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Do not fill this in! == History == {{Main|History of Germany}} {{For timeline|Timeline of German history}} === Prehistory === {{Main|Linear Pottery culture|Unetice culture|Urnfield culture|Celts}} Pre-human ancestors, the ''[[Danuvius guggenmosi]]'', who were present in Germany over 11 million years ago, are theorized to be among the earliest ones to walk on two legs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McRae |first1=Mike |title=We Just Found an 11-Million-Year-Old Ancestor That Hints How Humans Began to Walk |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/discovery-of-a-new-11-million-year-old-ancestor-reveals-how-humans-began-to-walk |work=ScienceAlert |date=6 November 2019 |archive-date=7 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507215803/https://www.sciencealert.com/discovery-of-a-new-11-million-year-old-ancestor-reveals-how-humans-began-to-walk |url-status=live }}</ref> Ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wagner |first1=G. A |last2=Krbetschek |first2=M |last3=Degering |first3=D |last4=Bahain |first4=J.-J |last5=Shao |first5=Q |last6=Falgueres |first6=C |last7=Voinchet |first7=P |last8=Dolo |first8=J.-M |last9=Garcia |first9=T |last10=Rightmire |first10=G. P |date=27 August 2010 |title=Radiometric dating of the type-site for Homo heidelbergensis at Mauer, Germany |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS]] |volume=107 |issue=46 |pages=19726–19730 |bibcode=2010PNAS..10719726W |doi=10.1073/pnas.1012722107 |pmc=2993404 |pmid=21041630 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The first non-modern human fossil (the [[Neanderthal]]) was discovered in the [[Neandertal (valley)|Neander Valley]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-were-the-neanderthals.html|publisher=Natural History Museum|title=Who were the Neanderthals?|last=Hendry|first=Lisa|date=5 May 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330003649/https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-were-the-neanderthals.html|archivedate=30 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly dated evidence of modern humans has been found in the [[Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura|Swabian Jura]], including 42,000-year-old [[Paleolithic flute|flutes]] which are the oldest musical instruments ever found,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18196349 |title=Earliest music instruments found |date=25 May 2012 |work=BBC News |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903041534/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18196349 |archivedate=3 September 2017 }}</ref> the 40,000-year-old [[Lion-man|Lion Man]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Ice-Age-iLion-Mani-is-worlds-earliest-figurative-sculpture/28595 |title=Ice Age Lion Man is world's earliest figurative sculpture |date=31 January 2013 |website=[[The Art Newspaper]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215162121/http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Ice-Age-iLion-Mani-is-worlds-earliest-figurative-sculpture/28595 |archivedate=15 February 2015 }}</ref> and the 35,000-year-old [[Venus of Hohle Fels]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature07995|journal=Nature|volume=459|title=A female figurine from the basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany|last=Conard|first=Nicholas|year=2009|issue=7244|pages=248–252|doi=10.1038/nature07995|pmid=19444215|bibcode=2009Natur.459..248C|s2cid=205216692 |accessdate=12 March 2020|archivedate=12 February 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212045830/https://www.nature.com/articles/nature07995|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Nebra sky disk]], created during the [[European Bronze Age]], has been attributed to a German site.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/flagship-project-activities/memory-of-the-world/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-6/nebra-sky-disc/ |title=Nebra Sky Disc |date=2013 |publisher=UNESCO |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011061740/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/flagship-project-activities/memory-of-the-world/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-6/nebra-sky-disc/ |archivedate=11 October 2014 }}</ref> === Germanic tribes, Roman frontier and the Frankish Empire === {{Main|Jastorf culture|Germanic peoples|Germania|Migration Period|Frankish Realm}} [[File:Trier 012.JPG|thumb|[[Aula Palatina|Basilica of Constantine]] in [[Trier]] (''[[Augusta Treverorum]]''), built in the 4th century]] The [[Germanic peoples]] are [[ethnogenesis|thought to date from]] the [[Nordic Bronze Age]], early [[Pre-Roman Iron Age|Iron Age]], or the [[Jastorf culture]].<ref name="Heather">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/History#ref58082 |title=Germany: Ancient History |last=Heather |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Heather |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |accessdate=21 November 2020|archivedate=31 March 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331232159/https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/History#ref58082 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Germanic Tribes (Teutons)|website=History Files |url=https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/BarbarianGermanics.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426121258/https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/BarbarianGermanics.htm |archivedate=26 April 2020 |url-status=live|accessdate=16 March 2020}}</ref> From southern [[Scandinavia]] and [[northern Germany]], they expanded south, east, and west, coming into contact with the [[Celts|Celtic]], [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]], [[Balts|Baltic]], and [[Early Slavs|Slavic]] tribes.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_g6n9/page/35 |title=Medieval Experience: 300–1400 |last=Claster |first=Jill N. |publisher=New York University Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-8147-1381-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_g6n9/page/35 35]}}</ref> Under [[Augustus]], the [[Roman Empire]] began to invade lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes, creating a short-lived Roman province of [[Germania Antiqua|Germania]] between the Rhine and [[Elbe]] rivers. In 9 AD, three [[Roman legion]]s were [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest|defeated]] by [[Arminius]] in the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]].<ref>{{cite book|page=13|title=The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest|last=Wells|first=Peter|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=2004|isbn=978-0-393-35203-0}}</ref> The outcome of this battle dissuaded the Romans from their ambition of conquering [[Germania]], and is thus considered one of the most important events in [[European history]].{{sfn|Murdoch|2004|p=57}} By 100 AD, when [[Tacitus]] wrote ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'', Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube (the [[Limes Germanicus]]), occupying most of modern Germany. However, [[Baden Württemberg|Baden-Württemberg]], southern [[Bavaria]], southern [[Hesse]] and the western [[Rhineland]] had been [[Germanic Wars|incorporated]] into [[Roman province]]s.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=9–13}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Modi |first=J. J. |date=1916 |title=The Ancient Germans: Their History, Constitution, Religion, Manners and Customs |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheJournalOfTheAnthropologicalSocietyOfBombay/The-Journal-of-the-Anthropological-society-of-Bombay#page/n651/mode/2up |journal=The Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay |volume=10 |issue=7 |quote=Raetia (modern Bavaria and the adjoining country) |page=647}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Ancient History: X, The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C. – A.D. 69 |last=Rüger |first=C. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-26430-3 |editor-last=Bowman |editor-first=Alan K. |edition=2nd |volume=10 |pages=527–28 |chapter=Germany |orig-year=1996 |editor-last2=Champlin |editor-first2=Edward |editor-last3=Lintott |editor-first3=Andrew |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZLW4-wba7UC&pg=PA528 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223193524/https://books.google.com/books?id=JZLW4-wba7UC&pg=PA528 |archivedate=23 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Around 260, Germanic peoples broke into Roman-controlled lands.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The crisis of empire, A.D. 193–337 |last1=Bowman |first1=Alan K. |last2=Garnsey |first2=Peter |last3=Cameron |first3=Averil |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-521-30199-2 |series=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=12 |page=442}}</ref> After the invasion of the [[Huns]] in 375, and with the decline of Rome from 395, Germanic tribes moved farther southwest: the Franks established the [[Frankish Kingdom]] and pushed east to subjugate [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]] and [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]], and areas of what is today eastern Germany were inhabited by [[West Slavs|Western Slavic]] tribes.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=9–13}} {{Clear left}} === East Francia and the Holy Roman Empire === {{Main|East Francia|Holy Roman Empire}} [[File:East Francia 843.svg|thumb|[[East Francia]] in 843]] [[File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Martin Luther, 1528 (Veste Coburg).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Martin Luther]], born in [[Eisleben]] in 1483, challenged the indulgences of the [[Catholic Church]], giving rise to the [[Reformation]] and [[Protestantism]].]] [[Charlemagne]] founded the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 800; it was [[Treaty of Verdun|divided in 843]].{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|p= 11}} The eastern successor kingdom of [[East Francia]] stretched from the Rhine in the west to the Elbe river in the east and from the North Sea to the Alps.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|p= 11}} Subsequently, the Holy Roman Empire emerged from it. The [[Ottonian]] rulers (919–1024) consolidated several major [[Stem duchy|duchies]].<ref>{{cite book|page=55|title=Franks and Saracens|last=Falk|first=Avner|publisher=Routledge|year=2018|isbn=978-0-429-89969-0}}</ref> In 996, [[Pope Gregory V|Gregory V]] became the first German Pope, appointed by his cousin [[Otto III]], whom he shortly after crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern Italy and [[Burgundy (historical region)|Burgundy]] under the [[Salian]] emperors (1024–1125), although the emperors lost power through the [[Investiture controversy]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI |last=McBrien, Richard |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2000 |page=138}}</ref> Under the [[House of Hohenstaufen|Hohenstaufen]] emperors (1138–1254), German princes encouraged German settlement to the south and east ({{lang|de|[[Ostsiedlung]]}}).{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp= 19–20}} Members of the [[Hanseatic League]], mostly north German towns, prospered in the expansion of trade.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp= 13–24}} The population declined starting with the [[Great Famine of 1315–1317|Great Famine]] in 1315, followed by the [[Black Death]] of 1348–1350.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Lynn Harry |url=http://www.vlib.us/medieval/lectures/black_death.html |title=The Great Famine (1315–1317) and the Black Death (1346–1351) |publisher=University of Kansas |accessdate=19 March 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429072010/http://www.vlib.us/medieval/lectures/black_death.html |archivedate=29 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Golden Bull of 1356|Golden Bull]] issued in 1356 provided the constitutional structure of the Empire and codified the election of the emperor by seven [[prince-elector]]s.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|p= 27}} [[Johannes Gutenberg]] introduced moveable-type printing to Europe, laying the basis for the [[democratization of knowledge]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Eisenstein|first=Elizabeth|year=1980|pages=[https://archive.org/details/printingpressasa00eise_181/page/n24 3]–43|title=The printing press as an agent of change|url=https://archive.org/details/printingpressasa00eise_181|url-access=limited|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-29955-8}}</ref> In 1517, [[Martin Luther]] incited the Protestant Reformation and his [[Luther Bible|translation of the Bible]] began the standardization of the language; the 1555 [[Peace of Augsburg]] tolerated the "Evangelical" faith ([[Lutheranism]]), but also decreed that the faith of the prince was to be the faith of his subjects ({{lang|la|[[cuius regio, eius religio]]}}).<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.barcelonagse.eu/sites/default/files/working_paper_pdfs/540.pdf|last=Cantoni|first=Davide |title=Adopting a New Religion: The Case of Protestantism in 16th Century Germany|year=2011 |journal=Barcelona GSE Working Paper Series |accessdate=17 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809160613/http://www.barcelonagse.eu/sites/default/files/working_paper_pdfs/540.pdf |archivedate=9 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> From the [[Cologne War]] through the [[Thirty Years' War]]s (1618–1648), religious conflict devastated German lands and significantly reduced the population.<ref name="Philpott">{{Cite journal |last=Philpott |first=Daniel |date=January 2000 |title=The Religious Roots of Modern International Relations |journal=World Politics |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=206–245 |doi=10.1017/S0043887100002604|s2cid=40773221 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/savagewarsofpeac0000macf/page/51 |title=The Savage Wars of Peace: England, Japan and the Malthusian Trap |last=Macfarlane |first=Alan |publisher=Blackwell |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-631-18117-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/savagewarsofpeac0000macf/page/51 51]}}</ref> The [[Peace of Westphalia]] ended religious warfare among the [[Imperial Estate]]s;<ref name="Philpott" /> their mostly German-speaking rulers were able to choose [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]], Lutheranism, or [[Calvinism]] as their official religion.<ref>For a general discussion of the impact of the Reformation on the Holy Roman Empire, see {{cite book|last=Holborn|first=Hajo|author-link=Hajo Holborn|title=A History of Modern Germany, The Reformation |publisher=Princeton University Press|year= 1959|pages=123–248}}</ref> The legal system initiated by a series of [[Imperial Reform]]s (approximately 1495–1555) provided for considerable local autonomy and a stronger [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]].<ref>{{cite book|page=113 |title=Law and Empire: Ideas, Practices, Actors|editor1=Jeroen Duindam |editor2=Jill Diana Harries |editor3=Caroline Humfress |editor4=Hurvitz Nimrod |publisher=Brill|year=2013|isbn=978-90-04-24951-6}}</ref> The [[House of Habsburg]] held the imperial crown from 1438 until the death of [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VI]] in 1740. Following the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] and the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]], Charles VI's daughter [[Maria Theresa]] ruled as [[Queen consort|empress consort]] when her husband, [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]], became emperor.<ref>{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/culturespowereur00scot_130/page/n62 45]|title=Cultures of Power in Europe during the Long Eighteenth Century|editor1=Hamish Scott |editor2=Brendan Simms|year=2007 |url=https://archive.org/details/culturespowereur00scot_130|url-access=limited|isbn=978-1-139-46377-5 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=British Museum|accessdate=15 March 2020|url=https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=49231|title=Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia|archivedate=20 June 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620152726/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG111929|url-status=live}}</ref> From 1740, [[German dualism|dualism]] between the Austrian [[Habsburg monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] dominated German history. In 1772, 1793, and 1795, Prussia and Austria, along with the [[Russian Empire]], agreed to the [[Partitions of Poland]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change |url=https://archive.org/details/historyeasterneu00bide_296 |url-access=limited |last1=Bideleux |first1=Robert |last2=Jeffries |first2=Ian |publisher=Routledge |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyeasterneu00bide_296/page/n171 156]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Region, State and Identity in Central and Eastern Europe |last1=Batt |first1=Judy |last2=Wolczuk |first2=Kataryna |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |page=153}}</ref> During the period of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], the [[Napoleonic era]] and the subsequent [[Final Recess of the Reichsdeputation|final meeting of the Imperial Diet]], most of the [[Free Imperial Cities]] were annexed by dynastic territories; the ecclesiastical territories were secularised and annexed. In 1806 the {{lang|de|Imperium}} was dissolved; France, Russia, Prussia, and the Habsburgs (Austria) competed for hegemony in the German states during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|p= 97}} === German Confederation and Empire === {{Main|German question|German Confederation|Unification of Germany|German Empire|German colonial empire}} [[File:German Confederation (1815).svg|thumb|The [[German Confederation]] in 1815]] Following the fall of [[Napoleon]], the [[Congress of Vienna]] founded the German Confederation, a loose league of [[States of the German Confederation|39 sovereign states]]. The appointment of the [[emperor of Austria]] as the permanent president reflected the Congress's rejection of [[Prussia]]'s rising influence. Disagreement within [[Concert of Europe|restoration]] politics partly led to the rise of [[Liberalism in Germany|liberal]] movements, followed by new measures of repression by Austrian statesman [[Klemens von Metternich]].<ref>{{cite book|pages=307–308|title=The Wiley-Blackwell Dictionary of Modern European History Since 1789|editor1=Nicholas Atkin |editor2=Michael Biddiss |editor3=Frank Tallett|publisher=Wiley|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4443-9072-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Austria, Prussia, and the German Confederation: The Defense of Central Europe, 1815–1854|last=Sondhaus|first=Lawrence|pages=50–74|editor1=Talbot C. Imlay |editor2=Monica Duffy Toft|title=The Fog of Peace and War Planning: Military and Strategic Planning under Uncertainty|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|isbn=978-1-134-21088-6}}</ref> The {{lang|de|[[Zollverein]]}}, a tariff union, furthered economic unity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Henderson |first=W. O. |date=January 1934 |title=The Zollverein |journal=History |volume=19 |issue=73 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1934.tb01791.x}}</ref> In light of [[Revolutions of 1848|revolutionary movements in Europe]], intellectuals and commoners started the [[German revolutions of 1848–1849|revolutions of 1848 in the German states]], raising the German question. King [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]] was offered the title of emperor, but with a loss of power; he rejected the crown and the proposed constitution, a temporary setback for the movement.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=40963126|title='The Old Forms are Breaking Up, ... Our New Germany is Rebuilding Itself': Constitutionalism, Nationalism and the Creation of a German Polity during the Revolutions of 1848–49|last=Hewitson|first=Mark|journal=The English Historical Review|volume=125|number=516|pages=1173–1214|year=2010|doi=10.1093/ehr/ceq276}}</ref> King [[William I, German Emperor|William I]] appointed [[Otto von Bismarck]] as the [[Minister President of Prussia]] in 1862. Bismarck successfully concluded the [[Second Schleswig War|war with Denmark in 1864]]; the subsequent decisive Prussian victory in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866 enabled him to create the [[North German Confederation]] which excluded [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]. After the defeat of France in the [[Franco-Prussian War]], the German princes proclaimed the founding of the German Empire in 1871. Prussia was the dominant constituent state of the new empire; the King of Prussia ruled as its Kaiser, and Berlin became its capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/countries/issues/german-unification|title=Issues Relevant to U.S. Foreign Diplomacy: Unification of German States|publisher=US Department of State Office of the Historian|accessdate=18 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001095812/https://history.state.gov/countries/issues/german-unification|archivedate=1 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bismarck">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bismarck_otto_von.shtml|title=Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898)|publisher=BBC|accessdate=18 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127025023/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bismarck_otto_von.shtml|archivedate=27 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In the {{lang|de|[[Gründerzeit]]}} period following the unification of Germany, Bismarck's foreign policy as [[chancellor of Germany]] secured Germany's position as a great nation by forging alliances and avoiding war.<ref name="bismarck" /> However, under [[Wilhelm II]], Germany took an [[New Imperialism|imperialistic]] course, leading to friction with neighbouring countries.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=260734 |title=Kaiser Wilhelm II and German Politics|journal=Journal of Contemporary History|volume=25|year=1990|pages=289–316 |last1=Mommsen|first1=Wolfgang J.|issue=2/3|doi=10.1177/002200949002500207|s2cid=154177053 }}</ref> A [[Dual Alliance (1879)|dual alliance]] was created with the [[multinational state|multinational realm]] of [[Austria-Hungary]]; the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance of 1882]] included Italy. Britain, France and Russia also concluded alliances to protect against Habsburg interference with Russian interests in the Balkans or German interference against France.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp= 135, 149}} At the [[Berlin Conference]] in 1884, Germany claimed several [[List of former German colonies|colonies]] including [[German East Africa]], [[German South West Africa]], [[Togoland]], and [[Kamerun]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=100 maps |publisher=Sterling Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-4027-2885-3 |editor-last=Black, John |page=202}}</ref> Later, Germany further expanded its colonial empire to include holdings in the Pacific and China.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/10/how-imperial-germany-lost-asia/|magazine=The Diplomat|title=How Imperial Germany Lost Asia|last=Farley|first=Robert|date=17 October 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319015901/https://thediplomat.com/2014/10/how-imperial-germany-lost-asia/|archivedate=19 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The colonial government in South West Africa (present-day [[Namibia]]), from 1904 to 1907, carried out the [[Herero and Namaqua genocide|annihilation of the local Herero and Namaqua peoples]] as punishment for an uprising;<ref>{{cite book|last1=Olusoga|first1= David |last2= Erichsen|first2= Casper |year=2010|title= The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism|publisher= Faber and Faber|isbn=978-0-571-23141-6}}</ref><ref name="Bazyler">{{Cite book|title=Holocaust, Genocide, and the Law: A Quest for Justice in a Post-Holocaust World|author=Michael Bazyler|author-link=Michael Bazyler|date=2016|pages=169–70|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> this was the 20th century's first [[genocide]].<ref name="Bazyler" /> [[Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|The assassination]] of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Austria's crown prince]] on 28 June 1914 provided the pretext for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and trigger [[World War I]]. After four years of warfare, in which approximately two million German soldiers were killed,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/aged-107-last-german-world-war-i-veteran-believed-to-have-died-a-530319.html |title=Last German World War I veteran believed to have died |last=Crossland |first=David |date=22 January 2008 |work=Spiegel Online |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008172434/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/aged-107-last-german-world-war-i-veteran-believed-to-have-died-a-530319.html |archivedate=8 October 2012 }}</ref> a [[Armistice with Germany|general armistice]] ended the fighting. In the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|German Revolution]] (November 1918), Wilhelm II and the ruling princes [[abdication|abdicated]] their positions, and Germany was declared a [[federal republic]]. Germany's new leadership signed the [[Treaty of Versailles]] in 1919, accepting defeat by the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]]. Germans perceived the treaty as humiliating, which was seen by historians as influential in the rise of [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Versailles: A Reassessment after 75 Years |last1=Boemeke |first1=Manfred F. |last2=Feldman |first2=Gerald D. |last3=Glaser |first3=Elisabeth |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-521-62132-8 |series=Publications of the German Historical Institute |pages=1–20, 203–220, 469–505 }}</ref> Germany lost around 13% of its European territory and ceded all of its colonial possessions in Africa and the Pacific.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/media_nm.php?MediaId=1620 |title=GERMAN TERRITORIAL LOSSES, TREATY OF VERSAILLES, 1919 |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704070745/https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/media_nm.php?MediaId=1620 |archivedate=4 July 2016 |accessdate=11 June 2016}}</ref> === Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany === {{Main|Weimar Republic|Nazi Germany}} [[File:Hitler portrait crop.jpg|thumb|[[Adolf Hitler]], dictator of [[Nazi Germany]] from 1933 to 1945|upright]] [[File:Europe under Nazi domination.png|thumb|A map of [[German-occupied Europe]] in 1942 during [[World War II]] with areas controlled by the German Reich shown in bold black]] On 11 August 1919, President [[Friedrich Ebert]] signed the democratic [[Weimar Constitution]].{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=156–160}} In the subsequent struggle for power, [[Bavarian Soviet Republic|communists seized power in Bavaria]], but conservative elements elsewhere attempted to overthrow the Republic in the {{lang|de|[[Kapp Putsch]]|italic=no}}. Street fighting in the major industrial centres, the [[occupation of the Ruhr]] by Belgian and French troops, and a period of [[Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic|hyperinflation]] followed. A [[Dawes Plan|debt restructuring plan]] and the creation of a [[German Rentenmark|new currency]] in 1924 ushered in the [[Golden Twenties]], an era of artistic innovation and liberal cultural life.<ref>{{cite book|pages=56–70|chapter=1919–1922: Years of Crisis and Uncertainty|title=Weimar and the Rise of Hitler|publisher=Macmillan|last=Nicholls|first=AJ |year=2016|isbn=978-1-349-21337-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=3113137|title=The United States and the Reconstruction of Germany in the 1920s|first=Frank|last=Costigliola |journal=The Business History Review |volume=50 |number=4|year=1976|pages=477–502|doi=10.2307/3113137|s2cid=155602870 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=86|title=The Weimar Republic|last=Kolb|first=Eberhard|edition=2nd|publisher=Psychology Press |year=2005|isbn=978-0-415-34441-8|translator1=P. S. Falla |translator2=R. J. Park}}</ref> The worldwide [[Great Depression]] hit Germany in 1929. Chancellor [[Heinrich Brüning]]'s government pursued a [[Causes of the Great Depression#Leave-it-alone liquidationism (1929–1933)|policy of fiscal austerity]] and [[Weimar Republic#Brüning's policy of deflation (1930–1932)|deflation]] which caused unemployment of nearly 30% by 1932.<ref name="chronicle">{{Cite web|title=PROLOGUE: Roots of the Holocaust |website=The Holocaust Chronicle |url=http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/StaticPages/50.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101004701/http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/StaticPages/50.html |archivedate=1 January 2015 |accessdate=28 September 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Nazi Party]] led by [[Adolf Hitler]] became the largest party in the Reichstag after [[July 1932 German federal election|a special election in 1932]] and Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933.{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=155–158, 172–177}} After the [[Reichstag fire]], a [[Reichstag Fire Decree|decree]] abrogated basic [[civil rights]] and the first [[Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp]] opened.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard |last=Evans|title=The Coming of the Third Reich|publisher= Penguin|year= 2003|isbn=978-0-14-303469-8|page=344}}</ref><ref name="MNN">{{Cite journal |date=21 March 1933 |title=Ein Konzentrationslager für politische Gefangene in der Nähe von Dachau |url=http://www.holocaust-history.org/dachau-gas-chambers/photo.cgi?02 |journal=Münchner Neueste Nachrichten|language=German |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000510093525/http://www.holocaust-history.org/dachau-gas-chambers/photo.cgi?02 |archivedate=10 May 2000}}</ref> On 23 March 1933, the [[Enabling Act of 1933|Enabling Act]] gave Hitler unrestricted legislative power, overriding the constitution,<ref>{{cite web |first1=Marc |last1=von Lüpke-Schwarz |title=The law that 'enabled' Hitler's dictatorship |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictatorship/a-16689839 |date=23 March 2013 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427005942/https://www.dw.com/en/the-law-that-enabled-hitlers-dictatorship/a-16689839 |archivedate=27 April 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> and marked the beginning of Nazi Germany. His government established a centralised [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian state]], [[1933 German referendum|withdrew from the League of Nations]], and dramatically increased the country's [[German re-armament|rearmament]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/wirtschaft/index.html |title=Industrie und Wirtschaft |publisher=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=German |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430190641/http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/wirtschaft/index.html |archivedate=30 April 2011 |accessdate=25 March 2011}}</ref> A government-sponsored programme for economic renewal focused on public works, the most famous of which was the {{lang|de|[[Reichsautobahn|Autobahn]]}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Evans|first= Richard |year=2005|title=The Third Reich in Power|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-303790-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/thirdreichinpowe00evan/page/322 322]–326, 329 |url=https://archive.org/details/thirdreichinpowe00evan|url-access=registration}}</ref> In 1935, the regime withdrew from the Treaty of Versailles and introduced the [[Nuremberg Laws]] which targeted [[Jews]] and other minorities.<ref>{{cite web|magazine=Prologue|last=Bradsher|first=Greg|year=2010 |title=The Nuremberg Laws |url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/winter/nuremberg.html |volume=42|accessdate=20 March 2020|url-status=live|archivedate=25 April 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425130322/https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/winter/nuremberg.html}}</ref> Germany also reacquired control of the [[Territory of the Saar Basin|Saarland]] in 1935,{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=188–189}} [[remilitarization of the Rhineland|remilitarised the Rhineland]] in 1936, [[Anschluss|annexed]] Austria in 1938, [[Sudetenland#Sudetenland as part of Nazi Germany|annexed]] the Sudetenland in 1938 with the [[Munich Agreement]], and in violation of the agreement [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|occupied Czechoslovakia]] in March 1939.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/descent-into-war.htm |publisher=National Archives|title=Descent into War|accessdate=19 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320015948/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/descent-into-war.htm|archivedate=20 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> {{lang|de|[[Kristallnacht]]}} (Night of Broken Glass) saw the burning of synagogues, the destruction of Jewish businesses, and mass arrests of Jewish people.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697 |title=The "Night of Broken Glass" |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075203/https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697 |archivedate=11 February 2017 |accessdate=8 February 2017}}</ref> In August 1939, [[Government of Nazi Germany|Hitler's government]] negotiated the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] that divided Eastern Europe into German and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spheres of influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact|title=German-Soviet Pact|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|accessdate=19 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311115713/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact|archivedate=11 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 September 1939, Germany [[invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]], beginning [[World War II]] in Europe;{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=190–195}} Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hiden|first1=John|last2=Lane|first2= Thomas|year=200|title=The Baltic and the Outbreak of the Second World War|publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/balticoutbreakse00hide |url-access=limited|isbn=978-0-521-53120-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/balticoutbreakse00hide/page/n156 143]–144}}</ref> In the spring of 1940, Germany [[Operation Weserübung|conquered Denmark and Norway]], [[German invasion of the Netherlands|the Netherlands]], [[German invasion of Belgium (1940)|Belgium]], [[German invasion of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], and [[Battle of France|France]], forcing the French government to sign an [[armistice]]. The British repelled German air attacks in the [[Battle of Britain]] in the same year. In 1941, German troops [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|invaded Yugoslavia]], [[Battle of Greece|Greece]] and the [[Operation Barbarossa|Soviet Union]]. By 1942, Germany and its allies controlled most of [[German-occupied Europe|continental Europe]] and [[North Africa]], but following the Soviet victory at the [[Battle of Stalingrad]], the Allied [[North African Campaign|reconquest of North Africa]] and [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|invasion of Italy]] in 1943, German forces suffered repeated military defeats. In 1944, the Soviets [[Eastern Front (World War II)#Summer 1944|pushed into Eastern Europe]]; the Western allies [[Operation Overlord|landed in France]] and entered Germany despite a [[Battle of the Bulge|final German counteroffensive]]. Following [[Death of Adolf Hitler|Hitler's suicide]] during the [[Battle of Berlin]], [[German Instrument of Surrender|Germany signed the surrender document]] on 8 May 1945, ending World War II in Europe{{sfn|Fulbrook |1991|pp=190–195}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-key-dates|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|title=World War II: Key Dates|accessdate=19 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311150818/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-key-dates|archivedate=11 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> and Nazi Germany. Following the end of the war, surviving Nazi officials were tried for [[War crimes of the Wehrmacht|war crimes]] at the [[Nuremberg trials]].<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Kershaw|title=Stalinism and Nazism: dictatorships in comparison|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997|page=150|isbn=978-0-521-56521-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nuremberg_article_01.shtml |title=Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial |last=Overy |first=Richard |date=17 February 2011 |publisher=BBC |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316053707/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nuremberg_article_01.shtml |archivedate=16 March 2011 }}</ref> In what later became known as [[the Holocaust]], the German government persecuted [[Holocaust victims|minorities]], including interning them in concentration and [[Extermination camp|death camps]] across Europe. The regime systematically murdered 6 million Jews, at least 130,000 [[Porajmos|Romani]], 275,000 [[Aktion T4|disabled]], thousands of [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], thousands of [[Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany|homosexuals]], and hundreds of thousands of [[Nacht und Nebel|political and religious opponents]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust |url=https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetot00niew |url-access=registration |last1=Niewyk |first1=Donald L. |last2=Nicosia, Francis R. |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-231-11200-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetot00niew/page/n466 45]–52}}</ref> [[Generalplan Ost|Nazi policies]] in German-occupied countries resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2.7 million [[Polish people|Poles]],<ref>{{cite book |title= Polska 1939–1945: Straty osobowe i ofiary represji pod dwiema okupacjami |publisher=Institute of National Remembrance|page=9|year=2009}}</ref> 1.3 million [[Ukrainians]], 1 million [[Belarusians]] and 3.5 million [[German mistreatment of Soviet prisoners of war|Soviet prisoners of war]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Maksudov|first=S|year=1994 |title=Soviet Deaths in the Great Patriotic War: A Note|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|volume=46|number=4 |pages=671–680 |doi=10.1080/09668139408412190|pmid=12288331}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com" /> German military [[German casualties in World War II|casualties]] have been estimated at 5.3 million,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg |last=Overmans, Rüdiger |year=2000 |publisher=Oldenbourg |isbn=978-3-486-56531-7}}</ref> and around 900,000 German civilians died.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The End; Germany 1944–45 |last=Kershaw |first=Ian |publisher=Allen Lane |year=2011 |page=279}}</ref> Around [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|12 million ethnic Germans were expelled]] from across Eastern Europe, and Germany lost roughly [[Former eastern territories of Germany|one-quarter]] of its pre-war territory.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Demshuk|first=Andrew|year=2012|title=The Lost German East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySLyE6YJEn0C&pg=PA52 |isbn=978-1-107-02073-3|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201215323/https://books.google.com/books?id=ySLyE6YJEn0C&pg=PA52 |archivedate=1 December 2016|url-status=live|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=52}}</ref> === East and West Germany === {{Main|History of Germany (1945–1990)|Allied-occupied Germany|West Germany|East Germany}} [[File:Map-Germany-1945.svg|thumb|A map of Germany in 1947, following the end of [[World War II]], including [[Allied-occupied Germany|American, Soviet, British, and French occupation zones]] and the [[Fourth French Republic|French]]-controlled [[Saar Protectorate]]. [[Former eastern territories of Germany|Territories]] east of the [[Oder-Neisse line]] were transferred to [[Provisional Government of National Unity|Poland]] and the [[Soviet Union]] under the [[Potsdam Agreement|terms]] of the [[Potsdam Conference]].<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=40109536|title=Unfinished Business from Potsdam: Britain, West Germany, and the Oder-Neisse Line, 1945–1962|last=Hughes|first=R. Gerald|journal=The International History Review|volume=27|number= 2 |year= 2005|pages=259–294|doi=10.1080/07075332.2005.9641060|s2cid=162858499 }}</ref>]] [[File:Thefalloftheberlinwall1989.JPG|thumb|The [[Berlin Wall]] during [[Fall of the Berlin Wall|its fall]] in 1989 and the [[Brandenburg Gate]] (background) was one of the first developments in the end of the [[Cold War]], leading ultimately to the dissolution of the [[Soviet Union]].]] After [[Nazi Germany]] surrendered, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] ''de jure'' [[Berlin Declaration (1945)|abolished]] the German state and partitioned [[Berlin]] and Germany's remaining territory into four occupation zones. The western sectors, controlled by France, the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[United States]], were merged on 23 May 1949 to form the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] ({{lang-de|Bundesrepublik Deutschland}}); on 7 October 1949, the Soviet Zone became the [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]] (GDR) ({{lang-de|Deutsche Demokratische Republik}}; DDR). They were informally known as West Germany and East Germany.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/hwj/dbp009|year=2009|title=Trabant and Beetle: the Two Germanies, 1949–89|journal=History Workshop Journal|volume=68|pages=1–2}}</ref> East Germany selected [[East Berlin]] as its capital, while West Germany chose [[Bonn]] as a provisional capital, to emphasise its stance that the two-state solution was temporary.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Capital dilemma: Germany's search for a new architecture of democracy |last=Wise |first=Michael Z. |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-56898-134-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/capitaldilemmage0000wise/page/23 23] |url=https://archive.org/details/capitaldilemmage0000wise/page/23 }}</ref> West Germany was established as a federal parliamentary republic with a "[[social market economy]]". Starting in 1948 West Germany became a major recipient of reconstruction aid under the American [[Marshall Plan]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Economic Growth in Europe Since 1945 |last=Carlin, Wendy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-49964-4 |editor-last=Crafts, Nicholas |page=464 |chapter=West German growth and institutions (1945–90) |editor-last2=Toniolo, Gianni}}</ref> [[Konrad Adenauer]] was elected the first [[Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany|federal chancellor]] of Germany in 1949. The country enjoyed prolonged economic growth ({{lang|de|[[Wirtschaftswunder]]}}) beginning in the early 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bpb.de/izpb/10131/wirtschaft-in-beiden-deutschen-staaten-teil-1 |title=Deutschland in den 50er Jahren: Wirtschaft in beiden deutschen Staaten |first=Werner|last= Bührer |date=24 December 2002 |publisher=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |trans-title=Economy in both German states |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201210446/http://www.bpb.de/izpb/10131/wirtschaft-in-beiden-deutschen-staaten-teil-1 |archivedate=1 December 2017 |issue=256}}</ref> West Germany joined [[NATO]] in 1955 and was a founding member of the [[European Economic Community]].<ref>{{cite book|page=149|title=A History of Germany 1918–2014: The Divided Nation|publisher=Wiley|last=Fulbrook|first=Mary|year=2014|isbn=978-1-118-77613-1}}</ref> On 1 January 1957, the [[Saar Protectorate|Saarland]] joined West Germany.<ref name=CS>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/germany/51.htm|title=Rearmament and the European Defense Community|work=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|accessdate=19 May 2023|archive-date=11 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011201535/http://countrystudies.us/germany/51.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> East Germany was an [[Eastern Bloc]] state under political and military control by the [[Soviet Union]] via occupation forces and the [[Warsaw Pact]]. Although East Germany claimed to be a democracy, political power was exercised solely by leading members ({{lang|de|[[Politburo|Politbüro]]}}) of the communist-controlled [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]], supported by the {{lang|de|[[Stasi]]|italic=no}}, an immense secret service.<ref>{{cite book|pages=22, 41|title=The Workers' and Peasants' State: Communism and Society in East Germany Under Ulbricht 1945–71|last1=Major|first1=Patrick|last2=Osmond|first2=Jonathan|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7190-6289-6}}</ref> While [[Communist propaganda|East German propaganda]] was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programmes and the alleged threat of a West German invasion, many of its citizens looked to the West for freedom and prosperity.<ref name="NYT_19890822">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/22/world/westward-tide-of-east-germans-is-a-popular-no-confidence-vote.html |title=Westward Tide of East Germans Is a Popular No-Confidence Vote |last=Protzman |first=Ferdinand |date=22 August 1989 |work=The New York Times |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004232849/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/22/world/westward-tide-of-east-germans-is-a-popular-no-confidence-vote.html |archivedate=4 October 2012}}</ref> The [[Berlin Wall]], built in 1961, prevented East German citizens from escaping to West Germany, becoming a symbol of the [[Cold War]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/places/berlin_wall |title=The Berlin Wall |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226011158/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/places/berlin_wall |archivedate=26 February 2017 |accessdate=8 February 2017|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Tensions between East and West Germany were reduced in the late 1960s by Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]]'s {{lang|de|[[Ostpolitik]]}}.<ref>{{cite book|pages=122–123|title=The European Defence Initiative: Europe's Bid for Equality|last=Williams|first=Geoffrey|publisher=Springer|year=1986|isbn=978-1-349-07825-7}}</ref> In 1989, Hungary decided to dismantle the [[Iron Curtain]] and [[Removal of Hungary's border fence with Austria|open its border with Austria]], causing the emigration of thousands of East Germans to West Germany via Hungary and Austria. This had devastating effects on the GDR, where regular [[Monday demonstrations in East Germany|mass demonstrations]] received increasing support. In an effort to help retain East Germany as a state, the East German authorities eased border restrictions, but this actually led to an acceleration of the {{lang|de|Wende}} reform process culminating in the ''[[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany|Two Plus Four Treaty]]'' under which Germany regained full sovereignty. This permitted [[German reunification]] on 3 October 1990, with the accession of the [[New states of Germany|five re-established states]] of the former GDR.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wendemuseum.org/sites/default/files/10-9-09Iconoclash%20updated%20brochure_small.pdf|publisher=Wende Museum|title=Iconoclash! Political Imagery from the Berlin Wall to German Unification|last=Deshmukh|first=Marion|accessdate=20 March 2020|archivedate=20 June 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620152657/https://www.wendemuseum.org/sites/default/files/10-9-09Iconoclash%20updated%20brochure_small.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The fall of the Wall in 1989 became a symbol of the [[Fall of Communism]], the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]], German reunification and {{lang|de|[[Die Wende]]}} ("the turning point").<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/views/y/1999/11/burns.wall.nov8 |title=What the Berlin Wall still stands for |date=8 November 1999 |work=CNN Interactive |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206104205/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/views/y/1999/11/burns.wall.nov8/ |archivedate=6 February 2008}}</ref> === Reunified Germany and the European Union === {{Main|German reunification|History of Germany since 1990}} United Germany was considered the enlarged continuation of [[West Germany]] so it retained its memberships in international organisations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/einigvtr/art_11.html |title=Vertrag zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik über die Herstellung der Einheit Deutschlands (Einigungsvertrag) Art 11 Verträge der Bundesrepublik Deutschland |publisher=Bundesministerium für Justiz und Verbraucherschutz |language=German |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225035417/http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/einigvtr/art_11.html |archivedate=25 February 2015 |accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> Based on the [[Berlin/Bonn Act]] (1994), Berlin again became the capital of Germany, while Bonn obtained the unique status of a {{lang|de|Bundesstadt}} (federal city) retaining some federal ministries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/berlin_bonng/gesamt.pdf |title=Gesetz zur Umsetzung des Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestages vom 20. Juni 1991 zur Vollendung der Einheit Deutschlands |date=26 April 1994 |publisher=Bundesministerium der Justiz |language=German |trans-title=Law on the Implementation of the Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestages vom 20. Juni 1991 zur Vollendung der Einheit Deutschlands |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714155722/https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/berlin_bonng/gesamt.pdf |archivedate=14 July 2016 }}</ref> The relocation of the government was completed in 1999, and modernisation of the East German economy was scheduled to last until 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.focus.de/panorama/boulevard/brennpunkt-hauptstadt-umzug_aid_175751.html |title=Brennpunkt: Hauptstadt-Umzug |date=12 April 1999 |work=Focus |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430043907/http://www.focus.de/panorama/boulevard/brennpunkt-hauptstadt-umzug_aid_175751.html |archivedate=30 April 2011 |language=German}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/europe/19germany.html |title=In East Germany, a Decline as Stark as a Wall |last=Kulish |first=Nicholas |date=19 June 2009 |work=The New York Times |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403073216/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/europe/19germany.html |archivedate=3 April 2011}}</ref> Since reunification, Germany has taken a more active role in the [[European Union]], signing the [[Maastricht Treaty]] in 1992 and the [[Lisbon Treaty]] in 2007,<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=20787989|title=Germany's EU Policy: The Domestic Discourse|last=Lemke|first=Christiane|journal=German Studies Review|volume=33|number= 3 |year= 2010|pages= 503–516}}</ref> and co-founding the [[eurozone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/09/world/europe/eurozone-fast-facts/index.html|publisher=CNN|title=Eurozone Fast Facts|date=21 January 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321015105/https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/09/world/europe/eurozone-fast-facts/index.html|archivedate=21 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Germany sent a peacekeeping force to secure stability in the [[1999 NATO bombing in Yugoslavia|Balkans]] and sent [[Bundeswehr|German troops]] to [[Afghanistan]] as part of a NATO effort to provide [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|security in that country]] after the ousting of the [[Taliban]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/world/europe/31iht-germany.3343963.html |title=Germany is planning a Bosnia withdrawal |last=Dempsey |first=Judy |date=31 October 2006 |work=International Herald Tribune |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111000841/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/world/europe/31iht-germany.3343963.html |archivedate=11 November 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-extend-afghanistan-military-mission/a-47501552 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |title=Germany to extend Afghanistan military mission |first=Ben |last=Knight |date=13 February 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304064259/https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-extend-afghanistan-military-mission/a-47501552 |archivedate=4 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[2005 German federal election|2005 elections]], [[Angela Merkel]] became the first female chancellor. In 2009, the German government approved a €50 billion stimulus plan.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20090106-germany-agrees-new-50-billion-euro-stimulus-plan |title=Germany agrees on 50-billion-euro stimulus plan |date=6 January 2009 |work=France 24 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513022443/http://www.france24.com/en/20090106-germany-agrees-new-50-billion-euro-stimulus-plan |archivedate=13 May 2011}}</ref> Among the major German political projects of the early 21st century are the advancement of [[European integration]], the [[Energy transition in Germany|energy transition]] ({{lang|de|Energiewende}}) for a [[sustainable energy]] supply, the [[Debt brake (Germany)|debt brake]] for balanced budgets, measures to increase the [[Ageing of Europe#Germany|fertility rate]] ([[Natalistic politics|pronatalism]]), and high-tech strategies for the transition of the German economy, summarised as [[Industry 4.0]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/merkel-regierungserklaerung110.html |title=Government declaration by Angela Merkel |date=29 January 2014 |publisher=ARD Tagesschau |language=German |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101010608/http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/merkel-regierungserklaerung110.html |archivedate=1 January 2015}}</ref> During the [[2015 European migrant crisis]], the country took in over a million refugees and migrants.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911 |title=Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts |date=28 January 2016 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131030536/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911 |archivedate=31 January 2016|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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