The history of Germany is complex and varies according to geographical and historical boundaries in which we consider the territory and the ethnogenesis of the German people.

As that state - nation in the direction of France, Germany has only existed since 1871. Before that date however, there was a Germanic world with some consistency - varies according to the times - at the linguistic, cultural, and sometimes political. The geographical extension of the Germanic world does not correspond exactly with that of Germany and now has varied throughout history.

Approximate expansion of the Germanic peoples: red, -750 occupied territories before the end of the Bronze Age Denmark , orange, occupied territories until the late ^seventh century BC. AD ; yellow, expanding until ^the fifth century BC. AD ; green, expansion until ^the third century BC. AD.

To the ^sixth century BC. AD , the territory of the former West Germany is populated mostly by Celts. Over the following centuries, Germanic tribes , probably from Scandinavia settled gradually into a territory covering approximately the Netherlands , the German and part of Poland today. The earliest written records mentioning the existence of these people are Roman and Greek texts from the early ^first century BC. AD. The lack of written evidence suggests that older southern Europeans and northern ignored each other until that date . After the conquest of Gaul by the Romans, the Germanic peoples are adjacent to a recurring concern. The Latin writings are a valuable source of information on customs and institutions of the Germans, the Germania, the work of the first century historian Tacitus is particularly instructive. In the ^first century , the Romans hoped to make the conquest of Germany. Germania, after many hard campaigns, appears headed for romanization. That's when Quintilius Varus and his troops ventured very far into the province. A former officer in the Roman army, Arminius , ambushed him. After three days of fighting in the Teutoburg Forest , Quintilius Varus lost his legions , almost 20,000 men and his life .

The fragmentation into several tribes of the Germans made sure that their neighbors designate them very differently. The name adopted by the neighbors is often linked to the name of the Germanic tribe most closely.

The Frankish kingdom, ^the fifth to the ^tenth century

The end of the Roman Empire: the extension Germanic

After a century and a half of pressure on the Roman frontiers, tribes or federations of people, probably draining largely of refugees, namely, the Vandals , Burgundians , Alamanni , and Saxons , crossed the Rhine in 410 and pillaged the western regions Empire. While the Roman Empire Germanizing hosting a significant number of these barbarians in his service to fight against other, more menacing new-comers, and while the Roman social and economic conditions deteriorated, some heads siblings, such as Vandal Stilicho , were able to climb the highest imperial dignities.

In the late ^fourth century and the ^fifth century , some of these Germanic tribes established the kingdoms more or less ephemeral in the regions of the Roman Empire which now correspond to England (the Angles and Saxons ), the France ( Franks and Burgundians ), in northern Italy (the Lombards and Ostrogoths ), to Spain ( Visigoths ) and even Tunisia ( Vandals ). The Kingdom of the Franks , became a Christian from the late ^fifth century, spread over what is now France, the Benelux and Western Germany. It was dominated by rulers Merovingian , then, from 750 , the Carolingian.

At the instigation of the Frankish kings, monks initially Irish and Scottish, from the ^eighth century , Anglo-Saxons arrived on the continent and began to evangelize the Rhineland. An important figure of this period is Winfried Boniface (671-754) : he founded the monasteries of Germany Fulda , Erfurt , Wrzburg and Eichsttt .

The Empire of Charlemagne === === (A true market lumber empire I love everything about this =)).

The Carolingian empire and its expansion into Germany.

Under the reign of Charlemagne (Latin Karolus Magnus, that is to say Charles the Great), the third ruler Charlemagne, the Franks append the Bavaria in 788 - 794 and Lower Saxony in 804 after a long war against Saxon.

Charles was crowned "Emperor of the Franks and Romans" in 800 , mainly at the instigation of Pope Leo III and because of the pressure exerted on Rome, another Germanic tribe arrived late and converted to Arianism : the Lombards. The kingdom of the Franks then covered most of the France and of Germany , forming the basis of the two nations future.

At the same time, the center of power had shifted to the east (of Austrasia , district of Trier and the birthplace of Austrasians until the Saxony newly conquered and pacified only), foreshadowing the fact that the Empire would survive in Germany. Charlemagne made of Aix-la-Chapelle the political center of his empire. After the death of Louis the Pious , son of Charlemagne, the Carolingian Empire was divided into three in the sharing of Verdun in 843. Louis the German received the Francie Eastern origin in Germany. A year before, on 14 February 842 , in Strasbourg , Louis the German and his younger brother, Charles the Bald to take an oath of mutual assistance in their struggle against their elder brother Lothair , principal heir of Louis the Pious. This oath was sworn by Louis the German language Teutonic (the ancestor of German). It is the oldest preserved text in Old German.

The sharing of Verdun of 843 between the three son of Louis the Pious

In 887 , Charles the Fat was deposed in the diet of Tribur and the elective system is established. The Carolingians lost for the throne of Germany in 911. The imperial title shall not be assigned from 924 .

Germany medieval ^{(tenth, sixteenth} s)

History of the Holy Roman Empire until the end of the reign of Charles IV

The Ottonian

After the ousting of the Carolingians , the royal title passes first Conrad then 919 to Henry the Fowler , founder of the Saxon dynasty. The Germania together at that time part of the territories formerly collected by Charlemagne , Francia orientalis. Henry the Fowler acquired considerable prestige thanks to victories over the Slavs , Danes, and Magyars. He wears the borders of his kingdom on the Elbe .

His son, Otto ^I finally beat the Hungarians in 955. He was crowned emperor (in German Kaiser, which is derived from Caesar ) in 962. Otto ^I promulgated the 13 February 962 the Privilegium Ottonianum requiring all new pope to give oath to the emperor or his envoy before receiving consecration. It then requires an oath of the Romans when they undertake to ensure that "they fail to elect or ordain any pope without the consent of the lord or his son Otto" . The German emperors then completely control the election of the pope giving birth to Caesaropapism German.

The empire of Otto ^I understand the kingdom of Germany from the East Frankish 's share of Verdun , the kingdom of Italy to the Papal States , part of Regions Lotharingian the kings of Germany were able to capture. The territory of the empire is thus of the Meuse and the Rhone to the Elbe and the North Sea south of Tuscany . It grows in steps, the Ostmark and Carinthia , reoccupied after the victory over the Hungarians, and a series of steps to the east of the Elbe as Billungs walking around the bishopric of Oldenburg and the Nordmark (former name of Brandenburg ) . Since its foundation, this new empire, which will be called the " Holy Roman Empire (Reich deutscher Nation Heiliges Rmisches) than the ^fifteenth century , is hampered by a few institutions on which the emperor can assert its authority, low income, with only the emperors of their own areas to support their policy. Over the choice of the emperor that has always depended on the election of princes in Germany, whose number has gradually reduced and the coronation by the Pope at Rome. Aware of this problem turns Otto ^IDuke of vassals who are at its disposal and is supported by the clergy to administer the Empire. It is used to appoint bishops to whom he gives the contestants temporal and spiritual.

Otto ^I associated his son Otto II to the empire by making his living on top of 25 December 967. Otto II succeeded him without difficulty. Under his reign ( 967 - 983 ), seems to be emerging a Christian empire led along by the emperor and the pope. The king moved to Rome, thus cutting Germanic bases of its power . Otton III focuses, also in its Italian business and dream of establishing a world empire.

Under the Ottonian , the living conditions of German farmers are slowly improving. Colonization of steps makes it possible relief from feudal taxes. The operation of silver mines slightly improves the circulation of money, however still very limited.

In the Investiture Controversy in the death of Frederick II

On the death of Henry II , the dynasty Salian or Franconian succeeds to Ottonian. The first representative of the new dynasty Conrad II , restored imperial authority in Germany, imposes its sovereignty to the Poles and Czechs. He received the Burgundy legacy. The reign of his son Henry III corresponds to the apogee of the dynasty. He keeps his hands firmly imperial authority in all states.

At the ^eleventh century , however, the Catholic Church seeks to free itself from the imperial tutelage. Taking advantage of the minority of the Emperor Henry IV , the pope Nicolas II decided in 1059 to book the election of Pope only to cardinals. In 1075 , Pope Gregory VII banned lay investiture. He faces Henry keen to continue to monitor the bishops to whom he gave regal powers. This response by the pope make a council devoted to him. Gregory VII absolve the subjects of Henry IV of their oath of allegiance. The princes of Germany took the opportunity to revolt. To regain his power, Henry IV must penance at Canossa in 1077. The investiture controversy has resulted in several major rebellions against the emperor. The excommunications and prohibitions began to undermine the structures of the feudal pyramid and the imperial authority . The Concordat of Worms of 1125 , when the Emperor accepts the free election of bishops, satisfies neither side. The emperor can no longer rely as before on the fidelity of the bishops, but he can not rely on the princes and lords who free themselves increasingly imperial power .

Religious conflict bounces XII ^century and the first half of the ^thirteenth century with the "war of two swords" or " struggle of the priesthood and the Empire "under the Hohenstaufen. Salian dynasty dies at the death of Henry V in 1125. The Duke of Saxony becomes Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1133 to 1137 under the name of Lothair III , to the detriment of the nephews of Henry V: Frederick, Duke of Swabia , and Conrad , Duke of Franconia. Due to the importance of his personal possessions, he has greater authority in the empire than its predecessors. Conrad III of Germany was then elected king in 1138 , giving birth to a new dynasty, the Hohenstaufen. The period is the scene of rivalry between two princely families: the Hohenstaufen, the reigning dynasty, and Welfs , a family Bavarian and Saxon close to the papacy .

The successor of Conrad left a strong image in the history of the Holy Roman Empire. This is Frederick ^I Barbarossa nickname. During his long reign ( 1152 - one thousand one hundred ninety ), he managed to recover property usurped royal and entrusts the management of little men who owe him everything, ministeriales. He managed to rein in the lords who had usurped the sovereign powers and to spare the Welfs , major rivals of Hohenstaufen. He refuses to grant the investiture time (as foreseen by the Concordat of Worms ) to the bishops who dislike him, thus manifesting its desire to regain control of the clergy in Germany. His desire is to build a monarchy Feudal where each vassal had its place, prelates included . But he spends too much of his energy to the affairs of Italy, leading a long struggle against the Lombard League of Cities and Pope Alexander III. To end the conflict, Frederick ^I was forced to bow before the pope at Venice in 1177. He nevertheless managed to strengthen his control over the kingdom of Italy . His son, Henry VI dream of the conquest of Jerusalem and Constantinople and reconstitute a vast empire and unified . He died too early (1197) to implement its projects, ensuring the hereditary lords of their fiefs, it weakens the imperial power in Germany.

Frederick II and his falcon represented in his book XIII ^century.

On the death of Henry VI, the German princes refused to elect the latter's young son, Frederick Roger of Sicily, already crowned the "king of the Romans" the lifetime of his father's quarrel over the choice of the new emperor , leaving the Pope Innocent III and the English and French rulers take part in their quarrels. Finally, thanks to the support of the pope, Frederick Roger became emperor under the name Frederick. It renews the new pope Honorius III the oath of allegiance to the papacy, confirmed the payment of an annual tribute of 1000 gold coins through Sicily, and promised a crusade in the holy places. All his promises to help him establish his power firmly. In Germany, Frederick II grants bishops and abbots to 90 royal charter, the Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiastici of 1220 , where he confirmed the abandonment of human remains, and it also gives up influence election to exercise its sovereign rights on ecclesiastical territories like building castles, tonlieux ... It gives the lay princes statutum infavorem principum of 1232 which makes them masters of the earth and justice . Frederick is so busy with his Italian cases it stays a few months in Germany in early his reign, then allowed his government to his son Henry II of Swabia. His son Henry gives secular princes inheritance of fiefs. Thus the German lands are practically independent of imperial power at that time.

Rhenish cities and ports of the Baltic Sea and North Sea are being developed. Some are of Roman origin as Cologne or Augsburg. Other more recent, were born of the meeting of a city ecclesiastical and secular institution and a merchant. This is the case of Magdeburg , Goslar , Bremen and Erfurt. However the German cities play an active little big European trade in the ^twelfth century but Cologne has a large fleet . Other German ports in the North are Bremen and Schleswig. The main products of large international trade are the wine of the Rhine and arms exports, wool, metals and food products for imports. Inside, the exploitation of silver mines and salt promotes the development of river trade.

The disintegration of imperial power

On the death of Frederick II in 1250 , Germany was deprived of a central authority during the interregnum of twenty-three years after his death. The empire appears as a mosaic of principalities and free cities, large and small, secular or ecclesiastical, featuring regal powers. Moreover, in the late ^thirteenth century , the Empire is restricted to a Germany that extends to the boundaries of the Hungarian plain and the basin of the Oder , to the north-east coast the Baltic Sea to the Niemen. Burgundy, Provence and the Kingdom of Italy are detached. New territorial principalities, smaller size are formed in the East: the march of Brandenburg, Saxony-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg, Anhalt Ascanians to their heads, the Thuringia and Meissen of Wettin , the Brunswick and Lneburg of Welf, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate of Wittelsbach , the possessions of the Teutonic knights in the Baltic . Fragmentation is even greater in the West. There are major ecclesiastical principalities: Cologne , Trier , Mainz , a href = "% C3% Br AAme_ (city)" title = "Bremen (city)" class = "mw-redirect"> Bremen, Mnster , Paderborn , Wurzburg , Bamberg , the abbeys of Fulda , Corvey , St. Gallen , Utrecht , Liege , Salzburg , Trent , former imperial cities became independent because of the decline of imperial power: Frankfurt , Nuremberg , Aachen, Aachen , Ulm , of ancient episcopal cities became free, Regensburg , Strasbourg , Basel , Mainz , Cologne. But none extends its territory to become the center of a territorial principality. Around 1380 , Germany has about a hundred "free cities" which Augsburg , Hamburg and Lbeck. The towns of the Hanseatic League , taking advantage of their geographical distance to escape almost entirely to the imperial power while emancipating the authority of the lord .

The imperial eagle , symbol of the Empire

The right of election had long belonged to all secular and ecclesiastical princes. From the middle of the ^thirteenth century , it is reserved only for the prince-electors (Kurfrsten) which have been reduced to seven by the Golden Bull of 1356 . The Holy Roman Empire is losing its universal vocation to take a character definitely Germanic. This trait becomes more marked the ^fifteenth century when the imperial crown, first owned by a non-Germanic dynasty (the Ottokar of Bohemia) binds the family of Habsburg after the election of the Archduke Albert II of Austria.

Drang nach Osten

From the mid-eleventh ^century, began the "Drang nach Osten", that is to say the colonization of the territories east of Germany. This march eastward was already underway at the time of Charlemagne and Otto ^I , but most of these territories had been lost. Indeed the Franconian dynasty is not interested in new lands, leaving the Polish and Danish princes regain ground .

Colonization of Central Europe

Initially, the Wends are wiped out or assimilated by a flood of migrants. In the twelfth ^century, the weakening of the King of Poland allows the creation of marches, military border districts of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg . Lothair III (1125-1137) received the submission of the princes Obotrites and Pomeranian . He reorganized the steps of the East. He placed the head of Holstein Adolf ^I of Schauenburg, Albert the Bear at the head of the march is Saxon. Finally, he marries his daughter to the Duke single Welf , nicknamed "Henry the Proud," which falls to the Duchy of Saxony. These princes are the source of three major dynasties particularly active in the colonization of the eastern regions .

The Christianization allows the rebirth of the bishoprics of Brandenburg , Lbeck , Schwerin. The ^twelfth to the ^fourteenth century, hundreds of thousands of Germans, Saxons, Westphalia, Rhineland, Dutch, Flemish, Franks pushed by the scarcity of available land desire postage flowing east. They are attracted by the promise of receiving land and enhance the territories until the Neisse. To highlight the Holstein , the Count Adolphus had just conquered after a very tough war, it sends messengers to Flanders and Holland , to Utrecht , in Westphalia , in Friesland. He promises to anyone who lacked land, a good broad field, fertile, well supplied with fish, meat and pastures for cattle . Evangelization and colonization will then hand in hand. The Sorbs can coexist alongside germanophones populations. The Eastern Pomerania is the subject of bitter arguments between Poles and Germanized during the fourteenth ^century. Farther south, Silesia and the eastern kingdom of Hungary devastated by the invasions of the Mongols are repopulated by German settlers. They can establish the kingdom of Hungary as hosts and enjoy special rights . In the thirteenth ^century, King Ottokar II of Bohemia allows a mass settlement with the Germans came mainly Bavaria and Rhineland. He establishes as miners to exploit the silver mines discovered on the periphery of the country.

Lords of the Eastern Empire are often very large. For example, the Schlossgesessener Adel , installed by the Margrave of Brandenburg to defend the border against the Poles are heard as Wedel who have a fee of 60 villages. The large size is related to clearing of forest areas still sparsely populated . In the west, formerly operated over the estates are generally smaller in size.

The conquest of the regions of the Baltic Sea by the Teutonic Knights

Two religious orders, the Knights of the Sword and the Teutonic knights are the architects of the violent colonization of land between the Vistula and the Gulf of Finland. The order of the Knights of the Sword is specially created in 1202 to support early efforts at colonization , Christianization of the mouth of the Duna where the action of the Archbishop of Bremen Town of Riga was founded in 1180. The Knights of the Sword are not numerous, 120 in all, but they appeal to many secular crusaders. Thus they founded the monasteries through the territory of Latvia today .

The Teutonic Knights or Deutscher Orden occurred in 1190-1191 in the Holy Land. under the name "Brethren German hospital of St. Mary of Jerusalem." The order is called by the Polish Duke Conrad of Mazovia and a bishop attacked by the Polish Baltic installed between the Niemen and the Vistula. A crusade was set up in 1230 with people from all over the Christian West but the country is subjected in 1283 .

The Knights of the Sword and the Teutonic knights merged in 1237 and eventually they dominate the territory of Germany to the Gulf of Finland. This region is headed by the Grand Master of the Order. The country was then divided into estates with at their head, a knight of the land owner. The Crusaders are becoming established farmers to replace the population Prussians killed or fled. Many cities are created: Marien, Thorn , Kulm , Elbing , maintaining relations with the Hanse , Knigsberg in 1255 - "Mount Royal". The Teutonic enjoy complete independence from the Holy Roman Empire .

The southward expansion

Colonization to the south had begun the era of Charlemagne, but the thrust of the Hungarians had evacuated the conquered regions. Otto ^I again holds the regions south of Bavaria and created a new market colonized by Rhineland and Bavarian families. The bishops of Salzburg , Freising and Passau are formed extensive areas and create large monasteries like Melk and St. Polten. In 996, the name of Ostarrichi appears for the first time. Austria is the Latinized form at the origin of the name Austria. In 1002 , a fortress was built near the ruins of the ancient Roman city of the future Vindobona Vienna. Other cities are developing such Linz , Innsbruck , Graz. German colonization overflows on the steps of neighboring Carinthia and Carniola , but it is limited to cities. The Tyrol , however, remained divided into counties until the ^thirteenth century. In 1246 , the Habsburgs took possession of these steps they retained until 1918 .

At the end of the fourteenth ^century, the first major wave of colonization is over, the Germans have spread north to the Gulf of Finland , south almost to the Adriatic, east to the heart of the Carpathians Romanian . Hundreds of thousands of West Germans were forced by overcrowding and migrated east where the largest tenures and feudal rights lighter ahead.

The time of troubles and the rehabilitation of Germany

The Black Death and economic developments

From 1349, the plague made its appearance in the valley of the Rhine and Prussia. Cologne was hit in December 1349. During 1350, all Germany is affected but it is in the north that mortality is highest. In Bremen, between half and two thirds of the population disappears . The economic consequences are not immediate: the decline of agricultural production and craft, stoppage of transport, trade recession and banking, stop the colonization of the East. In the East, the plague has resulted in the abandonment of marginal farmland. Recovering abandoned lands, the lords increase their land reserve . At the same time, the princes who need money, give up their rights to sovereign lords. As a result, farmers remaining on their land is left under the direct rule of their lords impose heavy chores essential to the operation of large areas. Whereas previously, they were freer than the rest of the peasants of Germany, they find themselves in greater bondage.

In XV ^century , when the country recovered from the plague, the cities of middle and southern Germany booming industry. Technical advances that develop in the mines of the Harz , in Thuringia , of Bohemia and Hungary allow increased production of copper , the tin , the zinc and the money. Augsburg and Nuremberg manufacturing the brass , the Bronze but also weapons, guns that are subsequently exported across Europe. The paintings produced in the country for German merchants of Augsburg, Constance, St. Gallen, Ravensburg are also exported .

Political developments

On the death of Charles IV in 1378, his son Wenceslaus succeeded him. At that time, the West is torn by the Great Schism. The King of France and the emperor supported the pope of Avignon. Suddenly, the Pope of Rome, Boniface IX plot in favor of a rival, Count Palatine Robert de Wittelsbach. Wenceslaus was deposed by the Electors Germany in August 1400 in favor of his rival, Robert ^I.. After his death in 1410, Sigismund , brother of Wenceslaus was elected emperor. He ends the Great Schism by the Council of Constance (1414-1418). Ardent Catholic, he fights against the preaching of John Huss. The Hussite movement was both an attempt to reform the Church and a burst of nationalism Czech threatened by the rise of Germanism. The Hussite war lasted twenty years (1415-1436) . In the East, in 1410, the Battle of Grunwald sees a coalition led by Lithuanian-Polish King Wladyslaw II Jagiello crushed the Teutonic Knights. The reign of Sigismund is particularly challenging for Germany and for the prestige of the dynasty of Luxembourg. Sigismund tent well after being crowned king of Italy in 1431 and emperor in Rome in 1433, to reorganize the empire by creating circles administrative grouping lordships and a policy insuring the public peace. But the spirit of independence of the Lords is such that these reforms were never implemented. Albert II , a Habsburg who married his only daughter succeeds Sigismund. In the second part of the ^fifteenth century , Germany has permanent civil wars which the Emperor Frederick III , another representative of the house of Habsburg, do not care, took himself squeezed between the desire for independence of the Swiss Confederation and the expansionist of Matthias Corvinus in Central and Eastern Europe. His son, Maximilian by marrying Mary of Burgundy is the source of the power of the Habsburgs.

Modern Times

In the fifteenth ^century, the German economic dynamism is evident in the cities, the major commercial cities of the North united around Lbeck in the Hanseatic League. The growth of economic activity is accompanied by considerable technical progress, the most famous is the invention of the printing mobile Johannes Gutenberg. But politically, the emperors have failed to provide stable and effective institutions to the Empire. Faced with the emperor, the gentry, cities, princes asserted their power. This is true of Hohenzollern in Brandenburg , the Wittelsbach in the Palatinate and Bavaria , of Wettin in Saxony and Zhringen in Swabia.

Maximilian ^I, painted by Albrecht Drer

The time of the Reformation

Empire of the Habsburgs

In 1493, Maximilian of Hapsburg became emperor. Under his reign, in 1512, an official statement for the first time uses the name "Holy Roman Empire of the German nation" . The ^sixteenth century is the growing triumph of the bourgeoisie business. The most striking example is the family Fugger , a banking family of Augsburg , which finances Maximilian and Charles V , obtained in exchange for trade benefits considerable. In the late fifteenth ^century, the Fugger family moved to Antwerp , Breslau , Lbeck. At the beginning of the next century is in Stettin, Danzig and Hamburg they are found. At the accession of Charles V, the Fugger settled in Spain. For cons, the purchasing power eroded gentry. The peasants are getting poorer because of the weight of feudal taxes, fragmentation of tenure and increasing debt. Since 1490, the peasants of Alsace and Wrttemberg began to revolt.

Religious conflict and its consequences

The religious question dominates the ^sixteenth century. In 1517, a German monk and theologian Martin Luther ignited by publishing in Germany Wittenberg 95 theses which he sharply criticizes the pope and the sale of indulgences. Although he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521 and banished from the Empire by the young Emperor Charles V in 1521, advancing his ideas in Germany. Humanists like Melanchthon , artists: Drer , and Cranach , Holbein adhere to the ideas of Luther . Farmers in southern Germany, believing arrives golden age where they will pay more taxes to rebel against their lords. Small Knights enjoy the excitement to plunder the property of prelates and rich merchants. Both rebellions were crushed by the princes with the approval of Luther. Judge whether the claims of the rebels justified, he also considers the necessary suppression. This formal condemnation of the rebels he retains his influence with the princes. The Electors of Saxony , the Palatinate , Brandenburg , the Landgrave of Hesse , many cities are converting to Lutheranism: Constance, Nuremberg, and to the north, Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Breslau, Bremen, Knigsberg. They confiscate property for the benefit of the Catholic Church. Albert of Brandenburg , a German prince of the family of Hohenzollern , Grand Master of the Teutonic Order is Lutheran and attributes to himself the immense good of the order in Prussia. He takes the title of Duke of Prussia in 1527. But the princes were hoping to find a compromise peace, while eliminating the abuses of the church by a council. Meanwhile, the diet met at Spires in 1526 decided unanimously that for a year and a half each state will be responsible for its religious affairs . Unable to reconcile the two parties, Charles V decided to use force against the Lutheran princes from 1546. It puts the ban of the Empire the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse. Protestants suffered a crushing defeat at Mhlberg in Saxony in 1547. Across the Emperor receives reports of submission. The League of Schmalkalden seems dissolved. Bohemia is severely repressed.

The Protestant princes then get the support of the king of France Henri II in exchange for the right for it to occupy Metz, Toul, Verdun "and other cities of the Empire do not speak German" . Charles V leaves his brother, the future Emperor Ferdinand ^I sign the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. Already completed the secularization of church property are Catholic but is not endorsed in the future to confiscate the property of the Catholic Church. The princes and free cities have the right to choose their religion but the subjects are forced to profess the same religion of their sovereign, hence the saying: cujus regio, ejus religio, Tel prince, such a religion. Two-thirds of Germany became Protestant. The peace of 1555 puts an end to the hopes of the emperor to be the religious leader in his dominions, with strong will power in the Middle Ages during the investiture conflict . New problems facing the Empire: the recognition of Calvinism, the right to convert to the Reformation for the cities of the empire, News secularization of convents and abbeys despite agreements in 1555 ... Alliances organized. In 1608 , the Union is founded which includes evangelical Protestant princes and cities, with the exception of the Elector of Saxony and Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbttel. Maximilian of Bavaria holds around him the Holy League in 1609 with a membership of three spiritual Electors and Pope Paul V, contends that Philip III of Spain .

Economically, the second half of the ^sixteenth century is marked by rising prices. There are several explanations for this phenomenon. Spain, which has borrowed heavily to Fugger , several times bankrupt in 1557, leaving in its wake the collapse of the bank of Augsburg in 1557. The currency is devalued because of the influx of gold and silver from the New World and the alteration of existing currencies, until 1623. The second explanation is the high population growth that scarce and expensive commodities. Cities of the Hanse except Hamburg slowly declining to compete for the United Provinces. Frankfurt , however, becomes the main center of trade fairs in Germany's southwest.

Deletion of the Holy Roman Empire

The Thirty Years War

The new Emperor Habsburg , a href = "Ferdinand_II_du_Saint-Empire" alt = "Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor"> Ferdinand II frightens the Protestant princes. It is an uncompromising Catholic, he wants to transform his crowns in elective hereditary crowns and wants to make the Holy Roman Empire, a large centralized state. The war began in 1618 following the defenestration of Prague , with the revolt of the Protestant aristocracy of Bohemia against Ferdinand II. The emperor beats rapidly and confiscates the property of the Elector Palatine, Calvinist, who had supported them. The intervention of the Danish King Christian IV is a failure. The emperor took the opportunity to enact in 1629 the Edict of Restitution , which harms the interests of the princes of northern Germany.

The German princes managed to convince the worried King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden to intervene from 1630. After the victory of Breitenfeld in 1631, Swedish troops liberate northern Germany and come into southern Germany. But the king of Sweden was killed at the Battle of Ltzen November 6, 1632. The Swedes were defeated in 1634. Ferdinand II German princes offers a compromise peace. That's when France entered the conflict to the appeal of German princes allies. Richelieu wants at all costs down the power of the Habsburgs , which represents for him a mortal danger for France. From 1640, the domestic difficulties of the Spanish Habsburgs enable France and Sweden to regain the advantage. In 1648, Marshal Turenne allies defeated the Swedes an imperial army in Bavaria and moves to Vienna. A few months later peace was signed.

The Treaty of Westphalia spend the failed ambitions of the Habsburgs of Austria and the final weakening of imperial authority in Germany. The clauses of the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 are confirmed. Calvinists can benefit from its advantages. It is now forbidden in the Diet to make decisions in matters of religion otherwise than by unanimity. War, peace, raising and command of the army are now in the vote of the Diet. this is no longer the emperor who conducts the foreign policy of the Empire. More humiliation for the emperor, the States have the right to enter into alliances against the emperor .

The war has caused immense devastation. The population has declined by nearly 50% . The armies crisscrossing the Empire brought with them epidemics, the leading cause of mortality during the Thirty Years War. They also bring the famine because they feed on the country, leaving nothing to eat in the occupied populations. The sharp decline in marriage and the birth rate also contributes to depopulation. Finally, some prefer to emigrate to escape the unrest. In the late ^seventeenth century and the ^eighteenth century , many Germans emigrated in the Austrian Empire and settled in fertile regions and sparsely populated of Hungary , of Vojvodina , in Galicia and Bukovina .

The emergence of states within the Holy Roman Empire

In 1663, the Reichstag became "perpetual", based in Regensburg. States have the greatest difficulty to reach an agreement and the discussions are often very long. The emperor and the princes sit there longer. The Reichstag becomes a gathering of diplomats and loses much of its importance in international relations ^{The French Revolution and Germany}

Annexations to the French Empire in 1811 are shown in light green.

In 1789, the French Revolution is admired by the intellectual and academic world: the poets Klopstock and Goethe , the philosophers Kant and Fichte , enthusiastic before the Declaration of Human Rights. Clubs are created in Mainz on the Jacobin model, and will soon request the annexation of their city to the French nation. In 1792, France invaded the left bank of the Rhine , and feelings toward the Revolution change.
National sentiment, originally the preserve of intellectuals, became popular with the annexation of the Rhineland by France. In 1803, the First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte reorganized the Holy Roman Empire which fell from more than 300 States to a hundred. All ecclesiastical principalities were abolished, reinforcing Protestantism. On 6 August 1806, the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , Francis II undergoes an ultimatum to Napoleon. It renounces the crown imperial and loosens all the German states of fidelity . The continental blockade against the United Kingdom grows Napoleon to annex a large part of the German States: Hamburg , Bremen , Mnster , Aix-la-Chapelle , Mainz and Koblenz are the chief towns of the French departments. Apart from Prussia , all the leaders of states remained independent are in the pay of France. It is, however, to distinguish the case of allies who are in France a sudden increase in power (kingdoms of Bavaria and Wrttemberg), and that of vassal states, led by a member of the Bonaparte family (Westphalia). The French presence is a source of discontent. The French armies present on the territory of living requisitions. The continental blockade restricts trade even if it allows the development of coal production in the Ruhr in lieu of British imports. German nationalism was born of the French defeat in Russia , even if the Prussian defeat at Jena had already prepared the speech giving rise to the German nation of Fichte. The destruction of the Grand Army during the retreat from Russia caused a liberation war which ended with French withdrawal in November 1813 after the defeat of Leipzig.

Changes in the ^nineteenth century

Political developments

After the Congress of Vienna (November 1814-June 1815), the late empire was replaced by the Germanic Confederation (Deutscher Bund), which groups 39 states under the honorary direction of Habsburg who does more than the title of Emperor of Austria. In fact this confederation can only work if an agreement between Prussia and Austria. But the empire of the Habsburgs are only 6.5 million Germans out of 20 million inhabitants and is pursuing a policy of territorial extension to the Slavic world. Therefore, the Prussian , linguistically homogeneous, appears as the only driving force of national sentiment in Germany.

The impotence of the Confederation contributes to the appearance of historical romance, a current of thought that idealizes the Middle Ages and dreams of establishing a highly structured society of orders in which every individual would be likely to flourish. It contributes to the revival of German Catholicism but has little influence on the political evolution of states. It is not the same for the current Liberal and National. Inspired by French and British models demand a constitution with an elected parliament census and individual freedoms guaranteed by the state. The three southern states give them satisfaction in 1818 and 1819 - when the "nationalist" organized major events to celebrate 5 years of German victory in Leipzig. The supporters of German unity criticize the weakness of the Confederation which has no weight on the international stage and depends on the goodwill of his two "great powers". Until 1840, they recruit their members almost exclusively in academia and then extend the Liberals who want to combine German nation and freedom.

The Spring of people in the German states

The revolution of 1848, known as the March revolution in Berlin

In 1848 , the new revolutions in Paris and Vienna, Germany ablaze. The revolutionary support claims of national unity, freedom and democracy. Some patriots gathered in Heidelberg , in the Duchy of Baden , decreed the election of a constituent assembly elected by universal suffrage for all Germans. The leaders of 39 states are destabilized by the revolutionary movements to leave. The assembly meets in Frankfurt in January 1849 and decided to convert the Germanic confederation into a federal state with an emperor at its head. For members, the Austrian germanophones must be part of this union. It is without relying on Prussia which aims to achieve German unity to his advantage and creates a party of the little German, that is to say without Austria, who finally won the decision.

During the same time, in Berlin , the revolution broke out March 18, 1848. After street battles between rebels and the army, King of Prussia Frederick William IV promises to withdraw its troops. He met a constituent assembly in May 1848 but dissolved by force in December of that year, when power relations were reversed. Frederick William IV does take its power from himself or war. He also refused the crown offered him the Frankfort parliament , causing its spread. Frederick William IV then proposes, in vain, a German union with one hand, the Austrian Empire and, Secondly, a German Empire which would sovereign. The Austria and even refused his attempt to establish a restricted union of Prussia and small States faces international hostility. The revolutions of 1848 fail to German unity, but most German states concede constitutions that give satisfaction to the liberal bourgeoisie.

The failure of Vormrz will lead to establish such a state of mind realistic and disillusioned, played by a whole literature ( Wilhelm Raabe , Theodor Fontane , Gustav Freytag , Friedrich Spieghalen ...). For some , such a mindset will pave the way for the Bismarckian realpolitik.

Steps of German Unity

In the 1850s , the Germanic Confederation industrializes. The Zollverein (Customs Union), the establishment of a rail network necessarily borders, adopting a single currency has almost all the States of the Confederation are all elements of an economic unit that precedes the unit policy around the Prussia. The current unit was not very active since the failure of the Frankfurt parliament was revived in 1859. The Nationalverein (national unity) largely reflects the ideas developed in 1848. But the German unit is largely the work of Otto von Bismarck. This noble Prussian very conservative opinions represent Prussia in the Diet of Frankfurt from 1851 to 1859. He became convinced that there is no room for two powers in Germany. He believes that sooner or later clash will occur between the two states. This is William ^I , King of Prussia since 1861 who calls the position of Ministerprsident (Prime Minister) in 1862 to resolve the conflict between the Landtag, the Prussian parliament and the king on the army reform "Heeresreform. It establishes an authoritarian government and rule by decree, allowing the organization of a large army, well equipped and efficient. Indeed, the "blood and iron" are for Bismarck ways to achieve the German unit from the top, that is to say without the consent of the people.

The short war of the Duchies in 1864 is the first stage of German unity. The Schleswig , populated by Germans and Holstein , both populated by Germans and Danes are personal property of King of Denmark without being part of his kingdom. In 1863, it incorporates them into his kingdom. This leads to a war of the Germanic Confederation led by Prussia and Austria against Denmark in 1864. The quick victory in the Austrian government to obtain the Holstein and Prussia , that of Schleswig. For Bismarck , this arrangement is temporary. He waits for the right moment to face Austria. After ascertaining the benevolent neutrality of France and the alliance with the Italian through French, Prussia multiplied provocations against Austria and, in a futile pretext invaded Holstein. In the Austro-Prussian War that followed, Austria, although it has the support of the Germanic Confederation, was severely beaten at the Battle of Sadowa July 3, 1866. When the armistice was signed July 22, 1866, the Prussian armies are more than 60 km from Vienna. The Prussian who continues to support the French annex Schleswig-Holstein , the Kingdom of Hanover , the Duchy of Nassau and Hesse , allowing Prussia to have a state in one piece, to form the Confederation of Northern Germany excluding Austria and in which the Catholic states of southern Germany refuse to return. No plebiscite is held to secure the agreement of people affected by annexations. The unification is well on top.

William ^I and his wife Augusta

In 1867, the Confederation of North Germany thus encompasses 21 states. Each state maintains its local government but there are over a federal government led by President William ^I. and Chancellor, Bismarck and comprising two chambers, the Bundesrat and the Reichstag. There is a joint army composed of forces of each member. To complete the unification of Germany, the chancellor must fight the anti-Prussian sentiments of the Southern States. The blunders of Napoleon III he can turn public opinion of all states against France. Indeed, after the resounding victory of Prussia, Emperor of the French who had hitherto not sought, demand compensation for its neutrality, territories on the left bank of the Rhine first, then Luxembourg. Bismarck has the ability to publish these claims he calls political tips.

Proclamation of the German Empire January 18, 1871 in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

In 1870, another bone of contention arises between the two states. The Spaniards who hunted their queen, offer the utmost secrecy to the throne Guilllaume of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , cousin of King of Prussia. When this proposal was known in early July 1870, France moved. She does not want a sovereign Prussian south. Initially, William ^I assure the French ambassador, Benedetti that he would not oppose a withdrawal of the candidature Hohenzollern Spain. Bismarck , annoyed, thinking to resign. But France insists and asks the official guarantee that the king will oppose any new bid Hohenzollern. William spurned the ambassador and expressed a meeting in a telegram of the Ems telegram , that Bismarck , who don ' not so much by waiting, eager to publish the hardening tone in order to provoke France. The German states are in the insistence French desire to humiliate them. France, embittered by the publication of the telegram declares war on Prussia July 19, 1870. The Franco-Prussian War begins. The French unpreparedness leads to disaster when the South German states agreed upon in November 1870 to enter the North German Confederation and the German Empire is proclaimed January 18, 1871 in the Hall of Mirrors of Chateau de Versailles , the anniversary of the coronation of the first king of Prussia in Koenigsberg in 1701. The French defeat eventually sealing the German unit. The Treaty of Frankfurt was signed May 10, 1871. France ceded to the German Empire northern Lorraine and Alsace except Belfort. The Franco-German antagonism arises from the annexation. It is also worth noting that the German Empire is not exactly a nation-state. Poles, Danes are included, while the Germans of the Austrian Empire are excluded.

The German Empire ( one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one - 1918 )

Kaiserreich or the German Empire in 1871 proclaimed a federal state of 540 700 km comprising twenty-five states. Each maintains a sovereign government in all areas that fall outside the jurisdiction of the Reich. Different sovereign States are the holders of sovereignty of the Empire. They sit in the Bundesrat , which has a veto over all decisions of the Reichstag. The Kaiserreich, an empire of princes, nevertheless appears as a "national state imperfect" because it leaves away from the people of Germanic culture while integrating people who are not German like the Danes, Poles and French .

The German Empire guard the Constitution of the Confederation of North Germany , which provides for the election of the Reichstag male suffrage. It approves the budget and laws. It even has the legislative initiative. But the real power is held by the emperor and his advisers. William ^I did all trust Bismarck until his death in 1898. Until 1878, the chancellor allied with liberals and takes steps to stimulate the economy. It is also the period of the Kulturkampf , the religious and political conflict which opposed Bismarck State to the Catholic Church and the Center Party . The Kulturkampf was actually a goal of reducing particularities to strengthen the unity of the empire. It is therefore primarily the Catholic Church and its claim to challenge the sphere of state intervention. It also affects minorities living on the fringes of the Empire who undergo aggressive policy of cultural assimilation. In 1876, German became sole administrative language in the eastern regions where many Poles. It becomes compulsory in primary schools. In Alsace-Lorraine, the laws of 1873 established a direct state control over the organization of primary and secondary . The Kulturkampf meeting fierce resistance of German Catholics, whether Rhine (Cardinal of Cologne) and Bavarian, which causes the formation of the Zentrum , Christian Democratic Party. Bismarck finally disapproved by the Emperor must compromise and restore Church in its rights, including education . In the 1880s, social security laws are enacted.

Germany in 1871

In 1878, Bismarck enact special laws against the socialism while developing. It also tries to rally the workers and integrate them to the nation building by establishing a comprehensive system of social security, the first in the world. It also leaves the alliance with the Liberals and forms an alliance with the Conservatives. on the external front, he concluded the Triple Alliance with Austria and Italy in 1882 and signed a pact cons-insurance with Russia in 1887. It also engages in a colonial policy.

The son of William ^I , Frederick III , reigned only 99 days. The crown thus choie William II forcing Bismarck to resign in 1890. In the Germany of Wilhelm II , the Reich government no longer corresponds to that of Prussia. The Reichstag is taking over the Bundesrat. The changing face of German nationalism. It is no longer associated with the unity of the German people in a single state. He is now attached to the defense of the German Empire and takes on a more conservative. The abandonment of the alliance with Russia , since 1890 is understandable in the new nationalist perspective because it is considered dangerous for the alliance with Austria. Pan-German League, founded in 1894, was very successful. She wants to gather all germanophones, Germanize allognes Reich, recover the lost provinces, and also seize land needed for development of the German race. It therefore encourages colonialism: "Selfishness healthy race commands us to plant our border posts in the foreign territory" . The Germans seized the current Cameroon , Togo , Tanzania and Namibia in Africa and the Caroline Islands in the Pacific. The people of these colonies were sentenced to penal servitude and must provide the raw materials for German industry.

In Germany, the Social Democratic Party grows gradually until it became for a time the most powerful socialist party in Europe (one million members), winning a third of votes in the elections of January 1912 in the Reichstag. This growth has not been without problems: as a break will occur between the revisionists (Social Democrats) to Henry Bernstein and Orthodox (Marxist) of Kautsky in 1896. The government remains in the hands of a line of conservative parties (almost all ministers are aristocrats), backed by the Catholic clergy and very dependent on favors from the Kaiser.

The transformation of the economy and society

The birth of a great industrial nation

The German states are affected by industrialization and urbanization , although the population still largely rural (64%) at the time of German unification. The beginning of industrial development dates from 1850. Between then and 1870, the exploitation of coal in the Ruhr region is experiencing strong growth. Textile and steel industries are modernizing. In 1865, the foundation of the Badische Anilin Soda Fabrik is the origin of the dominance of Germany in the chemical industry. The railroad extends 600 km of lines in 1850, 11,000 in 1860 and 20 000 in 1870 A unit of account is common to all German states, the thaler of union was created in 1857 on the model of thaler Prussian. The Zollverein , interior space without customs duties created at the initiative of Prussia , gradually extending to all German states except the Hanseatic cities , between 1828 and 1858. Economic union around the Prussia has largely preceded political union.

The Prussian victories of 1866 and 1870 are that of an army suited to industrial civilization. the Krupp steel and rifle Dreyse outperforming the Austrian and French armies. The Prussian staff effectively uses railways and the telegraph. This modern Prussian army, Bismarck and his team wanted and built before the confrontation. Victory in the Austro-Prussian war is finally that of the industrial power that weighs more and heavier in the face of Austria and even France, which is experiencing industrialization much more limited.

The country's strong economic growth between 1870 and 1910. German steel output in 1910 is double the UK production. The German science and technology, supported by a research and teaching university sophisticated, so have a worldwide reputation for excellence . Manufactured goods needed on foreign markets, a continuing trend that protectionist measures such as discriminatory label Made in Germany , unable to stop it.

Changes in society

In 1815, there are 20 million people in the Germanic Confederation , Austria excluded. They are 30 million in 1840, 38 million in 1850. In total, the German population into a triple century. This sharp increase in population is due to a high birth rate throughout the century and a gradual decline in mortality rates, as in most European countries (excluding France). This force causes a high population of German emigration mainly to the United States. Between 1850 and 1870, German immigrants represent one quarter of European migration. This flow is increasing in the late ^nineteenth century.

Germany in the early nineteenth ^century, Catholics and Protestants are roughly equal. From the 1850s, the industrialization of Northern Germany is widening the social gap between Catholics and Protestants. In addition, the foundation of the empire without Austria and under the aegis of Prussia reinforces the political domination and digital Protestants. Indeed, 62% of the population is Protestant Reich in 1910. German Catholics are therefore a religious minority, dominated politically and economically. In 1907, 26% of staff are Catholic while 37% of the population. They are also underrepresented in the employers .

To War

Abroad, the German colonial efforts initiated in 1884 but above relaunched under William II , only succeeded in a small empire overseas compared to those of the United Kingdom and France. It consists of Cameroon , in Namibia 's South African is the Papua New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. Foreign policy that follows (including programs and laws allowing the creation of a large fleet of war in 1898 in 1900 (Laws Alfred von Tirpitz ), but the crises on the Moroccan question, and German support the Republic of Orange , during the Second Boer War ) antagonized the United Kingdom, concerned about the rising power of Germany. Moreover, the emperor, Wilhelm II, was greatly influenced by the mid-Prussian officers, ensuring the soundness of the Empire, crowned by its success from the ^{mid-nineteenth} century and forged German unity against Austria and France. For the emperor, war, a localized conflict in the Balkans in particular, may be a solution to solve territorial problems.
Strategically, the triple agreement signed between France, Russia and the United Kingdom in the early twentieth ^century, forcing the top German general staff has developed an n ew military plan, the Schlieffen Plan, between 1898 and 1905. Forced to fight on two fronts in case of war Germany chose therefore to focus all efforts on a quick victory in the west. Only when she defeated France plans to turn against Russia, whose mobilization will necessarily be slower. The plan developed by von Schlieffen to be applied, however, require the Germany of Wilhelm II to initiate military operations. In Reich, the psychosis of encirclement is very present. Wilhelm II feared indeed a rapid development of Russia through the French capital, and knows that the day when Russia will have caught up, Germany will lose the chance to win a war against the Triple Entente. It thus seems necessary to provoke hostilities before it is too late.

Germany in the twentieth ^century

The First World War

After the bombing of Sarajevo, 28 June 1914, Germany supported its only ally, the Austria-Hungary against the Serbia. If the government knows there is risk of war, he thinks small. It is the policy of "calculated risk" defined by Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg. When, on July 28, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, the alliance mechanism is activated and no head of state can stop it. On 30 July, Russia's ally Serbia mobilizes. On ¹ August, Germany declared war on Russia, while France mobilized. August 3, Germany has to take the military initiative following the Schlieffen Plan, declared war on France. August 4, it invades the territory of neutral Belgium. The United Kingdom declares war on Germany. This is the beginning of the First World War. On the Western Front, despite significant victories at the start of the conflict, the German army was stopped at the Battle of the Marne. After a quick race to the sea, both sides bury in a trench warfare that lasted until the end of the conflict. On the eastern front by cons, connects the German army's victories against Tsarist Russia until the October Revolution and Peace of Brest-Litovsk signed by Lenin March 3, 1918. A revolution overthrew the Kaiser Wilhelm II who was forced into exile in November 1918. At the head of the German delegation Matthias Erzberger conducts negotiations and signs the 11 November 1918 the armistice in the Compiegne forest beside Rethondes.

Germany after the Treaty of Versailles

28 June 1919 , the Treaty of Versailles officially marks the end of the war. It is signed in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles , the very place where the Second Reich was proclaimed. Germany signs against the heart that text that had been negotiated without her. To the west, Germany surrenders the Alsace - Lorraine to France, Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium , North Schleswig to Denmark. Poland was recreated on a large part of the German Posen and portions of Upper Silesia. Germany is divided into two territorial entities disjointed by the Danzig corridor which provides an opening to the sea to the young Poland. Ultimately, Germany was amputated sees 13% of its territory, more than 43 000 km and more than one-ninth of its population (between 6.5 and 7.3 million people).

Weimar Republic ( 1919 - one thousand nine hundred thirty-three )

The rise of the NSDAP in the Reichstag

The Weimar Republic is a liberal and democratic constitutional state, carried by the Weimar coalition consisting of Social Democrats, Catholics and liberals. But she was born under the sign of military defeat, the Democrats are too few to commit to it.

In the early years, she had to struggle against the revolts of left and right ( 1,919 - 1 923 ) and against the hyperinflation in 1923. In subsequent years, the condition of Germany increased with the delivery of payments as compensation for war and improve relations with its former enemies. A succession of coalition governments restored order and relative prosperity until the Great Depression in 1930.

The new economic crisis combined with the memory of the hyperinflation of 1923 and opposition nationalists fighting against the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles undermined the government from inside and outside. Adolf Hitler and his National Socialists German Workers ( NSDAP - see Nazism ) insisted on his problems and growing unemployment. Brawls Street incessant oppose communists and Nazis. In defending a doctrine nationalist and racist and promised to give work to the unemployed, the Nazis blamed many of Germany's ills on alleged Jewish conspiracies, even arguing that the First World War had been lost because of treason Jewish (the Dolchstolegende ).

The Republic could be saved if the KPD (German Communist Party) had not adopted a hard line desired by Stalin , "class against class" and had allied with the Socialist Party. In 1934, Stalin will adopt a strategy of union of communist parties with the "bourgeois parties" to the Popular Front in France and the alliance in China between the Nationalists of Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists of Mao Zedong against the Japanese.

The rise and fall of Nazism ( 1933 - 1945 )

After the success of the NSDAP in elections in July and November 1932 (first party, but without the majority in the Reichstag ), Hitler , now inescapable, was appointed Reich Chancellor ( Chancellor ) by President Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933 through with monarchists, tycoons and conservative parties like the Nationalist Party ( DNVP ).

Hitler persuaded Ludwig Kaas and leaders Zentrum to vote for the Enabling Act (March 23, 1933 ). Very quickly the dictatorship Nazi fell into place through a series of laws that orientrent whole economy of the country towards rearmament.

After the death of president Hindenburg on 2 August 1934 and the plebiscite of 19 August 1934 , Hitler held the dual roles of president and chancellor under the title Reichsfhrer of Germany. Once in power, he began by abolishing the freedoms and democratic opposition parties, thus beginning the Third Reich.

In six years, the party Nazi Germany prepared for war by raising the arms industry and enacted laws that discriminate against Jews.

In 1938, the Anschluss of Austria and the incorporation of areas inhabited by Germans of Sudetenland and belonging to Czechoslovakia realized the old dream of a Greater Germany. On 15 March 1939 , Germany occupied and dismembered the remains of Czechoslovakia .

Germany during the Second World War

The Germany triggers the onset of World War II by invading Poland on ¹ September 1939. It is mainly allied to Japan and to Italy , and three form the Axis. German territory expands. After the invasion of Poland, the Free City of Danzig , Poland West, comprising the provinces of West Prussia, of Poznan , Upper Silesia and Lodz are attached . Then it was the turn of Luxembourg of the Alsace - Lorraine in 1940. In 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia , the Germans share Slovenia with the Italians and annexed the north-east. On 22 June 1941 , Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. She takes control of parts of Poland that were annexed by the USSR in 1939 under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. District Bialystok is well attached to East Prussia .

Germany occupied France, Yugoslavia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Greece, Italy after the fall of Mussolini, North Africa, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and part of Russia (it is stopped before Moscow ).

After initial success, the course of the war changed in 1943. The Nazi government attempted to eliminate the Jewish population of Germany, first by making him leave Germany by discriminatory measures, then in the countries conquered by the deportation to concentration camps , and finally by a genocide ( Holocaust ) decided at the conference of Wannsee and implemented (among others) in extermination camps. They applied the same policy for gypsies, as well as homosexuals and the disabled - groups that, according to Nazi dogma, inspired by speculation that eugenicists, undermined the purity of the Aryan race.

After October 1944, Germany was crushed in the bombing. The brutality, bestiality armies mark this period, whether the Wehrmacht in full retreat, which decrees the general mobilization from 15-60 years, or the Red Army engaged in abuses of the German population. The feeling of shame and frustration that pervades the German people that the political changes of 1945-49 were experienced by the population in a certain indifference . 1945 marks the defeat of the Axis. Europe is in ruins, there were tens of millions of deaths including many civilians, six million Jews murdered twenty million Soviet citizens died during the conflict.

Germany since 1945

In Germany, year zero at the birth of two states

The Germans often talk about the year 1945 as the "Stunde Null (zero hour) to describe the collapse of their country. The famous film of Rossellini's Germany Year Zero shows many areas of Germany became rubble with charred carcasses of buildings and a population hungry and dazed looking for his daily food .

The Potsdam conference marks the division of Germany into four distinct zones , under the supervision of the occupying powers: the Soviet Union , U.S. , UK and France. German territory is greatly cut: it decreases by 24% compared to 1937. It covers more than 357 000 km . Soviet forces begin their arrival in dismantling factories and loot the area that has been assigned, although no agreement had been reached on war reparations owed by Germany and their methods of collection . Indeed they intend to charge the destruction caused Germans to the Soviet economy during the Nazi offensive. After transferring 40% of the industry, the Soviets transform at least 200 companies in Soviet Societies Act (SAG). They also control directly, and for their own benefit, much of energy and heavy industry in their area . From 1948, large estates were shared; detained political opponents and suppressed freedom of expression in the media. But Stalin did not seek in the first partition of the country. He hopes to be able to benefit from the exploitation of coal from the Ruhr . The creation of the GDR in 1949 confers only fictitious sovereignty to the new State .

The side of the Western allies, Germany remains a danger. The eradication of National Socialism is a major concern counterbalanced by fear of communism. A liberal line is imposed, symbolized by the adoption of the three national colors and the abandonment of the imperial flag. Denazification was carried out gradually and unevenly. Laws and Nazi organizations are removed at the beginning of the fall of 1945. In the part occupied by the Americans and their allies, lists of personalities not compromised with the Nazis are established. They incorporate local responsibilities.

The birth and evolution of the GDR

Flag of East Germany

In the East, there is a merger of the Social Democratic Party with the Communist Party in 1946 to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), which Stalinized in 1949. The anti-fascist committees in place are deemed to be too active and the Soviet authorities asking their control .

In 1949, in the context of the Cold War , the occupation zones give rise to two States, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, called "West Germany") as a U.S. protectorate and the German Democratic Republic (GDR, called "East Germany"), under Soviet domination. But the RDA is different from the Soviet model. A private, limited indeed exists in the trade. The SED is not the only party even though there is no real opposition. Indeed, there is a single list of coalition in the elections. The West German television broadcasts received in the East a model of consumption and freedoms which effectively counterbalances the Communist propaganda .

Birth and Evolution of the FRG

The FRG follows a different model. This is firstly not a state but an economic unit, symbolized by the resurgence of the mark in 1949, who is quickly told of sovereign powers. American aid ( Marshall Plan ) for the reconstruction of Europe was more intense in Germany than anywhere else, for fear of Americans that this border area with the countries under Soviet influence also goes under the sway of Moscow. In 1950 GDP is already the same as before the war in 1939. In 1950 this same GDP has doubled (the German economic miracle). The chancellor of the FRG were successively Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhard (former finance minister, founder of the social market economy), both from the CDU. One of the biggest hits of Konrad Adenauer is to have managed to peacefully integrate the twelve million refugees of World War II, preventing the birth of a climate of explosive revenge. The heads of the associations of expellees were also largely taken their share in this success .

Kiesinger to succeed Ludwig Erhard , in a grand coalition SPD / CDU from 1966 to 1969. The SPD Willy Brandt became chancellor from 1969 to 1974. He renewed relations with the GDR and Eastern Europe from 1971 through the " Ostpolitik ". Helmut Schmidt succeeded him from 1974 to 1983, that date, the defection of the Liberal FDP empowers the CDU of Helmut Kohl.

Throughout this period the population growth remains weak. The German government encourages the coming of many Russians, Poles, Ukrainians and Czechs of German descent, to fill the deficit of births. The Turkish immigrant to work in factories, is encouraged while at the same time arrived refugees from around the world attracted by the prosperity of Germany.

In the 1970's and 80 , the FRG is particularly marked by the emergence of movements of extreme-left : Red Army Faction , autonomous movement , movement of squatters , antinuclear movement , movements, pacifists or anti-imperialist. In 1980 , part of the German extreme-left political violence broke with the party to found the "Grnen ( The Greens ) and start on an electioneering.

Against all expectations, pressure from protesters in the East German state grows during autumn 1989. The communist regime without any popular support, eventually capitulate. On 9 November 1989 the Berlin Wall , symbol of Communist oppression, grave. Very quickly, the FRG and the GDR where the agreement of 4 winners from 1945 to retrain a single state with the signing of the Treaty "4 + 2" also called Treaty of Moscow . This treaty also puts an end to special status as Germany kept since 1945.

Germany reunified

The German reunification on 3 October 1990 provoked a series of economic and social difficulties. To be popular with the population of eastern Lnder, Helmut Kohl overstates the East German mark compared to that of the FRG. It requires an exchange rate of 1 to 1 for the population and 1 for 2 with respect to banks, while specialists advocated a rate of 1 to 3 or 4. The industry is, inefficient, quickly rolled by the strong currency. He must then pay unemployment benefits to East Germans, thus inflating the deficits. Moreover, the boom Provisional consumption caused by the parity has delayed necessary structural reforms to West German firms. Made too late, they were more expensive and painful. In addition, the protective system of the GDR , which encouraged the birth , disappeared overnight after reunification: in the years that followed, the fertility is then divided by two. She fell in the states of the East to 0.8 children per woman, which is the lowest level of the reunified Germany . Finally, the privatization of companies, led by the Treuhand , has given rise to numerous scandals: indeed, some buyers have received government subsidies for restructuring of companies while maintaining jobs, but often pocketed the subsidy while dismissing the Staff . Reunification led too quickly and without heed for the Eastern Lnder did not take into account the complexity of the process and its human cost.

The East Germans, traumatized and unhappy then turned to the former Communist Party became the PDS. It is in regions marked by massive layoffs as Brandenburg , where unemployment is around 30 to 40% of the workforce, as it reaches its highest scores. From 1991 to 2000, 150 million DM were invested each year in eastern Germany without reaching out to this region of the crisis.

With an export volume corresponding to one third of its gross national product , Germany can boast the title "world champion of exports," before the United States and China. It maintains its trade relations with the closest members of the European Union (almost 72% of its exports are the European area) and the United States. But the economic and commercial openness towards emerging countries, particularly in Asia with China and India , is also an important development.
Strongly oriented toward global markets, German companies integrate all a strategy of global diversification, which adds a process of relocation of their activities ( Siemens and is present in 190 countries).
From its position in the heart of Europe, its technological expertise, its skilled workforce and infrastructure quality as its tax advantages, Germany is an attractive location for foreign investors: the 500 largest global companies have established themselves on its soil.

From 1998 to autumn 2005 , the German government led by Gerhard Schrder , the SPD Party ( Social Democrat ). The Greens participate in government.

Since the early elections of 2005 , Christian Democrat Chancellor Angela Merkel heads a government based on a "grand coalition" comprising the CDU (and its branch the Bavarian CSU ) and the SPD

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