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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. |
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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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