Study of German History

It's a shame nowadays when most people hear the word German they quickly associate it with Hitler's Nazi Germany. I suppose it's hard not to, when you consider the extreme ideology of Aryan supremacy, war mongering, and genocide that shook the entire world for ten years. It has forever scarred the German legacy, and perhaps rightfully so.

However with that said, it's fair to note that prior to the terrible Nazi regime, the German people had a long rich history to be proud of. Throughout history they've contributed in numerous fields ranging from science, philosophy, classical music, architecture, folklore, and religious reform to name a few. Ever since the dark days of the Third Reich, they've been slowly on the upswing returning to these traditional German values and customs.

I've developed a personal interest in Germany over the years for various reasons. My dad spent some time there with the military in the 70s and would always tell us of his hippy adventures on his Ducati motorcycle. Then there was the World Cup Final of 2002, where I first discovered Germany's powerful futbol history. During my time in Costa Rica 09 I met many Germans; some were friendly, some were serious, some were very blunt, and all of them were interesting. Here in Indianapolis, the past few years I've continued to bump into proud Germans here and there, and I've begun to admire their unique culture.

The Germanic Tribes

The region of Germania, east of the Rhine river, began to take shape with the rise of barbaric tribes that challenged the Roman Empire. Their first major victory came in the year 9 AD, at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest where the German tribes led by Arminius were able to defeat the Roman armies. However these Germanic Wars continued for many years from 113 BC to the Roman Empire's eventual collapse in 596 AD. Germanic tribes such as the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards, Saxons, and Franks played a crucial role in the fall of the Roman Empire. In 493, the Ostrogoth tribe led by, Theodoric the Great lead the final conquest of Italy.


By the late 5th century the Franks became the most powerful Germanic tribe in the region and after the downfall of the Roman Empire, the Frankish Empire took control of central Europe. The kingdom was founded by Clovis in 496 as he became the first Merovingian Frankish King. Clovis ushered in an era of Catholic reform throughout central Europe that was later carried forth by his predecessor Charles the Great, "Charlemagne". From 771 to 814 King Charles lead an expansive conquest into the western Germanic lands and south into Italy, uniting the Frank and Germanic tribes. By 800 Charlemagne was considered the father of Europe and became crowned by the pope as the first Holy Roman Emperor.

The Holy Roman Empire

Charlemagne's reunification of Europe lead to an era of inspiration within the Catholic Church known as the Carolingian Renaissance. However this period of influence was short-lived when Charlemagne's grandchildren began fighting for control and splitting territory. By 843 the Carolingian Empire was divided into 3 sections; West Francia (which would later become the Kingdom of France), Middle Francia (which Incorporated the Kingdom of Italy) and East Francia (which would later become the Kingdom of Germany).

By 936 Otto the Great, eldest son of Henry the Fowler, began an expansive campaign as King of Germany. He furthered the tribes unification through strategic marriages, powerful appointments, and a successful conquest of Italy. In 962 he was once again crowned by the pope, in the example of Charlemagne, as the Holy Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire was thus established consisting of the Kingdom of Italy, Burgundy, Bohemia, and Germany at its center core.

During the middle ages, the Holy Roman Empire became the military muscle of the Catholic Church. Newly formed religious orders such as the Knights Templar and Teutonic Knights took shape and lead crusades throughout Europe and against the Muslims. During these dark ages however came two of the most celebrated German Christian artists. St. Hildegard of Bingen, a nun from the Rhine, who gained recognition as a mystical polymath with her musical compositions and theological writings. Also there was Walther von der Vogelweide one of the first celebrated German poets of the middle ages.

The Protestant Reformation

In the year 1517 a new movement against the Catholic Church began in the heart of Germany lead by Martin Luther and his 95 Thesis. This lead to a Protestant Reformation that years of Catholic teachings. It especially targeted the corruption of power that had unfolded within Rome. It did not take long for the movement to cause division within the Holy Roman Empire between loyal Catholics and newly reformed Christians. The Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation at the Council of Trent and new Jesuit missionaries.

However by 1618 this religious division eventually turned into a political division that led to the Thirty Years War. The land of Germany became the central war-front to one of the bloodiest conflicts Europe had ever known. By 1648 the feud had been settled at the Peace of Westphalia. This treaty granted freedom of religion to each European state and lessened the power of the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire.

Shortly after the Protestant Reformation, Germany embarked on an Age of Enlightenment with great influences on science, philosophy, and the arts. Guttenburg's printed bible had been translated into German and soon the majority of the population could read and write because of it. Soon after German scientists such as Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Keppler began challenging ancient Catholic teachings. Philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhaur began challenging rational thinking with metaphysical thinking. And then there were the numerous musical German geniuses such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, and Haydn to name a few.

The German Confederation

However after the French Revolution of 1789 Europe was once again shaken by change and war. Napoleon lead a strong military campaign into the eastern lands of Europe and conquered much of Germany, Austria, Prussia, and the Holy Roman Empire. By 1806 the Holy Roman Empire was completely dismantled at the Battle of Austerlitz and soon after a German Confederation was put in its place. This was perhaps one of Germany's weakest moments as they were completely divided into smaller states. They however experienced an age of industrialization followed by unsuccessful revolutions in 1848.

The German Empire

It wasn't until 1862 when the chancellor Otto Von Bismark took charge, that Germany once again returned to prominence. With the help of King William I of Prussia, the German chancellor was able to win back their territories from Denmark, Austria, and France. With his aggressive approach and conservative national pride, Bismark was able to once again reunify the German states into a powerful German Empire. He lead a series of political change within the German infrastructure.

He did this through the urbanization of economics and classes. He implemented a strict agenda that reduced the power of the Catholic Church known as the Kulturkampf. Bismark also kept a strong grip on foreign policy through alliances, and diplomacy. By 1871 the Second German Reich had returned to power within Europe.William I became the first German emperor and Bismark was his political chancellor. By 1914 however political, economic, and ethnic tension had once again arisen in Europe and all it took was a little nudge to thrust the world into a Great War of Allies.

World War I

By 1914 Germany had become one of the great powers of Europe in the likes of Britain, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Italy, and France. However a diplomatic clash of territorial disputes, economics trades, and colonial issues had unfolded within Europe that lead to an arms race. All it took was the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Austrian royalty at the hands of Serbian nationalists. It did not take long for this proxy dispute between Austria and Serbia to turn into an international dispute. One thing lead to another and soon after Germany began mobilizing their armies and declared war on Russia. They allied with the Austria-Hungarian Empire as well as the Ottoman Empire to make up the Central Powers.

The German armies moved quickly through their Shlieffen Plan of securing the west before they moved Battle of Tannenberg. By 1917 the Russian army had to withdraw from the war due to their own Russia Revolution. In the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk the Central Powers were granted total control of most of eastern Europe.
eastward into Russia. The western Allied powers of Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium resisted the invasion and soon a trench warfare unfolded on the western front. Meanwhile the Central powers were able to secure several decisive victories on the eastern front against Russia, such as at the

 The Germans were then able to emphasize their full efforts on the western front, however were thwarted when the Americans joined the war. Furthermore they began to suffer economic troubles on their home-front due to British blockades. This lead to starvation within Germany that eventually triggered the German Revolution. Inspired by the Communist Russian Revolution an organization of German Socialists lead by leaders such as Rosa Luxembourg began uprisings at navy ports and throughout the cities of Germany. This eventually lead to Emperor Wilhelm II to abdicate his throne.

The German socialist movement was unsuccessful however in taking control when they were challenged by nationalist militias. This eventually lead to the Weimar Constitution that made Germany a democratic government. By this point Germany had no choice but to accept defeat at the hands of the Allied powers. World War I came to an end when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919. Germany was blamed for most of the conflict and as a result had to pay heavy reparations throughout Europe.

Weimar Republic

Friedrich Ebert became the first president of the newly established German government. However he inherited a mess of reconstruction, a suffering economy, and extreme political turmoil among the German people. His greatest goal was to contain the continuous string of Leftist socialist uprisings. New political parties began to form all throughout Germany against this new democratic government; such as Communist Party of Germany (KPD) led by Rosa Luxemborg and the Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party (NASDP) led by Adolf Hitler.

By 1922 Germany had suffered terrible economic losses due to their heavy reparation costs which lead to constant economic reform. In 1923 the NASDP led by Hitler lead an unsuccessful coup known as the Beer Hall Pusch in Munich. Hitler was imprisoned for ten years where he began work on his manifesto known as Mein Kampf. By 1925 Paul von Hindenburg had become the 2nd president of Germany and restored relations with the West. He secured the borders, and joined the newly established League of Nations in 1926, however the German economy was still struggling. The stock market crash of 1929 hit Germany just as hard as the United States, and once again they found themselves in extreme economic depression.

This lead to a call for extreme reform within Germany of which the far left Communist party and far right Socialist party gained prominence. Hindenburg ran for reelection in 1932 and won against Hitler and Ernst Thalmann. However in an act of uniting the country he appointed Hitler as his Chancellor of Germany. This would eventually lead to the Nazis coming to power throughout Germany with Adolf Hitler calling the shots.

Nazi Germany 

A secret police force known as the Gestaspo was organized by Henrich Himmler to quell political dissidents Night of Long Knives. Shortly after a new German constitution was assembled striking the old Weimar Repulic. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations and had become a totalitarian state in the likes of Italy and Russia. By August of 1934 after the death of Hindenburg, Hitler became the fuhrer of the newly established dictatorship,
known as the Third Reich.
while a propaganda machine led by Joesph Goebbels began spreading the Nazi ideology throughout Germany. In 1933 a gestapo staged fired was set at the Reichstag and blamed on the Communists. This granted Hitler more political power and lead to the imprisonment and assassinations of many Nazi opponents at the

Rapid social and economic change began to unfold in this newly established regime. The Nazi propaganda machine emphasized it's national German pride and Aryan Superiority. Those who weren't full blooded Germans were not allowed in Himmler's highest regarded Schutzstaffel army. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Germans displayed their pride on the world stage. The Nazis especially showed blatant hostility towards the Jews, blaming them for all their problems. As the regime grew more powerful, German-Jews began to lose many of their human right privileges. In August of 1938 they made their hate blatant at the Kristallnacht pogrom, by publicly shaming and arresting Jews. They were then forced into ghettos and later into concentration camps. This Holocaust lead to the death of over 6 million Jews. It was no doubt one of the darkest events in human history that has tarnished the German legacy.

By 1935 the Nazis also began an ambitious effort to rebuild their military  as well as secure foreign policy. Hitler made alliances with Benito Mussolini's Fasict Italy, as well as with Spain and Japan to form the Axis Powers. The German army was first put to the test in 1936 when they aided Francisco Franco's nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. Through his Lebensraum ideology, Hitler felt it was essential to increase German territory for superior races. In 1938 the Nazi armies annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia without much opposition. Hitler also signed a non-aggressive pact with Josef Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union. By the end of 1938 the world had been quite aware and frightened by Germany's aggressive agenda.

World War II

In 1939 the Nazis invaded Poland, which lead to Britain declaring war on Germany, and thus the start ofWWII. The Germans had early success thanks to their  blitzkrieg strategy. They were able to easily invade and occupy Poland, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France by 1940. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill however would not stand for this aggression, as they defeated the Germans aerial bombardment at the Battle of Britain.

Following their defeat at Britain, the Nazis took some time to regather themselves before once again returning to the offensive. In 1941 Hitler broke his non-aggressive pact with Stalin by invading the Soviet Union. Once again the Nazi armies had early success moving quickly through the Russian lands and capturing Moscow. However by wintertime, Hitler's armies experienced the same failures that Napoleon's armies witnessed unable to bear the cruel Russian cold. The major turning point for the Nazis came at the Battle of Stalingard in 1943 where the Soviets had a decisive victory. The Germans were now on the defensive from the Soviets losing control of the land they had occupied.

Meanwhile by 1944 the United States had joined the war in an alliance with the British, Canadians, and French. The US landed troops in Normandy, known as Operation D-Day. This campaign marked the beginning of their push on the German's western front. Soon the Nazis found themselves being squeezed by the Allies on the west and the Soviets on the east. It was only a matter of time before the Nazi regime collapse. When the Soviets finally entered Berlin, Hitler committed suicide, and the Germans surrendered a week after on May 8th, 1945.

At the Postdam Conference the victorious allied powers, (USA, Britain, and Soviet Union) discussed the future of Germany. They divided the Third Reich's conquered land among themselves and returned occupied lands back to their rightful sovereignty. Germany was split into an East (with Soviet supervision) and West with American supervision. At theNuremberg Trials of 1946 they were made to answer for the atrocities of their war crimes, especially in the case of the Holocaust genocide where nearly 6 millions Jews were killed in concentration camps.

East and West Germany

Immediately after the war, the allies began a strong Denazification campaign to rid Germany of any remaining Nazi Fascist ideology. For the next 40 years Germany was occupied and supervised by foreign powers. East Germany became a part of the Soviet Union's Eastern Bloc. It was run by the German Communist Party with a tight fist and minimal liberties. East Germans felt their culture being overrun by Stalinist agenda and many fled to the west for political freedoms. In 1961 the Berlin Wall was built to divide East and West Germany and stop people from fleeing to the west.

West Germany was occupied by the US, Britain, and France yet still managed to experience an economic recovery by the 1950s. This ambitious economic reform was directed by Ludwig Erhard and encouraged by western capitalism. Despite the heavy reparations Germany owed for WWII, Erhard still managed to initiate a boom through reformed currency and doubling the industrial production. Workers put aside their demands in order to rebuild their national pride. By 1955 Germany joined NATO and established the European Economic Committee in 1958.  This Economic Miracle known as the "Wirtschaftswunder" helped Germans restore their identity and legitimacy.

Modern Era

By 1989 the Soviet Union had begun to collapse and the Cold War was coming to an end. As a result, the Eastern German Regime loss their grip and soon Germans were once again fleeing into the west. A peaceful revolution was initiated throughout East Germany to call for democracy and reunification. After a series of negotiations between east and western powers, the Berlin Wall was finally torn down. Germany was reunified on October 3rd, 1990.

Ever since it's reunification, Germany has been able to look beyond their dark past restore their proud culture. They have embarked on a democratic third way approach working with the world to advance free trade, peace, and balance. Thanks to notable leaders such as Angela Merkel, Germany has once again become one of the most powerful nations in Europe; truly a testament to their strong culture.