Germany
(or Bundesrepublik Deutschland to Germans)
has a history that fills entire libraries.
Located in the center of Europe, it shares
its borders with such countries as France,
Poland, and Austria. It has a unique people,
a unique culture, and a unique language.
It is also one of the strongest members
of the European Union.
While there are archaeological records
of people living in Germany that go back
thousands of years, the modern history
of Germany is divided into a groups or
periods known as “Reichs”.
The word “Reich” translates
into something like “empire”.
The first German Reich started in the
800s, was founded by Charlemagne, and
was known as the “Holy Roman Empire
of the German Nation.” The second
German Reich was known as the “German
Empire” and was proclaimed in Versailles
in 1871 after the defeat of the French.
The era is attributed to Otto von Bismarck,
Germany's most famous statesman of the
19th century. The “Third Reich”
was of course the time of slaughter instigated
by the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The Third
Reich ended in disaster for the entire
world, and Germany was split between the
Allies (America, Britain, France, and
The Soviet Union).
After
the Second World War Germany remained
in pieces, one half under the rule of
communism and the other under capitalism.
It would stay that way for about forty-five
years, until the Cold War broke down and
Germany was reunited in 1990. Today a
new Germany, aware of its history, heads
into the future as one of the most enlightened
countries in the world.
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