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History of Germany

History of Germany
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History of Germany

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The concept of Germany as a distinct region in central Europe can be traced to Roman commander Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing it from Gaul (France), which he had conquered. The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (AD 9) prevented annexation by the Roman Empire. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the other West Germanic tribes. When the Frankish Empire was divided among Charlemagne's heirs in 843, the eastern part became East Francia. In 962, Otto I became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval German state. In the High Middle Ages, the dukes and princes of the empire gained power at the expense of the emperors. Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation against the Catholic Church after 1517, as the northern states became Protestant, while the southern states remained Catholic. The two parts of the Holy Roman Empire clashed in the Thirty Years' War (16181648), which was ruinous to the twenty million civilians. 1648 marked the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire and the beginning of the modern nation-state system, with Germany divided into numerous independent states, such as Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony. After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars (18031815), feudalism fell away and liberalism and nationalism clashed with reaction. The 1848 March Revolution failed. The Industrial Revolution modernized the German economy, led to the rapid growth of cities and to the emergence of the Socialist movement in Germany. Prussia, with its capital Berlin, grew in power. German universities became world-class centers for science and the humanities, while music and the arts flourished. Unification was achieved with the formation of the German Empire in 1871 under the leadership of Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The new Reichstag, an elected parliament, had only a limited role in the imperial government. By 1900, Germany's economy matched Britain's, allowing colonial expansion and a naval race. Germany led the Central Powers in the First World War (19141918) against France, Great Britain, Russia and (by 1917) the United States. Defeated and partly occupied, Germany was forced to pay war reparations by the Treaty of Versailles and was stripped of its colonies as well as Polish areas and Alsace-Lorraine. The German Revolution of 191819 deposed the emperor and the kings, leading to the establishment of the Weimar Republic, an unstable parliamentary democracy. In the early 1930s, the worldwide Great Depression hit Germany hard, as unemployment soared and people lost confidence in the government. In 1933, the Nazis under Adolf Hitler came to power and established a totalitarian regime. Political opponents were killed or imprisoned. Nazi Germany's aggressive foreign policy took control of Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia, and its invasion of Poland initiated the Second World War. After forming a

History of Germany pact with the Soviet Union in 1939, Hitler and Stalin divided Eastern Europe. After a "phoney war" in spring 1940 the German blitzkrieg swept Scandinavia, the Low Countries and France, giving Germany control of nearly all of Western Europe. Only Britain stood opposed. Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, a reach too far. The systematic genocide program known as The Holocaust killed six million Jews in Germany and German-occupied areas, as well as five million Poles, Romanies, Russians, Soviets (Russian and non-Russian), and others. In 1941, however, the German invasion of the Soviet Union faltered, and after the United States entered the war, Britain became the base for massive Anglo-American bombings of German cities. Germany fought the war on multiple fronts through 19421943. Following the Allied invasion of Normandy (June 1944), the German army was pushed back on all fronts until the final collapse in May 1945. Under occupation by the Allies, German territories were split off, denazification took place, and the Cold War resulted in the division of the country into democratic West Germany and communist East Germany. Millions of ethnic Germans fled from Communist areas into West Germany, which experienced rapid economic expansion, and became the dominant economy in Western Europe. West Germany was rearmed in the 1950s under the auspices of NATO, but without access to nuclear weapons. The Franco-German friendship became the basis for the political integration of Western Europe in the European Union. In 1989, the Berlin Wall was destroyed, the Soviet Union collapsed and East Germany was reunited with West Germany in 1990. In 19981999, Germany was one of the founding countries of the Eurozone. Germany remains one of the economic powerhouses of Europe, contributing about one quarter of the Eurozone's annual gross domestic product. In the early 2010s, Germany played a critical role in trying to resolve the escalating Euro crisis, especially regarding Greece and other Southern European nations. For more events, see Timeline of German history

Germanic tribes, 750 BC 768 AD

Migration and conquest
The ethnogenesis of the Germanic tribes is assumed to have occurred during the Nordic Bronze Age, or at the latest during the Pre-Roman Iron Age. From southern Scandinavia and northern Germany, the tribes began expanding south, east and west in the 1st centuryBC, coming into contact with the Celtic tribes of Gaul, as well as Iranian, Baltic, and Slavic tribes in Central Europe. Little is known about early Germanic history, except through their recorded interactions with the Roman Empire, etymological research and archaeological finds.

Expansion of the Germanic tribes 750 BC AD1

History of Germany

Painting of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the great Germanic victory in 9 AD

Seven large German-speaking tribes the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards, Saxons and Franks moved west and took part in the Decline of the Roman Empire and transformation of the old Western Roman Empire. The unoccupied part of present Germany was invaded by the Huns at the end of the 4th century and led to the beginning of the Migration Period. Hunnic hegemony of Germany lasted until 469.

The Stem Duchies and Marches


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Frankish Empire

Expansion of the Frankish Empire: Blue = realm of Pippin III in 758, Red = expansion under Charlemagne until 814, Yellow = marches and dependencies


History of Germany

Middle Ages

The Holy Roman Empire at its greatest territorial extent during Crusades.

The prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. (left to right: Archbishop of Cologne, Archbishop of Mainz, Archbishop of Trier, Count Palatine, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Brandenburg and King of Bohemia)

Holy Roman Empire, 10th century

Marienburg (Malbork) castle of the Teutonic Knights After the 768 death of Frankish King Pepin the Short, his son Charles consolidated his control over his kingdom and became known as "Charles the Great" or "Charlemagne." From 771 until his death in 814, Charlemagne extended the Carolingian empire into northern Italy and the territories of all west Germanic peoples, including the Saxons and the

History of Germany Bajuwari (Bavarians). In 800, Charlemagne's authority was confirmed by his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor by the pope on Christmas Day in Rome. Imperial strongholds (Kaiserpfalzen) became economic and cultural centres, of which Aachen was the most famous. Fighting among Charlemagne's grandchildren caused the Carolingian empire to be partitioned into several parts by the Treaty of Verdun (843), the Treaty of Meerssen (870), and the Treaty of Ribemont. The German region developed out of the East Frankish kingdom, East Francia. From 919 to 936, the Germanic peoples Franks, Saxons, Swabians, and Bavarians were united under Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony, who took the title of king. For the first time, the term "Kingdom (Empire) of the Germans" (Regnum Teutonicorum) was applied to a Frankish kingdom, although Teutonicorum at its founding originally meant something closer to "Realm of the Germanic peoples" or "Germanic Realm" than "realm of the Germans".[1]

Otto the Great


History of Germany

Lbeck, 15th century

Hanseatic League
Long-distance trade in the Baltic intensified, as the major trading towns became drawn together in the Hanseatic League, under the leadership of Lbeck. The Hanseatic League was a business alliance of trading cities and their guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe. Each of the Hanseatic cities had its own legal system and a degree of political autonomy. The chief cities were Cologne on the Rhine River, Hamburg and Bremen on the North Sea, and Lbeck on the Baltic. The League flourished from 1200 to 1500, and continued with lesser importance after that.
Main trading routes of the Hanseatic League

Eastward expansion

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Church and state


Friedrich Barbarossa was Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 to 1190.


History of Germany

Around 1350 Germany and almost the whole of Europe were ravaged by the Black Death. Jews were persecuted on religious and economic grounds; many fled to Poland. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 3060 percent of Europe's population[3] in the 14th century.

Change and reform

After the disasters of the 14th century war, plague, and schism early-modern European society gradually came into being as a result of economic, religious, and political changes. A money economy arose which provoked social discontent among knights and peasants. Around the middle of the 14th century, the Black Death ravaged Germany and Europe (from the Gradually, a proto-capitalistic system evolved out of feudalism. The Dance of Death by Michael Wolgemut). Fugger family gained prominence through commercial and financial activities and became financiers to both ecclesiastical and secular rulers. The knightly classes found their monopoly on arms and military skill undermined by the introduction of mercenary armies and foot soldiers. Predatory activity by "robber knights" became common. From 1438 the Habsburgs, who controlled most of the southeast of the Empire (more or less modern-day Austria and Slovenia, and Bohemia and Moravia after the death of King Louis II in 1526), maintained a constant grip on the position of the Holy Roman Emperor until 1806 (with the exception of the years between 1742 and 1745). This situation, however, gave rise to increased disunity among the Holy Roman Empire's territorial rulers and prevented sections of the country from coming together to form nations in the manner of France and England. During his reign from 1493 to 1519, Maximilian I tried to reform the Empire. An Imperial supreme court (Reichskammergericht) was established, imperial taxes were levied, and the power of the Imperial Diet (Reichstag) was increased. The reforms, however, were frustrated by the continued territorial fragmentation of the Empire.

Towns and cities


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Cologne around 1411


Science and culture

In the 12th century, German Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen (10981179) wrote several influential theological, botanical, and medicinal texts, as well as letters, liturgical songs, poems, and arguably the oldest surviving morality play, while supervising brilliant miniature Illuminations. About 100 years later, Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170 - c. 1230) became the most celebrated of the Middle High German lyric poets. Around 1439, Johannes Gutenberg, a citizen of Mainz, was the first European to use movable type printing and became the global inventor of the printing press, thereby starting the Printing Revolution. Gutenberg's inventions and works (such as the Gutenberg Bible) would play key roles for the development of the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. Around the transition from the 15th to the 16th century, Albrecht Drer from Nuremberg established his reputation across Europe as painter, printmaker, mathematician, engraver, and theorist when he was still in his twenties and secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. The addition Nationis Germanic (of German Nation) to the emperor's title appeared first in the 15th century: in a 1486 law decreed by Frederick III and in 1512 in reference to the Imperial Diet in Cologne by Maximilian I. By then, the emperors had lost their influence in Italy and Burgundy. In 1525, the Heilbronn reform plan the most advanced document of the German Peasants' War (Deutscher Bauernkrieg) referred to the Reich as von Teutscher Nation (of German nation).

History of Germany


Hildegard von Bingen (10981179)

Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 11701230)

Johannes Gutenberg (c. 13981468)

Albrecht Drer (14711528)

Early modern Germany


Flag of the Holy Roman Empire, 15th to 19th centuries

The Holy Roman Empire, 1512

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Martin Luther (14831546)

In 1521 Luther was outlawed at the Diet of Worms. But the Reformation spread rapidly, helped by the Emperor Charles V's wars with France and the Turks. Hiding in the Wartburg Castle, Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German, establishing the basis of the German language. A curious fact is that Luther spoke a dialect which had minor importance in the German language of that time. After the publication of his Bible, his dialect suppressed the others and evolved into what is now the modern German. In 1524 the German Peasants' War broke out in Swabia, Franconia and Thuringia against ruling princes and lords, following the preachings of Reformist priests. But the revolts, which were assisted by war-experienced noblemen like Gtz von Berlichingen and Florian Geyer (in Franconia), and by the theologian Thomas Mnzer (in Thuringia), were soon repressed by the territorial princes. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 German peasants were massacred during the revolt, usually after the battles had ended. With the protestation of the Lutheran princes at the Imperial Diet of Speyer (1529) and rejection of the Lutheran "Augsburg Confession" at Augsburg (1530), a separate Lutheran church emerged. From 1545 the Counter-Reformation began in Germany. The main force was provided by the Jesuit order, founded by the Spaniard Ignatius of Loyola. Central and northeastern Germany were by this time almost wholly Protestant, whereas western and southern Germany remained predominantly Catholic. In 1547, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V defeated the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Protestant rulers. The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 brought recognition of the Lutheran faith. But the treaty also stipulated that the religion of a state was to be that of its ruler (Cuius regio, eius religio). In 1556 Charles V abdicated. The Habsburg Empire was divided, as Spain was separated from the Imperial possessions. In 1608/1609 the Protestant Union and the Catholic League were formed.

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Thirty Years War



Reduction of the population of the Holy Roman Empire as a consequence of the Thirty Years War

Culture and literacy


Bible translated into Modern High German by Luther, 1534

History of Germany the Reformation for particular agendas. Reform writers used pre-Reformation styles, clichs, and stereotypes and changed items as needed for their own purposes. Especially effective were Luther's Small Catechism, for use of parents teaching their children, and Larger Catechism, for pastors.[4] Using the German vernacular they expressed the Apostles' Creed in simpler, more personal, Trinitarian language. Illustrations in the newly translated Bible and in many tracts popularized Luther's ideas. Lucas Cranach the Elder (14721553), the great painter patronized by the electors of Wittenberg, was a close friend of Luther, and illustrated Luther's theology for a popular audience. He dramatized Luther's views on the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, while remaining mindful of Luther's careful distinctions about proper and improper uses of visual imagery. Luther's German translation of the Bible was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to Modern Standard. His bible promoted the development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area.



Nicolaus Copernicus (14731543)

Johannes Kepler (15711630)

History of Germany


From 1640, Brandenburg-Prussia had started to rise under the Great Elector, Frederick William. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 strengthened it even further, through the acquisition of East Pomerania. From 1713 to 1740, King Frederick William I, also known as the "Soldier King", established a highly centralized, militarized state with a heavily rural population of about three million (compared to the nine million in Austria). In terms of the boundaries of 1914, Germany in 1700 had a population of 16 After 1763, Prussia became a European great power. The rivalry between Prussia million, increasing slightly to 17 million by and Austria for the leadership of Germany began 1750, and growing more rapidly to 24 million by 1800. Wars continued, but they were no longer so devastating to the civilian population; famines and major epidemics did not occur, but increased agricultural productivity led to a higher birth rate, and a lower death rate.

Louis XIV of France conquered parts of Alsace and Lorraine (16781681), and had invaded and devastated the Electorate of the Palatinate (16881697) in the War of Palatinian Succession. Louis XIV benefited from the Empire's problems with the Turks, which were menacing Austria. Louis XIV ultimately had to relinquish the Electorate of the Palatinate. Afterwards Hungary was reconquered from the Turks; Austria, under the Habsburgs, developed into a great power. In the War of Austrian Succession (17401748) Maria Theresa fought successfully for recognition of her succession to the throne. But in the Silesian Wars and in the Seven Years' War she had to cede 95 percent of Silesia to Frederick II, the Great, of Prussia. After the Peace of Hubertsburg in 1763 between Austria, Prussia and Saxony, Prussia became a European great power. This gave the start to the rivalry between Prussia and Austria for the leadership of Germany. From 1763, against resistance from the nobility and citizenry, an "enlightened absolutism" was established in Prussia and Austria, according to which the ruler governed according to the best precepts of the philosophers. The economies developed and legal reforms were undertaken, including the abolition of torture and the improvement in the status of Jews. Emancipation of the peasants slowly began. Compulsory education was instituted.

Frederick II, the Great, of Prussia (17121786)

In 17721795 Prussia took part in the partitions of Poland. Prussia occupied the western territories of the former PolishLithuanian Commonwealth that surrounded existing Prussian holdings. This occupation led to centuries of Polish resistance against Germanization.

History of Germany


Smaller states

Ludwigsburg Palace in Wrttemberg

In Hesse-Kassel, the Landgrave Frederick II, ruled 17601785 as an enlightened despot, and raised money by renting soldiers (called "Hessians") to Great Britain to help fight the American Revolutionary War. He combined Enlightenment ideas with Christian values, cameralist plans for central control of the economy, and a militaristic approach toward diplomacy. Hanover did not have to support a lavish courtits rulers were also kings of England and resided in London. George III, elector (ruler) from 1760 to 1820, never once visited Hanover. The local nobility who ran the country opened the University of Gttingen in 1737; it soon became a world-class intellectual center.

History of Germany


Baden sported perhaps the best government of the smaller states. Karl Friedrich ruled well for 73 years (17381811) and was an enthusiast for The Enlightenment; he abolished serfdom in 1783. The smaller states failed to form coalitions with each other, and were eventually overwhelmed by Prussia. Between 1807 and 1871, Prussia swallowed up many of the smaller states, with minimal protest, then went on to found the German Empire. In the process, Prussia became too heterogeneous, lost its identity, and by the 1930s had become an administrative shell of little importance.

In a heavily agrarian society, land ownership played a central role. Germany's Karl Friedrich ruled Baden 17381811 nobles, especially those in the East called Junkers dominated not only the localities, but also the Prussian court, and especially the Prussian army. Increasingly after 1815, a centralized Prussian government based in Berlin took over the powers of the nobles, which in terms of control over the peasantry had been almost absolute. To help the nobility avoid indebtedness, Berlin set up a credit institution to provide capital loans in 1809, and extended the loan network to peasants in 1849. When the German Empire was established in 1871, the Junker nobility controlled the army and the Navy, the bureaucracy, and the royal court; they generally set governmental policies.

Peasants and rural life

Peasants continued to center their lives in the village, where they were members of a corporate body and help manage the community resources and monitor the community life. In the East, they were serfs who were bound permanently to parcels of land. In most of Germany, farming was handled by tenant farmers who paid rents and obligatory services to the landlord, who was typically a nobleman. Peasant leaders supervised the fields and ditches and grazing rights, maintained public order and morals, and supported a village court which handled minor offenses. Inside the family the patriarch made all the decisions, and tried to arrange advantageous marriages for his children. Much of the "Peasants in a Tavern" by Adriaen van Ostade (c. villages' communal life centered around church services and holy days. 1635), at the Alte Pinakothek, Munich In Prussia, the peasants drew lots to choose conscripts required by the army. The noblemen handled external relationships and politics for the villages under their control, and were not typically involved in daily activities or decisions.[5] The emancipation of the serfs came in 17701830, beginning with Schleswig in 1780. The peasants were now ex-serfs and could own their land, buy and sell it, and move about freely. The nobles approved for now they could buy land owned by the peasants. The chief reformer was Baron vom Stein (17571831), who was influenced by The Enlightenment, especially the free market ideas of Adam Smith. The end of serfdom raised the personal legal status of the peasantry. A bank was set up so that landowner could borrow government money to buy land from peasants (the peasants were not allowed to use it to borrow money to buy land until 1850). The result was that the large landowners obtained larger estates, and many peasant became landless tenants, or moved to the cities or to America. The other German states imitated Prussia after 1815. In sharp contrast to the violence that characterized land reform in the French Revolution, Germany handled it peacefully. In Schleswig the peasants, who had been influenced by the Enlightenment, played an active role; elsewhere they were largely passive. Indeed, for most peasants, customs and



Before 1750 the German upper classes looked to France for intellectual, cultural and architectural leadership; French was the language of high society. By the mid-18th century the "Aufklrung" (The Enlightenment) had transformed German high culture in music, philosophy, science and literature. Christian Wolff (16791754) was the pioneer as a writer who expounded the Enlightenment to German readers; he legitimized German as a philosophic language. Johann Gottfried von Herder (17441803) broke new ground in philosophy and poetry, as a leader of the Sturm und Drang movement Weimars Courtyard of the Muses, a tribute to of proto-Romanticism. Weimar Classicism ("Weimarer Klassik") was a The Enlightenment and the Weimar Classicism cultural and literary movement based in Weimar that sought to depicting German poets Schiller, Wieland, Herder and Goethe. establish a new humanism by synthesizing Romantic, classical, and Enlightenment ideas. The movement, from 1772 until 1805, involved Herder as well as polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (17491832) and Friedrich Schiller (17591805), a poet and historian. Herder argued that every folk had its own particular identity, which was expressed in its language and culture. This legitimized the promotion of German language and culture and helped shape the development of German nationalism. Schiller's plays expressed the restless spirit of his generation, depicting the hero's struggle against social pressures and the force of destiny. German music, sponsored by the upper classes, came of age under composers Johann Sebastian Bach (16851750), Joseph Haydn (17321809), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (17561791). In remote Knigsberg philosopher Immanuel Kant (17241804) tried to reconcile rationalism and religious belief, individual freedom, and political authority. Kant's work contained basic tensions that would continue to shape German thought and indeed all of European philosophy well into the 20th century. The German Enlightenment won the support of princes, aristocrats, and the middle classes, and it permanently reshaped the culture.

History of Germany


French Revolution 17891815


History of Germany


German Confederation

The German Confederation 18151866. Prussia (in blue) considerably expanded its territory.

Society and economy




Friedrich List's concept for a German railway net from 1833


History of Germany purposes.[6] Lacking a technological base at first, the Germans imported their engineering and hardware from Britain, but quickly learned the skills needed to operate and expand the railways. In many cities, the new railway shops were the centres of technological awareness and training, so that by 1850, Germany was self-sufficient in meeting the demands of railroad construction, and the railways were a major impetus for the growth of the new steel industry. Observers found that even as late as 1890, their engineering was inferior to Britains. However, German unification in 1870 stimulated consolidation, nationalisation into state-owned companies, and further rapid growth. Unlike the situation in France, the goal was support of industrialisation, and so heavy lines crisscrossed the Ruhr and other industrial districts, and provided good connections to the major ports of Hamburg and Bremen. By 1880, Germany had 9,400 locomotives pulling 43,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of freight a day, and forged ahead of France. Science and culture German artists and intellectuals, heavily influenced by the French Revolution and by the great German poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (17491832), turned to Romanticism after a period of Enlightenment. Philosophical thought was decisively shaped by Immanuel Kant (17241804). Ludwig van Beethoven (17701827) was the leading composer of Romantic music. His use of tonal architecture in such a way as to allow significant expansion of musical forms and structures was immediately recognized as bringing a new dimension to music. His later piano music and string quartets, especially, showed the way to a completely unexplored musical universe, and influenced Franz Schubert (17971828) and Robert Schumann (18101856). In opera, a new Romantic atmosphere combining supernatural terror and melodramatic plot in a folkloric context was first successfully achieved by Carl Maria von Weber (17861826) and perfected by Richard Wagner (18131883) in his Ring Cycle. The Brothers Grimm (17851863 & 17861859) not only collected folk stories into the popular Grimm's Fairy Tales, but were also linguists, now counted among the founding fathers of German studies. They were commissioned to write the Deutsches Wrterbuch (English: The German Dictionary), which is still regarded as the most comprehensive work on the German language in existence; unfortunately, the brothers were unable to finish the project within their lifetimes. Jacob Grimm died while working on the entry for Frucht (fruit). At the universities high-powered professors developed international reputations, especially in the humanities led by history and philology, which brought a new historical perspective to the study of political history, theology, philosophy, language, and literature. With Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (17701831) in philosophy, Friedrich Schleiermacher (17681834) in theology and Leopold von Ranke (17951886) in history, the University of Berlin, founded in 1810, became the world's leading university. Von Ranke, for example, professionalized history and set the world standard for historiography. By the 1830s mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology had emerged with world class science, led by Alexander von Humboldt (17691859) in natural science and Carl Friedrich Gauss (17771855) in mathematics. Young intellectuals often turned to politics, but their support for the failed Revolution of 1848 forced many into exile.


History of Germany


Immanuel Kant (17241804)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (17491832)

Alexander von Humboldt (17691859)

Ludwig van Beethoven (17701827)

Carl Friedrich Gauss (17771855)

Brothers Grimm (17851863 & 17861859)

Politics of restoration and revolution


History of Germany



Frankfurt 1848


Liberal and nationalist pressure led to the unsuccessful Revolution of 1848 in the German states

History of Germany Bismarck takes charge, 186266 In 1857, the king had a stroke and his brother William became regent, then became King William I in 1861. Although conservative, William I was far more pragmatic. His most significant accomplishment was naming Otto von Bismarck as chancellor in 1862. The combination of Bismarck, Defense Minister Albrecht von Roon, and Field Marshal Helmut von Moltke set the stage for victories over Denmark, Austria, and France, and led to the unification of Germany. The obstacle to German unification was Austria, and Bismarck solved the problem with a series of wars that united the German states north of Austria. In 186364, disputes between Prussia and Denmark grew over Schleswig, which was not part of the German Confederation, and which Danish nationalists wanted to incorporate into the Danish Otto von Bismarck, Albrecht Graf von Roon, kingdom. The dispute led to the short Second War of Schleswig in Helmut von Moltke, the three leaders of Prussia 1864. Prussia, joined by Austria, easily defeated Denmark and in the 1860s occupied Jutland. The Danes were forced to cede both the duchy of Schleswig and the duchy of Holstein to Austria and Prussia. In the aftermath, the management of the two duchies caused escalating tensions between Austria and Prussia. The former wanted the duchies to become an independent entity within the German Confederation, while the latter wanted to annex them. The Seven Weeks War between Austria and Prussia broke out in June 1866. In July, the two armies clashed at Sadowa-Kniggrtz (Bohemia) in an enormous battle involving half a million men. The Prussian breech-loading needle guns carried the day over the slow muzzle-loading rifles of the Austrians, who lost a quarter of their army in the battle. Austria ceded Venice to Italy, but Bismarck was deliberately lenient with the loser to keep alive a long-term alliance with Austria in a subordinate role. Now the French faced an increasingly strong Prussia. North German Federation In 1866, the German Confederation was dissolved. In its place the North German Federation (German Norddeutscher Bund) was established, under the leadership of Prussia. Austria was excluded, and the Austrian influence in Germany that had begun in the 15th century finally came to an end. The North German Federation was a transitional organisation that existed from 1867 to 1871, between the dissolution of the German Confederation and the founding of the German Empire.


Flag of the North German Confederation (186671) and the German Empire (18711918). Also used by Weimar Republic foreign services (192233)

History of Germany


German Empire
After Germany was united by Otto von Bismarck into the "Second German Reich", he determined German politics until 1890. Bismarck tried to foster alliances in Europe, on one hand to contain France, and on the other hand to consolidate Germany's influence in Europe. On the domestic front Bismarck tried to stem the rise of socialism by anti-socialist laws, combined with an introduction of health care and social security. At the same time Bismarck tried to reduce the political influence of the emancipated Catholic minority in the Kulturkampf, literally "culture struggle". The Catholics only grew stronger, forming Imperial Germany 18711918 the Center (Zentrum) Party. Germany grew rapidly in industrial and economic power, matching Britain by 1900. Its highly professional army was the best in the world, but the navy could never catch up with Britain's Royal Navy. In 1888, the young and ambitious Kaiser Wilhelm II became emperor. He could not abide advice, least of all from the most experienced politician and diplomat in Europe, so he fired Bismarck. The Kaiser opposed Bismarck's careful foreign policy and wanted Germany to pursue colonialist policies, as Britain and France had been doing for decades, as well as build a navy that could match the British. The Kaiser promoted active colonization of Africa and Asia for those areas that were not already colonies of other European powers; his record was notoriously brutal and set the stage for genocide. The Kaiser took a mostly unilateral approach in Europe with as main ally the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and an arms race with Britain, which eventually led to the situation in which the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian crown prince could spark off World War I.

History of Germany


Age of Bismarck





The Triple Alliance (1913-configuration, shown in red) was constructed to isolate France.




Wilhelminian Era
Alliances and diplomacy
"Dropping the Pilot" British caricature depicting Bismarck's dismissal by Wilhelm II in 1890


History of Germany The Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911 saw another dispute over Morocco erupt when France tried to suppress a revolt there. Germany, still smarting from the previous quarrel, agreed to a settlement whereby the French ceded some territory in central Africa in exchange for Germany's renouncing any right to intervene in Moroccan affairs. This confirmed French control over Morocco, which became a full protectorate of that country in 1912. Economy The economy continued to industrialize and urbanize, with heavy industry especially coal and steel becoming important in the Ruhr, and manufacturing growing in the cities, the Ruhr, and Silesia. Perkins (1981) argues that more important than Bismarck's new tariff on imported grain was the introduction of the sugar beet as a main crop. Farmers quickly abandoned traditional, inefficient practices in favor of The BASF-chemical factories in Ludwigshafen, modern methods, including use of new fertilizers and new tools. The 1881 knowledge and tools gained from the intensive farming of sugar and other root crops made Germany the most efficient agricultural producer in Europe by 1914. Even so, farms were small in size, and women did much of the field work. An unintended consequence was the increased dependence on migratory, especially foreign, labor. Based on its leadership in chemical research in the universities and industrial laboratories, Germany became dominant in the world's chemical industry in the late 19th century. At first, the production of dyes was critical. Germany became Europe's leading steel-producing nation in the 1890s, thanks in large part to the protection from American and British competition afforded by tariffs and cartels. The leading firm was "Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp," run by the Krupp family. The merger of several major firms into the Vereinigte Stahlwerke (United Steel Works) in 1926 was modeled Berlin in 1912 on the U.S. Steel corporation in the United States. The new company emphasized rationalization of management structures and modernization of the technology; it employed a multi-divisional structure and used return-on-investment as its measure of success. By 1913, American and German exports dominated the world steel market, as Britain slipped to third place. In machinery, iron and steel, and other industries, German firms avoided cut-throat competition and instead relied on trade associations. Germany was a world leader because of its prevailing "corporatist mentality", its strong bureaucratic tradition, and the encouragement of the government. These associations regulate competition and allowed small firms to function in the shadow of much larger companies.


History of Germany Colonies In the course of ongoing imperialistic aspirations in all European great powers, a general tendency towards colonial imperialism also existed in the German states since c. 1848. As part of the "Weltpolitik" (global policy), the German Empire demanded its "Platz an der Sonne" (Place in the sun). Bismarck began the process, and by 1884 had acquired German New Guinea. By the 1890s, German colonial expansion in Asia and the Pacific (Kiauchau in China, the Marianas, the Caroline Islands, Samoa) led to frictions with Britain, Russia, Japan and the United States. The construction of the Baghdad Railway, financed by A colonial lord in the German colony Togoland German banks, was designed to eventually connect Germany with the (c. 1885) Turkish Empire and the Persian Gulf, but it also collided with British and Russian geopolitical interests. The largest colonial enterprises were in Africa,[9] where the harsh treatment of the Nama and Herero in what is now Namibia in 190607 led to charges of genocide against the Germans.


World War I


German soldiers on the way to the front in 1914. Awaiting a short war, a message on the car spells out "Trip to Paris".

History of Germany Western Front In the west, Germany sought a quick victory by encircling Paris using the Schlieffen Plan. But it failed due to Belgian resistance, Berlin's diversion of troops, and very stiff French resistance on the Marne, north of Paris. The Western Front became an extremely bloody battleground of trench warfare. The stalemate lasted from 1914 until early 1918, with ferocious battles that moved forces a few hundred yards at best along a line that stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The British imposed a tight naval blockade in the North Sea which lasted until 1919, sharply reducing Germany's overseas access to raw materials and foodstuffs. Food scarcity became a serious problem by 1917. The United States joined with the Allies in April 1917. The entry of the United States into the war following Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare marked a decisive turning-point against Germany. Eastern Front More wide open was the fighting on the Eastern Front. In the east, there were decisive victories against the Russian army, the trapping and defeat of large parts of the Russian contingent at the Battle of Tannenberg, followed by huge Austrian and German successes. The breakdown of Russian forces exacerbated by internal turmoil caused by the 1917 Russian Revolution led to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk the Bolsheviks were forced to sign on 3 March 1918 as Russia withdrew from the war. It gave Germany control of Eastern Europe. Spencer Tucker says, "The German General Staff had formulated extraordinarily harsh terms that shocked even the German negotiator." When Germany later complained that the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 was too harsh on them, the Allies responded that it was more benign than Brest-Litovsk. 1918 By defeating Russia in 1917 Germany was able to bring hundreds of thousands of combat troops from the east to the Western Front, giving it a numerical advantage over the Allies. By retraining the soldiers in new storm-trooper tactics, the Germans expected to unfreeze the Battlefield and win a decisive victory before the American army arrived in strength. However, the spring offensives all failed, as the Allies fell back and regrouped, and the Germans lacked the reserves necessary to consolidate their gains. In the summer, with the Americans arriving at 10,000 a day, and the German reserves exhausted, it was only a matter of time before multiple Allied offenses destroyed the German army.


Painting depicting the Armistice with Germany in Compigne, 1918

History of Germany


Unexpectedly Germany plunged into World War I (19141918). It rapidly mobilized its civilian economy for the war effort, the economy was handicapped by the British blockade the cut off food supplies.[10] Meanwhile, conditions deteriorated rapidly on the home front, with severe food shortages reported in all urban areas. Causes involved the transfer of many farmers and food workers into the military, an overburdened railroad system, shortages of coal, and the British blockade that cut off imports from abroad. The winter of 19161917 was known as the "turnip winter," because that vegetable, usually fed to livestock, was used by people as a substitute for potatoes and meat, which were increasingly scarce. Thousands of soup kitchens were opened to feed the hungry people, who grumbled that the farmers were keeping the food for themselves. Even the army had to cut the rations for soldiers. Morale of both civilians and soldiers continued to sink. 1918 was also the year of the deadly 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic which struck hard at a population weakened by years of malnutrition.

Philipp Scheidemann proclaims a German Republic on 9 November 1918.

Revolution 1918
The end of October 1918, in Wilhelmshaven, in northern Germany, saw the beginning of the German Revolution of 191819. Units of the German Navy refused to set sail for a last, large-scale operation in a war which they saw as good as lost, initiating the uprising. On 3 November, the revolt spread to other cities and states of the country, in many of which workers' and soldiers' councils were established. Meanwhile, Hindenburg and the senior commanders had lost confidence in the Kaiser and his government. The Kaiser and all German ruling princes abdicated. On 9 November 1918, the Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a Republic. On 11 November, the Compigne armistice was signed, ending the war. The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919. Germany was to cede Alsace-Lorraine, Eupen-Malmdy, North Schleswig, and the Memel area. All German colonies were to be handed over to the British, French and Japanese. Poland was restored and most of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia, and some areas of Upper Silesia were reincorporated into the reformed country after plebiscites and independence uprisings. The left and right banks of the Rhine were to be permanently demilitarised. The industrially important Saarland was to be governed by the League of Nations for 15 years and its coalfields administered by France. At the end of that time a plebiscite was to determine the Saar's future status. To ensure execution of the treaty's terms, Allied troops would occupy the left (German) bank of the Rhine for a period of 515 years. The German army was to be limited to 100,000 officers and men; the general staff was to be dissolved; vast quantities of war material were to be handed over and the manufacture of munitions rigidly curtailed. The navy was to be similarly reduced, and no military aircraft were allowed. Germany and its allies were to accept the sole responsibility of the war, in accordance with the War Guilt Clause, and were to pay financial reparations for all loss and damage suffered by the Allies.

History of Germany


Weimar Republic

Flag of the Weimar Republic, 19191933

Germany 19191938

The early years

On 11 August 1919 the Weimar constitution came into effect, with Friedrich Ebert as first President. On 30 December 1918, the Communist Party of Germany was founded by the Spartacus League, who had split from the Social Democratic Party during the war. It was headed by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, and rejected the parliamentary system. In 1920, about 300,000 members from the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany joined the party, transforming it into a mass organization. The Communist Party had a following of about 10% of the electorate. In the first months of 1920, the Reichswehr was to be reduced to 100,000 men, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles. This included the dissolution of many Freikorps units made up of volunteers. In an attempt at a coup d'tat in March 1920, the Kapp Putsch, extreme right-wing politician Wolfgang Kapp let Freikorps soldiers march on Berlin and proclaimed himself Chancellor of the Reich. After four days the coup d'tat collapsed, due to popular opposition and lack of support by the civil servants and the officers. Other cities were shaken by strikes and

Paul von Hindenburg, German President in 19251934


The actual amount of reparations that Germany was obliged to pay out was not the 132 billion marks decided in the London Schedule of 1921 but rather the 50 million marks stipulated in the A and B Bonds. Historian Sally Marks says the 112 billion marks in "C bonds" were entirely chimericala device to fool the public into thinking Germany would pay much more. The actual total payout from 1920 to 1931 (when payments were suspended indefinitely) was 20 billion German gold marks, worth about $5 billion US dollars or 1 billion British pounds. 12.5 billion was cash that came mostly from loans from New York bankers. The rest was goods like coal and chemicals, or from assets like railway equipment. The reparations bill was fixed Gustav Stresemann, German Chancellor in 1923 and Nobel in 1921 on the basis of a German capacity to pay, not on the basis of Allied claims. Peace Prize laureate in 1926 The highly publicized rhetoric of 1919 about paying for all the damages and all the veterans' benefits was irrelevant for the total, but it did determine how the recipients spent their share. Germany owed reparations chiefly to France, Britain, Italy and Belgium; the US received $100 million.[12]

History of Germany


Economic collapse and political problems, 19291933

The stock market crash of 1929 on Wall Street marked the beginning of the worldwide Great Depression, which hit Germany as hard as any nation. In July 1931, the Darmsttter und Nationalbank one of the biggest German banks failed. In early 1932, the number of unemployed had soared to more than 6,000,000. On top of the collapsing economy came a political crisis: the political parties represented in the Reichstag were unable to build a governing majority in the face of escalating extremism from the far right (the Nazis, NSDAP) and the far left (the Communists, KPD). In March 1930, President Hindenburg appointed Heinrich Brning Chancellor. To push through his package of austerity measures against a majority of Social Democrats, Communists and the NSDAP (Nazis), Brning made use of emergency decrees and dissolved Parliament. In March and April 1932, Hindenburg was re-elected in the German presidential election of 1932. The NSDAP was the largest party in the national elections of 1932. On 31 July 1932 the NSDAP had received 37.3% of the votes, and in the election on 6 November 1932 it received less, but still the largest share, 33.1%, making it the biggest party in the Reichstag. The Communist KPD came third, with 15%. Together, the anti-democratic parties of far right and far left were now able to hold the majority of seats in Parliament, but they were at sword's point with each other, fighting it out in the streets. The NSDAP was particularly successful among Protestants, among unemployed young voters, among the petite bourgeoisie (lower middle class) which had lost its assets in the hyperinflation of 1923, and among the rural population. It was weakest in Catholic areas and in large cities. On 30 January 1933, pressured by former Chancellor Franz von Papen and other conservatives, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor.

Science and culture

The Weimar years saw a flowering of German science and high culture, before the Nazi regime resulted in a decline in the scientific and cultural life in Germany and forced many renowned scientists and writers to flee. German recipients dominated the Nobel prizes in science. Germany dominated the world of physics before 1933, led by Hermann von Helmholtz, Joseph von Fraunhofer, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen, Albert Einstein, Max Planck and Werner Heisenberg. Chemistry likewise was dominated by German professors and researchers at the great chemical companies such as BASF and Bayer and persons like Fritz Haber. Theoretical mathematicians included Carl Friedrich Gauss in the 19th century and David Hilbert in the 20th century. Carl Benz, the inventor of the automobile, was one of the pivotal figures of engineering. Among the most important German writers were Thomas Mann (18751955), Hermann Hesse (18771962) and Bertolt Brecht (18981956). The pessimistic historian Oswald Spengler wrote The Decline of the West (19823) on the inevitable decay of Western Civilization, and influenced intellectuals in Germany such as Martin Heidegger, Max Scheler, and the Frankfurt School, as well as intellectuals around the world. After 1933, Nazi proponents of "Aryan physics," led by the Nobel Prize-winners Johannes Stark and Philipp Lenard, attacked Einstein's theory of relativity as a degenerate example of Jewish materialism in the realm of science. Many scientists and humanists emigrated; Einstein moved permanently to the U.S. but some of the others returned after 1945.

History of Germany


Carl Benz (18441929)

Max Planck (18581947)

Thomas Mann (18751955)

Hermann Hesse (18771962)

Albert Einstein (18791955)

Nazi Germany

National flag of Germany, 193545



History of Germany


churches. All expressions of public opinion were controlled by Hitler's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, who made effective use of film, mass rallies, and Hitler's hypnotic speaking. The Nazi state idolized Hitler as its Fhrer (leader), putting all powers in his hands. Nazi propaganda centered on Hitler and was quite effective in creating what historians called the "Hitler Myth"that Hitler was all-wise and that any mistakes or failures by others would be corrected when brought to his attention. In fact Hitler had a narrow range of interests and decision making was diffused among overlapping, feuding power centers; on some issues he was passive, simply assenting to pressures from European territory occupied by Nazi Germany and its allies at its greatest extent in 1942. whomever had his ear. All top officials reported to Hitler and followed his basic policies, but they had considerable autonomy on a daily basis.

Establishment of the Nazi regime


History of Germany and November 1932. The Communist Party was proscribed in April 1933. On the weekend of 30 June 1934, he gave order to the SS to seize Rhm and his lieutenants, and to execute them without trial (known as the Night of the Long Knives). Upon Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934, Hitler's cabinet passed a law proclaiming the presidency to be vacant and transferred the role and powers of the head of state to Hitler as Fhrer (Leader) and Chancellor. However, many leaders of the Nazi SA were disappointed. The Chief of Staff of the SA, Ernst Rhm, was pressing for the SA to be incorporated into the army. Hitler had long been at odds with Rhm and felt increasingly threatened by these plans and in the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934 killed Rhm and the top SA leaders using their notorious homosexuality as an excuse. The SS became an independent organisation under the command of the Reichsfhrer SS Heinrich Himmler. He would become the supervisor of the Gestapo and of the concentration camps, soon also of the ordinary police. Hitler also established the Waffen-SS as a separate troop.


Some of the leaders of the Nazi regime (left to right): Adolf Hitler, Hermann Gring, Joseph Goebbels and Rudolf Hess

The regime showed particular hostility towards the Jews, which were the target of unending anti-semitic propaganda attacks. The Nazis taught the German people to view and treat the ignoble and hated Jews as "subhumans". In 1933 all Jewish civil servants and academics were fired. In September 1935, the Reichstag passed the Nuremberg race laws. Jews lost their German citizenship, as well as including a ban on sexual relations between people classified as "Aryans" and "non-Aryans". About 500,000 individuals were affected by the new rules. About half of Germany's 500,000 Jews fled before 1939, after which escape became almost impossible.
Yellow badge required to be worn by all Jews in Germany and occupied countries beginning in 1939.


The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin a great propaganda success for the Nazi regime

History of Germany



Foreign policy
Hitler's diplomatic strategy in the 1930s was to make seemingly reasonable demands, threatening war if they were not met. When opponents tried to appease him, he accepted the gains that were offered, then went to the next target. That aggressive strategy worked as Germany pulled out of the League of Nations (1933), rejected the Versailles Treaty and began to re-arm (1935), won back the Saar (1935), remilitarized the Rhineland (1936), formed an alliance ("axis") with Mussolini's Italy (1936), sent massive military aid to Franco in the Spanish Civil War (193639), seized Austria (1938), took over Czechoslovakia after the British and French appeasement of the Munich Agreement of 1938, formed a peace pact with Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union in August 1939, and finally invaded Poland in September 1939. Britain and France declared war and World War II began somewhat sooner than the Nazis expected or were ready for. After establishing the "Rome-Berlin axis" with Benito Mussolini, and signing the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan which was joined by Italy a year later in 1937 Hitler felt able to take the offensive in foreign policy. On 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Austria, where an attempted Nazi coup had been unsuccessful in 1934. When Austrian-born Hitler entered Vienna, he was greeted by loud cheers. Four weeks later, 99% of Austrians voted in favour of the annexation (Anschluss) of their country Austria to the German Reich. After Austria, Hitler turned to Czechoslovakia, where the 3.5million-strong Sudeten German minority was demanding equal rights and self-government. At the Munich Conference of September 1938, Hitler, the Italian leader Benito Mussolini, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister douard Daladier agreed upon the cession of Sudeten territory to the German Reich by Czechoslovakia. Hitler thereupon declared that all of German Reich's territorial claims had been fulfilled. However, hardly six months after the Munich Agreement, in March 1939, Hitler used the smoldering quarrel between Slovaks and Czechs as a pretext for taking over the rest of Czechoslovakia as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. In the same month, he secured the return of Memel from Lithuania to Germany. Chamberlain was forced to acknowledge that his policy of appeasement towards Hitler had failed.
Japanese poster promoting the Axis cooperation in 1938

History of Germany


In six years, the Nazi regime prepared the country for World War II. The Nazi leadership attempted to remove or subjugate the Untermenschen ("sub-humans") Jews from Germany and later in the occupied countries through forced deportation and, ultimately, genocide now known as the Holocaust. A similar policy was applied to other ethnic and national groups who were classified as subhumans, such as Gypsies and blacks,[14] who were seen as racially distinctive minorities of "alien blood" and a threat to Germany's population.[15] The entrance to extermination camp There were also many groups, such as Communists, homosexuals, the Auschwitz-Birkenau mentally handicapped and those who were physically challenged from birth, which were singled out as being detrimental to Aryan purity. In contrast to the people regarded as subhumans, according to Nazi racial ideology the Germanic-Nordic people were the ubermenschen ("super-humans") Aryan "herrenvolk" (master race).

World War II
At first Germany's military moves were brilliantly successful, as in the "blitzkrieg" invasions of Poland (1939), Norway (1940), the Low Countries (1940), and above all the stunningly successful invasion and quick conquest of France in 1940. Hitler probably wanted peace with Britain in late 1940, but Prime Minister Winston Churchill, standing alone, was dogged in his defiance. Churchill had major financial, military, and diplomatic help from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the U.S., another implacable foe of Hitler. Hitler's emphasis on maintaining high living standards postponed the full mobilization of A German soldier during the decisive Battle of Stalingrad the national economy until 1942, years after the great rivals Britain, Russia, and the U.S. had fully mobilized. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 weeks behind schedule but swept forward until it reached the gates of Moscow. The tide turned in December 1941, when the invasion of Russia stalled in cold weather and the United States joined the war. After surrender in North Africa and losing the Battle of Stalingrad in 194243, the Germans were on the defensive. By late 1944, the United States, Canada, France, and Great Britain were closing in on Germany in the West, while the Soviets were closing from the East. Nazi Germany collapsed as Berlin was taken by the Red Army in a fight to the death on the city streets. Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945. Final German surrender was signed on 8 May 1945.
US Air Force photographs the destruction in

By September 1945, the Third Reich (which lasted only 12 years) and central Berlin in July 1945 its Axis partners (Italy and Japan) had been defeated, chiefly by the forces of the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Much of Europe lay in ruins, over 60 million people had been killed (most of them civilians), including approximately 6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jews in what became known as the Holocaust. World War II resulted in the destruction of Germany's political and economic infrastructure and led directly to its partition, considerable loss of territory (especially in the east), and historical legacy of guilt and shame.

History of Germany


Germany during the Cold War


Territorial losses of modern Germany 19191945


Post-war chaos

Devastation in Berlin after the Second World War, 1945



Occupation zone borders after 1945. Berlin, although within the Soviet zone, was also divided among the four powers. The areas in white to the east were given to Poland and the Soviet Union (now Russia)

In 194546 housing and food conditions were bad, as the disruption of transport, markets, and finances slowed a return to normal. In the West, bombing had destroyed the fourth of the housing stock,[17] and over 10 million

History of Germany refugees from the east had crowded in, most living in camps. Food production in 194648 was only two-thirds of the prewar level, while grain and meat shipments which usually supplied 25% of the food no longer arrived from the East. Furthermore, the end of the war brought the end of large shipments of food seized from occupied nations that had sustained Germany during the war. Coal production was down 60%, which had cascading negative effects on railroads, heavy industry, and heating. Industrial production fell more than half and reached prewar levels only at the end of 1949. Allied economic policy originally was one of industrial disarmament plus building the agricultural sector. In the western sectors, most of the industrial plants had minimal bomb damage and the Allies dismantled 5% of the industrial plants for reparations. However, deindustrialization became impractical and the U.S. instead called for a strong industrial base in Germany so it could stimulate European economic recovery. The U.S. shipped food in 194547 and made a $600 million loan in 1947 to rebuild German industry. By May 1946 the removal of machinery had ended, thanks to lobbying by the U.S. Army. The Truman administration finally realised that economic recovery in Europe could not go forward without the reconstruction of the German industrial base on which it had previously been dependent. Washington decided that an "orderly, prosperous Europe requires the economic contributions of a stable and productive Germany."[18]


East Germany (DDR)

In 1949 the Soviet zone became the "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" "DDR" ("German Democratic Republic" "GDR", simply often "East Germany"), under control of the German Communist Party. Neither country had a significant army until the 1950s, but East Germany built the Stasi into a powerful secret police that infiltrated every aspect of the society. East Germany was an Eastern bloc state under political and military control of the Soviet Union through her occupation forces Erich Honecker and guests of honor like Mikhail Gorbachev celebrate the 40th and the Warsaw Treaty. Political power was (and last) anniversary of the socialist regime of the German Democratic Republic solely executed by leading members on 7 October 1989. (Politburo) of the communist-controlled Socialist Unity Party (SED). A Soviet-style command economy was set up; later the GDR became the most advanced Comecon state. While East German propaganda was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programs and the alleged constant threat of a West German invasion, many of her citizens looked to the West for political freedoms and economic prosperity. Walter Ulbricht (18931973) was the party boss from 1950 to 1971. In 1933, Ulbricht had fled to Moscow, where he served as a Comintern agent loyal to Stalin. As World War II was ending, Stalin assigned him the job of designing the postwar German system that would centralize all power in the Communist Party. Ulbricht became deputy prime minister in 1949 and secretary (chief executive) of the Socialist Unity (Communist) party in 1950. Some 2.6 million people had fled East Germany by 1961 when he built the Berlin Wall to stop them shooting those who attempted it. What the GDR called the "Anti-Fascist Protective Wall" was a major embarrassment for the program during the Cold War, but it did stabilize East Germany and postpone its collapse. Ulbricht lost power in 1971, but was kept on as a nominal head of state. He was replaced because he failed to solve growing national crises, such as the worsening economy in 196970, the fear of another popular uprising as had occurred in 1953, and the disgruntlement between

History of Germany Moscow and Berlin caused by Ulbricht's dtente policies toward the West. The transition to Erich Honecker (General Secretary from 1971 to 1989) led to a change in the direction of national policy and efforts by the Politburo to pay closer attention to the grievances of the proletariat. Honecker's plans were not successful, however, with the dissent growing among East Germany's population. In 1989, the socialist regime collapsed after 40 years, despite its omnipresent secret police, the Stasi. Main reasons for the collapse include severe economic problems and growing emigration towards the West. East Germany's culture was shaped by Communism and particularly Stalinism. It was characterized by East German psychoanalyst Hans-Joachim Maaz in 1990 as having produced a "Congested Feeling" among Germans in the East as a result of Communist policies criminalizing personal expression that deviates from government approved ideals, and through the enforcement of Communist principals by physical force and intellectual repression by government agencies, particularly the Stasi. Critics of the East German state have claimed that the state's commitment to communism was a hollow and cynical tool of a ruling elite. This argument has been challenged by some scholars who claim that the Party was committed to the advance of scientific knowledge, economic development, and social progress. However, the vast majority regarded the state's Communist ideals to be a nothing more than a deceptive method for government control. According to German historian Jrgen Kocka (2010): Conceptualizing the GDR as a dictatorship has become widely accepted, while the meaning of the concept dictatorship varies. Massive evidence has been collected that proves the repressive, undemocratic, illiberal, nonpluralistic character of the GDR regime and its ruling party.


West Germany
In 1949, the three western occupation zones (American, British, and French) were combined into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany). The government was formed under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and his conservative CDU/CSU coalition.[19] The CDU/CSU was in power during most of the period since 1949. The capital was Bonn until it was moved to Berlin in 1990. In 1990 FRG absorbed East Germany and gained full sovereignty over Berlin. At all points West Germany was much larger and richer that East Germany, which became a dictatorship under the control of the Communist Party and was closely monitored by Moscow. Germany, especially Berlin, was a cockpit of the Cold War, with NATO and the Warsaw Pact assembling major military forces in west and east. However there was never any combat.[20]

Flag of West Germany and unified Germany, 1949 present



Berliners watching a transport bringing food and coal during the Berlin Blockade of 194849

Adenauer in 1952; he forged close ties with France and the U.S. and opposed the Soviet Union and its satellite of East Germany


Meanwhile in adopting the Godesberg Program in 1959, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) largely abandoned Marxism ideas and embraced the concept of the market economy and the welfare state. Instead it now sought to move beyond its old working class base to appeal the full spectrum of potential voters, including the middle class and professionals. Labor unions cooperated increasingly with industry, achieving labor representation on corporate boards and increases in wages and benefits. Grand coalition In 1966 Erhard lost support and Kurt Kiesinger (19041988) was elected as Chancellor by a new CDU/CSU-SPD alliance combining the two largest parties. Socialist (SPD) leader Willy Brandt was Deputy Federal Chancellor and Foreign Minister. The Grand Coalition lasted 196669 and is best known for reducing tensions with the Soviet bloc nations and establishing diplomatic relations with Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia.

Willy Brandt (19131992), German Chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1971



Brandt (left) and Willi Stoph in 1970, the first encounter of a Federal Chancellor with his East German counterpart

Ostpolitik was opposed by the conservative elements in Germany, but won Brandt an international reputation and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. In September 1973, both West and East Germany were admitted to the United Nations. The two countries exchanged permanent representatives in 1974, and, in 1987, East Germany's leader Erich Honecker paid an official state visit to West Germany. Economic crisis of 1970s After 1973, Germany was hard hit by a worldwide economic crisis, soaring oil prices, and stubbornly high unemployment, which jumped from 300,000 in 1973 to 1.1 million in 1975. The Ruhr region was hardest hit, as its easy-to-reach coal mines petered out, and expensive German coal was no longer competitive. Likewise the Ruhr steel industry went into sharp decline, as its prices were undercut by lower-cost suppliers such as Japan. The welfare system provided a safety net for the large number of unemployed workers, and many factories reduce their labor force and began to concentrate on Helmut Schmidt, left, with French President high-profit specialty items. After 1990 the Ruhr moved into service Valry Giscard d'Estaing (1977) industries and high technology. Cleaning up the heavy air and water pollution became a major industry in its own right. Meanwhile, formerly rural Bavaria became a high-tech center of industry. A spy scandal forced Brandt to step down as Chancellor while remaining as party leader. He was replaced by Helmut Schmidt (b. 1918), of the SPD, who served as Chancellor in 19741982. Schmidt continued the Ostpolitik with less




Helmut Kohl became first chancellor of a reunified Germany.


The fall of the Berlin Wall, November 1989

History of Germany



Germany in its modern borders

Recent history (1990 to present)

The Reichstag in Berlin old and new seat of the German parliament

History of Germany


The SPD in coalition with the Greens won the elections of 1998. SPD leader Gerhard Schrder positioned himself as a centrist "Third Way" candidate in the mold of Britain's Tony Blair and America's Bill Clinton. Schrder, in March 2003, reversed his position and proposed a significant downsizing of the welfare state, known as Agenda 2010. He had enough support to overcome opposition from the trade unions and the SPD's left wing. Agenda 2010 had five goals: tax cuts; labor market deregulation, especially relaxing rules protecting workers from dismissal and setting up Hartz concept job training; modernizing the welfare state by reducing entitlements; decreasing bureaucratic obstacles for small businesses; and providing new low-interest loans to local governments.

German chancellor Angela Merkel (with Jos Barroso in front of the Brandenburg Gate in 2007) was pivotal[citation needed] in drafting and promoting the Treaty of Lisbon to reform the EU.

In the worldwide economic recession that began in 2008, Germany did relatively well. However, the economic instability of Greece and several other EU nations in 201011 forced Germany to reluctantly sponsor a massive financial rescue. In the wake of the disaster to the nuclear industry in Japan following its 2011 earthquake and tsunami, German public opinion turned sharply against nuclear power in Germany, which produces a fourth of the electricity supply. In response Merkel has announced plans to close down the nuclear system over the next decade, and to rely even more heavily on wind and other alternative energy sources, in addition to coal and natural gas. For further information, see Germany in 2011.

History of Germany


Sonderweg debate

Historians: Past scholars in Germany

Johann Gustav Droysen (18081884) Johann Gottlieb Fichte (17621814) Johann Gottfried Herder (17441803) Karl Lamprecht (18561945) Gottfried Leibniz (16461716) Karl Marx (18181883) Samuel von Pufendorf (16321694) Leopold von Ranke (17951886) Friedrich Carl von Savigny (17791861)

German Historical School Beatus Rhenanus (also known as Beatus Bild) (14851547) Heinrich von Treitschke (18341896)

Historians: 20th-century scholars in Germany

Bielefeld School quantitative social history Martin Broszat Nazi era Werner Conze Fritz Fischer World War I Klaus Hildebrand Andreas Hillgruber Historikerstreit - debate in 1980s re Nazis, Soviets and totalitarianism Eberhard Jckel Nazi era Jrgen Kocka Bielefeld school; social history Hartmut Kaelble Friedrich Meinecke (18621954) Hans Mommsen

Wolfgang Mommsen Thomas Nipperdey (19271992) 1800 to 1918

History of Germany Ernst Nolte Detlev Peukert Gerhard Ritter Oswald Spengler world history Michael Strmer 20c; geography Klemens von Klemperer Nazi era Hans-Ulrich Wehler Bielefeld School; new social history; 19c Michael Wolffsohn Rainer Zitelmann Nazi era


Historians: Outside Germany

Thomas Carlyle (17951881) Frederick the Great [26] Alan Bullock Hitler [27] Gordon A. Craig Army, politics [28] Richard J. Evans Nazi era (in The Third Reich Trilogy: The Coming of the Third Reich [29], The Third Reich in Power [30], and The Third Reich at War [31]) Ian Kershaw, Hitler [32] Claudia Koonz Women in Nazi era [33] Timothy Mason - Nazis [34] George Mosse - 19c-20c culture [35] Steven Ozment - Reformation [36] Hans Rothfels military Fritz Stern cultural [37] Henry Ashby Turner 20c esp business [38]

Historians: Holocaust
Yehuda Bauer Martin Broszat Christopher Browning Lucy Dawidowicz Norman Finkelstein Henry Friedlander Saul Friedlnder Daniel Goldhagen Raul Hilberg Michael Marrus Hans Mommsen R. J. Rummel

History of Germany


[1] In recent times, the Regnum Teutonicorum has been referred to as the "First Reich," with Otto von Bismarck's Prussian-built empire called the "Second Reich" and Adolf Hitler's regime called the "Third Reich". [2] covers from 1000 to 1300. [3] Geoffrey Parker, The Thirty Years' War (1997) p. 178 has 1520% decline; Tryntje Helfferich, The Thirty Years War: A Documentary History (2009) p. xix, estimates a 25% decline. Wilson (2009) pp. 78095 reviews the estimates. [4] See texts at Project Wittenberg: "Selected Hymns of Martin Luther" (http:/ / www. projectwittenberg. org/ pub/ resources/ text/ wittenberg/ wittenberg-luther. html#sw-hymn) [5] For details on the life of a representative peasant farmer, who migrated in 1710 to Pennsylvania, see Bernd Kratz, "Jans Stauffer: A Farmer in Germany before his Emigration to Pennsylvania," Genealogist, Fall 2008, Vol. 22 Issue 2, pp 131169 [6] List quoted in John J. Lalor, ed. Cyclopdia of Political Science (1881) 3:118 online (http:/ / www. econlib. org/ Library/ YPDBooks/ Lalor/ llCy888. html); see Nipperdey (1996) p.165 [7] Rebecca Ayako Bennette, Fighting for the Soul of Germany: The Catholic Struggle for Inclusion after Unification (Harvard U.P. 2012) [8] On the Kaiser's "histrionic personality disorder", see Tipton (2003), Pp. 24345 [9] Gann, L., and Peter Duignan, The Rulers of German Africa, 18841914 (1977) focuses on political and economic history; Perraudin, Michael, and Jrgen Zimmerer, eds. German Colonialism and National Identity (2010) focuses on cultural impact in Africa and Germany. [10] Feldman, Gerald D. "The Political and Social Foundations of Germany's Economic Mobilization, 1914-1916," Armed Forces & Society (1976) 3#1 pp 121-145. online (http:/ / afs. sagepub. com/ content/ 3/ 1/ 121) [11] For a comparison see Timothy S. Brown, Weimar radicals: Nazis and communists between authenticity and performance (2009) pp 14953 [12] Sally Marks, "The Myths of Reparations," Central European History (1978) 11#3 pp 231-55 in JSTOR (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 4545835) [13] Karen Hagemann, "Mobilizing Women for War: The History, Historiography, and Memory of German Women's War Service in the Two World Wars," Journal of Military History (2011) 75#4 pp 1055-1094 [14] The first supplemental decree of the Nuremberg Laws extends the prohibition on marriage or sexual relations between people who could produce "racially suspect" offspring. A week later, the minister of the interior interprets this to mean relations between "those of German or related blood" and Roma (Gypsies), blacks, or their offspring. http:/ / www. ushmm. org/ outreach/ en/ article. php?ModuleId=10007695 [15] http:/ / www. enotes. com/ topics/ nuremberg-laws [16] . "Most had left" is p. 158 in JSTOR (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 1405220) [17] 2.3 million units out of 9.5 million were destroyed. [18] For US and Allied official policy statements see U.S. Dept. of State Germany, 19471949: The Story in Documents (1950) - available online (http:/ / www. questia. com/ PM. qst?a=o& d=16323505); these are primary sources. [19] The Christian Social Union or CSU is the Bavaria branch of the CDU. It has always operated in close collaboration with the CDU, and the CDU/CSU is usually treated as a single party in national affairs. [20] Jrgen Weber, Germany, 1945-1990: A Parallel History (Budapest, Central European University Press, 2004) in Questia (http:/ / www. questia. com/ library/ 118943266/ germany-1945-1990-a-parallel-history) [21] . Quote from p. 64 [22] . In Project MUSE [23] For a primary source see Helmut Schmidt, Men and Power: A Political Retrospective (1990) [24] For primary sources in English translation and a brief survey see Konrad H. Jarausch, and Volker Gransow, eds. Uniting Germany: Documents and Debates, 19441993 (1994) [25] Heinrich August Winkler, Germany: The Long Road West (2006), vol 1 p 1 [26] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 1421272717/ [27] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ B000H2N5W6/ [28] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0195027248/ [29] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0143034693/ [30] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0143037900/ [31] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0143116711/ [32] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0393322521 [33] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0312022565 [34] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0521437873 [35] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0299165809 [36] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0060934832 [37] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0374530866 [38] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ 0300053479

History of Germany


Further reading
Biesinger, Joseph A. Germany: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present (2006) Bithell, Jethro, ed. Germany: A Companion to German Studies (5th ed. 1955), 578pp; essays on German literature, music, philosophy, art and, especially, history. online edition ( germany-a-companion-to-german-studies-by-jethro-bithell.jsp) Buse, Dieter K. ed. Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of History, People, and Culture 18711990 (2 vol 1998) Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 16001947 (2006) Detwiler, Donald S. Germany: A Short History (3rd ed. 1999) 341pp; online edition ( library/book/germany-a-short-history-by-donald-s-detwiler.jsp) Fulbrook, Mary. A Concise History of Germany (2004) Gall, Lothar. Milestones - Setbacks - Sidetracks: The Path to Parliamentary Democracy in Germany, Historical Exhibition in the Deutscher Dom in Berlin (2003), exhibit catalog; heavily illustrated, 420pp; political history since 1800 Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany (195964); vol 1: The Reformation; vol 2: 16481840; vol 3: 18401945; standard scholarly survey Maehl, William Harvey. Germany in Western Civilization (1979), 833pp; focus on politics and diplomacy Ozment, Steven. A Mighty Fortress: A New History of the German People (2005), focus on cultural history Raff, Diether. History of Germany from the Medieval Empire to the Present (1988) 507pp Reinhardt, Kurt F. Germany: 2000 Years (2 vols., 1961), stress on cultural topics Richie, Alexandra. Faust's Metropolis: A History of Berlin (1998), 1168 pp by scholar; excerpt and text search; emphasis on 20th century Sagarra, Eda. A Social History of Germany 16481914 (1977, 2002 edition) Schulze, Hagen, and Deborah Lucas Schneider. Germany: A New History (2001) Taylor, A.J.P. The Course of German History: A Survey of the Development of German History since 1815. (2001). 280pp; online edition ( Watson, Peter. The German Genius (2010). 992 pp covers many thinkers, writers, scientists etc. since 1750; ISBN 978-0-7432-8553-7 Winkler, Heinrich August. Germany: The Long Road West (2 vol, 2006), since 1789; excerpt and text search vol 1 (

Arnold, Benjamin. Medieval Germany, 5001300: A Political Interpretation (1998) Arnold, Benjamin. Power and Property in Medieval Germany: Economic and Social Change, c. 9001300 (Oxford University Press, 2004) online edition ( Barraclough, Geoffrey. The Origins of Modern Germany (2d ed., 1947) Fuhrmann, Horst, and Timothy Reuter. Germany in the High Middle Ages: c. 10501200 (1986) Haverkamp, Alfred, Helga Braun, and Richard Mortimer. Medieval Germany 10561273 (1992) Innes; Matthew. State and Society in the Early Middle Ages: The Middle Rhine Valley, 4001000 (Cambridge U.P. 2000) online edition ( Jeep, John M. Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia (2001), 928pp, 650 articles by 200 scholars cover AD 500 to 1500 Nicholas, David. The Northern Lands: Germanic Europe, c. 1270c. 1500 (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009). 410 pages. Reuter, Timothy. Germany in the Early Middle Ages, c. 8001056 (1991)

History of Germany


see also Martin Luther Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (1978; reprinted 1995) Dickens, A. G. Martin Luther and the Reformation (1969), basic introduction Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany: vol 1: The Reformation (1959) Junghans, Helmar. Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times, 14831546. (book plus CD ROM) (1998) MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation (2005), influential recent survey Ranke, Leopold von. History of the Reformation in Germany (1905) 792 pp; by Germany's foremost scholar complete text online free ( intitle:reformation&lr=lang_en&num=30&as_brr=1&ei=GsaVR5S0OIXy6gK5z9CeBw) Smith, Preserved. The Age of the Reformation (1920) 861 pages; complete text online free ( com/books?id=LKJlR_YqqcsC&dq=intitle:reformation&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1& ei=Zs6dR-SmO4KAsgP_-rSYCg)

Early Modern to 1815

Asprey, Robert B. Frederick the Great: The Magnificent Enigma (2007) Atkinson, C.T. A history of Germany, 17151815 (1908) old; focus on political-military-diplomatic history of Germany and Austria online edition ( Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 16001947 (2006) Gagliardo, John G. Germany under the Old Regime, 16001790 (1991) online edition (http://www.questia. com/PM.qst?a=o&d=54794651) Heal, Bridget. The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Early Modern Germany: Protestant and Catholic Piety, 15001648 (2007) Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany. Vol 2: 16481840 (1962) Hughes, Michael. Early Modern Germany, 14771806 (1992) Ogilvie, Sheilagh. Germany: A New Social and Economic History, Vol. 1: 14501630 (1995) 416pp; Germany: A New Social and Economic History, Vol. 2: 16301800 (1996), 448pp Ozment, Steven. Flesh and Spirit: Private Life in Early Modern Germany (2001)

Blackbourn, David. The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 17801918 (1998) excerpt and text search ( Blackbourn, David, and Geoff Eley. The Peculiarities of German History: Bourgeois Society and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Germany (1984) online edition ( Brose, Eric Dorn. German History, 17891871: From the Holy Roman Empire to the Bismarckian Reich. (1997) online edition ( Nipperdey, Thomas. Germany from Napoleon to Bismarck (1996), very dense coverage of every aspect of German society, economy and government Ogilvie, Sheilagh, and Richard Overy. Germany: A New Social and Economic History Volume 3: Since 1800 (2004) Pflanze Otto, ed. The Unification of Germany, 18481871 (1979), essays by historians Sheehan, James J. German History, 17701866 (1993), the major survey in English Steinberg, Jonathan. Bismarck: A Life (2011), a major scholarly biography Taylor, A.J.P. Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman (1967) online edition ( qst?a=o&d=14683010) Wehler, Hans-Ulrich. The German Empire 18711918 (1984)

History of Germany


Berghahn, Volker Rolf. Modern Germany: society, economy, and politics in the twentieth century (1987) ACLS E-book ( Berghahn, Volker Rolf. Imperial Germany, 18711914: Economy, Society, Culture, and Politics (2nd ed. 2005) Cecil, Lamar. Wilhelm II: Prince and Emperor, 18591900 (1989) online edition ( PM.qst?a=o&d=23057779); vol2: Wilhelm II: Emperor and Exile, 19001941 (1996) online edition (http:// Craig, Gordon A. Germany, 18661945 (1978) online edition ( germany-1866-1945-by-gordon-a-craig.jsp) Gordon, Peter E., and John P. McCormick, eds. Weimar Thought: A Contested Legacy (Princeton U.P. 2013) 451 pages; scholarly essays on law, culture, politics, philosophy, science, art and architecture Herwig, Holger H. The First World War: Germany and AustriaHungary 19141918 (1996), ISBN 0-340-57348-1 Kolb, Eberhard. The Weimar Republic (2005) Mommsen, Wolfgang J. Imperial Germany 18671918: Politics, Culture and Society in an Authoritarian State (1995) Peukert, Detlev. The Weimar Republic (1993) Retallack, James. Imperial Germany, 18711918 (Oxford University Press, 2008) Scheck, Raffael. Lecture Notes, Germany and Europe, 18711945 (2008) full text online (http://www.colby. edu/personal/r/rmscheck/Contents.html), a brief textbook by a leading scholar

Nazi era
Surveys Burleigh, Michael. The Third Reich: A New History. (2000). 864 pp. Stress on antisemitism; Evans, Richard J. The Coming of the Third Reich: A History. 2004. 622 pp., a major scholarly survey; The Third Reich in Power: 19331939. (2005). 800 pp.; The Third Reich at war 19391945 (2009) Overy, Richard. The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia (2004). comparative history Roderick, Stacke. Hitler's Germany: Origins, Interpretations, Legacies (1999) Spielvogel, Jackson J. and David Redles. Hitler and Nazi Germany (6th ed. 2009) excerpt and text search, 5th ed. 2004 ( Zentner, Christian and Bedrftig, Friedemann, eds. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. (2 vol. 1991). 1120 pp.; see Encyclopedia of the Third Reich Special topics Bullock, Alan. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, (1962) online edition ( d=55427796) Friedlander, Saul. Nazi Germany and the Jews, 19331945 (2009) abridged version of the standard two volume history Kershaw, Ian. Hitler, 18891936: Hubris. vol. 1. 1999. 700 pp. ; vol 2: Hitler, 19361945: Nemesis. 2000. 832 pp.; the leading scholarly biography. Koonz, Claudia. Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, Family Life, and Nazi Ideology, 19191945. (1986). 640 pp. The major study Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs 1970. Stibbe, Matthew. Women in the Third Reich, 2003, 208 pp. Tooze, Adam. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy (2007), highly influential new study; online review by Richard Tilly (

History of Germany rtilly.pdf); summary of reviews ( Thomsett, Michael C. The German Opposition to Hitler: The Resistance, the Underground, and Assassination Plots, 19381945 (2nd ed 2007) 278 pages


Since 1945
Bark, Dennis L., and David R. Gress. A History of West Germany Vol 1: From Shadow to Substance, 19451963 (1992); ISBN 978-0-631-16787-7; vol 2: Democracy and Its Discontents 19631988 (1992) ISBN 978-0-631-16788-4 Berghahn, Volker Rolf. Modern Germany: society, economy, and politics in the twentieth century (1987) ACLS E-book online ( Hanrieder, Wolfram F. Germany, America, Europe: Forty Years of German Foreign Policy (1989) ISBN 0-300-04022-9 Jarausch, Konrad H.After Hitler: Recivilizing Germans, 19451995 (2008) Junker, Detlef, ed. The United States and Germany in the Era of the Cold War (2 vol 2004), 150 short essays by scholars covering 19451990 excerpt and text search vol 1 (; excerpt and text search vol 2 ( Schwarz, Hans-Peter. Konrad Adenauer: A German Politician and Statesman in a Period of War, Revolution and Reconstruction (2 vol 1995) excerpt and text search vol 2 ( books?id=T4vQw1RNkQ8C); also full text vol 1 (; and full text vol 2 ( Smith, Gordon, ed, Developments in German Politics (1992) ISBN 0-8223-1266-2, broad survey of reunified nation Weber, Jurgen. Germany, 19451990 (Central European University Press, 2004) online edition (http://www. GDR Fulbrook, Mary. Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR, 19491989 (1998) Fulbrook, Mary. The People's State: East German Society from Hitler to Honecker (2008) excerpt and text search ( Harsch, Donna. Revenge of the Domestic: Women, the Family, and Communism in the German Democratic Republic (2008) Jarausch, Konrad H.. and Eve Duffy. Dictatorship As Experience: Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the GDR (1999) Jarausch, Konrad H., and Volker Gransow, eds. Uniting Germany: Documents and Debates, 19441993 (1994), primary sources on reunification Pence, Katherine, and Paul Betts, eds. Socialist Modern: East German Everyday Culture and Politics (2008) excerpt and text search ( Pritchard, Gareth. The Making of the GDR, 194553 (2004) Ross, Corey. The East German Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives in the Interpretation of the GDR (2002) Steiner, Andr. The Plans That Failed: An Economic History of East Germany, 19451989 (2010)

History of Germany


Berghahn, Volker R., and Simone Lassig, eds. Biography between Structure and Agency: Central European Lives in International Historiography (2008) Chickering, Roger, ed. Imperial Germany: A Historiographical Companion (1996), 552pp; 18 essays by specialists; Evans, Richard J. Rereading German History: From Unification to Reunification, 18001996 (1997) online edition ( rereading-german-history-from-unification-to-reunification-1800-1996-by-richard-j-evans.jsp) Hagemann, Karen, and Jean H. Quataert, eds. Gendering Modern German History: Rewriting Historiography (2008) Hagemann, Karen. "From the Margins to the Mainstream? Women's and Gender History in Germany," Journal of Women's History, (2007) 19#1 pp 193199 Jarausch, Konrad H., and Michael Geyer, eds. Shattered Past: Reconstructing German Histories (2003) Klessmann, Christoph. The Divided Past: Rewriting Post-War German History (2001) online edition (http:// Lehmann, Hartmut, and James Van Horn Melton, eds. Paths of Continuity: Central European Historiography from the 1930s to the 1950s (2003) Perkins, J. A. "Dualism in German Agrarian Historiography, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Apr 1986, Vol. 28 Issue 2, pp 287330, Stuchtey, Benedikt, and Peter Wende, eds. British and German Historiography, 17501950: Traditions, Perceptions, and Transfers (2000)

Article Sources and Contributors


Article Sources and Contributors

History of Germany Source: Contributors: -The Bold Guy-, 10metreh,, 16@r, 172, 2001:470:B651:5:2E0:81FF:FE41:6FD2, 4shizzal, A.S. Brown, ABF, AI, Aaron Schulz, Abberley2, Abigail-II, Act Solar, Aelffin, Aetas volat., Ahrarara, Aigues-Mortes, Ajaxfiore, Ajh16, Akendall, Alai, Alan Liefting, Alansohn, Allens, Altenmann, Amaury, Anarchangel, Andre Engels, Andy120290, Angr, Ann O'nyme, AnnaFrance, AnthonyA7, Appleseed, Arashi, Armiarmi, Arthena, Asasa64, Atelaes, Auntieruth55, AxelBoldt, BBird, BD2412, Baldhur, Baldzach, Baliga rashmi191195, Barberio, Barticus88, Bayernfan, Bento00, Berkut, Bfigura's puppy, Bgwhite, BigPimpinBrah, Bigkonrad, Biruitorul, Black Net, Blanchardb, Bleh999, Blinder Seher, Blue520, Bmbarclay, Bob Burkhardt, Bobblewik, Bobby D. Bryant, Bobdole123456, Boing! said Zebedee, Bongwarrior, Boson, Britannicus, Bruce1ee, Bryan Derksen, Bubba hotep, Bytwerk, CJK, CWY2190, Cadorna, Caiaffa, Calbookaddict, Campusgirl, CapitalR, Captin Shmit, Carom, Ccmolik, Ccoolamogh, Ce garcon, Ceyockey, Chainmaster, Chal7ds, Charles Matthews, Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry, Chester Markel, Chl, Chochopk, Chris 73, Chris Rocen, Chris the speller, Chzz, ClaretAsh, Claritas, Closedmouth, Cloud 9, Cmdrjameson, Comgear, CommonsDelinker, Comstock1861, Conversion script, Crowell22, Crux, Cs32en, Cshauvcakge, Curps, D greenwald, DabMachine, Dan Guan, Dangulo, Darkildor, Darkspots, Darkwind, David Gerard, David Parker, DavidOaks, Davnor, Dbachmann, DeLarge, Deacon of Pndapetzim, Deelkar, Den fjttrade ankan, Denisarona, Dennis Brown, DerHexer, Deus Ex MalHombre, Dewan357, Dewritech, Djlayton4, Djmutex, Dobie80, Docu, Dogru144, Doldrums, Don4of4, Dontworry, Download, DrFrench, Drabbih.htiek, Drahgo, Drepanopulos, Dschwen, E0steven, 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File:Coat of Arms of Germany.svg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Wappenentwurf: Karl-Tobias Schwab (18871967), entworfen 1926 diese Datei: Jwnabd File:Flag of Germany.svg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Anomie File:Germanic tribes (750BC-1AD).png Source: License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Contributors: Original uploader was Berig at en.wikipedia File:Otto Albert Koch Varusschlacht 1909.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: AndreasPraefcke, Concord, Cristiano64, DickeLippeRiskieren, FAEP, Jergen, LLMDetmold, Labattblueboy, 1 anonymous edits File:Empire carolingien 768-811.jpg Source: License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: cyberprout file:HRE-at-its-peak.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Ernio48, F. F. Fjodor, Mapmarks file:Balduineum Wahl Heinrich VII.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Acoma, Alex1011, Frank-m, Historiograf, Kandschwar, Lamiot, Michail, Shakko, Skim, Valentinian, 17 anonymous edits file:HRR 10Jh.jpg Source: License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported Contributors: CedricBLN, David Kernow, Eleassar, Flamarande, Flominator, Jed, Jirka.h23, Lady Whistler, Maksim, OwenBlacker, Ras67, 5 anonymous edits file:Marienburg19001.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Artur Andrzej,, Bdk, Interpretix, Kresspahl, Ludmia Pilecka, Sir Gawain File:Lubeka kolorowa litografia ksikowa XIVw.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: AndreasPraefcke,, Frank Schulenburg, Kresspahl, Mogelzahn, Niki K, Saperaud, Schaengel89, Trelio, 4 anonymous edits File:Haupthandelsroute Hanse.png Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Flo Beck, Ies, Kresspahl, OwenBlacker, Piotrus, Ras67, Thuresson, 2 anonymous edits File:Barbarossa.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Chris 73, Editor at Large, Gryffindor, Herzi Pinki, Historyfreak, Interpretix, Jkelly, JuTa, Michail, Schaengel89, Worldantiques, , 4 anonymous edits File:Holbein-death.png Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Aavindraa, Aristeas, Bullenwchter, Dvulture, G.dallorto, Goldfritha, Historiograf, Il Dottore, Lillyundfreya, Mattes, Sturm, Ustas, Wolfmann, 1 anonymous edits File:Cologn1411.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: User:SreeBot File:Hildegard von Bingen.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Alex299006, AndreasPraefcke, BeatrixBelibaste, Cesar fernandez, Eisenacher, Jameslwoodward, Polarlys, Shakko, Steinsplitter, Wst, 1 anonymous edits File:Codex Manesse Walther von der Vogelweide.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: AndreasPraefcke, Bukk, Darldarl, Krschner, Mattes, Wolfmann, Wst, -, , 1 anonymous edits File:Gutenberg.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Shizhao, User:Liberal Freemason File:Durer selfporitrait.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Caravaggio, Ianezz, Jarekt, Krschner, Mattes, Zolo File:Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (after 1400).svg Source: License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: N3MO File:Imperial Circles 1512 en.png Source: License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: Erik Warmelink, INeverCry, Ludde23, RobNS, Str4nd, Zykasaa, ~Pyb, 3 anonymous edits

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File:Luther46c.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Aavindraa, Bukk, CTSWyneken, David Levy, Hahnchen, Ixfd64, Jan Arkesteijn, Jdcollins13, Joakao, M0tty, Oursana, Rosenzweig, Schmelzle, Sergio Andres Segovia, Shakko, Shizhao, Wst, 5 anonymous edits File:Straty ludnociowe po wojnie 30letniej.PNG Source: License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Mix321 Image:Lutherbibel.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Torsten Schleese File:Nikolaus Kopernikus.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: ArsniureDeGallium, ArtMechanic, Ausir, Craigboy, Editor at Large, J.delanoy, Jbarta, Kyro, Leyo, Manuelt15, Matthead, Mikkalai, Pko, Samuel Grant, Sophus Bie, TarmoK, ThomasPusch, 6 anonymous edits File:Johannes Kepler 1610.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: ArtMechanic, Bukk, Frank C. 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Later version(s) were uploaded by SpencerCS, Ithanyx, R-41 at en.wikipedia. File:1890 Bismarcks Ruecktritt.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Chef, Focus, Infrogmation, J.-H. Janen, Kresspahl, Man vyi, Michael Reschke, Rcbutcher, Roger Davies, Ronaldino, Take, 4 anonymous edits File:BASF Werk Ludwigshafen 1881.JPG Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: unbekannter Maler File:Paul Hoeniger Spittelmarkt 1912.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, AndreasPraefcke, Beek100, BlackIceNRW, FA2010, Janericloebe, Kilian Kluge (WMDE),, PeterWD, Sevela.p, Xenophon, 1 anonymous edits File:German colonial lord.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Darwinius, Mattes, PeteCS, Trockennasenaffe, Trelio, Xenophon, 3 anonymous edits File:German soldiers in a railroad car on the way to the front during early World War I, taken in 1914. 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File:Max Planck.png Source: License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Courtesy of the Clendening History of Medicine Library, University of Kansas Medical Center. File:Thomas Mann 1937.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Ary29, Calliopejen, Darldarl, Dcoetzee, DieBuche, Divna Jaksic, Djordjes, Erkabo, Infrogmation, Wst File:Hermann Hesse 1927 Photo Gret Widmann.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Gret Widmann (1931) File:Einstein 1921 by F Schmutzer.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Calliopejen1, DIREKTOR, Frank C. 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File:Hitler, Gring, Goebbels and Hess.jpg Source:,_Gring,_Goebbels_and_Hess.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Barliner, Davepape, Kintetsubuffalo, Mcattell, Skier Dude, TheDJ, 1 anonymous edits File:Judenstern JMW.jpg Source: License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: Daniel Ullrich, Threedots File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P017073, Berlin, Olympische Spiele im Olympiastadion.jpg Source:,_Berlin,_Olympische_Spiele_im_Olympiastadion.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Germany Contributors: ALE!, Ayacop, Beek100, Ras67 File:1938 Naka yoshi sangoku.jpg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Albertomos, AnonMoos, Azukimame, Der Buckesfelder, Idrougge, Kintetsubuffalo, Liftarn, Mogelzahn, Palosirkka, Slomox, Takabeg, Tekstman, Teofilo, Thib Phil, 10 anonymous edits File:Bundesarchiv Bild 175-04413, KZ Auschwitz, Einfahrt.jpg Source:,_KZ_Auschwitz,_Einfahrt.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Germany Contributors: ALE!, Bundesarchiv-B6, Christoph Braun, Daczor, Jafeluv, Jarekt, Pibwl, Ras67, Yarl, 8 anonymous edits File:Bundesarchiv Bild 116-168-618, Russland, Kampf um Stalingrad, Soldat mit MPi.jpg Source:,_Russland,_Kampf_um_Stalingrad,_Soldat_mit_MPi.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Germany Contributors: High Contrast, Mattes, Pibwl, , 2 anonymous edits File:SFP 186 - Flug ueber Berlin.ogv Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Kameramann des Special Film Project 186 der United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) File:Germanborders.svg Source: License: Public Domain Contributors: Renata3 File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P054320, Berlin, Brandenburger Tor und Pariser Platz.jpg Source:,_Berlin,_Brandenburger_Tor_und_Pariser_Platz.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Germany Contributors: Beek100, Florival fr, Srittau File:Map-Germany-1945.svg Source: License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: en:User:52 Pickup Original uploader was 52 Pickup at en.wikipedia File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-1007-402, Berlin, 40. 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