Germany
1st Edition
Published on 15. July 2013
354 pages
978-1-61530-983-2 (ISBN)
Description
Germany's complex past is riddled with both stunning triumphs and staggering failures. Once little more than a federation of tribes, over the course of its history, it formed various alliances, some of which were broken while others survived and allowed Germany to become a significant power in Europe and the world. And although a sense of German national identity was centuries in the making, folk traditions, regional culture, and a robust intellectual tradition have endured throughout the ages and produced world-famous musicians, artists, and writers. Still, Germany's roles in both World Wars remains a significant-and appalling-part of its history. This all-encompassing volume profiles Germany from antiquity to the present day, examining its layered past, including its transition from a world power to a divided state and the major economic strides it has made since unification.
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Content
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Land
- Relief
- The Central German Uplands
- Black Forest
- The North German Plain
- The Coasts
- The Alps and the Alpine Foreland
- Drainage
- Soils
- Lake Constance
- Climate
- Plant and Animal Life
- Plants
- Animals
- Chapter 2: People
- Ethnic Groups
- Languages
- German Language
- Religion
- Martin Luther
- Settlement Patterns
- Rural Settlement
- Urban Settlement
- Demographic Trends
- Migration
- Population Structure
- Population Distribution
- Chapter 3: Economy
- Modern Economic History: From Partition to Reunification
- The West German System
- The East German System
- Economic Unification and Beyond
- Agriculture
- Forestry
- Fishing
- Resources and Power
- Manufacturing
- Volkswagen AG
- Finance
- The Central Banking System
- The Private Banking Sector
- Public and Cooperative Institutions
- Deutsche Bank AG
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and Taxation
- German Trade Union Federation
- Transportation and Telecommunications
- Waterways
- Seaports
- Railways
- Highways
- Autobahn
- Air Transport
- Telecommunications
- Chapter 4: Government and Society
- Reichstag
- Regional and Local Government
- Justice
- Political Process
- The Electorate
- Political Parties
- Security
- Health and Welfare
- Insurance and Services
- Additional Benefits
- War Reparations
- Standards of Living
- Housing
- Education
- Preschool, Elementary, and Secondary
- Higher Education
- Problems of Transition
- Chapter 5: Cultural Life
- Cultural Milieu
- Daily Life and Social Customs
- The Arts
- Government and Audience Support
- Literature and Theatre
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Music and Dance
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- The Visual Arts
- Architecture
- Bauhaus
- Film
- Arts Festivals
- Cultural Institutions
- Museums and Galleries
- Libraries
- Sports and Recreation
- Sporting Culture
- Leisure Activities
- Oktoberfest
- Media and Publishing
- Broadcasting
- The Press
- Publishing
- Chapter 6: Germany from Ancient Times to 1250 ce
- Arminius
- Coexistence with Rome to 350 ce
- The Migration Period
- Merovingians and Carolingians
- Merovingian Germany
- The Rise of the Carolingians and Boniface
- Charlemagne
- The Emergence of Germany
- Louis the German
- The Saxon, Salian, and Hohenstaufen Dynasties
- The 10th and 11th Centuries
- Holy Roman Empire
- Germany and the Hohenstaufen, 1125-1250
- Chapter 7: Germany from 1250 to 1493
- The Extinction of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty
- The Great Interregnum
- The Rise of the Habsburgs and Luxembourgs
- Rudolf of Habsburg
- Adolf of Nassau
- Albert I of Habsburg
- Henry VII of Luxembourg
- The Growth of Territorialism Under the Princes
- Constitutional Conflicts in the 14th Century
- Charles IV and the Golden Bull
- Decline of the German Monarchy
- Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV
- The Continued Ascendancy of the Princes
- Southern Germany
- Central Germany
- Northern Germany
- Eastern Germany
- Continued Dispersement of Territory
- Internal Strife Among Cities and Princes
- Wenceslas
- Rupert
- Sigismund
- The Hussite Controversy
- Jan Hus
- The Hussite Wars
- The Habsburgs and the Imperial Office
- Albert II
- Frederick III
- Developments in the Individual States to About 1500
- The Princes and the Landstände
- The Growth of Central Governments
- German Society, Economy, and Culture in the 14th and 15th Centuries
- Transformation of Rural Life
- The Nobility
- Urban Life
- The Decline of the Church
- Trade and Industry
- Hanseatic League
- Cultural Life
- Chapter 8: Germany from 1493 to 1871
- Reform and Reformation, 1493-1555
- The Empire in 1493
- Imperial Reform
- The Reformation
- Imperial Election of 1519 and the Diet of Worms
- The Revolution of 1525
- Lutheran Church Organization and Confessionalization
- Religious War and the Peace of Augsburg
- Peace of Augsburg
- The Confessional Age, 1555-1648
- German Society in the Later 1500s
- Religion and Politics, 1555-1618
- The Thirty Years' War and the Peace of Westphalia
- Territorial States in the Age of Absolutism
- The Empire After Westphalia
- The Consolidation of Brandenburg-Prussia and Austria
- The Age of Louis XIV
- The Contest Between Prussia and Austria
- The Rise of Prussia and the Napoleonic Era
- Further Rise of Prussia and the Hohenzollerns
- The Cultural Scene
- Sturm und Drang
- Enlightened Reform and Benevolent Despotism
- Junkers
- The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era
- Results of the Congress of Vienna
- Metternich and the Unification of Germany
- Reform and Reaction
- Evolution of Parties and Ideologies
- Economic Changes and the Zollverein
- The Revolutions of 1848-49
- The 1850s: years of Political Reaction and Economic Growth
- The 1860s: The Triumphs of Bismarck
- Otto von Bismarck
- Chapter 9: Germany from 1871 to the Modern Era
- The German Empire, 1871-1914
- Domestic Concerns
- Kulturkampf
- The Economy, 1870-90
- Foreign Policy, 1870-90
- Politics, 1890-1914
- The Economy, 1890-1914
- Foreign Policy, 1890-1914
- World War I
- U-boat
- The Wiemar Republic and the Third Reich
- The Rise and Fall of the Weimar Republic, 1918-33
- The Third Reich, 1933-45
- Berlin 1936 Olympic Games
- Nürnberg Laws
- Blitzkrieg
- Partition, Reunification, and Beyond
- Allied Occupation and the Formation of the Two Germanys, 1945-49
- Stasi
- Political Consolidation and Economic Growth, 1949-69
- Berlin Wall
- Ostpolitik and Reconciliation, 1969-89
- The Reunification of Germany
- Angela Merkel
- Conclusion
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- Back Cover
