History of Germany

The history of Germany is a long and a chequered one. The Holy Roman Empire was the first kingdom or “Reich”. The founder of this empire was Charlemagne who was the first Holy Emperor of Germany in 800 AD. This span lasted for a long time till 1806, the time of the Napoleonic wars.

1871 saw the beginning of the Second “Reich” with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The whole of the German Empire came together leaving out Prussia and this continued for fifty more years.

The effect on the World Wars on the history of Germany

Germany was successful in winning the Franco- Prussian War in 1871 and then Germany invaded France again in the Second World War. The war was a devastating one and there were innumerable trenches dug to protect soldiers and there were mass casualties on both the sides. When the war ended in 1918 the reigning emperor gave up his throne. There was an internal rebellion with which ended the Second Reich and the regime of the democratic Weimar Republic started.

After the World War, Germany faced numerous problems especially because of the Great Depression and the Treaty of Versailles. Then the “Third Reich” came into force from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler and he became an autocrat of Germany. Hitler gained control over the nearby countries and this sparked off the Second World War in Europe on 1st September 1939. The beginning brought a number of victories for Germany but after the Battle of Stalingrad German army started to retreat. It was on the 8th of May that Hitler committed suicide and Germany lost the Second World War that she had started with much aplomb.

The present scenario

The Second World War resulted in the split between West and East Germany. In 1990, Socialism ended and with this the two Germanys were merged. Now Germany and France form a major part of the European Union and this body strives to unify Europe for the betterment of economy, defense and politics.