A History of German - Essay Example

Germany al Affiliation Germany is the oldest European nation. Unlike other nations, it was not colonized. German became modern in 1817, under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck the German chancellor. During the 1930s, Germany was hit hard by the great depression which caused a lot of unemployment and the people lost confidence in the Government. It was at this time that the Nazi of Germany led by Adolf Hitler restored the economic prosperity and ended the mass unemployment using the military and suppressing labor unions and strikes. This act brought them fame and recognition. Adolf Hitler killed himself before the beginning of the Second World War. Past events that occurred in Germany have affected the current political and economic status of Germany. The economy is still a boost and has been ranked fourth and the politics are still the same, with the country been headed by a president and a chancellor. Due to the effects of the cold war, Germany has improved and the current unification of the 1990 has boosted the status of the nation. Keywords: Germany, position As the oldest European nation, Germany has a history that began during the interplay between the German tribes and the Roman Empire. Modern Germany was formed in 1817, under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor. He tried to bring allies with Europe (Salmons, 2012). The industrial revolution modernized the German economy and this led to the rapid growth of cities and the emergence of the socialist movement in the nation. During the 1930s, Germany was hit hard by the great depression, which caused a lot of unemployment and the people lost confidence in the Government. The Nazi of Germany led by Adolf Hitler restored the economic prosperity and ended the mass unemployment using the military and suppressing labor unions and strikes. This act brought them fame and recognition. Nevertheless, the regimes were hostile to the Jews who became the main target to attacks. When the Nazi were defeated, this brought forth the cold war which divided Germany into two parts namely the democratic West Germany and the communist East Germany; during this time, many people fled from the communist area to the democratic area (Salmons, 2012). As a result of this division, NATO was formed, which later became the European Union and then the world’s largest economy. During this time, East Germany was a communist region and it was headed by dictators. The cold war started as a result of the contradicting issue between the US and the Soviet Union trying to reconstruct Europe after the Second World War, as well as the future of Germany and the establishment of international supremacy in politics (Aneek, 2010). Germany is the largest economy in Europe having the fourth largest GDP in the world. Since the era of industrialization, Germany has been beneficiary to the global economy. The reason why Germany has continued to be superior is because of its military and economic power. The history of Germany has been marked by the nation’s geographical position and its strong economic strength (Hendriks & Morgan, 2001). It was after the Second World War that Germany got a drastic political, economic, and social transformation. The cold war has had an effect in today’s society and the past. International politics have undergone many changes after the end of the Second World War. Until the Second World War, several European states like Germany and Britain determined and controlled events in the International politics. However, after the war was over, everything changed, the country had been damaged economically and politically. The cold war affected people everywhere; there was rapid industrialization and expansion of the global economy. The German economy is modern but it can be viewed as old fashioned. It is powerful but it suffers from severe structural weakness and it’s a subject to the European Union, that it is no longer truly independent. Germany’s status today can be traced back to the twentieth century. The two world wars were caused by German’s ambition, and this left the country defeated, isolated, as well as economically and politically devastated. The cold war followed soon after and Germany was its focus (Schanz & Donaldson, 2004). It was during this time that the capitalist and communist system of government clashed. Germany’s political democracy has fully taken its shape in the federal republic which was formed from the basic law. Germans democracy, like the European democracy, values and supports the power of Government. Germans democracy into the federal republic respects the rule of law. In the present German, which is unified and has freed the constraints that were imposed by the cold war, the political arena has widened, so that it is able to tolerate the great scope of the political arena (Mertes, Muller & Winckler, 1996). Germany is a multinational country, which has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union and the social democratic party of Germany. During the era of Adolf Hitler, the economy grew rapidly and at a steady pace, but in the current era, the economy of Germany is facing a slower growth and the rate of unemployment is high (Mertes, Muller & Winckler, 1996). Germany underwent unification in 1990 and this changed the face of the nation politically. This is because the nation got to reflect on the West German politics and the economic system, which created a climate of political stability and this was the main goal of the West Germany Basic law. The politics of Germans have been influenced by the effect of the cold war, which changed the political and economic climate. In conclusion, Germany is one of the Europe’s oldest Nations. Modern German was formed in 1817, under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck the German chancellor. The industrial revolution modernized the German economy and this led to the rapid growth of cities and the emergence of the socialist movement in Germany. After the industrialization, Germany faced the great depression that caused unemployment and a meltdown of the economy. The economy was improved by the rise of Adolf Hitler, but when his term was over, Germany faced the cold war. This was the period that defined the political and economic culture in Germany. References Aneek, C. (2010). International Relations Today: Concepts and Applications. Delhi: Dorling Kindersley. Hendriks, G. & Morgan, A. (2001). The Franco-German Axis in European Integration. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Mertes, M., Müller, S. & Winckler, H. A. (1996). In Search of Germany. New Jersey: Transaction publishers. Salmons, J. (2012). A History of German. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Schanz, S. & Donaldson, G. (2004). Germany. London: Evans Brothers Limited. Read More