The History of the German State

The German history was marked by a lot of military conflict beginning with Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire from 800 to 843. In 936 Otto the Great took power and established what future German generations called as the First Reich. His reign lasted until 973.�¯�¿�½By this�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½time period there was no offical Germany, just a bunch of German provinces, each with their own rulers.�¯�¿�½In the 18th century each of these areas were basic agricultural societies. In 1806 Napolean invaded which actually created unity among these disunited provinces.�¯�¿�½Rulers of this time period were Herder and Schiller. In 1871 the Franco-Prussian War created an official German state�¯�¿�½and unity among the German people. Prussia also gained a lot of land from France in the military victory.�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½

The 2nd Reich in Germany marked a period of accelerated growth and industrialization. However Germany was hit very hard by World War One which they lost. The Allied nations made them pay billions of dollars in reparations in the Treaty of Versailles. This coupled with the effects of the Great Depression in 1929 destroyed the German economy. Germany also had to return the province of Alsace and Loraine back to France which was rich in mineral and resources. Germany was also stripped of their colonies in Africa and Asia.�¯�¿�½

The Weimar Republic started in 1919 and lasted until 1933. A constitution was established which had a president and prime minister who were both to be elected by the people. There would also be two houses in the legislature called the Bundesrat and the Reichstag. The Reichstag would be elected by the support of the people. However the government was a huge failure in part because of the proportional representation electoral system which allowed parties with only 2% popularity to gain seats in the legislature. This created huge gridlock and allowed very small parties to check one another.�¯�¿�½

The 1920s were marked by a series of unsuccessful coups of the government. In 1923 the Saxony Communists tried a coup as well as the Nazis. By 1932 the Nazis and Communists were the two largest political parties, creating polarization in the nation. In 1932, President Von Hindenberg invokes his power to rule by decree.�¯�¿�½

The Third Reich in Germany began in 1933 and lasted until 1945. The Nazi party had formed in 1919 and Hitler came onto the scene as a charasmatic leader in times of poverty and dispair in Germany. His rule was characterized by militarism, autocracy and racism, leading to the extermination of 6 million Jews, many Gypsies and handicapped. This was done under the belief of Survival of the Fittest which was a Darwinian idea that only the strong were meant to survive.�¯�¿�½

When Germany lost World War 2, the country was split apart by boundary lines. Germany was split into 4 sections countrolled by 4 different countries: U.S., France, England, and the Soviet Union. The split in Germany would later play an impact in the Beflin airlift during the cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. East Germany was called the German Democratic Republic and the west was called the Federal Republic of Germany.

In 1989 the Berlin wall finally came down which symbolized the end of the Cold War and on October 3, 1990 Germany was reunited. In today’s modern society Germany has been a motor of Europe and a key figure in the European Union. Some key issues that Germany still faces today is possible remiliterization of Germany, thte rise of the Neo-Nazi party, the treatment of the Turks. Finally, this past year Angela Merkel was elected chancellor of Germany.