Germany, Part 7: A Greater Union

 We left our story last time with Germany divided into East and West, with the West thriving and East languishing. But change was on the horizon.

Reunification

Communist regimes fell like dominoes across Eastern Europe in 1989/90. For Germans, attention turned towards reunification. 3 October 1990 is the “Tag der Deutschen Einheit”- Germany unity day. Again, and at last, Germany was reunited. But disparities and difficulties remained- after all, the East had fallen far behind the West in prosperity, and taxes were raised on the West to help address that.

Sport

Sports have done wonders to help unite and heal the German people. Soccer, of course, is the most popular sport in Germany. Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006, and this was the first time since WWII that you saw Germans proudly waving their flag. They would win the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, powered by a systematic nationwide soccer program.

European Union

In 1957, West Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community, which was a precursor to the European Communities (1967), which was a precursor to the European Union (1993). Today, the EU is "a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe . . . [and] has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one." (wikipedia) In 2002, a common currency- the Euro- was introduced in many (but not all) member nations, replacing national currencies (like the Deutschmark).

The EU has morphed in function and member countries over time. Today, be aware that there are three main components to the EU- the overall union, the border agreement, and the common currency. Countries may be in one, two, or all three of these areas- check first when traveling! The graphic I show above is no longer accurate, as the UK exited the EU in February of this year.

It is no surprise that Germany plays a leading role in EU affairs. They have, after all, centuries of experience working within a 'patchwork' construct that was the Holy Roman Empire, which has given them a willingness to compromise and accommodate differences.

Germany Today

Germany today is strong and a model for the world. (As a friend from the Balkans put it: "Germany is our ideal.") Though their twentieth century story includes the horrors of WWII, the Germans have done a remarkable job owning up to, and atoning for, their mistakes as they rebuilt their society and played a significant role in the reconciliation and restoral of Europe. For example, they accepted more than one million refugees in 2015 from the war-torn regions in the Middle East and have worked hard at integrating them into society, giving a future and a hope to people who otherwise had none. 

Looking back through Germany's more distant past, we see a land strong and diverse. They beat back the Romans, enjoyed a more decentralized existence during the HRE than many of their neighbors (which enabled tolerance of diverse views), played a central role in the Reformation, endured the horrors of the Thirty Years War, and started to coalesce in a more unified way after the Napoleonic era.

I have lived in Germany for six years now (2007-11 and 2018-present). I can attest to the strength of their society. It is structured (sometimes annoyingly so) but fair. The government seems (to me) a pleasant mix of conservative and liberal ideas, borrowing the best from both idealogies to create a strong nation. We see it in many areas, not least their handling of the current pandemic. It is certainly not perfect- no country is- but we have benefited from and enjoyed our time here.

Touring Germany

Germany is full of breathtaking sights, from the historical to architectural to natural. One way to see them is by following their roads.

Germans have always loved their roads. In fact, the US got the idea of highways from the Germans- in WWII, Eisenhower was impressed with the German network. In Germany, there are many roads designated as tourist ‘trails’- they are great to follow in part or whole if you’re looking for things to do. 

Some examples:

• Fairy Tale Road- follow this route to towns, buildings, and sites said to inspire tales found in the Brothers Grimm stories.
• Romantic & Castle Roads- routes that run through areas of high numbers of castle or ‘romantic’ sites
• There are others- the Limes Road, Wine road, half-timbered road, and more!

In the pandemic, these roads provide excellent ways to enjoy the land while maintaining appropriate distance. See my 'pandemic tourism' page for more information.

Works Cited

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview of German history. Covering two thousand years in seven blog posts requires a good deal of summarization, reduction, and omission; that said, I hope that I hit the highlights (and if I missed or misrepresented something major, please contact me).

I relied on a number of resources in creating this presentation. For a book-length survey on German 

history, Neil MacGregor's Germany is fantastic and inspired the general outline for my presentation. Other works focused on specific times or topics:

Roman times:

- Tacitus, Germania

The early church & Reformation:

- Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (Volume 1)

- Stephen Nichols, The Reformation

Medieval times:

- C.V. Wedgwood, The Thirty Years War

Prussia:

- Christopher Clark, Iron Kingdom

World Wars:

- DK Publishing, World War I: The Definitive Visual History

- DK Publishing, World War II: The Definitive Visual History

Wikipedia and general Google searches supplemented the above resources, filling in gaps and providing local information. 

Images presented are a combination of the author's personal photographs and pictures, graphics, and other images found from simple Google searches. 

For Further Reading

Other works pertaining to Germany on my German Reading List.