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| image_coat = File:Coat of arms of Germany.svg | | image_coat = File:Coat of arms of Germany.svg | ||
|national_motto=Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit<ref group=Note>From 1949 to 1962, this was 'Gott mit uns' ('God with us').</ref>|englishmotto=Unity and Justice and Freedom| image_map = Germany (ortographic projection).svg | |national_motto=Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit<ref group=Note>From 1949 to 1962, this was 'Gott mit uns' ('God with us').</ref>|englishmotto=Unity and Justice and Freedom| image_map = Germany (ortographic projection).svg | ||
| map_width = | | map_width = 220px | ||
| capital = [[Berlin]]<ref group=Note>From 1949 until unification in 1990, the capital city was [[Bonn]]. In 1990, as dictated by the [[Two plus Four Agreement]], Berlin was made the capital; and in the following year, the [[Bundestag]] was moved there.</ref> | | capital = [[Berlin]]<ref group=Note>From 1949 until unification in 1990, the capital city was [[Bonn]]. In 1990, as dictated by the [[Two plus Four Agreement]], Berlin was made the capital; and in the following year, the [[Bundestag]] was moved there.</ref> | ||
| largest_city = capital | | largest_city = capital | ||
|mode_of_production=[[ | |mode_of_production=[[Capitalism]]| government_type = [[Federation|Federal]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie|bourgeois state]] | ||
| established_event1 = Dissolution of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] | | established_event1 = Dissolution of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] | ||
| established_date1 = 6 August 1806 | | established_date1 = 6 August 1806 | ||
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| leader_title2 = Chancellor | | leader_title2 = Chancellor | ||
| leader_name2 = [[Olaf Scholz]] | | leader_name2 = [[Olaf Scholz]] | ||
}}'''Germany''', officially the '''Federal Republic of Germany''' ''(German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland)'', is a country in [[Central Europe]]. It is | }}'''Germany''', officially the '''Federal Republic of Germany''' ''(German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland)'', is a country in [[Central Europe]]. It is the second-most populous country in [[Europe]] after [[Russian Federation|Russia]], and the most populous member state of the [[European Union]]. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
=== | === Foundation === | ||
[[File:Divided Germany.png|thumb|280x280px|British-occupied Germany (green), French-occupied Germany (blue), Soviet-occupied Germany (red), and US-occupied Germany (yellow)]] | [[File:Divided Germany.png|thumb|280x280px|British-occupied Germany (green), French-occupied Germany (blue), Soviet-occupied Germany (red), and US-occupied Germany (yellow)]] | ||
After the defeat of Axis forces during the [[Second World War]], Germany was divided into four zones occupied by the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]], [[United States of America|USA]], France and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Great Britain]]. At the [[Yalta Conference]] in early 1945, they agreed to make all of Germany pay $10 billion reparations to the USSR. The USA violated this agreement in May 1946 and only let the USSR take reparations from the east. | After the defeat of Axis forces during the [[Second World War]], Germany was divided into four zones occupied by the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]], [[United States of America|USA]], [[French Republic|France]] and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Great Britain]]. At the [[Yalta Conference]] in early 1945, they agreed to make all of Germany pay $10 billion reparations to the USSR. The USA violated this agreement in May 1946 and only let the USSR take reparations from the east. | ||
In 1948, France, the UK, and the USA merged their occupation zones to form West Germany. The Soviet Union then tried to blockade West Berlin to make it pay reparations, but the USA broke the blockade with an airlift.<ref name=":052">{{Citation|author=Austin Murphy|year=2000|title=The Triumph of Evil|chapter=A Comparative Analysis of East and West German Financial Systems in Light of the New Evidence|page=154|pdf=https://mltheory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/austin-murphy-the-triumph-of-evil.pdf|city=Fucecchio|publisher=European Press Academic Publishing|isbn=8883980026}}</ref> The USA wrote the constitution of West Germany, which was never approved by voters. The constitution refused to recognize the GDR as a legitimate country.<ref name=":05">{{Citation|author=Austin Murphy|year=2000|title=The Triumph of Evil|chapter=A Detailed Autopsy of the Collapse of the Superior System in the Divided Germany|page=|pdf=https://mltheory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/austin-murphy-the-triumph-of-evil.pdf|city=Fucecchio|publisher=European Press Academic Publishing|isbn=8883980026}}</ref><sup>:114</sup> | In 1948, France, the UK, and the USA merged their occupation zones to form West Germany. The Soviet Union then tried to blockade West Berlin to make it pay reparations, but the USA broke the blockade with an airlift.<ref name=":052">{{Citation|author=Austin Murphy|year=2000|title=The Triumph of Evil|chapter=A Comparative Analysis of East and West German Financial Systems in Light of the New Evidence|page=154|pdf=https://mltheory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/austin-murphy-the-triumph-of-evil.pdf|city=Fucecchio|publisher=European Press Academic Publishing|isbn=8883980026}}</ref> The USA wrote the constitution of West Germany, which was never approved by voters. The constitution refused to recognize the GDR as a legitimate country.<ref name=":05">{{Citation|author=Austin Murphy|year=2000|title=The Triumph of Evil|chapter=A Detailed Autopsy of the Collapse of the Superior System in the Divided Germany|page=|pdf=https://mltheory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/austin-murphy-the-triumph-of-evil.pdf|city=Fucecchio|publisher=European Press Academic Publishing|isbn=8883980026}}</ref><sup>:114</sup> | ||
=== Annexation of the GDR === | === Annexation of the GDR === | ||
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The majority of East Germans only began to support unification in 1990, when Westerners had dropped the GDR's standard of living by more than two-thirds by shopping there with the 3:1 exchange rate. At this time, they still wanted a left-wing government. Western conservatives promised to establish a 1:1 exchange rate if bourgeois parties won the GDR's elections, leading those parties to narrowly win the 1990 elections and impose a [[Capitalism|capitalist]] counterrevolution.<ref name=":05" /><sup>:149–50</sup> | The majority of East Germans only began to support unification in 1990, when Westerners had dropped the GDR's standard of living by more than two-thirds by shopping there with the 3:1 exchange rate. At this time, they still wanted a left-wing government. Western conservatives promised to establish a 1:1 exchange rate if bourgeois parties won the GDR's elections, leading those parties to narrowly win the 1990 elections and impose a [[Capitalism|capitalist]] counterrevolution.<ref name=":05" /><sup>:149–50</sup> | ||
=== Russo-Ukrainian conflict === | === Russo-Ukrainian conflict === | ||
Due to the [[2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict]], Chancellor [[Olaf Scholz]] announced he would more than double Germany's military budget, putting it on track to become the third largest military in the world.<ref>{{News citation|author=Rob Schmitz|newspaper=NPR|title=Germany is building what's expected to become Europe's largest military|date=2022-03-17|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087137501/germany-is-building-whats-expected-to-become-europe-s-largest-military?t=1647958115615|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324053152/https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087137501/germany-is-building-whats-expected-to-become-europe-s-largest-military|archive-date=2022-03-24|retrieved=2022-05-08}}</ref> The German government banned displaying the [[Flag of the Soviet Union|Soviet flag]], flown by the liberators during the Second World War, and allowed the use of the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] flag, which was only used by Nazi collaborators during the war.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Peter Schwarz|newspaper=[[WSWS]]|title=May 8 and the rehabilitation of Nazism in Germany|date=2023-05-12|url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/12/agbd-m12.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512063725/https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/12/agbd-m12.html|archive-date=2023-05-12}}</ref> | |||
Chancellor [[Olaf Scholz]] announced he would more than double Germany's military budget, putting it on track to become the third largest military in the world.<ref>{{News citation|author=Rob Schmitz|newspaper=NPR|title=Germany is building what's expected to become Europe's largest military|date=2022-03-17|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087137501/germany-is-building-whats-expected-to-become-europe-s-largest-military?t=1647958115615|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324053152/https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087137501/germany-is-building-whats-expected-to-become-europe-s-largest-military|archive-date=2022-03-24|retrieved=2022-05-08}}</ref> The German government banned displaying the [[Flag of the Soviet Union|Soviet flag]], flown by the liberators during the Second World War, and allowed the use of the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] flag, which was only used by Nazi collaborators during the war.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Peter Schwarz|newspaper=[[WSWS]]|title=May 8 and the rehabilitation of Nazism in Germany|date=2023-05-12|url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/12/agbd-m12.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512063725/https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/12/agbd-m12.html|archive-date=2023-05-12 | |||
==Economy== | ==Economy== | ||
The vast amount of [[Social democracy|social programs]] in Germany are largely sustained off economic exploitation of less developed parts of [[Europe]], with German finance capital having a large amount of influence over the European banking system, the [[eurozone]], and the euro. Furthermore, the German economy, along with the other highly developed economies of Western Europe, are able to benefit greatly as a result of human capital flight from other areas in Europe, particularly the former [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992)|Yugoslavia]] and Balkans,<ref>{{News citation|author=Satyajit Das|newspaper=MarketWatch|title=Germany and France can’t afford euro-zone bailout|date=2012-6-7|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/germany-and-france-cant-afford-euro-zone-bailout-2012-06-07?link=MW_story_investinginsight|retrieved=2022-7-2}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|author=Fred Goldstein|newspaper=Workers World|title=German imperialism and the Greek debt crisis|date=2015-3-15|url=https://www.workers.org/2015/03/18697/|retrieved=2022-7-2}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|newspaper=OECD|title=HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON SOUTH EAST EUROPE | The vast amount of [[Social democracy|social programs]] in Germany are largely sustained off economic exploitation of less developed parts of [[Europe]], with German finance capital having a large amount of influence over the European banking system, the [[eurozone]], and the euro. Furthermore, the German economy, along with the other highly developed economies of Western Europe, are able to benefit greatly as a result of human capital flight from other areas in Europe, particularly the former [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992)|Yugoslavia]] and Balkans,<ref>{{News citation|author=Satyajit Das|newspaper=MarketWatch|title=Germany and France can’t afford euro-zone bailout|date=2012-6-7|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/germany-and-france-cant-afford-euro-zone-bailout-2012-06-07?link=MW_story_investinginsight|retrieved=2022-7-2}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|author=Fred Goldstein|newspaper=Workers World|title=German imperialism and the Greek debt crisis|date=2015-3-15|url=https://www.workers.org/2015/03/18697/|retrieved=2022-7-2}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|newspaper=OECD|title=HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON SOUTH EAST EUROPE | ||
HUMAN CAPITAL FLIGHT - SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER|date=2022-5-17|url=https://www.oecd.org/south-east-europe/programme/up-coming.htm|retrieved=2022-7-2|quote=Emigration from the Western Balkan Six (WB6) region has been significant for decades, generating a large diaspora. In 2020, more than one in five citizens born in the region lived abroad, predominantly in a handful of OECD countries. This trend is set to continue as more than one third of WB6 citizens surveyed in 2021 consider emigrating. While sustained high emigration levels, especially of young talents}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|newspaper=The Global Economy|title=Human flight and brain drain in Europe|date=2021|url=https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/human_flight_brain_drain_index/Europe/|retrieved=2022-7-2}}</ref> which is one of the primary goals of the European Union, that being the unfettered transportation of capital.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=The EU single market|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001122551/http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/index_en.htm|archive-date=2007-9-1}}</ref> | HUMAN CAPITAL FLIGHT - SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER|date=2022-5-17|url=https://www.oecd.org/south-east-europe/programme/up-coming.htm|retrieved=2022-7-2|quote=Emigration from the Western Balkan Six (WB6) region has been significant for decades, generating a large diaspora. In 2020, more than one in five citizens born in the region lived abroad, predominantly in a handful of OECD countries. This trend is set to continue as more than one third of WB6 citizens surveyed in 2021 consider emigrating. While sustained high emigration levels, especially of young talents}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|newspaper=The Global Economy|title=Human flight and brain drain in Europe|date=2021|url=https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/human_flight_brain_drain_index/Europe/|retrieved=2022-7-2}}</ref> which is one of the primary goals of the [[European Union]], that being the unfettered transportation of capital.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=The EU single market|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001122551/http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/index_en.htm|archive-date=2007-9-1}}</ref> | ||
==Politics== | ==Politics== | ||
[[File:Germany election map.png|thumb|2019 German election: [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] (gray), [[Alliance 90/The Greens|Greens]] (green), [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] (red), and [[Alternative for Germany|AfD]] (blue)]] | [[File:Germany election map.png|thumb|2019 German election: [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] (gray), [[Alliance 90/The Greens|Greens]] (green), [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] (red), and [[Alternative for Germany|AfD]] (blue)]] | ||
The [[Far-right politics|far-right]] Alternative for Germany received 11% of the vote in the 2019 German elections | The [[Far-right politics|far-right]] Alternative for Germany received 11% of the vote in the 2019 German elections. Since 2015, it has become openly [[Racism|racist]] and [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] and many of its leaders promote Nazi concepts. The AfD also denies [[climate change]].<ref>{{Web citation|date=2019-07-22|title=Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group|url=https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|newspaper=[[CovertAction Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921200918/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|archive-date=2020-09-21|retrieved=2022-11-23|author=Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis}}</ref> | ||
Since 2015, | |||
=== Lack of democracy === | === Lack of democracy === | ||
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==Infrastructure== | ==Infrastructure== | ||
==Demographics== | ==Demographics== | ||
==Culture== | ==Culture== | ||
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===Notes=== | ===Notes=== | ||
<references group=Note /> | <references group=Note /> | ||
[[Category:Countries]] | |||
[[Category:Imperialist countries]] | [[Category:Imperialist countries]] | ||
[[Category:Global north]] | [[Category:Global north]] | ||
[[Category:Outline needs additional content]] | [[Category:Outline needs additional content]] | ||
[[Category:European countries]] | [[Category:European countries]] | ||