The German Way: Life in Austria, Germany, Switzerland

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The Germans call it Deutschland (doytsh-lahnt). In English we call it Germany. But how much do you really know about Germany and the other German-speaking countries? On this page you can learn more about this nation of 82 million people, the most populous country in the European Union. Please read on…

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Germany: History

The nation that we informally call Germany (full name: Federal Republic of Germany, Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is much younger than the United States of America! Even if we go back to Prussia (Preussen) and the first German unification of 1871, that makes Germany as a nation almost a century younger than the U.S. (Constitution ratified in 1789).

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), the current German government and constitution (das Grundgesetz), was established on May 23, 1949. (Konrad Adenauer became the new nation’s first chancellor, serving for 14 years.) But from the very beginning, in the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided into eastern and western halves. The Soviet occupation zone in eastern Germany became the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) on October 7, 1949. East Germany had a much more centralized, communist government.

Until the infamous Berlin Wall was built in August 1961, Germans could travel freely back and forth between East and West Germany. The Wall would become a stark symbol of both the Cold War and a divided Germany until its amazing collapse in November 1989. Berlin (East and West) was a hotbed for espionage and Cold War intrigue.

Although most Germans believed it would never happen, German reunification arrived with little warning in 1990. The collapse of the Soviet Union and other historical events led to rapid changes in the world map and the political landscape. West German chancellor Helmut Kohl presided over bringing East Germany back into the fold, even though some argued that it was too much, too soon.

Germany Today: Facts and Figures

  • Official Name: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD (Federal Republic of Germany, FRG)
  • Government: Federal republic; parliamentary democracy with two legislative bodies: the Bundestag (lower house of representatives) and the Bundesrat (upper house)
  • President (Bundespräsident): Christian Wulff (since June 2010), Horst Köhler (2004-2010)
  • Chancellor (Bundeskanzlerin): Angela Merkel (since 2005)
  • Size: 137,847 sq mi (357,021 sq km), slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Montana (145,552 sq mi)
  • Population: 82.4 million (2008 est.)
  • Capital City: Berlin (since Oct. 3, 1990), Bonn (1949-1990)
  • National Holiday: October 3, Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), since 1990 - More: Other German holidays
  • Largest Cities: Berlin 3,274,500, Hamburg 1,686,100, Munich (München) 1,185,400, Cologne (Köln) 965,300, Frankfurt am Main 648,000, Essen 588,800, Dortmund 587,600, Stuttgart 581,100, Düsseldorf 568,900, Bremen 527,900, Hanover (Hannover) 516,300, Duisburg 513,400
  • Ethnicity: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, Italian 0.7%, Greek 0.4%, Polish 0.4%, other 4.6%
  • Religions: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 0.1%, unaffiliated or other 28%
  • Monetary Unit: Euro (since 2002), Deutsche Mark (DM, German mark, 1949-2001)
  • Climate: Temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters (snow mostly in mountainous areas); mild summers with occasional heat waves; occasional warm mountain winds (Föhn) in Alpine regions
  • Highest Point: Zugspitze 9,721 ft (2,962 m) in the Bavarian Alps
  • Seacoast: Baltic Sea, North Sea; total coastline 1,484 mi (2,389 km)
  • Neighboring Countries (9): Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland
  • Famous Germans: Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Werner von Braun, Albert Einstein, Angela Merkel, Friedrich Nietzsche and more…

MORE > Cultural Differences - USA-Germany - Comparison charts

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Hyde Flippo is solely responsible for the content of this site and, other than permission granted to publish copyrighted material, McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Publishing has no direct involvement, financial or otherwise, with this site. When in Germany, Do As the Germans ©2002 McGraw-Hill; The German Way ©1997 McGraw-Hill/Passport Books. All rights reserved | Site Map | Advertise with us!