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West Germany (in German informally Westdeutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (in German Bundesrepublik Deutschland), from its formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when East Germany was dissolved and its states became part of the Federal Republic, ending the more than 40-year division of Germany. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is A country This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung took place twice after 1945 first in 1957 the Saarland was permitted to join the Federal Republic of Germany The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state From 1990 onwards, the Federal Republic of Germany has been simply known as Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
At the onset of the Cold War following Germany's defeat in World War II, Germany was divided into two states, along with two special territories (the Saarland and Berlin). Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Saarland (ˈzaːɐ̯lant in German; French: Sarre) is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The Federal Republic claimed an exclusive mandate for all of Germany, considering itself a democratically re-organized German Reich on the grounds that the East German government was not democratically elected and thus not legitimate. An exclusive mandate is a government's assertion of its legitimate authority over a certain territory part of which another government controls with stable de facto Deutsches Reich was the name for Germany from 1871 to 1945 in the German language. After a popular vote, the Saarland joined West Germany as a state (Land) in 1957. West Berlin, although legally not a part of West Germany, was closely aligned with it and was represented in the West German government. West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990 Relations with the Soviet bloc improved during the era of Ostpolitik, and the two German states recognized the existence of each other, although de jure wise West Germany recognized East Germany as a de facto government still within a single German nation, while East Germany recognized the West as a de facto and de jure foreign country. During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were Ostpolitik ( German for Eastern Politics) describes the politics of the "Change Through Rapprochement" principle &mdash as verbalized by Egon Bahr
When communism collapsed in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989–1990, marked by the opening of the Berlin Wall, there was a rapid move towards German reunification. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung took place twice after 1945 first in 1957 the Saarland was permitted to join the Federal Republic of Germany East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990, and its postwar five states (Länder) were reconstituted; along with Berlin, which was reunited as a single Land, ending its special status, they formally joined on October 3, 1990. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The expanded Federal Republic of Germany, now commonly known as simply Germany, retains much of West Germany's political culture and continues membership in international organisations as well as its affiliation to Western alliances like the European Union and NATO. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The North Atlantic Treaty From a constitutional perspective the reunified Germany is regarded as the continuation of, and not a successor state of, West German state. Succession of states is a theory in International relations regarding the recognition and acceptance of a newly created State by other states based on
The foundation for the influential position held by Germany today was laid during the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) of the 1950s, when West Germany rose from the massive destruction wrought by World War II to become the world's third largest economy. The term ( German for "economic miracle" describes the rapid reconstruction and development of the economies of West Germany and Austria World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had not only selected his home town Bonn as provisional capital (thus the era is also called die Bonner Republik—the Bonn Republic[1]), but also had cemented a full alignment with the West rather than neutrality. Konrad Hermann Josef Adenauer ( 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967 was a German Statesman. Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia He not only secured membership in NATO, but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union. The North Atlantic Treaty The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in By the time of the establishment of the G6/G8 in 1975, there was no question that the Federal Republic of Germany was to be a member in that organization as well.
Western Germany (Westdeutschland) is mainly used as a geographic term. The geographic term Western Germany (Westdeutschland is used to describe a region in the west of Germany.
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History
After World War II, leaders from the United States, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union held the Yalta Conference where future arrangements with post-war Europe and actions to be made against Japan in the Pacific were negotiated. As a consequence of Germany 's defeat in World War II and the onset of the Cold War, the country was split between the two global blocs in the East and West World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and Codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February The conference came to the agreement to split Germany into four occupation zones — French in the southwest, British in the northwest, American in the south, and Soviet in the east. The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Former German areas East of the Oder were put under Polish administration, millions of Germans were expelled from there. In 1946, the first three zones were combined. First the British and American zones were combined into the quasi-state of Bizonia, then only months afterward the French zone was included into Trizonia. BiZone (formerly "The Bisexual Network of New Jersey" is a statewide member-based organization created to foster a visible community for Bisexual BiZone (formerly "The Bisexual Network of New Jersey" is a statewide member-based organization created to foster a visible community for Bisexual At the same time, new federal states were formed in the Allied zones, replacing the pre-war states.
In 1949, with the beginning of the Cold War, the two German states that were originated in the Allied and the Soviet zones became known as West Germany and East Germany. Commonly known in English as East Germany, the former Soviet Occupation Zone, became the German Democratic Republic or GDR. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state The Soviet Occupation Zone ( German: Sowjetische Besatzungszone (SBZ or Ostzone; Советская зона Германии Sovetskaya zona Germanii The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state From 3 October 1990, after the reformation of the GDR's Länder, the East German states acceded to the Federal Republic. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung took place twice after 1945 first in 1957 the Saarland was permitted to join the Federal Republic of Germany Since the German reunification in 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany (still the country's legal and official name) is also called simply Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
NATO membership
The Federal Republic of Germany, founded on 23 May 1949, was declared "fully sovereign" on 5 May 1955. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) The former occupying Western troops remained on the ground, now as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) which West Germany joined on 9 May 1955, promising to re-arm itself soon. The North Atlantic Treaty Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar)
West Germany became a focus of the Cold War with its juxtaposition to East Germany, a member of the subsequently founded Warsaw Pact. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The former capital, Berlin, had also been divided into four sectors, the Western Allies joining their sectors to form West Berlin, while the Soviets held East Berlin. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990 East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990 West Berlin was completely surrounded by East German territory and had suffered a Soviet blockade in 1948 which had been overcome by the Berlin airlift. The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 11 May 1949 was one of the first major international crises of the Cold war.
The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 led to U. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the S. calls for the rearmament of West Germany in order to help defend Western Europe from the perceived Soviet threat. Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Germany's partners in the Coal and Steel Community proposed to establish a European Defence Community (EDC), with an integrated army, navy and air force, composed of the armed forces of its member states. The European Defense Community ( EDC) was a plan proposed in 1950 by René Pleven, the French President of the Council (name of Prime Ministers till 1958 in response The West German military would be subject to complete EDC control, but the other EDC member states (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) would cooperate in the EDC while maintaining independent control of their own armed forces. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands
Though the EDC treaty was signed (May 1952), it never entered into force. France's Gaullists rejected it on the grounds that it threatened national sovereignty, and when the French National Assembly refused to ratify it (August 1954), the treaty died. Gaullism (Gaullisme is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Charles de Gaulle. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The French had killed their own proposal. Other means then had to be found to allow West German rearmament. In response, at the London and Paris Conferences, the Brussels Treaty was modified to include West Germany, and to form the Western European Union (WEU). The London and Paris Conferences were two related conferences in London and Paris in late September and October 1954 to determine the status of West This article is on the 1948 treaty which served as a basis for the Western Union The Western European Union ( WEU) is a partially dormant European defence and security organization established on the basis of the Treaty of Brussels of 1948 West Germany was to be permitted to rearm, an idea which was rejected by many Germans, and have full sovereign control of its military called Bundeswehr; the WEU would however regulate the size of the armed forces permitted to each of its member states. The Bundeswehr ( German for "Federal Defence Force") is the name of the unified Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany Also, the German constitution prohibited any military action except in case of an external attack against Germany or its allies (Bündnisfall). Also, Germans could reject military service on grounds of conscience, and serve for civil purposes instead.
The three Western Allies retained occupation powers in Berlin and certain responsibilities for Germany as a whole. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. Under the new arrangements, the Allies stationed troops within West Germany for NATO defense, pursuant to stationing and status-of-forces agreements. With the exception of 45,000 French troops, Allied forces were under NATO's joint defense command. (France withdrew from the collective military command structure of NATO in 1966. )
Reunification
The official German reunification ceremony on October 3, 1990, was held at the Reichstag building, including Chancellor Helmut Kohl, President Richard von Weizsäcker, former Chancellor Willy Brandt and many others. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The Reichstag building in Berlin was constructed to house the Reichstag, the first Parliament of the German Empire. The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (born 3 April 1930 is a German conservative politician and statesman The President of Germany (deutscher Bundespräsident is Germany 's Head of state. Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (born April 15 1920) is a German politician ( CDU) Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm (18 December 1913 - 8 October 1992 was a German politician Chancellor of West Germany 1969&ndash1974 One day later, the parliament of the united Germany would assemble in an act of symbolism in the Reichstag building.
However, at that time, the role of Berlin had not yet been decided upon. Only after a fierce debate, considered by many as one of the most memorable sessions of parliament, the Bundestag concluded on June 20, 1991, with a quite slim majority that both government and parliament should return to Berlin from Bonn. TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A parliament is a Legislature, especially in those The Bundestag ("Federal Diet " or "Lower House of German Parliament" is the Parliament of Germany. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia
German Economic Miracle
The West German Wirtschaftswunder (English: "economic miracle", coined by The Times of London in 1950), was partly due to the economic aid provided by the United States and the Marshall Plan, but mainly due to the currency reform of 1948 which replaced the Reichsmark with the Deutsche Mark as legal tender, halting rampant inflation. The term ( German for "economic miracle" describes the rapid reconstruction and development of the economies of West Germany and Austria The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. The Marshall Plan (from its enactment officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger For a detailed discussion of the English translation of Reich, see Reich. This act to strengthen the German economy had been explicitly forbidden during the two years that the occupation directive JCS 1067 was in effect. The Allied dismantling of the West German coal and steel industry finally ended in 1950.
In addition to the physical obstacles that had to be overcome for the German economic recovery (see the Morgenthau Plan) there were also intellectual challenges. The Morgenthau Plan was a plan for the occupation of Germany after World War II that advocated measures intended to remove Germany's ability to wage war The Allies confiscated intellectual privileges of huge value, such as all German patents, both in Germany and abroad, and used them to strengthen their own industrial competitiveness by licensing them to Allied companies. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an [2][3] Meanwhile some of the best German researchers were being put to work in the Soviet Union and in the U. S.
Contrary to popular belief, the Marshall Plan, which was extended to also include the newly formed West Germany in 1949, was not the main force behind the Wirtschaftswunder. [4][5] Had that been the case, other countries such as Great Britain and France (which both received higher economic assistance from the plan than Germany) should have experienced the same phenomenon. In fact, the amount of monetary aid (which was in the form of loans) received by Germany through the Marshall Plan was far overshadowed by the amount the Germans had to pay back as war reparations and by the charges the Allies made on the Germans for the ongoing cost of occupation (about $2. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 4 billion per year). In 1953 it was decided that Germany was to repay $1. 1 billion of the aid it had received. The last repayment was made in June 1971.
The Korean war (1950–53) led to a worldwide increased demand for goods, and the resulting shortage helped overcome lingering resistance to the purchase of German products. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the At the time Germany had a large pool of skilled and cheap labour, partly as a result of the deportations and migrations which affected up to 16. Deportation, not to be confused with Extradition, generally means the expulsion of someone from a place or Country. Human migration denotes any movement by Humans from one locality to another sometimes over long distances or 5 million Germans. This helped Germany to more than double the value of its exports during the war. Apart from these factors, hard work and long hours at full capacity among the population and in the late 1950s and 1960s extra labour supplied by thousands of Gastarbeiter ("guest workers") provided a vital base for the economic upturn.
From the late 1950s onwards, West Germany had one of the strongest economies in the world, almost as strong as before the Second World War. The East German economy showed strong growth, but not as much as in West Germany, due in part to continued reparations to the USSR in terms of resources.
Ludwig Erhard, who served as the Minister of the Economy in Adenauer's cabinet from 1949 until 1963 and later became Chancellor, is often associated with the German Wirtschaftswunder. "Erhard" redirects here For the saint of this name see Saint Erhard. Konrad Hermann Josef Adenauer ( 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967 was a German Statesman. Chancellor or chancellour (archaic ( Latin: cancellarius) is an official Title used in countries whose civilization has arisen
In 1952 West Germany became part of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union. The European Coal and Steel Community ( ECSC) was a six-nation International organisation serving to unify Western Europe during the Cold War and creating The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in On 5 May 1955 West Germany was declared "fully sovereign". Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) The British, French and U.S. militaries remained in the country, just as the Soviet Army remained in East Germany. The Armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces The Military of France encompasses an army, a navy, an air force and a military police force. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Four days after becoming "fully sovereign" in 1955, West Germany joined NATO. The U. S. retained an especially strong presence in West Germany, acting as a deterrent in case of a Soviet invasion. In 1976 West Germany became one of the founding nations of the Group of Six (G6). In 1973, West Germany which was home to roughly 1. 26% of the world's population featured the world's fourth largest GDP of 944 billion (5. These are lists of regions and countries sorted by their estimated real Gross domestic product (GDP in terms of Purchasing power parity (PPP the value 9% of the world total). In 1987 the FRG held a 7. 4% share of total world production.
Position towards East Germany
Before the 1970s, the official position of West Germany concerning East Germany was that, according to the Hallstein Doctrine, the West German government was the only democratically elected and therefore legitimate representative of the German people, and any country (with the exception of the USSR) that recognized the authorities of the German Democratic Republic would not have diplomatic relations with West Germany. The Hallstein Doctrine, named after Walter Hallstein, was a key doctrine in the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany between 1955 The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state In the early 1970s, Willy Brandt's policy of Ostpolitik led to a form of mutual recognition between East and West Germany. Ostpolitik ( German for Eastern Politics) describes the politics of the "Change Through Rapprochement" principle &mdash as verbalized by Egon Bahr The Treaty of Moscow (August 1970), the Treaty of Warsaw (December 1970), the Four Power Agreement on Berlin (September 1971), the Transit Agreement (May 1972), and the Basic Treaty (December 1972) helped to normalise relations between East and West Germany and led to both German states joining the United Nations. The Treaty of Moscow, was signed on August 12 1970 between the USSR and West Germany ( FRG) The Treaty of Warsaw (Warschauer Vertrag was a treaty between West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany - the FRG and the People's Republic of Poland The Four Power Agreement on Berlin also known as the Berlin Agreement or the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin was agreed on 3 September, Follow the link for other Transit Agreements ' The Transit Agreement of May 1972 arranged access to and from West Berlin from West The Basic Treaty (Grundlagenvertrag is the short-hand name for the Treaty concerning the basis of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security
The West German Constitution (Grundgesetz / Basic Law) provided two articles for the unification with other parts of Germany:
- Article 23 provided the possibility for other parts of Germany to join the Federal Republic (under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany).
- Article 146 provided the possibility for unification of all parts of Germany under a new constitution.
After the democratic revolution of 1989 in Eastern Germany, the first freely elected East German parliament decided in June 1990 to join the Federal Republic under Article 23 of the (West-)German Basic Law (Grundgesetz). This made a quick unification possible. In July/August 1990 the East German parliament enacted a law for the establishment of federal states on the territory of the German Democratic Republic. The (five New Länder ((Fünf Neue Bundesländer is a term describing five reestablished states ( Länder) in the former German Democratic Republic (East This East German constitutional law converted the former centralized socialist structure of East Germany into a federal structure equal to that of Western Germany.
The two German states entered into a currency and customs union in July 1990, and on 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic dissolved and the reestablished 5 East German states (as well East and West Berlin became unified) joined the Federal Republic of Germany bringing an end to the East-West divide. In economics a monetary union is a situation where several countries have agreed to share a single currency (also known as a unitary or common currency A customs union is a Free trade area with a Common external tariff. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state The (five New Länder ((Fünf Neue Bundesländer is a term describing five reestablished states ( Länder) in the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. From a West German point of view Berlin already was a member state of the Federal Republic, therefore it was regarded as an old state.
Politics
Political life in West Germany was remarkably stable and orderly. The Adenauer era (1949–63) was followed by a brief period under Ludwig Erhard (1963–66) who, in turn, was replaced by Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1966–69). Konrad Hermann Josef Adenauer ( 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967 was a German Statesman. "Erhard" redirects here For the saint of this name see Saint Erhard. Kurt Georg Kiesinger (6 April 1904&ndash9 March 1988 was a conservative German politician and Chancellor of West Germany from 1 December 1966 until 21 All governments between 1949 and 1966 were formed by the united caucus of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU), either alone or in coalition with the smaller Free Democratic Party (FDP). The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. The Free Democratic Party ( Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP is a liberal Political party in Germany.
Kiesinger's 1966–69 "Grand Coalition" was between West Germany's two largest parties, the CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). This was important for the introduction of new emergency acts—the Grand Coalition gave the ruling parties the two-thirds majority of votes required to see them in. These controversial acts allowed basic constitutional rights such as freedom of movement to be limited in case of a state of emergency. A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors or order government agencies
During the time leading up to the passing of the laws, there was fierce opposition to them, above all by the FDP, the rising German student movement, a group calling itself Notstand der Demokratie ("Democracy in a State of Emergency") and the labour unions. The German student movement (also called 68er-Bewegung, movement of 1968, or soixante-huitaires) was a Protest movement that took place during A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Demonstrations and protests grew in number, and in 1967 the student Benno Ohnesorg was shot in the head and killed by the police. The press, especially the tabloid Bild-Zeitung newspaper, launched a massive campaign against the protesters and in 1968, apparently as a result, there was an attempted assassination of one of the top members of the German socialist students' union, Rudi Dutschke. A tabloid is a Newspaper industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest The Bild (formerly Bild-Zeitung, lit Picture Newspaper) is a German Newspaper published by Axel Springer AG. Rudi Dutschke born Alfred Willi Rudi Dutschke ( March 7, 1940 Schönefeld &ndash December 24, 1979, Århus, Denmark
In the 1960s a desire to confront the Nazi past came into being. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Successfully, mass protests clamored for a new Germany. Environmentalism and anti-nationalism became fundamental values of West Germany. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. Anti-nationalism is the idea that Nationalism is undesirable or even dangerous in one form or another and sometimes though less often the idea that all nationalism is dangerous Rudi Dutschke recovered sufficiently to help establish the Green Party of Germany by convincing former student protesters to join the Green movement. The Alliance '90/The Greens ( Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) the German Green party, is a Political party in Germany whose regional Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based As a result in 1979 the Greens were able to reach the 5% limit required to obtain parliamentary seats in the Bremen provincial election. The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (German Freie Hansestadt Bremen) is the smallest of Germany's 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) Dutschke died in 1979 due to the epilepsy he had from the attack. Epilepsy is a common chronic Neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures.
Another result of the unrest in the 1960s was the founding of the Red Army Faction (RAF) which was active from 1968, carrying out a succession of terrorist attacks in West Germany during the 1970s. The Red Army Faction or RAF ( German Rote Armee Fraktion) (in its early stages commonly known as Baader-Meinhof Group ''Gang'' was one Even in the 1990s attacks were still being committed under the name "RAF". The last action took place in 1993 and the group announced it was giving up its activities in 1998.
In the 1969 election, the SPD—headed by Willy Brandt—gained enough votes to form a coalition government with the FDP. Chancellor Brandt remained head of government until May 1974, when he resigned after a senior member of his staff was uncovered as a spy for the East German intelligence service, the Stasi. For the regular police in East Germany see Volkspolizei. The Ministerium für Staatssicherheit ( Ministry for State Security
Finance Minister Helmut Schmidt (SPD) then formed a government and received the unanimous support of coalition members. He served as Chancellor from 1974 to 1982. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, a leading FDP official, became Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister. Schmidt, a strong supporter of the European Community (EC) and the Atlantic alliance, emphasized his commitment to "the political unification of Europe in partnership with the USA". The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992
In October 1982, the SPD-FDP coalition fell apart when the FDP joined forces with the CDU/CSU to elect CDU Chairman Helmut Kohl as Chancellor in a Constructive Vote of No Confidence. Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (born 3 April 1930 is a German conservative politician and statesman The constructive vote of no confidence (in German: konstruktives Misstrauensvotum) is a specialty of the 1949 German Constitution, the Grundgesetz Following national elections in March 1983, Kohl emerged in firm control of both the government and the CDU. The CDU/CSU fell just short of an absolute majority, due to the entry into the Bundestag of the Greens, who received 5. 6% of the vote.
In January 1987, the Kohl-Genscher government was returned to office, but the FDP and the Greens gained at the expense of the larger parties.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, the reunification was quickly arranged. The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung took place twice after 1945 first in 1957 the Saarland was permitted to join the Federal Republic of Germany Formally, the Federal Republic of Germany grew by joining of the 5 East German states (which had been reestablished only a few month before). As well both parts of Berlin had been reunited. This took place on 3 October 1990. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar)
The four occupying powers officially withdrew from Germany on 15 March 1991. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.
Culture
Sports
In the 20th century Association Football became the largest sport in Germany. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered The Germany national football team, established in 1908, continued its tradition based in the Federal Republic of Germany, winning the 1954 FIFA World Cup in a stunning upset dubbed the miracle of Bern. The German national football team (Die deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft From 1950 to 1990 the team was also informally called West Germany in English as since The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the World Cup was held in Switzerland from June 16 to July 4. This article is about the film For the football match often called the "Miracle of Bern" see 1954 FIFA World Cup Final. The 1974 FIFA World Cup was held in West German cities and West Berlin. The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup was held in West Germany from June 13 to July 7. After having been beaten by their East German counterparts in the first round, the team of the DFB won the cup again, defeating the Netherlands 2–1 in the Final. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands With the process of unification in full swing in the summer of 1990, the Germans clinched a third World Cup, with players that had been capped for East Germany not yet permitted to contribute. European championships have been clinched too, in 1972, 1980 and 1996.
After both Olympic games of 1936 had been held in Germany, Munich was selected to host the 1972 Summer Olympics. Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Munich, in what was These were also the first summer games were East Germans showed up for the first time with the separate flag and anthem of the GDR. Since the 1950s, Germany at the Olympics had been represented by a united team led by the pre-war German NOC officials as the IOC had denied East German demands for a separate team. Athletes from Germany have taken part in most of the Olympic Games since the first modern Games in 1896, scoring over 500 Gold medals second
As in 1957, when the Saarland acceded, East German sport organizations ceased to exist in late 1990 as their subdivisions and their members joined their Western counterparts. Thus, the present German organisations and teams in football, Olympics and elsewhere are identical to those which informally had been called "West German" before 1991, with the only differences being enlarged membership, and a different name used by some foreigners. These organizations and teams in turn had mostly continued the traditions of those representing Germany before WW2 and even WW1, thus having a century old continuity despite political changes. On the other hand, the separate East Germans teams and organisations had been founded in the 1950s, they were an episode lasting less than four decades, yet quite successful in that time.
Life in general
During the 40 years of separation some divergence occurred in the cultural life of the two parts of the severed nation. Both West Germany and East Germany followed along traditional paths of the common German culture, but West Germany, being obviously more susceptible to influences from western Europe and North America, became more cosmopolitan. The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified Conversely, East Germany, while remaining conservative in its adherence to some aspects of the received tradition, was strongly molded by the dictates of a socialist ideology of predominantly Soviet inspiration. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Guidance in the required direction was provided by exhortation through a range of associations and by some degree of censorship; the state, as virtually the sole market for artistic products, inevitably had the last word in East Germany. East Germany also had less freedom; movement was closely watched by government policing parties. On the non-political level, East Germany was also influenced by the Eastern Bloc's Slavic cultures that manifested in art, culinary scene, and sports.
For the majority of Germans in present-day Germany who lived in pre-reunification West Germany, there is minimal change in daily life stemming from German reunification as the reunified country is essentially West Germany incorporating East Germany on the West German basis. In contrast, for the Germans who hailed from the former East Germany, the scale of change has been wholesale on all walks of life from that of before die Wende. Die Wende marks the complete process of the change from Socialism and Planned economy to Democracy and Capitalism in East Germany The transition has seen a near complete abandonment, either enthusiastically or under pressures from West Germans, of the East German culture that sprang up during the years of separation. Although movements like Ostalgia exist attempting to celebrate and preserve parts of the GDR culture, post-reunification wise the former East Germany has been converging towards the western part of the country in most parts of daily culture. Ostalgie is a German term referring to Nostalgia for life in the former East Germany.
Geographical Distribution of Government
The West German government was known to be much more decentralized than its communist East German counterpart, all of whose agencies were located in East Berlin. __FORCETOC__ Decentralization or Decentralisation (see Spelling differences) is the process of dispersing Decision-making governance closer to the people Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based
However, in West Germany, most of the political agencies and buildings were located in Bonn, the German Stock Market was located in Frankfurt am Main, which became the economic center. Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia DAX 30 ( Deutscher Aktien IndeX 30, formerly Deutscher Aktien-Index 30 (German stock index is a Blue Chip Stock market index consisting of the The judicial branch of both the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) and the highest Court of Appeals, were located in Karlsruhe. The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht BVerfG) is a special Court established by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic Karlsruhe (ˈkaɐ̯lsʁuːə population 285812 in 2006 is a city in the south west of Germany, in the Bundesland Baden-Württemberg, located near
Present geographical and political terminology
Today, Rhineland and Westphalia are often considered to be western Germany in geographical terms. The Rhineland ( Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. Westphalia (Westfalen) is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Bielefeld, Bochum, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Münster The geographic term Western Germany (Westdeutschland is used to describe a region in the west of Germany. When distinguishing between former West Germany and former East Germany as parts of present-day unified Germany, it has become most common to refer to the Alte Bundesländer (old states) and the Neue Bundesländer (new states), although Westdeutschland and Ostdeutschland are still heard as well.
Notes
External links
| Preceded by Allied Occupation Zones in Germany |
Federal Republic of Germany 1949–1956 10 states 1957–1990 11 states Concurrent with: Saar (protectorate) 1949–1956 Concurrent with: German Democratic Republic 1949–1990 |
Succeeded by Federal Republic of Germany 16 states since 1990 |
Dictionary
West Germany
-proper noun
- A former country in Europe, now part of Germany. Officially called the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).
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