Portal:Germany

Welcome to the Germany Portal!
Willkommen im Deutschland-Portal!

Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland), is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north with the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Germany includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,596 square kilometres (138,069 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With over 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia, the most populous state lying entirely in Europe, as well as the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is a very decentralized country. Its capital and most populous city is Berlin, while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country's busiest airport.

In 1871, Germany became a nation-state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the Revolution of 1918–19, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two new German states were founded: West Germany, formed from the American, British, and French occupation zones, and East Germany, formed from the western part of the Soviet occupation zone, reduced by the newly established Oder-Neisse line. Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic led by a chancellor. It is a great power with the largest economy in Europe. As a global leader in several industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is a major trading nation. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993. Read more...

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Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.

After Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi Party began to eliminate political opposition and consolidate power. A 1934 referendum confirmed Hitler as sole Führer (leader). Power was centralised in Hitler's person, and his word became the highest law. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power. To address the Great Depression, the Nazis used heavy military spending, extensive public works projects, including the Autobahnen (motorways), and a massive secret rearmament programme, forming the Wehrmacht (armed forces), all financed by deficit spending. The return to economic stability and end of mass unemployment boosted the regime's popularity. Hitler made increasingly aggressive territorial demands, seizing Austria in the Anschluss of 1938 and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and invaded Poland in 1939, launching World War II in Europe. In alliance with Fascist Italy and other Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, but failed to subdue Britain.

Racism, Nazi eugenics, anti-Slavism, and especially antisemitism were central ideological features of the regime. The Nazis considered Germanic peoples to be the "master race", the purest branch of the Aryan race. Jews, Slavs, Romani people, homosexuals, liberals, socialists, communists, other political opponents, Jehovah's Witnesses, Freemasons, those who refused to work and other "undesirables" were imprisoned, deported or murdered. Christian churches and citizens that opposed Hitler's rule were oppressed and opposition leaders were imprisoned. Education focused on racial biology, population policy and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed. The Nazi Propaganda Ministry disseminated films and antisemitic canards, and organised mass rallies, fostering a pervasive cult of personality around Hitler to influence public opinion. The government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Genocide, mass murder and large-scale forced labour became hallmarks of the regime; the implementation of its racial policies culminated in the Holocaust. (Full article...)

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Image 1
Sparrenburg Castle
Photo credit: Daniel Schwen
Sparrenburg Castle, located in Bielefeld, Germany, as seen from the western lawn. The castle was constructed between 1240 and 1250 by the Counts of Ravensberg. The castle has been rebuilt many times. Although often under siege, it was never stormed. After extensive restoration work, the castle now presents itself as an imposing historic site.
Image 2
The city hall of Werdau, Saxony
The city hall of Werdau, Saxony
Credit: André Karwath aka Aka
Image 3
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Painting credit: Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) was a Prussian architect and city planner. He was one of the most prominent architects in Germany and designed both Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic buildings, the most famous of which are found in and around Berlin. He was also a painter and a designer of furniture and stage sets.

This oil-on-canvas painting, entitled Castle by the River, was created by Schinkel in 1820. As an artist, his architectural talent shone through, and his buildings and landscapes are carefully drafted and meticulously executed. The painting is in the collection of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
Image 4
Interior of the Ulm Minster
Ulm Minster
Credit: Uwe Aranas
Interior of the Ulm Minster, Ulm
Image 5
Frankfurt
Image credit: Nicolas17
The night skyline of Frankfurt, showing the Commerzbank Tower (centre) and the Maintower (right of centre). Frankfurt is the fifth-largest city in Germany, and the surrounding Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region is Germany's second-largest metropolitan area.
Image 6
Stefan Heym
Photograph: Marcel Antonisse / Anefo
Helmut Flieg (1913–2001) was a German writer best-known by the pseudonym Stefan Heym. He lived in the United States (or served in its army abroad) between 1935 and 1952, before moving back to his native Germany. He published works in English and German at home and abroad, including Nazis in the U.S.A. (1938), Goldsborough (1953), and Five Days in June (1977).
Image 7
Adolf Mosengel
Painting credit: Adolf Mosengel
Adolf Mosengel (1837–1885) was a landscape painter from Hamburg, Germany, who built a reputation painting Alpine scenes, later turning to scenes from Westphalia. From 1854 to 1857, he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Hans Gude, and from 1858 to 1859 in Paris, after which he moved to Geneva to study under Alexandre Calame. He spent most of his life working in Hamburg, but travelled in 1879 to the lakes of Northern Italy, where he painted en plein air. This oil-on-canvas painting by Mosengel shows a village in the Bernese Alps.
Image 8
City of Workers
Painting: Hans Baluschek
City of Workers is an oil painting on canvas completed by the Berlin Secessionist painter Hans Baluschek in 1920. It depicts a dark and dirty working class sector of the German capital, Berlin, in which industrial smoke dominates the skyline and the few lights of windows are drowned in the gloom. The 48.44 × 36.25 in (123 × 92.1 cm) work is held at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Image 9
Thomas Müller
Photograph: Michael Kranewitter
Thomas Müller (b. 1989) is a German professional footballer who has played for Bayern Munich since 2009; he is also the team's vice-captain. A versatile player, Müller plays as a midfielder or forward but has also been deployed in attacking roles such as attacking midfielder, second striker, centre forward and on either wing. He has represented Germany on its national team since 2010.
Image 10
Hoher Göll
Photograph credit: Jörg Braukmamm
The Hoher Göll is a mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps. At 2,522 metres (8,274 feet), it is the highest peak of the Göll massif, which straddles the border between the German state of Bavaria and the Austrian state of Salzburg. This photograph shows the Hoher Göll (left) and the Hohes Brett (right) from the west.
Image 11
The Deutsche Bank Twin Towers in Frankfurt
Deutsche Bank Twin Towers
Credit: Raimond Spekking
The Deutsche Bank Twin Towers, headquarters of the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt
Image 12
Cairn in Snow
Painting: Caspar David Friedrich
Cairn in Snow is a landscape painting by Caspar David Friedrich that was completed in 1807. The painting is a Romantic allegorical landscape, showing a pagan burial site between three oaks, near the town Gützkow in Germany. It is held by the Galerie Neue Meister in Dresden, Germany.
Image 13
German Instrument of Surrender
Photograph credit: Lt. Moore; restored by Adam Cuerden
The German Instrument of Surrender was the legal document that effected the termination of the Nazi regime and ended World War II in Europe. A July 1944 draft version had also included the surrender of the German government, but this was changed due to concern that there might be no functional German government that could surrender; instead, the document stated that it could be "superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the United Nations", which was done the next month.

This photograph shows Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signing the German Instrument of Surrender in Berlin. The first surrender document was signed on 7 May 1945 in Reims by General Alfred Jodl, but this version was not recognized by the Soviet High Command and a revised version was required. Prepared in three languages on 8 May, it was not ready for signing in Berlin until after midnight; consequently, the physical signing was delayed until nearly 1:00 a.m. on 9 May, and backdated to 8 May to be consistent with the Reims agreement and public announcements of the surrender already made by Western leaders.
Image 14
German East African rupie
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The rupie was the unit of currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916. During World War I, the colony was cut off from Germany as a result of a wartime blockade and the colonial government needed to create an emergency issue of banknotes. Paper made from linen or jute was initially used, but because of wartime shortages, the notes were later printed on commercial paper in a variety of colours, wrapping paper, and in one instance, wallpaper. This two hundred rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000001A-QINU`"'

* 1 rupie
* 5 rupie
* 10 rupie
* 20 rupie
* 50 rupie
Image 15
Cover of "Der Eigene", vol. 10 (1924-25), no. 4
Der Eigene
Der Eigene was the first gay journal in the world, published from 1896 to 1932 by Adolf Brand in Berlin.
Image 16
Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig
Monument to the Battle of the Nations
Credit: André Karwath
A night shot of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument of the Battle of the Nations) in Leipzig, Germany.
Image 17
Town hall of Hildesheim
Town hall of Hildesheim
Credit: old postcard, public domain
Image 18
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog
Painting: Caspar David Friedrich
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is an 1818 painting by Caspar David Friedrich, a German Romantic. It has been read as a metaphor for the uncertainty of the future.
Image 19
Bellevue Palace
Photograph: Taxiarchos228
Bellevue Palace is a palace (schloss) in Berlin's Tiergarten district, along the northern edge of the Großer Tiergarten park. Designed by architect Michael Philipp Boumann, Schloss Bellevue was erected in 1786 as a summer residence for Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia. Variously used as a residence, museum, and guest house in subsequent decades, Bellevue was damaged heavily in World War II. Following substantial refurbishments, it has served as the secondary residence of the President of West Germany and official residence of the President of Germany.
Image 20
Neue Wache
Photo credit: Daniel Schwen
The interior of the Neue Wache, the central memorial of Germany for victims of war and tyranny. Located in Berlin, the building was originally built as a guardhouse, and has been used as a war memorial since 1931. The statue, Mother with her Dead Son is directly under the oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold, symbolising the suffering of civilians during World War II.
Image 21
German Papiermark
Banknote design credit: Danzig Central Finance Department; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The Papiermark is the name given to the German currency from 4 August 1914, when the link between the Goldmark and gold was abandoned. In particular, the name is used for the banknotes issued during the period of hyperinflation in Germany in 1922 and especially 1923. During this period, the Papiermark was also issued by the Free City of Danzig. The last of five series of the Danzig mark was the 1923 inflation issue, which consisted of denominations of 1 million to 10 billion issued from August to October 1923. The Danzig mark was replaced on 22 October 1923 by the Danzig gulden.

This ten-million-mark banknote, issued on 31 August 1923, features a portrait of Danzig-born astronomer Johannes Hevelius on the obverse and is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000001B-QINU`"'

* 1 million
* 100 million
* 500 million
* 5 billion
* 10 billion
Image 22
Hohenzollern Bridge and Cologne Cathedral
Hohenzollern Bridge and Cologne Cathedral
Credit: Thomas Robbin
The Hohenzollern Bridge crossing the Rhine in Cologne, Germany, with the Cologne Cathedral in the background. The bridge is a tied-arch railway bridge, as well as a pedestrian bridge. Originally built in 1911, it survived numerous Allied bombings in World War II, only to be destroyed by German engineers as the war drew to a close. Reconstruction began soon after and the bridge was opened to pedestrian traffic in 1948 and completely opened in 1959.

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Anniversaries for September 26

1868 – Death of astronomer and mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius, after whom the Möbius strip is named
1877 – Death of polymath Hermann Grassmann
1889 – Birth of philosopher Martin Heidegger

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Did you know...

... that Carola von Braun (pictured) was appointed in 1984 as the first women's representative of the Senate of West Berlin?
... that Angela Merkel was present when Günter Bannas retired as head of the national parliamentary office of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung?
... that Joseph von Utzschneider, a former member of the Illuminati, later contributed to a government-supported publication intended to demonstrate the order's dangers?
... that part of the travelling exhibition Verstummte Stimmen, which commemorated Jewish figures in opera who faced Nazi persecution, remained permanently in a park in Bayreuth?
... that German-born Katrin Bennhold has been a senior writer for The New York Times in three European capitals?
... that Johann Sigismund Weiss played the lute before the Holy Roman emperor and the assembled German princes at the 1711 imperial election?
... that Beethoven's "Tremate, empi, tremate" was not performed for ten years after it was written?
... that the 1935 Free City of Danzig parliamentary election was seen as a setback for the Nazi Party, even though it won an absolute majority of seats?
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Flammekueche (Alsatian), Flammkuchen (Standard German), or tarte flambée (French), is a speciality of the region of Alsace, German-speaking Moselle, Saarland, Baden and the Palatinate. It is composed of bread dough rolled out very thinly in the shape of a rectangle or oval, which is covered with fromage blanc or crème fraîche, thinly sliced onions and lardons.

The name of the dish varies in local dialects: it is called Flàmmeküeche, or Flàmmaküacha in Alsatian, or Flammkuche in Lorraine Franconian (compare Standard German Flammkuchen). All these names translate as "(pie) baked in the flames". In Alsace, the French name tarte flambée is the most common name for the dish, while it is known as its Alsatian name "flammekueche" in the rest of France. Contrary to what literal translation would suggest, 'tarte flambée' is not flambéed, but cooked in a wood-fired oven. (Full article...)

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