Germany Facts: The Country, Its Past, and Its People
Germany Facts – The Country
Germany is part of the European Union and is located in Central Europe. It is about the same size as the State of Montana and is made up of three geographic areas: the North German Plain, the Central German Uplands and the Southern German Highlands. The country’s official name is the Federal Republic of Germany (in German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland).
Germany is surrounded by 10 other countries. To the west are the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Switzerland and Austria lie to the south. The Czech Republic and Poland are on the eastern side of Germany, and Denmark is on the northern border with the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the east.
Berlin is the capital city of Germany, and it is located in the northeastern part of the country near the Polish border. Other major German cities are Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.
The Danube is one of Germany’s major rivers, along with the Elbe, the Oder, the Rhine and the Weser. Although it begins in Germany, the Danube River flows through or touches 9 other countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine.
German Facts – Past and Present
Germany was at the center of World War II, mostly due to the infamously evil leader Adolph Hitler. Hitler began the second world war by invading Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and by the end, more than 6 million Jewish people were erased from existence. After the war, Germany was divided into the communist East Germany and the democratic West Germany.
After years of division, East German citizens broke through the Berlin Wall, which was erected to keep them from moving west, on Nov. 9, 1989. East and West Germany officially became one united country again on Oct. 3, 1990, and joined together for the first time since the war ended in 1945.
Today, Germany is the second most populous European country (Russia is first). Germany also boasts the continent’s most powerful economy and leads the EU in industrial strength.
As a federal republic, Germany is ruled by both a president and a chancellor. As a member of the European Union, the official currency of Germany is the Euro.
Germany Facts – The People
The current German population is estimated to be more than 82 million, with around 80 percent of Germans living in urban areas. The official language is German, and that is also the most common ethnicity found throughout the country. Approximately 70 percent of Germans are either Catholic or Protestant. There is a very small Muslim population and nearly a quarter of Germans claim no official religious affiliation.
The people of Germany have struggled for many years to regain their identify after a rather horrific past. In today’s world, Germany is a leader in industry and the country has definitely begun to enjoy a higher status on the world stage.