History of Germany ( From West Germany to East Germany )

The people who lived in what is now Germany and Eastern Europe were Indo-Europeans, originally from the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Sometime between 3000 BC and 2000 BC, they had migrated gradually out of that area and all across Europe. The region became associated with the name Germany in the 1st Century BC, when the Romans conquered Gaul.

             18th Century Germany Map 

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks moved into France, but soon conquered Germany as well, so that by 800 AD Charlemagne was able to establish a German Holy Roman Empire that extended over France, Germany and much of central Italy. At first, the Holy Roman Emperors were very powerful, but later they lost power to the smaller German and Italian lords in each region. In the Middle Ages, the dukes and princes  of the empire gained power. The northern states became Protestant in the early 16th Century, while the southern states remained Catholic.

          Clash between Protestants and Catholic 

Protestants and Catholic clashed in the Thirty Year's War (1618—1648). Finally, the war ended with the peace of Westphalia, which is considered  the beginning of the modern nation-state system. 

                         Otto Von Bismarck 

A German Empire was created in 1871 under the leadership of Prussian Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck. Unification was followed by an industrial revolution. By 1900, Germany's economy was by far the largest in Europe, and second only to the US in the world. Germany was declared a republic on 9 November 1918. 

                     Nazis under Adolf Hitler

In 1933, the Nazis under Adolf Hitler gained power and imposed a totalitarian regime. They followed an expansionist foreign policy that led to World War II.

                            Berlín Wall

 After Nazi Germany's defeat, the country was divided into democratic West Germany and  Communist East Germany. It was reunified in 1990. Germany is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states. The capital and largest city is Berlin. In recent years, Germany has become increasingly integrated into the European Union.... 

 

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.

                                — Martin Luther King.