History UsefulNotes / WestGermany

Called '''the Bonn Republic''' these days by historians, the Federal Republic of Germany (''Bundesrepublik Deutschland'') was formed out of three of the occupation zones of Germany in the aftermath of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the other becoming UsefulNotes/EastGermany. This didn't happen overnight - the British and American zones were merged, informally very quickly after the war and more formally combined into something called at the time "the Bizone" or "Bizonia" by 1948 or so, with the French zone allowed in just before the formation of the Bundesrepublik itself in 1949. The Saarland, separately occupied and disputed by UsefulNotes/{{France}}, joined in 1957 after the residents were allowed to vote on which country they wanted to be part of. This is sometimes referred to in modern times as the ''kleine Wiedervereinigung'' ("Little Reunification").

The West German Basic Law was aimed at the reunification of Germany. When Germany reunified, UsefulNotes/EastGermany was merely absorbed into UsefulNotes/WestGermany, creating the reunified Germany- UsefulNotes/TheBerlinRepublic, which is basically the Bonn Republic with sovereignty over the former East Germany and the government moved to the now-reunified Berlin. The Basic Law stayed in place with minor changes as it had served the country well. While Article 23 ''was'' changed (which allowed for Germany to be reunified without major changes to the constitution - something which was seen as obsolete with reunification complete) Article 146 notably ''wasn't'' - meaning the German constitution still contains a paragraph that details how it could be replaced by a new one (this was intended as the other avenue to reunification and is sometimes brought up by populist or opposition politicians)

The West German Basic Law was aimed at the reunification of Germany. When Germany reunified, UsefulNotes/EastGermany was merely absorbed into UsefulNotes/WestGermany, creating the reunified Germany- UsefulNotes/TheBerlinRepublic. The Basic Law stayed in place with minor changes as it had served the country well. While Article 23 ''was'' changed (which allowed for Germany to be reunified without major changes to the constitution - something which was seen as obsolete with reunification complete) Article 146 notably ''wasn't'' - meaning the German constitution still contains a paragraph that details how it could be replaced by a new one (this was intended as the other avenue to reunification and is sometimes brought up by populist or opposition politicians)

[[caption-width-right:250:''Blühe, deutsches Vaterland!''[[note]][[''"Blossom, German fatherland!"''[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:250:''Blühe, deutsches Vaterland!'']]

West Germany had the legacy of the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Second World War]] to deal with. They implemented a NoSwastikas policy and banned all vaguely Nazi organisations. West Germany also became a pretty peaceful nation, not getting involved in any foreign wars. This didn't stop UsefulNotes/EastGermany from calling them fascists on a regular basis; the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall was called "''der antifaschistische Schutzwall''," literally meaning "the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier." The GDR regime also had a field day any time when real or supposed connections of high ranking West German officials to the Nazi Era became public and they often leaked documents from Soviet Archives or the likes to the press themselves to land a propaganda coup. That said, the GDR itself had quite a few old Nazis in high ranks of army state and party in the 1950s and early 1960s.[[note]]For both nations, FridgeLogic has to come into play. The vast majority of Germans of legal age in 1949, and virtually all who would have the knowledge, skill set and experience to run major governmental institutions, would have had at least a tangential relationship to the Hitler regime, the only exceptions being political exiles or those imprisoned by the regime for being of other political parties. So there was no escaping the reality in either FRG or GDR that complete denazification of the newly-minted governments was not practical absent letting the Occupation powers run things for a generation or two.[[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:250:''Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit'']]

It considered itself a reconstituted UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic (despite the irony of Weimar now being in UsefulNotes/EastGermany), deciding to pay reparations for both wars and keeping the D license plate. It also elected to pay reparations to UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} starting in 1953 as penance for UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust (and on a more practical level, payment for the labor and property stolen from Jews by the Nazis); Germany remains Israel's foremost advocate in Europe to this day, and has discovered rather interesting ways to show its sorriness to Israel (including giving the [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles IDF]] nuclear-capable submarines). The ''de facto'' capital of West Germany was UsefulNotes/{{Bonn}}, a "small town in Germany" to quote the title of a Creator/JohnLeCarre novel, although Berlin was symbolically named the ''de jure'' capital in the Basic Law. West Berlin, an occupied city, sent non-voting representatives to the West German Parliament.

* ''A Small Town In Germany''

It considered itself a reconstituted UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic (despite the irony of Weimar now being in UsefulNotes/EastGermany), deciding to pay reparations for both wars and keeping the D license plate. It also elected to pay reparations to UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} starting in 1953 as penance for UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust (and on a more practical level, payment for the labor and property stolen from Jews by the Nazis); Germany remains Israel's foremost advocate in Europe to this day, and has discovered rather interesting ways to show its sorriness to Israel (including giving the [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles IDF]] nuclear-capable submarines). The ''de facto'' capital of West Germany was UsefulNotes/{{Bonn}}, a small town in Germany (to quote the title of a Creator/JohnLeCarre novel), although Berlin was symbolically named the ''de jure'' capital in the Basic Law. West Berlin, an occupied city, sent non-voting representatives to the West German Parliament.

Called '''the Bonn Republic''' these days by historians, the Federal Republic of Germany (''Bundesrepublik Deutschland'') was formed out of three of the occupation zones of Germany in the aftermath of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the other becoming UsefulNotes/EastGermany. This didn't happen overnight - the British and American zones were merged, informally very quickly after the war and more formally combined into something called at the time "the Bizone" or "Bizonia" by 1948 or so, with the French zone allowed in just before the formation of the Bundesrepublik itself in 1949. The Saarland, separately occupied and disputed by France, joined in 1957 after the residents were allowed to vote on which country they wanted to be part of. This is sometimes referred to in modern times as the ''kleine Wiedervereinigung'' ("Little Reunification").

Older sources will sometimes refer to this place as simply "[[OneMarioLimit Germany]]", possibly due to the feeling that this was the ''real'' Germany- the other one was just CommieLand with Germans. (This is similar to how UsefulNotes/SouthKorea is sometimes referred to as just "Korea", based on much the same attitude about UsefulNotes/NorthKorea.) Bonn itself felt that for a while, refusing to recognise any country bar the USSR that had any relations with the GDR until Willy Brandt's ''Neue Ostpolitik'' of the 1970s. The two Germanys recognised each other (but not completely: for example, no ambassadors, but ''[[InsistentTerminology permanent representatives]]'' [Ständige Vertretung] – this would become important in 1990) and joined the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations together.

West Germany had the legacy of the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Second World War]] to deal with. They implemented a NoSwastikas policy and banned all vaguely Nazi organisations. West Germany also became a pretty peaceful nation, not getting involved in any foreign wars. This didn't stop UsefulNotes/EastGermany from calling them fascists on a regular basis; the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall was called "''der antifaschistische Schutzwall''," literally meaning "the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier." The GDR regime also had a field day any time when real or supposed connections of high ranking West German officials to the Nazi Era became public and they often leaked documents from Soviet Archives or the likes to the press themselves to land a propaganda coup. That said, the GDR itself had quite a few old Nazis in high ranks of army state and party in the 1950s and early 1960s.

* ''Series/{{Tatort}}'' until 1990. The series and its East German counterpart ''Polizeiruf 110'' started in 1970 and 1971 respectively. [[LongRunner Both are still airing]] as of 2018.

Called the Bonn Republic these days by historians, the Federal Republic of Germany (''Bundesrepublik Deutschland'') was formed out of three of the occupation zones of Germany in the aftermath of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the other becoming UsefulNotes/EastGermany. This didn't happen overnight - the British and American zones were merged, informally very quickly after the war and more formally combined into something called at the time "the Bizone" or "Bizonia" by 1948 or so, with the French zone allowed in just before the formation of the Bundesrepublik itself in 1949. The Saarland, separately occupied and disputed by France, joined in 1957 after the residents were allowed to vote on which country they wanted to be part of. This is sometimes referred to in modern times as the ''kleine Wiedervereinigung'' ("Little Reunification").

West Germany had the legacy of the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII to deal with. They implemented a NoSwastikas policy and banned all vaguely Nazi organisations. West Germany also became a pretty peaceful nation, not getting involved in any foreign wars. This didn't stop UsefulNotes/EastGermany from calling them fascists on a regular basis; the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall was called "''der antifaschistische Schutzwall''," literally meaning "the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier." The GDR regime also had a field day any time when real or supposed connections of high ranking West German officials to the Nazi Era became public and they often leaked documents from Soviet Archives or the likes to the press themselves to land a propaganda coup. That said, the GDR itself had quite a few old Nazis in high ranks of army state and party in the 1950s and early 1960s.

It considered itself a reconstituted UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic (despite the irony of Weimar now being in UsefulNotes/EastGermany), deciding to pay reparations for both wars and keeping the D license plate. It also elected to pay reparations to UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} starting in 1953 as penance for UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust (and on a more practical level, payment for the labor and property stolen from Jews by the Nazis); Germany remains Israel's foremost advocate in Europe to this day, and has discovered rather interesting ways to show its sorriness to Israel (including giving the [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles IDF]] nuclear-capable submarines). The ''de facto'' capital of West Germany was UsefulNotes/{{Bonn}}, a small town in Germany (to quote the title of a Creator/JohnLeCarre novel), although Berlin was symbolically named the ''de jure'' capital in the Basic Law. West Berlin, an occupied city, sent non-voting representatives to the German Parliament.

West Germany also developed culturally, with West German literature, philosophy, films, and music making their mark. On the high end, the likes of ''Gruppe '47'' (including, most famously, [[Literature/TheTinDrum Günter Grass]]) pointed the West German reaction to the horrors of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (in essence, "we were guilty and foolish, all of us!") and the process of denazification (they were for it). On the pop-cultural level, Music/TheBeatles and countless other British bands had their first breaks in Germany--typically UsefulNotes/{{Hamburg}}--and the West Germans were the first Continental Europeans to really get what this "rock" thing was all about. The Germans returned the favor: late '60s and early '70s German rock (called "KrautRock" by the British music press), led by bands like Neu!, Amon Düül II, and early Music/{{Kraftwerk}}, had a powerful impact on PostPunk, [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]], Electronic, and {{Industrial}} music. West Berlin in particular was famous for both its rollicking club scene and its Hansa-By-The-Wall (yes, ''[[UsefulNotes/BerlinWall that]]'' Wall) recording studio, which was a magnet for musicians German and non-German alike. Music/DavidBowie spent most of his most productive and creative period in Berlin (termed, fittingly, his "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Berlin period]]"), inspired by the German scene. [[Music/TheStooges Iggy Pop]] was similarly inspired, recording part of his debut album and all of ''Lust for Life'' (you know, the famous one) at Hansa-By-The-Wall.

Older sources will sometimes refer to this place as simply "[[OneMarioLimit Germany]]", possibly due to the feeling that this was the ''real'' Germany- the other one was just CommieLand with Germans. (This is similar to how UsefulNotes/SouthKorea is sometimes referred to as just "Korea", based on much the same attitude about UsefulNotes/NorthKorea.) Bonn itself felt that for a while, refusing to recognise any country bar the USSR that had any relations with the GDR until Willy Brandt's ''Neue Ostpolitik'' of the 1970s. The two Germanies recognised each other (but not completely: for example, no embassies, but ''[[InsistentTerminology permanent representatives]]'' [Ständige Vertretung] – this would become important in 1990) and joined the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations together.

The German Basic Law was aimed at the reunification of Germany. When Germany reunified, UsefulNotes/EastGermany was merely absorbed into UsefulNotes/WestGermany, creating the reunified Germany- UsefulNotes/TheBerlinRepublic. The Basic Law stayed in place with minor changes as it had served the country well. While Article 23 ''was'' changed (which allowed for Germany being enlarged without major changes to the constitution - something which was seen as obsolete with reunification complete) Article 146 notably ''wasn't'' - meaning the German constitution still contains a paragraph that details how it could be replaced by a new one (this was intended as the other avenue to reunification and is sometimes brought up by populist or opposition politicians)

** ''The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum'' (novel and film)

* ''Derrick'' (started in 1974) until 1990.

It considered itself a reconstituted UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic (despite the irony of Weimar now being in UsefulNotes/EastGermany), deciding to pay reparations for both wars and keeping the D license plate. It also elected to pay reparations to UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} starting in 1953 as penance for TheHolocaust (and on a more practical level, payment for the labor and property stolen from Jews by the Nazis); Germany remains Israel's foremost advocate in Europe to this day, and has discovered rather interesting ways to show its sorriness to Israel (including giving the [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles IDF]] nuclear-capable submarines). The ''de facto'' capital of West Germany was UsefulNotes/{{Bonn}}, a small town in Germany (to quote the title of a Creator/JohnLeCarre novel), although Berlin was symbolically named the ''de jure'' capital in the Basic Law. West Berlin, an occupied city, sent non-voting representatives to the German Parliament.

* ''Series/{{Tatort}}'' until 1990. The series and its East German counterpart "Polizeiruf 110" started in 1970 and 1971 respectively. [[LongRunner Both are still airing]] as of 2018.

* The incredibly depressing book and movie ''Film/ChristianeF'', about the lives of teenage heroin addicts in West Berlin. Mostly famous outside West Germany for the Music/DavidBowie soundtrack and Bowie appearance.

* ''Series/{{Tatort}}'' until 1990. The series and its East German counterpart "Polizeiruf 110" started in 1970 and 1971 respectively. [[LongRunner Both are still airing]] as of 2017.

* ''The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum'' (novel and film)

* ''Film/TheBaaderMeinhofComplex''

* ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' has BigBadDuumvirate General Orlov and Prince Kamal Khan attempting to detonate a nuclear bomb on a US Air Base in West Germany to trigger WorldWarIII, with James Bond trying to prevent it.

* ''Derrick'' (started in 1974).
* ''Series/{{Tatort}}'' and its East German counterpart "Polizeiruf 110" started in 1970 and 1971 respectively. [[LongRunner Both are still airing]] as of 2017.

* Most West German series set in then-present day until 1990, such as ''Series/{{Tatort}}'' (started in 1970) and ''Derrick'' (started in 1974).