Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in the western region of
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
. It is the
second-most populous country in Europe after
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, and the most populous
member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
and
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
to the north and the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
to the south. Its 16
constituent states
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
have a total population of over 84 million, covering a combined area of and sharing land borders with
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
to the north,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
to the east,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Switzerland to the south, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to the west. The
nation's capital and
most populous city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the city proper, cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or th ...
is
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and its main financial centre is
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
; the largest urban area is the
Ruhr.
Settlement in what is now Germany began in the
Lower Paleolithic, with various tribes inhabiting it from the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
onward, chiefly the
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
. Various
Germanic tribes
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
. A region named
Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...
formed the bulk of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. During the 16th century,
northern German regions became the centre of the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
. Following the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
was formed in 1815.
Formal
unification of Germany
The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...
into the modern nation-state commenced on 18 August 1866 with the
North German Confederation Treaty
The North German Confederation Treaty (in German ''Augustbündnis'', or Alliance of August) (also called the North German Federation Treaty and the Treaty of 18 August 1866) was the treaty between the Kingdom of Prussia and other northern and centr ...
establishing the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
-led
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
later transformed in 1871 into the
German Empire. After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the
German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was in turn transformed into the semi-presidential
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
. The
Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of
a totalitarian dictatorship,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and
the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. After the
end of World War II in Europe and
a period of Allied occupation, in 1949,
Germany as a whole
Inner German relations ( German: ''Innerdeutsche Beziehungen''); also known as the FRG-GDR relations, East Germany-West Germany relations, or German-German relations ( German: ''deutsch-deutsche Beziehungen'') — were the political, diplomatic, ...
was organized into two separate polities with limited sovereignty: the Federal Republic of Germany, generally known as
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, and the German Democratic Republic, known as
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, while Berlin continued its ''
de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
''
Four Power status. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the
European Economic Community and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, while the German Democratic Republic was a communist
Eastern Bloc state and member of the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
. After
the fall of the
communist led-government in East Germany,
German reunification saw the
former East German states join the Federal Republic of Germany on
3 October 1990.
Germany has been described as a
great power
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...
with
a strong economy; it has the
largest economy in Europe. As a global power in industrial,
scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's
third-largest exporter and
importer. As a
developed country it offers
social security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
,
a universal health care system, and
tuition-free university education. Germany is a member of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, European Union,
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
,
Council of Europe,
G7,
G20
The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigatio ...
, and
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
. It has the
third-greatest number of UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
s.
Etymology
The English word ''Germany'' derives from the Latin , which came into use after
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
adopted it for the peoples east of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
. The
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
term , originally ('the German lands') is derived from (
cf.
The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used onl ...
''
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
''), descended from
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
'of the people' (from or 'people'), originally used to distinguish the
language of the common people from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and its
Romance descendants. This in turn descends from
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...
'of the people' (see also the Latinised form ), derived from , descended from
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
*' 'people', from which the word ''
Teutons
The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with ...
'' also originates.
History
Prehistory
Pre-human ancestors, the ''
Danuvius guggenmosi'', who were present in Germany over 11 million years ago, are theorized to be among the earliest ones to walk on two legs. Ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The first non-modern human fossil (the
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...
) was discovered in the
Neander Valley
The Neandertal (, also , ; sometimes called "the Neander Valley" in English) is a small valley of the river Düssel in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about east of Düsseldorf, the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
. Similarly dated evidence of modern humans has been found in the
Swabian Jura, including 42,000-year-old
flutes
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
which are the oldest musical instruments ever found, the 40,000-year-old
Lion Man, and the 35,000-year-old
Venus of Hohle Fels
The Venus of Hohle Fels (also known as the Venus of Schelklingen; in German variously ') is an Upper Paleolithic Venus figurine made of mammoth ivory that was unearthed in 2008 in Hohle Fels, a cave near Schelklingen, Germany. It is dated to be ...
. The
Nebra sky disk
The Nebra sky disc (german: Himmelsscheibe von Nebra) is a bronze disc of around diameter and a weight of , having a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols. These symbols are interpreted generally as the Sun or full moon, a lunar cresc ...
, created during the
European Bronze Age
The European Bronze Age is characterized by bronze artifacts and the use of bronze implements. The regional Bronze Age succeeds the Neolithic and Copper Age and is followed by the Iron Age. It starts with the Aegean Bronze Age in 3200 BC
(succ ...
, has been attributed to a German site.
Germanic tribes, Roman frontier and the Frankish Empire
![Trier 012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Trier_012.JPG)
The
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and e ...
are
thought to date from the
Nordic Bronze Age
The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC.
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (th ...
, early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
, or the
Jastorf culture
The Jastorf culture was an Iron Age material culture in what is now northern Germany and southern Scandinavia spanning the 6th to 1st centuries BC, forming part of the Pre-Roman Iron Age and associating with Germanic peoples. The culture evo ...
.
From southern
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
and
northern Germany, they expanded south, east, and west, coming into contact with the
Celtic,
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
,
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
, and
Slavic tribes.
Under
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
began to invade lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes, creating a short-lived Roman province of
Germania between the Rhine and
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...
rivers. In 9 AD, three
Roman legion
The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...
s were
defeated
Defeated may refer to:
* "Defeated" (Breaking Benjamin song)
* "Defeated" (Anastacia song)
*"Defeated", a song by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Bible of Love''
*Defeated, Tennessee, an unincorporated community
*''The Defeated
''The Defeated'', al ...
by
Arminius in the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius ...
. The outcome of this battle dissuaded the Romans from their ambition of conquering
Germania, and is thus considered one of the most important events in
European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500).
The first early ...
. By 100 AD, when
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
wrote ''
Germania'', Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube (the
Limes Germanicus
The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubd ...
), occupying most of modern Germany. However,
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, southern
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, southern
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
and the western
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
had been
incorporated into
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
s.
Around 260, Germanic peoples broke into Roman-controlled lands. After the invasion of the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
in 375, and with the decline of Rome from 395, Germanic tribes moved farther southwest: the Franks established the
Frankish Kingdom
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks duri ...
and pushed east to subjugate
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, and areas of what is today eastern Germany were inhabited by
Western Slavic
The West Slavic languages are a subdivision of the Slavic languages, Slavic language group. They include Polish language, Polish, Czech language, Czech, Slovak language, Slovak, Kashubian language, Kashubian, Upper Sorbian language, Upper Sorbia ...
tribes.
East Francia and the Holy Roman Empire
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
founded the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
in 800; it was
divided in 843. The eastern successor kingdom of
East Francia stretched from the Rhine in the west to the Elbe river in the east and from the North Sea to the Alps. Subsequently, the Holy Roman Empire emerged from it. The
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...
rulers (919–1024) consolidated several major
duchies
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between " ...
. In 996,
Gregory V
Gregory may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Gregory (surname), a surname
Places Australia
* Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire o ...
became the first German Pope, appointed by his cousin
Otto III, whom he shortly after crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern Italy and
Burgundy under the
Salian
The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125).
After the death of the l ...
emperors (1024–1125), although the emperors lost power through the
Investiture controversy
The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...
.
Under the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
emperors (1138–1254), German princes encouraged German settlement to the south and east (). Members of the
Hanseatic League, mostly north German towns, prospered in the expansion of trade. The population declined starting with the
Great Famine in 1315, followed by the
Black Death of 1348–1350. The
Golden Bull
A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most notably by the Holy Roman Emperors. The term was originally coined for the golden seal (a ''bull ...
issued in 1356 provided the constitutional structure of the Empire and codified the election of the emperor by seven
prince-elector
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
From the 13th century onwards, the prin ...
s.
Johannes Gutenberg introduced moveable-type printing to Europe, laying the basis for the
democratization of knowledge
The democratization of knowledge is the acquisition and spread of knowledge amongst a wider part of the population, not just privileged elites such as clergy and academics. Libraries, in particular public libraries, and modern digital technolog ...
. In 1517,
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
incited the Protestant Reformation and his
translation of the Bible began the standardization of the language; the 1555
Peace of Augsburg tolerated the "Evangelical" faith (
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
), but also decreed that the faith of the prince was to be the faith of his subjects (). From the
Cologne War through the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
s (1618–1648), religious conflict devastated German lands and significantly reduced the population.
The
Peace of Westphalia ended religious warfare among the
Imperial Estate
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...
s;
their mostly German-speaking rulers were able to choose
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Lutheranism, or
Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
as their official religion. The legal system initiated by a series of
Imperial Reform
Imperial Reform ( la, Reformatio imperii, german: Reichsreform) is the name given to repeated attempts in the 15th and 16th centuries to adapt the structure and the constitutional order () of the Holy Roman Empire to the requirements of the early ...
s (approximately 1495–1555) provided for considerable local autonomy and a stronger
Imperial Diet. The
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
held the imperial crown from 1438 until the death of
Charles VI in 1740. Following the
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...
and the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Charles VI's daughter
Maria Theresa ruled as
empress consort when her husband,
Francis I, became emperor.
From 1740,
dualism between the Austrian
Habsburg monarchy and the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
dominated German history. In 1772, 1793, and 1795, Prussia and Austria, along with the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, agreed to the
Partitions of Poland. During the period of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
, the
Napoleonic era
The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislativ ...
and the subsequent
final meeting of the Imperial Diet, most of the
Free Imperial Cities
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
were annexed by dynastic territories; the ecclesiastical territories were secularised and annexed. In 1806 the was dissolved; France, Russia, Prussia, and the Habsburgs (Austria) competed for hegemony in the German states during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
.
German Confederation and Empire
![German Confederation (1815)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/German_Confederation_%281815%29.svg)
Following the fall of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
founded the German Confederation, a loose league of
39 sovereign states. The appointment of the
emperor of Austria
The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Hou ...
as the permanent president reflected the Congress's rejection of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
's rising influence. Disagreement within
restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
politics partly led to the rise of
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
movements, followed by new measures of repression by Austrian statesman
Klemens von Metternich. The , a tariff union, furthered economic unity. In light of
revolutionary movements in Europe, intellectuals and commoners started the
revolutions of 1848 in the German states
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, raising the German question. King
Frederick William IV of Prussia was offered the title of emperor, but with a loss of power; he rejected the crown and the proposed constitution, a temporary setback for the movement.
King
William I
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
appointed
Otto von Bismarck as the
Minister President of Prussia
The office of Minister-President (german: Ministerpräsident), or Prime Minister, of Prussia existed from 1848, when it was formed by King Frederick William IV during the 1848–49 Revolution, until the abolition of Prussia in 1947 by the All ...
in 1862. Bismarck successfully concluded the
war with Denmark in 1864; the subsequent decisive Prussian victory in the
Austro-Prussian War of 1866 enabled him to create the
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
which excluded
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. After the defeat of France in the
Franco-Prussian War, the German princes proclaimed the founding of the German Empire in 1871. Prussia was the dominant constituent state of the new empire; the King of Prussia ruled as its Kaiser, and Berlin became its capital.
In the period following the unification of Germany, Bismarck's foreign policy as
chancellor of Germany secured Germany's position as a great nation by forging alliances and avoiding war.
However, under
Wilhelm II
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick III, German Emperor
, mother = Victoria, Princess Royal
, religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United)
, signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...
, Germany took an
imperialistic
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic
...
course, leading to friction with neighbouring countries. A
dual alliance was created with the
multinational realm of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
; the
Triple Alliance of 1882 included Italy. Britain, France and Russia also concluded alliances to protect against Habsburg interference with Russian interests in the Balkans or German interference against France. At the
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...
in 1884, Germany claimed several
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
including
German East Africa,
German South West Africa
German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
,
Togoland
Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period kn ...
, and
Kamerun
Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern ...
. Later, Germany further expanded its colonial empire to include holdings in the Pacific and China. The colonial government in South West Africa (present-day
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
), from 1904 to 1907, carried out the
annihilation of the local Herero and Namaqua peoples as punishment for an uprising;
this was the 20th century's first
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
.
The assassination of
Austria's crown prince on 28 June 1914 provided the pretext for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and trigger
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After four years of warfare, in which approximately two million German soldiers were killed, a
general armistice ended the fighting. In the
German Revolution (November 1918), Wilhelm II and the ruling princes
abdicated
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
their positions, and Germany was declared a
federal republic. Germany's new leadership signed the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
in 1919, accepting defeat by the
Allies. Germans perceived the treaty as humiliating, which was seen by historians as influential in the rise of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Germany lost around 13% of its European territory and ceded all of its colonial possessions in Africa and the Pacific.
Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany
![Europe under Nazi domination](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Europe_under_Nazi_domination.png)
On 11 August 1919, President
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.
Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on t ...
signed the democratic
Weimar Constitution. In the subsequent struggle for power,
communists seized power in Bavaria, but conservative elements elsewhere attempted to overthrow the Republic in the . Street fighting in the major industrial centres, the
occupation of the Ruhr by Belgian and French troops, and a period of
hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...
followed. A
debt restructuring plan and the creation of a
new currency in 1924 ushered in the
Golden Twenties
The Golden Twenties ( also known as the Happy Twenties (german: Glückliche Zwanziger Jahre), was a five-year time period within the decade of the 1920s in Germany. The era began in 1924 after the end of the hyperinflation following on World ...
, an era of artistic innovation and liberal cultural life.
The worldwide
Great Depression hit Germany in 1929. Chancellor
Heinrich Brüning
Heinrich Aloysius Maria Elisabeth Brüning (; 26 November 1885 – 30 March 1970) was a German Centre Party politician and academic, who served as the chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932.
A political scienti ...
's government pursued a
policy of fiscal austerity and
deflation
In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0% (a negative inflation rate). Inflation reduces the value of currency over time, but sudden deflatio ...
which caused unemployment of nearly 30% by 1932.
The
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
led by
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
became the largest party in the Reichstag after
a special election in 1932 and Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. After the
Reichstag fire, a
decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...
abrogated basic
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
and the first
Nazi concentration camp opened.
On 23 March 1933, the
Enabling Act
An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it (for authorization or legitimacy) the power to take certain actions. For example, enabling acts often establish government agencies to carr ...
gave Hitler unrestricted legislative power, overriding the constitution, and marked the beginning of Nazi Germany. His government established a centralised
totalitarian state,
withdrew from the League of Nations, and dramatically increased the country's
rearmament. A government-sponsored programme for economic renewal focused on public works, the most famous of which was the .
In 1935, the regime withdrew from the Treaty of Versailles and introduced the
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of ...
which targeted
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and other minorities. Germany also reacquired control of the
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
in 1935,
remilitarised the Rhineland in 1936,
annexed Austria in 1938,
annexed the Sudetenland in 1938 with the
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
, and in violation of the agreement
occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939. (Night of Broken Glass) saw the burning of synagogues, the destruction of Jewish businesses, and mass arrests of Jewish people.
In August 1939,
Hitler's government negotiated the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...
that divided Eastern Europe into German and
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
spheres of influence. On 1 September 1939, Germany
invaded Poland, beginning
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in Europe; Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September. In the spring of 1940, Germany
conquered Denmark and Norway,
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, forcing the French government to sign an
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
. The British repelled German air attacks in the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
in the same year. In 1941, German troops
invaded Yugoslavia,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. By 1942, Germany and its allies controlled most of
continental Europe and
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, but following the Soviet victory at the
Battle of Stalingrad, the Allied
reconquest of North Africa and
invasion of Italy in 1943, German forces suffered repeated military defeats. In 1944, the Soviets
pushed into Eastern Europe; the Western allies
landed in France and entered Germany despite a
final German counteroffensive. Following
Hitler's suicide during the
Battle of Berlin,
Germany signed the surrender document on 8 May 1945, ending World War II in Europe and Nazi Germany. Following the end of the war, surviving Nazi officials were tried for
war crimes at the
Nuremberg trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...
.
In what later became known as
the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
, the German government persecuted
minorities, including interning them in concentration and
death camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
across Europe. The regime systematically murdered 6 million Jews, at least 130,000
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
, 275,000
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
, thousands of
Jehovah's Witnesses, thousands of
homosexuals
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
, and hundreds of thousands of
political and religious opponents.
Nazi policies
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in German-occupied countries resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2.7 million
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...
, 1.3 million
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
, 1 million
Belarusians and 3.5 million
Soviet prisoners of war The following articles deal with Soviet prisoners of war.
* Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland (1919–24)
* Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II (1939–45)
* Nazi crimes against Soviet prisoners of war during Wor ...
.
German military
casualties
A casualty, as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, capture or desertion.
In civilian usag ...
have been estimated at 5.3 million, and around 900,000 German civilians died. Around
12 million ethnic Germans were expelled from across Eastern Europe, and Germany lost roughly
one-quarter of its pre-war territory.
East and West Germany
![Map-Germany-1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Map-Germany-1945.svg)
After
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
surrendered, the
Allies ''de jure''
abolished the German state and partitioned
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and Germany's remaining territory into four occupation zones. The western sectors, controlled by France, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, were merged on 23 May 1949 to form the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
(german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland); on 7 October 1949, the Soviet Zone became the
German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**G ...
(GDR) (german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik; DDR). They were informally known as West Germany and East Germany. East Germany selected
East Berlin as its capital, while West Germany chose
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
as a provisional capital, to emphasise its stance that the two-state solution was temporary.
West Germany was established as a federal parliamentary republic with a "
social market economy
The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...
". Starting in 1948 West Germany became a major recipient of reconstruction aid under the American
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
.
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...
was elected the first
federal chancellor of Germany in 1949. The country enjoyed prolonged economic growth () beginning in the early 1950s. West Germany joined
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in 1955 and was a founding member of the
European Economic Community. On 1 January 1957, the
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
joined West Germany.
East Germany was an
Eastern Bloc state under political and military control by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
via occupation forces and the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
. Although East Germany claimed to be a democracy, political power was exercised solely by leading members () of the communist-controlled
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...
, supported by the , an immense secret service. While
East German propaganda was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programmes and the alleged threat of a West German invasion, many of its citizens looked to the West for freedom and prosperity.
The
Berlin Wall, built in 1961, prevented East German citizens from escaping to West Germany, becoming a symbol of the
Cold War.
Tensions between East and West Germany were reduced in the late 1960s by Chancellor
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
's . In 1989, Hungary decided to dismantle the
Iron Curtain and
open its border with Austria, causing the emigration of thousands of East Germans to West Germany via Hungary and Austria. This had devastating effects on the GDR, where regular
mass demonstrations received increasing support. In an effort to help retain East Germany as a state, the East German authorities eased border restrictions, but this actually led to an acceleration of the reform process culminating in the ''
Two Plus Four Treaty
The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (german: Vertrag über die abschließende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland;
rus, Договор об окончательном урегулировании в отношении Ге ...
'' under which Germany regained full sovereignty. This permitted
German reunification on 3 October 1990, with the accession of the
five re-established states of the former GDR. The fall of the Wall in 1989 became a symbol of the
Fall of Communism
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...
, the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union, German reunification and ("the turning point").
Reunified Germany and the European Union
United Germany was considered the enlarged continuation of
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
so it retained its memberships in international organisations. Based on the
Berlin/Bonn Act
The Berlin/Bonn Act (german: Berlin/Bonn-Gesetz) regulated the move of the Bundestag and parts of the government of Germany from Bonn to Berlin. It also regulated the move of certain Federal agencies and other German federal facilities to Bonn. Th ...
(1994), Berlin again became the capital of Germany, while Bonn obtained the unique status of a (federal city) retaining some federal ministries. The relocation of the government was completed in 1999, and modernisation of the East German economy was scheduled to last until 2019.
Since reunification, Germany has taken a more active role in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, signing the
Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...
in 1992 and the
Lisbon Treaty
The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...
in 2007, and co-founding the
eurozone
The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...
. Germany sent a peacekeeping force to secure stability in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and sent
German troops to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
as part of a NATO effort to provide
security in that country after the ousting of the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
.
In the
2005 elections,
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
became the first female chancellor. In 2009, the German government approved a €50 billion stimulus plan. Among the major German political projects of the early 21st century are the advancement of
European integration, the
energy transition () for a
sustainable energy supply, the
debt brake for balanced budgets, measures to increase the
fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:
# she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime
# she were ...
(
pronatalism
Natalism (also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position) is an ideology that promotes the reproduction of human life as the preeminent objective of being human.
Compare:
The term, as it relates to the belief itself, comes from the French wo ...
), and high-tech strategies for the transition of the German economy, summarised as
Industry 4.0
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR, or Industry 4.0, conceptualizes rapid change to technology, industries, and societal patterns and processes in the 21st century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. The term has bee ...
. During the
2015 European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the cont ...
, the country took in over a million refugees and migrants.
Geography
![Deutschland topo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Deutschland_topo.jpg)
Germany is the
seventh-largest country in Europe;
bordering
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
to the north,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
to the east,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
to the southeast, and
Switzerland to the south-southwest.
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
are situated to the west, with the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to the northwest. Germany is also bordered by the North Sea and, at the north-northeast, by the Baltic Sea. German territory covers , consisting of of land and of water.
Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the
Zugspitze
The Zugspitze (), at above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Austria–Germany border runs over its western su ...
at ) in the south to the shores of the North Sea () in the northwest and the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
() in the northeast. The forested uplands of central Germany and the lowlands of northern Germany (lowest point: in the municipality
Neuendorf-Sachsenbande
Neuendorf-Sachsenbande is a municipality in Wilstermarsch, in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town is notable for containing the lowest accessible point in Germany, which is 3.54 m (11.61 ft) below sea le ...
,
Wilstermarsch
Wilstermarsch is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the county of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous ...
at below sea level) are traversed by such major rivers as the Rhine,
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
and Elbe. Significant natural resources include iron ore, coal,
potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. , timber,
lignite,
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
, copper, natural gas, salt, and nickel.
Climate
Most of Germany has a
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
climate, ranging from
oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
in the north and west to
continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
in the east and southeast. Winters range from the cold in the Southern Alps to cool and are generally overcast with limited precipitation, while summers can vary from hot and dry to cool and rainy. The northern regions have prevailing westerly winds that bring in moist air from the North Sea, moderating the temperature and increasing precipitation. Conversely, the southeast regions have more extreme temperatures.
From February 2019 – 2020, average monthly temperatures in Germany ranged from a low of in January 2020 to a high of in June 2019. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 30 litres per square metre in February and April 2019 to 125 litres per square metre in February 2020. Average monthly hours of sunshine ranged from 45 in November 2019 to 300 in June 2019.
Biodiversity
![Herbst am Watzmann](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Herbst_am_Watzmann.jpg)
The territory of Germany can be divided into five terrestrial
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
s:
Atlantic mixed forests,
Baltic mixed forests
The Baltic mixed forests is an ecoregion in Europe along the southwestern coasts of the Baltic Sea. The name was coined by the European Environment Agency and the same geographical area is designated as "Northern Europe: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, ...
,
Central European mixed forests
The Central European mixed forests ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0412) is a temperate hardwood forest covering much of northeastern Europe, from Germany to Russia. The area is only about one-third forested, with pressure from human agriculture leaving the r ...
,
Western European broadleaf forests
The Western European broadleaf forests is an ecoregion in Western Europe, and parts of the Alps. It comprises temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, that cover large areas of France, Germany and the Czech Republic and more moderately sized parts ...
, and
Alps conifer and mixed forests
The Alps conifer and mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in central Europe. It extends along the Alps mountains through portions of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Slovenia. The eco ...
.
51% of Germany's land area is devoted to agriculture, while 30% is forested and 14% is covered by settlements or infrastructure.
Plants and animals include those generally common to Central Europe. According to the National Forest Inventory,
beeches
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
,
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
s, and other
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
trees constitute just over 40% of the forests; roughly 60% are
conifers, particularly spruce and pine. There are many species of ferns, flowers, fungi, and mosses. Wild animals include Central European red deer, roe deer, Central European boar, wild boar, mouflon (a subspecies of wild sheep), Red fox, fox, European badger, badger, European hare, hare, and small numbers of the Eurasian beaver. The blue cornflower was once a German floral emblem, national symbol.
The List of national parks of Germany, 16 national parks in Germany include the Jasmund National Park, the Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park, the Müritz National Park, the Wadden Sea National Parks, the Harz National Park, the Hainich National Park, the Black Forest National Park, the Saxon Switzerland National Park, the Bavarian Forest National Park and the Berchtesgaden National Park. In addition, there are Biosphere Reserves in Germany, 17 Biosphere Reserves, and Nature parks (Germany), 105 nature parks. More than List of zoos in Germany, 400 zoos and animal parks operate in Germany. The Berlin Zoological Garden, Berlin Zoo, which opened in 1844, is the oldest in Germany, and claims the most comprehensive collection of species in the world.
Politics
Germany is a federal republic, federal, parliamentary democratic, parliamentary, representative democracy, representative democratic republic. Federal legislative power is vested in the parliament consisting of the (Federal Diet) and (Federal Council), which together form the legislative body. The is elected through direct elections using the mixed-member proportional representation system. The members of the represent and are appointed by the governments of the sixteen federated states.
The German political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1949 constitution known as the (Basic Law). Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both the and the ; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law, are valid in perpetuity.
The President of Germany, president, currently Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. He is elected by the (federal convention), an institution consisting of the members of the and an equal number of state delegates.
The second-highest official in the German order of precedence is the (President of the Bundestag), who is elected by the and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body. The third-highest official and the head of government is the chancellor, who is appointed by the after being elected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the .
The chancellor, currently Olaf Scholz, is the head of government and exercises executive (government), executive power through his Cabinet of Germany, Cabinet.
Since 1949, the party system has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. So far every chancellor has been a member of one of these parties. However, the smaller liberal Free Democratic Party (Germany), Free Democratic Party and the Alliance 90/The Greens have also been junior partners in coalition governments. Since 2007, the democratic socialist party The Left (Germany), The Left has been a staple in the German , though they have never been part of the federal government. In the 2017 German federal election, the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany gained enough votes to attain representation in the parliament for the first time.
Constituent states
Germany is a federation and comprises States of Germany, sixteen constituent states which are collectively referred to as .
Each state () has its own constitution, and is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation.
Germany is divided into 401 Districts of Germany, districts () at a municipal level; these consist of 294 List of rural districts of Germany, rural districts and 107 Urban districts of Germany, urban districts.
Law
Germany has a civil law (legal system), civil law system based on Roman law with some references to Germanic law. The (Federal Constitutional Court) is the German Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review. Germany's specialized supreme court system includes the inquisitorial system, inquisitorial Federal Court of Justice for civil and criminal cases, along with the Federal Labour Court, Federal Social Court, Federal Fiscal Court, and Federal Administrative Court (Germany), Federal Administrative Court for other matters.
Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the and the respectively. The German penal system seeks the rehabilitation of the criminal and the protection of the public. With the exceptions of petty crimes, tried by a single professional judge, and of serious political crimes, all charges are adjudicated by mixed tribunals where lay judges () and professional judges preside together.
As of 2016, Germany's murder rate stood at a low of 1.18 murders per 100,000. In 2018, the overall crime rate fell to its lowest since 1992.
Same-sex marriage in Germany, Same-sex marriage has been legal in Germany since 2017, and LGBT rights in Germany, LGBT rights are generally protected in the nation.
Foreign relations
![Group photo of the G7 members at the Scholss Elmau summit (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Group_photo_of_the_G7_members_at_the_Scholss_Elmau_summit_%282%29.jpg)
Germany has a network of 227 diplomatic missions abroad and maintains relations with more than 190 countries. Germany is a member of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, the
G7, the
G20
The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigatio ...
, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF. It has played an influential role in the European Union since its inception and has maintained a Franco-German cooperation, strong alliance with France and all neighbouring countries since 1990. Germany promotes the creation of a more unified European political, economic and security apparatus. The governments of Germany and the United States Germany–United States relations, are close political allies. Cultural ties and economic interests have crafted a bond between the two countries resulting in Atlanticism. After 1990, Germany–Russia relations, Germany and Russia worked together to establish a "strategic partnership" in which energy development became one of the most important factors. As a result of the cooperation, Germany imported most of its natural gas and crude oil from Russia.
Germany's development policy functions as a distinct sector within its foreign policy framework. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and carried out by the implementing organisations. The German government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community. It was the world's List of development aid sovereign state donors, second-biggest aid donor in 2019 after the United States.
Military
![Spürpanzer Fuchs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Sp%C3%BCrpanzer_Fuchs.jpg)
Germany's military, the (Federal Defence), is organised into the (Army and special forces Kommando Spezialkräfte, ), (Navy), (Air Force), (Joint Medical Service), (Joint Support Service) and (Cyber and Information Domain Service) branches. In absolute terms, German military expenditure is the List of countries by military expenditures, eighth-highest in the world. In 2018, military spending was at $49.5 billion, about 1.2% of the country's GDP, well below the NATO target of 2%. However, in response to the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that German military expenditure would be increased past the NATO target of 2%, along with a one-time 2022 infusion of 100 billion euros, representing almost double the 53 billion euro military budget for 2021.
, the has a strength of 184,001 active soldiers and 80,947 civilians.
Reservists are available to the armed forces and participate in defence exercises and deployments abroad.
Until 2011, Conscription in Germany, military service was compulsory for men at age 18, but this has been officially suspended and replaced with a voluntary service. Since 2001 women may serve in all functions of service without restriction. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany was the fourth-largest exporter of major arms in the world from 2014 to 2018.
In peacetime, the is commanded by the Minister of Defence. In State of Defence (Germany), state of defence, the Chancellor would become commander-in-chief of the . The role of the is described in the Constitution of Germany as defensive only. But after a ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court in 1994, the term "defence" has been defined not only to include protection of the borders of Germany, but also crisis reaction and conflict prevention, or more broadly as guarding the security of Germany anywhere in the world. the German military has about 3,600 troops stationed in foreign countries as part of international peacekeeping forces, including about 1,200 supporting operations against Daesh, 980 in the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, and 800 in Kosovo.
Economy
![Frankfurter Altstadt mit Skyline 2019 (100MP)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Frankfurter_Altstadt_mit_Skyline_2019_%28100MP%29.jpg)
Germany has a
social market economy
The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...
with a highly skilled labour force, a low level of Corruption in Germany, corruption, and a high level of innovation.
It is the world's
third-largest exporter and List of countries by imports, third-largest importer,
and has the List of sovereign states in Europe by GDP (nominal), largest economy in Europe, the world's List of countries by GDP (nominal), third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the List of countries by GDP (PPP), fifth-largest by PPP. Its GDP per capita measured in purchasing power standards amounts to 121% of the EU27 average. The Service sector in Germany, service sector contributes approximately 69% of the total GDP, industry 31%, with Germany having the List of countries by manufacturing output, largest manufacturing sector in Europe, and Agriculture in Germany, agriculture 1% .
The unemployment rate published by Eurostat amounts to 3.2% , which is the List of European Union member states by unemployment rate, fourth-lowest in the EU.
Germany is part of the European single market which represents more than 450 million consumers. In 2017, the country accounted for 28% of the
eurozone
The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...
economy according to the International Monetary Fund.
Germany introduced the common European currency, the euro, in 2002.
Its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank, which is headquartered in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
.
The automotive industry in Germany is regarded as one of the most competitive and innovative in the world, and is the List of countries by motor vehicle production, sixth-largest by production as of 2021. Germany is home to Volkswagen Group, the world's List of manufacturers by motor vehicle production, second-largest automotive manufacturer in 2022 by vehicle production, and is the third-largest exporter of cars as of 2023.
The top ten exports of Germany are vehicles, machinery, chemical goods, electronic products, electrical equipments, pharmaceuticals, transport equipments, basic metals, food products, and rubber and plastics.
Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in 2023, the Fortune Global 500, 32 are headquartered in Germany. 30 major Germany-based companies are included in the DAX, the German stock market index which is operated by Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Well-known international brands include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Opel, Siemens, Allianz, Adidas, Puma (brand), Puma, Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch and Deutsche Telekom.
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
is a Startup ecosystem, hub for Startup company, startup companies and has become the leading location for venture capital funded firms in the European Union. Germany is recognised for its large portion of specialised small and medium enterprises, known as the model. These companies represent 48% of the global market leaders in their segments, labelled hidden champions.
Research and development efforts form an integral part of the German economy, with the country List of sovereign states by research and development spending, ranking fourth in research and development expenditure since 2005. In 2018, Germany List of countries by number of scientific and technical journal articles, ranked fourth globally in terms of number of science and engineering research papers published. Research institutions in Germany include the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Helmholtz Association, and the Fraunhofer Society and the Leibniz Association. Germany is the largest contributor to the European Space Agency. Germany was ranked 8th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.
Infrastructure
With its central position in Europe, Germany is a transport hub for the continent. Its road network is among the densest in Europe. The motorway (Autobahn) is widely known for having no general federally mandated Speed limits in Germany, speed limit for some classes of vehicles.
The Intercity Express or ''ICE'' train network serves major German cities as well as destinations in neighbouring countries with speeds up to . The largest German airports are Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport and Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The Port of Hamburg is one of the twenty List of world's busiest container ports, largest container ports in the world.
, Germany was the world's seventh-largest consumer of energy. All nuclear power plants were phased out in 2023. It meets the country's power demands using 40% renewable energy, renewable sources, and it has been called an "early leader" in Solar panel, solar and Offshore wind power, offshore wind.
Germany is committed to the Paris Agreement and several other treaties promoting biodiversity, low emission standards, and water management. The country's household recycling rate is among the Recycling rates by country, highest in the world—at around 65%. The country's List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per person, greenhouse gas emissions per capita were the ninth-highest in the EU , but these numbers have been trending downward. The Energy transition in Germany, German energy transition () is the recognised move to a sustainable economy by means of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Germany has reduced its primary energy consumption by 11% between 1990 and 2015 and set itself goals of reducing it by 30% by 2030 and by 50% by 2050.
Tourism
![Castle Neuschwanstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Castle_Neuschwanstein.jpg)
Domestic and international travel and tourism combined directly contribute over €105.3 billion to German GDP. Including indirect and induced impacts, the industry supports 4.2 million jobs. As of 2022, Germany is the World Tourism rankings, eighth-most-visited country. Its most popular landmarks include Cologne Cathedral, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, Reichstag, the Dresden Frauenkirche, Neuschwanstein Castle, Heidelberg Castle, the Wartburg, and Sanssouci Palace. The Europa-Park near Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg is Europe's second-most popular theme park resort.
Demographics
![Bilinguale Straßenbeschilderung Cottbus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Bilinguale_Stra%C3%9Fenbeschilderung_Cottbus.jpg)
With a population of 80.2 million according to the 2011 German census,
rising to 83.7 million ,
Germany is the most populous country in the European Union, the List of European countries by population, second-most populous country in Europe after
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, and the List of countries by population, nineteenth-most populous country in the world. Its List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density, population density stands at . The Total fertility rate, fertility rate of 1.57 children born per woman (2022 estimates) is below the replacement rate of 2.1 and is one of the List of sovereign states and dependent territories by fertility rate, lowest fertility rates in the world.
Since the 1970s, Germany's death rate has exceeded its birth rate. However, Germany is witnessing increased birth rates and migration rates since the beginning of the 2010s. Germany has the List of countries by median age, third oldest population in the world, with an average age of 47.4 years.
Four sizeable groups of people are referred to as national minorities because their ancestors have lived in their respective regions for centuries:
There is a Danes, Danish minority in the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein;
the Sorbs, a Slavic people, Slavic population, are in the Lusatia region of Free State of Saxony, Saxony and Brandenburg; the Romani people, Roma and Sinti live throughout the country; and the Frisians are concentrated in Schleswig-Holstein's western coast and in the north-western part of Lower Saxony.
After the United States, Germany is the second-most popular Immigration to Germany, immigration destination in the world. In 2015, following the 2015 European migrant crisis, 2015 refugee crisis, the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs listed Germany as host to the List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population, second-highest number of international migrants worldwide, about 5% or 12 million of all 244 million migrants. Refugee crises have resulted in substantial population increases. For example, the major influx of Ukrainian immigrants following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, meaning over 1.06 million refugees from Ukraine were recorded in Germany as of April 2023. , Germany ranks seventh among EU countries in terms of the percentage of migrants in the country's population, at 13.1%. In 2022, there were 23.8 million people, 28.7 percent of the total population, who had a migration background.
Germany has a number of large List of cities and towns in Germany, cities. There are 11 officially recognised metropolitan regions in Germany, metropolitan regions. The country's largest city is
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, while its largest urban area is the
Ruhr.
[Demographia: World Urban Areas](_blank)
. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
Religion
![500px photo (70560973)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/500px_photo_%2870560973%29.jpeg/1200px-500px_photo_%2870560973%29.jpeg)
Christianity was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD and became fully Christianization of Germany, Christianized by the time of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
in the eighth and ninth century. After the Reformation started by
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
in the early 16th century, many people left the Catholic Church and became Protestant, mainly Lutheranism, Lutheran and Calvinism, Calvinist.
According to the 2011 census, Christianity was the largest religion in Germany, with 66.8% of respondents identifying as Christian, of which 3.8% were not church members.
31.7% declared themselves as Protestantism in Germany, Protestants, including members of the Protestant Church in Germany (which encompasses Lutheran, Reformed tradition, Reformed, and administrative or confessional United and uniting churches, unions of both traditions) and the free churches (); 31.2% declared themselves as Roman Catholicism in Germany, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox believers constituted 1.3%. According to data from 2016, the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church claimed 28.5% and 27.5%, respectively, of the population.
Islam in Germany, Islam is the second-largest religion in the country.
In the 2011 census, 1.9% of respondents (1.52 million people) gave their religion as Islam, but this figure is deemed unreliable because a disproportionate number of adherents of this faith (and other religions, such as Judaism) are likely to have made use of their right not to answer the question. Most of the Muslims are Sunni Islam, Sunnis and Alevites from Turkey, but there are a small number of Shia Islam, Shi'ites, Ahmadiyyas and other denominations. Other religions comprise less than one per cent of Germany's population.
A study in 2018 estimated that 38% of the population are not members of any religious organization or religious denomination, denomination,
though up to a third may still consider themselves religious. Irreligion in Germany is strongest in the former East Germany, which used to be predominantly Protestant before the enforcement of state atheism, and in major metropolitan areas.
Languages
German is the official and predominantly spoken language in Germany.
It is one of 24 official and working languages of the European Union, and one of the three procedural languages of the European Commission. German is the most widely spoken first language in the European Union, with around 100 million native speakers.
Recognised native minority languages in Germany are Danish language, Danish, Low German, Low Rhenish, Sorbian languages, Sorbian, Romani language, Romani, North Frisian language, North Frisian and Saterland Frisian language, Saterland Frisian; they are officially protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The most used immigrant languages are Turkish language, Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish language, Kurdish, Polish language, Polish, Italian language, Italian, Greek language, Greek, Spanish language, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian and other Balkan languages, as well as Russian language, Russian. Germans are typically multilingual: 67% of German citizens claim to be able to communicate in at least one foreign language and 27% in at least two.
Education
![Heidelberg Universitätsbibliothek 2003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Heidelberg_Universit%C3%A4tsbibliothek_2003.jpg)
Responsibility for educational supervision in Germany is primarily organised within the individual States of Germany, states. Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years old, after which Schulpflicht, school attendance is compulsory for at least nine years depending on the state. Primary education usually lasts for four to six years.
Secondary schooling is divided into tracks based on whether students pursue college-preparatory school, academic or vocational education. A system of apprenticeship called leads to a skilled qualification which is almost comparable to an academic degree. It allows students in vocational training to learn in a company as well as in a state-run trade school.
This model is well regarded and reproduced all around the world.
Most of the List of universities in Germany, German universities are public institutions, and students traditionally study without fee payment. The general requirement for attending university is the . According to an OECD report in 2014, Germany is the world's third leading destination for international study. The established universities in Germany include some of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest in the world, with Heidelberg University (established in 1386), Leipzig University (established in 1409) and the University of Rostock (established in 1419) being the oldest. The Humboldt University of Berlin, founded in 1810 by the liberal educational reformer Wilhelm von Humboldt, became the academic Humboldtian model of higher education, model for many Western universities. In the contemporary era Germany has developed eleven German Universities Excellence Initiative, Universities of Excellence.
Health
![Heiligen-Geist-Hospital in Lübeck](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Heiligen-Geist-Hospital_in_L%C3%BCbeck.JPG)
Germany's system of hospitals, called , dates from medieval times, and today, Germany has the world's oldest universal health care system, dating from Otto von Bismarck#Social legislation, Bismarck's social legislation of the 1880s. Since the 1880s, reforms and provisions have ensured a balanced health care system. The population is covered by a health insurance plan provided by statute, with criteria allowing some groups to opt for a private health insurance contract. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Germany's health care system was 77% government-funded and 23% privately funded .
In 2014, Germany spent 11.3% of its GDP on health care.
Germany ranked 21st in the world in 2019 in life expectancy with List of countries by life expectancy, 78.7 years for men and 84.8 years for women according to the WHO, and it had a very low infant mortality rate (4 per 1,000 Live birth (human), live births). , the principal cause of death was cardiovascular disease, at 37%. Obesity in Germany has been increasingly cited as a major health issue. A 2014 study showed that 52 per cent of the adult German population was overweight or obese.
Culture
![Striezelmarkt 2009 00950](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Striezelmarkt_2009_00950.jpg)
Culture in German states has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secularism, secular, and its Science and technology in Germany, scientists, German literature, writers and German philosophy, philosophers have played a significant role in the development of Western thought. A global opinion poll for the BBC revealed that Germany is recognised for having the most positive influence in the world in 2013 and 2014.
Germany is well known for such folk festival traditions as the Oktoberfest and Weihnachten, Christmas customs, which include Advent wreaths, Nativity play, Christmas pageants, Christmas trees, Stollen cakes, and other practices. UNESCO inscribed World Heritage Sites in Germany, 52 properties in Germany on the World Heritage List. There are a number of public holidays in Germany determined by each state; 3 October has been a national day of Germany since 1990, celebrated as the (German Unity Day).
Music
German classical music era, classical music includes works by some of the world's most well-known composers. Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, Georg Friedrich Händel were influential composers of the Baroque music, Baroque period. Ludwig van Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic music, Romantic eras. Carl Maria von Weber, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms were significant Romantic composers. Richard Wagner was known for his operas. Richard Strauss was a leading composer of the late Romantic and early 20th-century classical music, modern eras. Karlheinz Stockhausen and Wolfgang Rihm are important composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
As of 2013, Germany was the second-largest music market in Europe, and List of largest recorded music markets, fourth-largest in the world. German popular music of the 20th and 21st centuries includes the movements of Neue Deutsche Welle, Pop music, pop, Ostrock, Heavy metal music, heavy metal/German rock, rock, German punk, punk, pop rock, Indie rock, indie, Volksmusik (folk music), Schlager music, schlager pop and German hip hop. German electronic music gained global influence, with Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream pioneering in this genre. DJs and artists of the techno and house music scenes of Germany have become well known (e.g. Paul van Dyk, Felix Jaehn, Paul Kalkbrenner, Robin Schulz and Scooter (band), Scooter).
Art, design and architecture
German painters have influenced Art of Europe, Western art. Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, Matthias Grünewald and Lucas Cranach the Elder were important German artists of the Renaissance, Johann Baptist Zimmermann of the Baroque, Caspar David Friedrich and Carl Spitzweg of Romanticism, Max Liebermann of Impressionism and Max Ernst of Surrealism. Several German art groups formed in the 20th century; (The Bridge) and (The Blue Rider) influenced the development of German Expressionism, expressionism in Munich and Berlin. The New Objectivity arose in response to expressionism during the Weimar Republic. After World War II, broad trends in German art include neo-expressionism and the New Leipzig School.
German designers became early leaders of modern product design. The Berlin Fashion Week and the fashion trade fair Bread and Butter tradeshow, Bread & Butter are held twice a year.
Architectural contributions from Germany include the Carolingian architecture, Carolingian and Ottonian architecture, Ottonian styles, which were precursors of Romanesque architecture, Romanesque. Brick Gothic is a distinctive medieval style that evolved in Germany. Also in Renaissance architecture, Renaissance and Baroque architecture, Baroque art, regional and typically German elements evolved (e.g. Weser Renaissance).
Vernacular architecture in Germany is often identified by its Fachwerkhaus, timber framing () traditions and varies across regions, and among carpentry styles.
When industrialisation spread across Europe, classicism and a distinctive style of Historicism (art), historicism developed in Germany, sometimes referred to as ''style''. Expressionist architecture developed in the 1910s in Germany and influenced Art Deco and other modern styles. Germany was particularly important in the early modern architecture, modernist movement: it is the home of Deutscher Werkbund, Werkbund initiated by Hermann Muthesius (New Objectivity (architecture), New Objectivity), and of the Bauhaus movement founded by Walter Gropius.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe became one of the world's most renowned architects in the second half of the 20th century; he conceived of the glass façade skyscraper. Renowned contemporary List of German architects, architects and offices include Pritzker Prize winners Gottfried Böhm and Frei Otto.
Literature and philosophy
![Grimm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Grimm.jpg)
German literature can be traced back to the Middle Ages and the works of writers such as Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. Well-known German authors include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Theodor Fontane. The collections of folk tales published by the Brothers Grimm popularised German folklore on an international level.
The Grimms also gathered and codified regional variants of the German language, grounding their work in historical principles; their , or German Dictionary, sometimes called the Grimm dictionary, was begun in 1838 and the first volumes published in 1854.
Influential authors of the 20th century include Gerhart Hauptmann, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Böll, and Günter Grass. The German book market is the third-largest in the world, after the United States and China. The Frankfurt Book Fair is the most important in the world for international deals and trading, with a tradition spanning over 500 years. The Leipzig Book Fair also retains a major position in Europe.
German philosophy is historically significant: Gottfried Leibniz's contributions to rationalism; the Age of Enlightenment, enlightenment philosophy by Immanuel Kant; the establishment of classical German idealism by Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling; Arthur Schopenhauer's composition of metaphysical pessimism; the formulation of communist theory by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; Friedrich Nietzsche's development of perspectivism; Gottlob Frege's contributions to the dawn of analytic philosophy; Martin Heidegger's works on Being; Oswald Spengler's historical philosophy; and the development of the Frankfurt School have all been very influential.
Media
![Filmstudio Babelsberg Eingang](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Filmstudio_Babelsberg_Eingang.jpg)
The largest internationally operating Mass media, media companies in Germany are the Bertelsmann enterprise, Axel Springer AG, Axel Springer SE and ProSiebenSat.1 Media. Television in Germany, Germany's television market is the largest in Europe, with some 38 million TV households. Around 90% of German households have cable or satellite TV, with a variety of Public broadcasting#Germany, free-to-view public and Commercial broadcasting, commercial channels.
There are more than 300 public and private List of radio stations in Germany, radio stations in Germany; Germany's national radio network is the Deutschlandradio and the public Deutsche Welle is the main German radio and television broadcaster in foreign languages.
Germany's print market of List of newspapers in Germany, newspapers and List of magazines in Germany, magazines is the largest in Europe.
The papers with the highest circulation are , , and .
The largest magazines include and .
Germany has Video gaming in Germany, a large video gaming market, with over 34 million players nationwide. The Gamescom is the world's largest gaming convention.
German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film. The first works of the Max Skladanowsky, Skladanowsky Brothers were shown to an audience in 1895. The renowned Babelsberg Studio in Potsdam was established in 1912, thus being the first large-scale film studio in the world. Early German cinema was particularly influential with German expressionism, German expressionists such as Robert Wiene and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. Director Fritz Lang's ''Metropolis (1927 film), Metropolis'' (1927) is referred to as the first major science-fiction film. After 1945, many of the films of the immediate post-war period can be characterised as (rubble film). East German film was dominated by state-owned film studio DEFA (film studio), DEFA, while the dominant genre in West Germany was the ("homeland film"). During the 1970s and 1980s, New German Cinema directors such as Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder brought West German auteur cinema to critical acclaim.
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film ("Oscar") went to the German production ''The Tin Drum (film), The Tin Drum'' () in 1979, to ''Nowhere in Africa'' () in 2002, and to ''The Lives of Others'' () in 2007. List of German-speaking Academy Award winners and nominees, Various Germans won an Oscar for their performances in other films. The annual European Film Awards ceremony is held every other year in Berlin, home of the European Film Academy. The Berlin International Film Festival, known as "Berlinale", awarding the "Golden Bear" and held annually since 1951, is one of the world's leading film festivals. The "Lolas" are annually awarded in Berlin, at the Deutscher Filmpreis, German Film Awards.
Cuisine
![BavarianLunch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/BavarianLunch.jpg)
German cuisine varies from region to region and often neighbouring regions share some culinary similarities, including with the southern regions of Bavarian cuisine, Bavaria and Swabian cuisine, Swabia,
Switzerland, and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. International varieties such as pizza, sushi, Chinese food, Greek cuisine, Greek food, Indian cuisine, and doner kebab are popular.
German cuisine#Bread, Bread is a significant part of German cuisine and German bakeries produce about 600 main types of bread and 1,200 types of pastries and Bread roll, rolls (). German List of German cheeses, cheeses account for about 22% of all cheese produced in Europe. In 2012 over 99% of all meat produced in Germany was either pork, chicken or beef. Germans produce their ubiquitous sausages in almost 1,500 varieties, including Bratwursts and Weisswursts.
The national alcoholic drink is Beer in Germany, beer. German beer consumption per person stands at in 2013 and remains among the List of countries by beer consumption per capita, highest in the world. Reinheitsgebot, German beer purity regulations date back to the 16th century. German wine, Wine has become popular in many parts of the country, especially close to List of German wine regions, German wine regions. In 2019, Germany was the List of countries by wine production, ninth-largest wine producer in the world.
The 2018 Michelin Guide awarded eleven restaurants in Germany List of Michelin starred restaurants#Germany, three stars, giving the country a cumulative total of 300 stars.
Sports
![Germany champions 2014 FIFA World Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Germany_champions_2014_FIFA_World_Cup.jpg)
Football in Germany, Football is the most popular sport in Germany. With more than 7 million official members, the German Football Association (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund'') is the largest single-sport organisation worldwide, and the German top league, the Bundesliga, attracts the second-highest List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues, average attendance of all professional sports leagues in the world. The Germany national football team, German men's national football team won the FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014, the UEFA European Championship in 1972, 1980 and 1996, and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.
Germany is one of the leading Motorsport in Germany, motor sports countries in the world. Constructors like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes are prominent manufacturers in motor sport. Porsche has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race 19 times, and Audi 13 times (). The driver Michael Schumacher has set many motor sport records during his career, having won seven List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, Formula One World Drivers' Championships. Sebastian Vettel is also among the most successful Formula One drivers of all time.
Germany at the Olympics, German athletes historically have been successful contenders in the Olympic Games, ranking third in an all-time Olympic Games medal count when combining East Germany, East and West German medals prior to
German reunification. In 1936 Berlin hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, Summer Games and the 1936 Winter Olympics, Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Munich hosted the Summer Games of 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972.
See also
* Outline of Germany
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Official site of the Federal GovernmentGermanyfrom BBC News
Germany ''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Germanyfrom the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD
Germanyat the European Union, EU
*
{{coord, 51, N, 9, E, type:country_region:DE, display=title
Germany,
1990 establishments in Europe
G20 members
Articles containing video clips
Countries and territories where German is an official language
Countries in Europe
Federal republics
Member states of NATO
Member states of the Council of Europe
Member states of the European Union
Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean
Member states of the United Nations
OECD members
States and territories established in 1871
States and territories established in 1949
States and territories established in 1990