Descrittore
Termine preferito
(PIQ) Germania CercaDefinizione
Location: Central Europe, bordered in 1938 by Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Lithuania.
Capital city: Berlin (1871-1945); Bonn (1949-1999); Berlin (since 2000)
History:
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey joined together as the Central Powers to fight Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the United States (Allies) during World War I (1914-1918). After its defeat, Germany accepted the Allied peace terms which forced Germany to turn over its overseas colonies as well as some of its European territory, demilitarize the Rhineland, and accept Allied occupation until 1930. During the November 1918 revolution, William II abdicated. Germany's postwar era, the Weimar Republic, suffered from the economic and social pressures resulting from a costly war. The Great Depression began in 1929 and led to massive unemployment and social discontent. This atmosphere ultimately contributed to Adolf Hitler's political success and his appointment as chancellor in 1933. At the time, Germany's Jewish population amounted to over 500,000. After 1933, anti-Jewish policies made it increasingly difficult for Jews to live in Germany and many Jews emigrated. In 1939, Germany, now allied with Italy and Japan (the Axis powers), started WWII by invading Poland. Anti-Jewish policies were implemented by Germany and its allies in most of Europe culminating in the systematic murder of the European Jewish population. By the end of 1945, over 6 Million Jews had been murdered. This event became to be known as The Holocaust or The Shoah. The Allies ultimately defeated Germany and the Axis powers in 1945 and divided Germany into four zones of occupation. After disagreements with the USSR about the reunification of these zones, the United States, Britain, and France consolidated their zones in 1949 into the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD, West Germany). The German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) formed out of the former Soviet occupied zone with a communist government. The former capital city, Berlin, was divided. The western part was under the Authorities of the western Allies (France, Britain and the USA) until reunification. The eastern part of Berlin, was to have the same status but that was ignored by the GDR. In 1961, the Soviets authorized the building of the Berlin Wall to separate East and West Berlin. In 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down and Germany reunified on October 3, 1990. (en-US)
Fonte
Encyclopaedia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1995. Vol.5, p. 217, 219-220, Vol. 20, p. 111-131