056, Cluniac reforms of the church weresupported by the Empire. The Cluniac reforms mainlyfollowed prohibition of buying clerical offices, the peace of Godand celibacy for all priests. Royal authority over thepope had reached its peak. There rose a controversybetween Pope Gregory VII and Henry VI over the appointmentsto church offices.

 This Investiture Controversy came toan end with the submission of the emperor to the pope at Canossa inthe year 1077 after being removed. In the year 1122 a temporary resolution was sought between the pope and Henry V withthe Concordot of Worms. As a result of the investiture dispute, the Ottonian churches were weakening, and the imperial secularprinces were strengthening. Then came the Age of the Crusades from year 1096-1291. Knightly spiritual order swere made, which included the Knights of St. John, the Knights Templar and Teutonic order. The Hanseatic League Under the leader ship of Lubeck, Majortrading towns came together to form the Hanseatic League, and allthis happened since the long distance trade inthe Baltic increased. The league was a business allianceamong the trading cities that controlled the trade in the coastalareas of the Northern Europe. 

World War I 

The league included Cologne,Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck. The league flourished during 1200-1500,thereafter its importance lessened. Expansion towards the East The colonisation started in Germany, with commissioning new villages and townsin a large scale in the Salv-inhabitedterritories east of the Elbe mainly Livonia, Silesia,Bohemia and Pomerania. In the Beginning of theyear 1226 was when the Teutonic Knights startedtheir conquests of Prussia.The Knights conqueredthe native Baltic Prussians and convertedthem in to Christians. Church and State There was years of conflict betweenthe church and the state for power. In 1137 Hohenstaufen family chooseits successor to be Conrad III. He tried to deprive Henry the Proudof his dukedoms Saxony and Bavaria. This led to a war inthe Southern Germany resulting in the Empire to divide in to factions. Welfs or Guelphs were the factionwhich named the mselves after the family of Henry the Proud, theywere the ruling house in Bavaria. The other factions were calledby the name of waiblings.

 Frederick I also known as Barbarossa of the Hohenstaufen dynasty ruled from 1086-1125. He tried to assert hiscontrol over Italy once again, this time hesucceeded to an extent as in the year 1177 there wasan understanding drawn between the pope of Venice and the Emperor. On the contrary, Henry the Lionwas outlawed in the year 1180. Saxony was divided,Bavaria was taken over by Otto, the founder of Wittelsbach dynasty. Henry the son of Barbarossawas married to a Norman princess who was Constance of Sicily. The Influence of thefeudal lords were weakened by the appointment of Ministerial bureaucrats. The court life blossomed which led to the German Culture and literature to develop. Frederick II 1212-1250 establishedhis administration at Sicily. He did not conflict anyfurther with the papacy. After his death the Hohenstaufen dynasty came to an end, this was followed bya period with no Emperor.

  Germany and almost theentire Europe were emaciated by the Black Death in the year 1350. The Jews were mistreatedon economic and religious grounds, this forcedmany to flee to Poland. A rough estimation of 30-60 percent of the Europe’s population waskilled in the Black Death. Change and Reformation War and Plague had its disastrouseffects on Germany on the 14th century. Slowly the changes in theeconomy, religion and politics reformed the society ofEurope into a modern one. There was social discontentamongst the peasants and knights which rosedue to money economy.

 Progressively a consumeristsystem evolved out of Feudalism. The Fugger family increased in reputationby means of financial and commercial activities, it became a money lenderto both church and secular leaders. Whereas the knightly class found theirdomination on military and arms skills weakened by the introduction offoot soldiers and mercenary armies. The predacious activities of the robberknights became common very soon. Cities and Towns The population of Germany was5-6 million, of which most were farmers who worked undermonasteries and nobles. The towns and cities hadstarted to emerge near the castles, monasteriesand bishop houses. The small towns began to build theirown liberties and municipal rights. Many cities like the Cologne managed to become an imperial free city,which meant that they were directly answerableto the Emperor and did not take orders from the bishops or princes.

Otto von

 The towns were governed by merchantsand rest of it was divided into strict delineated classes, which involved thephysicians, clergy, craftsmen and peasants. The paupers were not given citizenship. Rising of political tension wasnormal in the town regarding tax, market supervision, public spendingand regulations of business. As Cologne was centrally situated in the between the major trade routes of the east and the west, it became the majorreason for the growth of the city. The archbishops built the great Cologne Cathedral and secured sacred relics in it, this made Cologne a major tourist attractionand sacred place for worshippers. By the year 1288 the city found itsindependence from the archbishops, who had been ruling the Cologne and wasinstead ruled by burghers thereafter. Women The Salic law in the early times didnot allow women to inherit property, even the widows required a male caretakerto represent them in the court. This law clearly barred womenfrom royal succession. Until the 18th century when the new Bavarian law was enforced wives were physically assaulted withoutany law stopping them to do so. The Bavarian law gave a little leverageto the women to pursue their passion and accomplish in fields like medicine,music, politics and religion. 

Science and Culture In the year 1439 Johannes Gutenberginvented the movable printing machine. It was his invention that hadstarted the printing evolution. Albrecht Durer established hisreputation as a mathematician, theorist, painter, engraver and printmaker across Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. He is remembered as an importantfigure of the Northern Renaissance, he had achieved all this famein a mere age of 20-30 years. Early Modern Germany Reformation In the 16th century there was a lot ofdissatisfaction among the people regarding the selling of easier ways to repentfor sins, and many desired to reform. Finally in the year 1517, Martin Lutherstood boldly, voicing the desire of many by pasting copies of 95 thesis in the townsquare and handing them out to German nobles.

 The list mainly stressed on theaffirmations that Luther believed showed misguidance and corruptionwithin the Holy Church. Luther also disagreed with the power thatthe pope and the higher clergy held and he insisted that they abused their powers byselling easier way of repenting for sins. Though Luther was proscribedin the year 1521, the reformation he hadstarted spread quickly, this was further helpedby Emperor Charles V. Luther hid in theWartburg Castle where he translated the Bible from Latin to German and recognized the base of German language. An interesting fact is that thelanguage which Luther spoke was of less significance in Germany but afterhis translated Bible was published; his dialect took over the other languagesand became of what is modern German The German peasants followed theteachings of the reformers and revolted against the ruling authorities of Franconia, Swabia and Thuringia in 1524. 

Although the rebellions were aided byskilled nobles like Florian Geyer, Thomas Munzer and Gotz von Berlichingen the regionalprinces soon suppressed the insurgence. Around 100,000 German farmerswere killed in the revolt. The protestation at the Imperial Diet of Speyer was rejectedby the Lutheran at Augsburg in 1530 and a new Lutheranchurch was established. In 1545, Germany saw‘Counter-Reformation’also known as the Catholic Reformationor the Catholic Revival. The reformation was an answerto the Protestant Reformation and the foundation of the Catholic Reformation was the formation of Council of Trent from 1545 to 1563 and it endedwith the Thirty Years War in 1648. The Jesuit order instituted by Ignatiusof Loyola provided the main force. The north-eastern and central Germany were almost Protestants and the southern and western Germany were completely Catholics. 

An association of Protestant rulesknown as Schmalkaldic League were subjugated by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1547. In 1555 the Lutheran faithwas recognised with the Peace of Augsburgbut the treaty also stated that the religion of the state wouldbe the religion which the ruler followed. The Protestant Union and Catholic Leagues were established in 1608 and1609 respectively. Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648 The Empire was submerged inwar and conflicts between the Protestants and Catholics for thirty years. Some times the situations were out of control and thousands of soldiers died ofhunger, plague and murder. Heavy taxes were levied,live-stock of the farmers and their food were takenaway without payment. There was a time of unrestduring these thirty dark years. The population dropped immensely and the war ended with Peace of West phalia in 1648. 

Culture, Literacy and Science With the translation of Bibleliteracy spread throughout Germany, there were now pamphlets and religiousbooks which were being distributed and by 1530 there were 10,000 publicationsthat printed 10 million copies. Lucas Cranach the Elder was a famouspainter and a close friend of Luther. He exemplified Luther’stheology for a common audience. He sensationalized Luther'sopinions on the connection between the Old and New Testaments, while being watchful of Luther'scautious differences about appropriate and indecoroususes of visual imagery. Many scientific develop mentstook place in the fields of mathematics, physics and astronomyin the 16th and 17th centuries. ‘De revolutionibus orbium coelestium’ publishedby Nicolaus Copernicus was the first complete heliocentric cosmology which movedthe Earth from the center of the universe.

 Johannes Kepler was known for hislaws of planetary motion and his books ‘Harmonices Mundi’ and‘Astronomia nova’ were well-known. 1648 to 1815 Wars and Smaller States Parts of Lorraine and Alsace were capturedby Louis XIV of France, he also attacked and destroyed the Electorate of Palatinatein the War of Palatinian Succession. Hungary was taken back fromthe Turks and Habsburgs developed Austria intoa powerful kingdom. Frederick II the Great played an importantrole in the expansion of Germany, he was a military genius and was famous forthe reorganization of Prussian armies. The nobility and thecitizens resisted from 1763 and ‘enlightened absolutism’was established in Austria and Prussiaand the ruler reigned as per the best principlesof the philosophers. 

Many legal reforms happened,torture of citizens was abolished and the situationof the Jews improved. Liberation of the peasants began andeducation was made compulsory for all. Prussia initiated separation from Polandand Austria and Russia followed after a few years of resistance from Prussia Poland finally became independent in 1918. The smaller Germans states were eclipsedby Austria and Prussia and were frequently ignored by rulers whowere indulged in worldly pleasures, because of which they grew indebt with no centres for growth; Bavaria was one of these states. Although Saxony was doing well financiallyits administration was completely haywire. Wettin and Wurttemberg were in no good shape as the ruler’s greed forpower and excessive spending on celebrations, hunting expeditionsand mistresses led to their downfall. No one was interested informing a proper government.

 From 1807 to 1871 Prussia took over mostof the smaller states and founded the German Empire but by 1930 it lost itsindividuality and had little importance left. French Revolution 1789 to 1815 The Germans had a mixed reactiontowards the French revolt. The German intellectsrejoiced the outburst and hoped that Reason and The Enlightenment would win. In 1793, the French king was executed and a period of violence tookover the middle classes. The reformers said that the violencecould be ended by the Germans as they were capable to change laws and establishments in a nonviolent way. Austria and Prussia invaded the French in1792 but they lost in the Battle of Valmy. Prussia and Austria ended theiralready lost battle with France but shared Poland with Russia in 1793 and 1795. 

France subjugated Rhineland and encouraged freedom of religion, obliterated feudalism,emancipated the Jews, forced the nobleness to sharetheir powers with middle class and opened the bureaucracy tocommon people with talent. Kingdom of West phalia wasestablis hed by Napoleon and transformed and rationalized thewestern regions of Germany. Napoleon control ledmost of Western Europe, all German states except Austria and Prussia. There was nothing left ofthe Holy Roman Empire and Napoleon removed it when heformed new countries in 1806. After the Battle of Leipzig,Napoleon’s empire started to fall and was finally defeated in Waterlooby German and British armies. Prussia gained huge territoriesat the Vienna peace conference. German Confederation, 1815 to 1867 A loose association of 39 states made upthe German Confederation in 1815, the idea was to organize the frugalitiesof detached German speaking countries. It was a shield against the enormouspowers of Austria and Prussia. The Confederation fell because ofthe enmity between Austria and Prussia and in 1866 it was substitutedby North German Confederation. Society and Economy The population between this period grewand the country became efficient in agriculture and sustained a fast-growingindustrial urban financial system. Although Germany lagged behind France, Britainand Belgium in industrial development by 1900 it took pace and was one of theleaders in the world of industrialization.

 The Germans started workingin mines, factories and railways as a resultof industrialization. Most of the population had becomerural and lived in cities. Rail roads helped in mucheconomic development of Germany and opened up new prospectsfor the local products. Engineers, architects, managersand machinists were in demand and all this led toinvestment in iron and coal. Earlier the Germans bought theirhardware and engineering from the British but soon learnt the skills andbecame self-sufficient by 1850’s. By 1880 there were 9,400locomotives in Germany who carried 43,000 passengers and 30,000tons of products everyday. The German intellects and artistswere swayed by the French Revolution and by the famous German writer andpoet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Germany saw much growth in music,literature, intellectual movement and art. The period is also known as Romanticism. 

The famous Brothers Grimmgathered famous folk stories into one book knownas Grimm’s Fairy Tales. There were manyprofessors who gained international recognitionin various fields; some of them were Leopold von Ranke,Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Alexander vonHumboldt and Carl Friedrich Gauss. Politics of Restoration and Revolution The leadership of Germany fell into the hands of Austrian PrinceMetternich, after Napoleon. There was chaos anddiscontentment socially and politically which led tothe revolutions of 1848. The parliament of Frankfurtwas dissolved and the princes were suppressedby the military forces. German Confederation was formedonce again in 1850, many political leaders left for United States and some went into exile. In 1861, King William I reined overthe country and his most important accomplishment was to appoint Ottovon Bismarck as chancellor. Field Marshal Helmut von Moltke, Defense Minister Albrecht von Roon along with Otto von Bismarck won over Austria,France and Denmark and united Germany. German Confederation was dissolvedin 1886 and was replaced by North German Federationunder the headship of Prussia. Austria was not included inthe Confederation and the long Austrian influenceon Germany finally ended. The North German Federation wasa provisional organisation and lasted from 1867 to 1871 after whichthe German Empire was founded. German Empire, 1871 to 1918 Otto von Bismarck unified Germany into ‘German Reich’ and determinedpolitical affairs till 1890. He tried to raise coalitionsin Europe so he could control France and amalgamate Germany’s effect on Europe. He tried to curtail socialismby anti-socialist laws which were joined with socialsecurity and health care. Bismarck also tried to lessen theadministrative influence of the overly grown power of Catholicminority in the culture struggle but the Catholics became more powerfuland formed a Centre or Zentrum Party. The Germans were now matchingshoulders with Britain in terms of industrial andeconomic power by 1900 and their professional army was thebest across the globe, however their naval forces were no matchagainst the British Royal Navy. Kaiser Wilhelm II came into power in 1888he was young and aspiring and disliked taking advice specifically from proficientstatesmen and envoys, he fired Bismarck. Unlike Bismarck, Kaiser wanted Germany to follow colonialism like France and Britain and create a navy which wouldbe equal to the British naval forces. He promoted colonialism of Asian and African countries in areas where the Europeans had not colonialized. His ways were inhumane which alsoled to murder of many Germans. 

His individual approach led to asituation where the Austrian-Hungarian crown prince was murdered whichcould have sparked World War I. Weimar Republic, 1919 to 1933 The crushing terms of peacein the Treaty of Versailles (it required Germany to takeresponsibility of Germany and her allies to have causedloss and damages in the war) incited unpleasant resentmentall over Germany and completely weakened the newdemocratic government. The Communist Party of Germany(KDP) wasfounded in December, 1918 and in the following year it made an unsuccessful attempt in overpowering the new republic. Adolf Hitler took control ofNational Socialist German Workers Party(NSDAP) in 1919 which botchedin an overthrow in Munich in 1923. Both the parties and the partieswho supported the republic built aggressive armies whichengaged in street battles. 

Democratic support forboth parties grew after 1929 when Great Depressionhit the country and there were many men who were unemployedand could be used for military units. The Nazi’s were mostly rural andbelonged to middle-class families; they defeated Weimar command and tookcontrol of Germany from 1933 to 1945. The Communist Party of Germany came to power from 1949 to 1989. Nazi Germany, 1933 to 1945 Much of Germany’s lost economic standardswas restored by the Nazi government. They brought an end toemployment by spending heavily on military and supressedstrikes and labour unions. People were happy with the Nazirule as Germany was prospering; it faced little resistance from the German population in their rule of twelve years. Any political upsurge was crushedby the Gestapo or secret police that operated under thecommand of Heinrich Himmler. The Jews faced a toughtime as they were forced into exile and theirproperty was confiscated.

 The Nazi Party tool all controlsof local government, public administrations, and the courts exceptfor Catholic and Protestant Churches. Joseph Goebbels, who wasthe publicity minister of Hitler controlled allexpressions of public view. He made good use of movies, ralliesand mesmerizing speeches of Hitler. The Nazi’s worshipped Hitler as their leader or Fuhrer and put allpowers in his hands. Hitler had a constricted varietyof interests and decision making was dispersed amongintersecting, clashing power centres; on some matters he wasinert, simply agreeing to compressions fromwhoever had his ear. All top representatives reportedto Hitler and followed his basic rules, but they had substantialindependence on daily basis. Antisemitism and the Holocaust The Nazis were inimical towards the Jewsand were always targeted for attacks. They persuaded the Jews to look upon theJews as ‘subhumans’ and even succeeded in getting 44% votes in the parliamentto boycott the business of the Jews. The first Nazi concentration campwas set up on 20 March, 1935 which banned Jews from all academicpositions and civil services. The Jews were stripped of German citizenship and by 1939 around 500,000Jews left the country; escape after that wasimpossible and in 1941 the Nazis set up Holocaustwhich exterminated all Jews, Slavs, homosexuals, Gypsies, mentallyand physically disabled and communists. Around 11 million peoplewere killed in the Holocaust out of which 1.1million were children. 

Federal Republic of Germany, 1990 Onwards Five re-established states in theearlier German Democratic Republic which assented to the Federal Republicof Germany with 10 states upon German reunion on 3 October, 1990, isthe new federal states of Germany. The East German had obliteratedthe new states in 1952 had been re-established in1990 and the states were; Saxony, Brandenburg, Thuringia,Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt. Although most of the residents of Berlin are residents of former East Germany, Berlin has not beentaken as one of the new states. Since then Germany has sixteen statesall with same lawful statuses. There have been many leaderssince re reunification who have helped in the growthand advancement of Germany; Gerhard Schroder and Angela Merkelbeing some of the noted ones. Helmut Kohl played an importantrole in the European Union.

Saxony-Anhalt

 When recession hit theglobe in 2008 Germany faired pretty well butthe financial volatility of Greece and other European nations forced Germany to underwrite a financial rescue. Today Germany is led by JoachimGauck who is the head of state of Germany and the official Presidentof the Federal Republic of Germany.

The country is the biggestnational economy in Europe and also the fourth largest bynominal GDP across the globe. They were one of the biggestcapital exporters which recorded $285 billion worth trade in the world. The nation is rich in natural resources andhas been advancing in leaps and bounds. Most of the German companiesare owned by families and it is also one of the topplaces for trade fairs. There was a time when the Germans lacked speed in terms of growth and progress but today speed seesno limits Germany

History of Germany  

 

Life History