History UsefulNotes / Germany

* UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic (1918 - 1933])

UsefulNotes/WorldWarI didn't go exactly according to plan. By the end, the war caused another revolution in Germany, triggered by a mutiny in the naval ranks and supported by the army, Germans were facing the prospect of a famine, and then the Kaiser was forced to AbdicateTheThrone, departing to Holland (passing the rest of his life as a mere footnote), while the German generals made way for President Friedrich Ebert of the newly formed [[UsefulNotes/TheWeimarRepublic Weimar Republic]] to negotiate and accept the terms of surrender at the Treaty of Versailles, thereby allowing them to lie about the war effort being "Stabbed-in-the-Back" by disloyal Judeo-Bolshevik Socialists.

Modern Germans are fairly big on pacifism and isolationism. They are not comfortable with being called to play a bigger role in foreign affairs. Germany's status as the biggest economy in the EU, however, played a huge role when the Great Recession hit, and EU and German lawmakers proposed policies of austerity, which created tensions between Germans and Greeks[[note]]Who haven't forgotten that they are the only country to have never received wartime reparations, despite suffering greatly under the Nazi Invasion[[/note]], and the left within and without Germany who have anti-austerity policies. The Syrian Refugee Crisis also led to great tensions within Germany, and a revival of nativism among rural voters. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has also led to a new focus on the German military, with the government creating its first national security strategy ever.

For most of its history, there was no unified German state. The area of land that comprises Germany evolved and shifted repeatedly over the centuries; being divided, subdivided and combined at various times with the current territorial boundary determined by the second unification of 1990 when UsefulNotes/EastGermany and UsefulNotes/WestGermany were finally united into a single nation, after spending the UsefulNotes/ColdWar divided into two republics by the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain and the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall. Parts of Germany were parceled out to UsefulNotes/{{Poland}}, UsefulNotes/TheCzechRepublic while Russia holds the enclave of Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg, hometown and stomping grounds of Immanuel Kant[[note]]He was known for walking around the town on his daily routines which was so unwavering that townsfolk apparently measured time by his movements[[/note]]), with the modern borders on the East being the Oder-Neisse line as outlined and demanded by UsefulNotes/JosefStalin.

For most of its history, there was no unified German state. The area of land that comprises Germany evolved and shifted repeatedly over the centuries; being divided, subdivided and combined at various times with the current territorial boundary determined by the second unification of 1990 when UsefulNotes/EastGermany and UsefulNotes/WestGermany were finally united into a single nation, after spending the UsefulNotes/ColdWar [[UsefulNotes/BerlinWall divided]] into two republics. Parts of Germany were parceled out to UsefulNotes/{{Poland}}, UsefulNotes/TheCzechRepublic while Russia holds the enclave of Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg, hometown and stomping grounds of Immanuel Kant[[note]]He was known for walking around the town on his daily routines which was so unwavering that townsfolk apparently measured time by his movements[[/note]]), with the modern borders on the East being the Oder-Neisse line as outlined and demanded by UsefulNotes/JosefStalin.

Modern Germans are fairly big on pacifism and isolationism. They are not comfortable with being called to play a bigger role in foreign affairs. Germany's status as the biggest economy in the EU, however, played a huge role when the Great Recession hit, and EU and German lawmakers proposed policies of austerity, which created tensions between Germans and Greeks[[note]]Who haven't forgotten that they are the only country to have never received wartime reparations, despite suffering greatly under the Nazi Invasion[[/note]], and the left within and without Germany who have anti-austerity policies. The Syrian Refugee Crisis also led to great tensions within Germany, and a revival of nativism among rural voters.

Germany ('''German:''' ''Deutschland''), officially known as the Federal Republic of Germany ('''German:''' ''Bundesrepublik Deutschland''), is a federal republic located in UsefulNotes/{{Central|Europe}} and Western UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}. Modern-day Germany is a major economic power, a member of UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion, [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfEight G8]] and the UsefulNotes/{{NATO}}, and the most developed and richest economy of Europe, with the second largest population in Europe (after UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}) and the largest in Western Europe.

Germany ('''German:''' ''Deutschland''), officially known as the Federal Republic of Germany ('''German:''' ''Bundesrepublik Deutschland''), is a federal republic located in UsefulNotes/CentralEurope and Western Europe. Modern-day Germany is a major economic power, a member of UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion, [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfEight G8]] and the UsefulNotes/{{NATO}}, and the most developed and richest economy of Europe, with the second largest population in Europe (after UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}) and the largest in Western Europe.

*** UsefulNotes/BerlinWall

However, the subsequent economic troubles (especially in the former East), which have lasted until today, contribute to the continued existence of a mental divide between East and West, at least among the older generation and older voters. Modern Germany's current problems involve the divide between its domestic interests and the broader foreign interests of the EU. American observers are not happy about Germans not being entirely on board with NATO expansion (they opposed the extension of membership to former Soviet States), and the Iraq War and UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. Modern Germans are fairly big on pacifism and isolationism and are not comfortable with being called to play a bigger role in foreign affairs. Its status as the biggest economy in the EU, however, played a huge role when the Great Recession hit, and EU and German lawmakers proposed policies of austerity, which created tensions between Germans and Greeks[[note]]Who haven't forgotten that they are the only country to have never received wartime reparations despite suffering greatly under the Nazi Invasion[[/note]], and the left within and without Germany who have anti-austerity policies. The Syrian Refugee Crisis also led to great tensions within Germany, and a revival of nativism among rural voters.

These and other crises led to the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall, and tensions between West and East Germany. In West Germany, the communist party was banned and those of "suspect" political persuasions were not allowed posts in the government. The youth movement of TheSixties owing to the particular mixture of political culture and historical baggage took a violent turn with the establishment of WesternTerrorists from Germany, the Baader-Meinhof Gang and the Revolutionary Zellen (RZ). They were notorious for attacking and assassinating Nazi-era officials who had wormed back into civilian life and domestic and international terrorism saw much incidents in Germany, the most famous and traumatic being the murder of the Israeli Olympic team in the Munich Olympics at the hands of a Palestinian terrorist group. The imprisonment of the Baader-Meinhof gang and the kidnapping of a prominent German businessman triggered triggered a small period of EmergencyAuthority (which was undeclared) that struck some fears and tensions during that time, especially when it ended with the deaths of gang at Stammheim Prison which was officially ruled as a suicide but has led many to accuse "foul play". Other problems faced in Germany was immigration. Since Germany's center as an economic powerhouse in Europe attracted migrant labour from other parts of Europe and the world, leading to the arrival, immigration and settlement of a large number of foreign workers in Germany. Greek and Italian ([[UsefulNotes/{{Sicily}} Sicilian]] in fact) workers faced some amount of violence, racism and xenophobia in this era, but the demand for cheap labour and the greater liberalization in the young triggered changes in the attitudes of some Germans. Turkish immigrants to Germany have become especially prominent, and within the EU, Germany is one of the few nations whose idea of nationality is tilting towards the UsefulNotes/MeltingPot multiculturalism, albeit not entirely and not without resistance. East Germany in the same time devolved into a massive surveillance PoliceState and tensions within East Germany and the poor economy of the Soviet Union led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the Reunification in 1990.

A different situation happened in East Germany, which was mostly UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}. The commies finally completed and achieved what liberals and early reformers failed to do. Via Bodenreform, they broke up the Junker manorial estates, demolishing many of them and distributed the land. The communists were far less willing to forgive war crimes committed in the east (which was more or less buried or ignored in the West during this time), and the Prussians were old enemies of Russia and many Junkers were active supporters of Nazism and Generalplan Ost[[note]]This includes even the Valkyrie Assassins, whose plan to assassinate Hitler and negotiate peace with Britain and America, was undertaken in the hope of escalating and extending the war in the East, and many of them had committed war crimes already in the Soviet territories[[/note]]. This land reform and redistribution remains upheld even in West Germany after unification despite several challenges and claims by descendants for compensation and recovery of property.[[note]]It was part of the agreement with the USSR in the Final Treaty that led to German Unification[[/note]]. However, for the USSR, East Germany proved to be too much trouble. It was far and away the land that was most developed before Communist takeover, and it would be the most developed Soviet Republic during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar but on account of that, it needed extra investment and maintenance, and subsidies to provide its citizens a lifestyle they were accustomed to, which became harder when West Germany was visibly near enough for them to see and compare with.

In the years after German defeat, there was effectively no German government. Germany was governed by military occupying forces by the British, Americans, Russians and the French. After Germany lost that war (which is nowadays treated as a liberation in the German public), it was occupied by the four Allies. The nascent UsefulNotes/ColdWar led to the establishment of two Germanies--the [[UsefulNotes/WestGermany FRG]] and the [[UsefulNotes/EastGermany GDR]]. [[note]]Almost three Germanies. The Saarland was set up as a French protectorate and might have either remained an independent nation or become a part of France. However, the people there really really didn't want that, voted against it, and rejoined Germany in 1957, an event referred to as Little Reunification.[[/note]] The UsefulNotes/ColdWar resulted in divisions between America and USSR and this was to Germany's benefit since the American bloc, saw an interest in rebuilding and aiding German post-war redevelopment and reconstruction to keep them the communists from coming to power, leading to the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' (Economic Miracle) under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Adenauer's government saw a great many former Nazis and war criminals released into civil life, and his administration promulgated the "Myth of the Clean Wehrmacht" i.e. that Hitler's crimes and ideology was the work of the Nazi Party and most ordinary Germans did not share in the ideology. Later historians, within Germany it must be said, have successfully debunked this. But it was comforting for people at the time. Adenauer to his credit, also made an effort to pay reparations to Holocaust survivors and invested heavily in Israel. A different situation happened in East Germany, which was mostly UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}. The commies finally completed and achieved what liberals and early reformers failed to do. Via Bodenreform, they broke up the Junker manorial estates, demolishing many of them and distributed the land. The communists were far less willing to forgive war crimes committed in the east (which was more or less buried or ignored in the West during this time), and the Prussians were old enemies of Russia and many Junkers were active supporters of Nazism and Generalplan Ost[[note]]This includes even the Valkyrie Assassins, whose plan to assassinate Hitler and negotiate peace with Britain and America, was undertaken in the hope of escalating and extending the war in the East, and many of them had committed war crimes already in the Soviet territories[[/note]]. This land reform and redistribution remains upheld even in West Germany after unification despite several challenges and claims by descendants for compensation and recovery of property.[[note]]It was part of the agreement with the USSR in the Final Treaty that led to German Unification[[/note]]. However, for the USSR, East Germany proved to be too much trouble. It was far and away the land that was most developed before Communist takeover, and it would be the most developed Soviet Republic during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar but on account of that, it needed extra investment and maintenance, and subsidies to provide its citizens a lifestyle they were accustomed to, which became harder when West Germany was visibly near enough for them to see and compare with.

As it happened, the reparations did not quite cripple the German Economy as early observers, such as J. M. Keynes, predicted. The early years of the Republic were quite harsh but much of this was due to [[UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu the Spanish Flu epidemic]] and the small economic depression but the conditions for recovery were present since very little of the war had been fought in German territory, and the Treaty of Versailles was politically humiliating but thanks to American and British sentimentalism, was not as punitive as the French wanted, and it allowed the conditions of German recovery and military rearmament. This was the reason why Marshal Ferdinand Foch said that the Treaty was merely an armistice for another war[[note]]It's often misunderstood to mean the treaty was too harsh on Germany, Foch meant it was too lenient[[/note]]. Still the Weimar Republic did improve its formerly belligerent foreign policy and amend it from early years, with Gustav Stresemann winning a Nobel Prize for Peace, for healing some of the French-German tensions that had been soured for more than fifty years at that point. The Republic also engaged in trade with the USSR at a time when they weren't recognized by many of the world's powers.

The Nazis and conservatives were fond of seeing the Weimar Republic as doomed to failure and "decadent" permanently haunted by the defeat of the war, but the Weimar years was one of recovery and change. Berlin became the largest city in Europe, and one of the largest in the world, with the biggest population in Europe. Germany became the heart of 20th Century modernism, with Bauhaus architecture, caberet culture, modern graphic design, and GermanExpressionism forming itself in this era. Likewise, this was also an era of advancement, with the modern gay rights movement, which had originated in the Imperial years, finding new impetus through the works of Magnus Hirschfield who advocated for LGBT rights. Nonetheless, there was sharp polarization between urban and rural areas, and the fears of revolution, memories of defeat, and fears of change were barely kept in lid. TheGreatDepression brought these tensions to the surface resulting in the momentous election of 1933 and the rise of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany who it must be said ruled for 12 years (1933-1945), shorter than the Weimar Republic, the Kaisserreich and greatly exceeded by succeeding governments of West, East and Modern Germany. But those 12 years, to the people living through them, and to the ones who survived, really did have enough incidents and memories that made it feel like Hitler's promised thousand year reich, leading to judicial murder, purges, autocracy, mass propaganda, rapid rearmament, UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust genocide]] against Jews, Romani, Homosexuals, Communists, Slavs, Russians and the disabled, and a seemingly endless list of war crimes.

UsefulNotes/WorldWarI didn't go exactly according to plan. By the end, the war caused another revolution in Germany, triggered by a mutiny in the naval ranks and supported by the army, Germans were facing the prospect of a famine, and then the Kaiser was forced to AbdicateTheThrone, departing to Holland (passing the rest of his life as a mere footnote), while the German generals made way for President Friedrich Ebert of the newly formed UsefulNotes/TheWeimarRepublic to negotiate and accept the terms of surrender at the Treaty of Versailles, thereby allowing them to lie about the war effort being "Stabbed-in-the-Back" by disloyal Judeo-Bolshevik Socialists.

The UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic was formed in the aftermath of wartime defeat, loss of territory, and the stigma of being forced to pay reparations, as such those on the Liberal Left were not too buoyant about the fact that Germany finally had an actual democracy. Indeed they refused to call it "Republik" and still called it Deutsches Reich. The Imperial Germans forced harsh reparations on France after the Franco-Prussian War, and forced even harsher terms on the emerging Soviet Union during the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, so the burden of reparations involves as much as going [[MoralMyopia from being the extortionist to being extorted from as much as the actual cost]]. As it happened, the reparations did not quite cripple the German Economy as early observers such as J. M. Keynes predicted. The early years of the Republic were quite harsh but much of this was due to [[UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu the Spanish Flu epidemic]] and the small economic depression but the conditions for recovery were present since very little of the war had been fought in German territory, and the Treaty of Versailles was politically humiliating but thanks to American and British sentimentalism, was not as punitive as the French wanted, and it allowed the conditions of German recovery and military rearmament. This was the reason why Marshal Ferdinand Foch said that the Treaty was merely an armistice for another war[[note]]It's often misunderstood to mean the treaty was too harsh on Germany, Foch meant it was too lenient[[/note]]. Still the Weimar Republic did improve its formerly belligerent foreign policy and amend it from early years, with Gustav Stresemann winning a Nobel Prize for Peace, for healing some of the French-German tensions that had been soured for more than fifty years at that point. The Republic also engaged in trade with the USSR at a time when they weren't recognized by many of the world's powers.

Anyone who proposed curtailing the privileges of the Junkers, such as the Chancellor Caprivi who succeeded Bismarck, was unceremoniously sacked and removed from power. The Germans were paranoid about encirclement by France and Russia, and Bismarck had done his best to prevent or halt an alliance between them, but at the same time they were fearful that Russia belatedly commencing industrialization, with its much larger population, would surpass and overtake them, neutering their advantages. Germans first helped Russians with loans for advancement but then passive-aggressively denied or slow-dragged payments, forcing the Russians to turn to the French instead. Likewise, within Germany, social democratic parties were making gains and the growing prosperity only made the demands for increasing rights for workers at home harder to ignore. As such, in the lead-up to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, many of Germany's war planners such as Moltke the Younger, and von Falkenhayn as well as Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, thought that a war could solve their problems. They hoped that Britain would not be involved, but they did hope that war could allow Germans to expand in the East and in Africa (Mitteleuropa and Mittelafrika was the name of the plans), halt, delay or hamper Russia's industrialization and armament, or possibly trigger its disintegration, and likewise weaken France to the point that it became little more than a client state, while also shutting up the socialists, communists and social democrats. UsefulNotes/WorldWarI didn't go exactly according to plan. By the end, the war caused another revolution in Germany, triggered by a mutiny in the naval ranks and supported by the army, Germans were facing the prospect of a famine, and then the Kaiser was forced to AbdicateTheThrone, departing to Holland (passing the rest of his life as a mere footnote), while the German generals made way for President Friedrich Ebert of the newly formed UsefulNotes/TheWeimarRepublic to negotiate and accept the terms of surrender at the Treaty of Versailles, thereby allowing them to lie about the war effort being "Stabbed-in-the-Back" by disloyal Judeo-Bolshevik Socialists.