Germany Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === 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> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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