Germany

    The colors for the flag were taken from the uniforms of officers during the Napoleonis Wars.  The flag was first adopted in 1848 and then officialy adopted for the republic in 1919.  Germany was, up until the 19th century, a collection of feudal states.  In an attempt to unite, a flage was form, but there was no union.  When the feudal states finally united they did not retain the black, red, and gold flag.  Instead they adopted the black, white, and red flag that rival Bismarck was using.  Upon being defeated at the end of the first world war, Germany was declared a republic and adopted the black, red, a gold flag.  But that flag was short lived.  Upon the rise of Adolf Hitler the Nazi flaf with the swastika emblem on it became the national flag.  After the end of the second world war the two Germanies went back to black, red, and gold flag.  East Germany, however, added its coat of arms.  When the two states were united Germany reverted back to the black, red, and gold flag.

      The first unification of Germany was in 1815 when the congress of Vienna establishe the German Confederation.  The confederation had thirty-nine sovereign states.  Then when Prussia and German states defeated France in 1871 the German Empire was founded.  By 1918 with the defeat of the Central Powers  the German Empire was over. The next year the Weimar Republic was formed.  But that was short lived.  In 1933 Adolf Hitler was named Chancellor and became dictator.  That same year parliament was disbaned and Hitler proclaimed the Third Reich.  The Olympics were held in Berlin in 1936 though.  Just one year before the start of World War II Austria was annezed by Germany.  Then in 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-agression pact.  On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland marking the beginning of World War II.  The Germans fought fiercly, but to no avail.  By the end of the war nearly all of Germany was in ruins and Hitler had committed suicide.  The allied forces then moved in and divided Germany in to four seperate states, one going to each of the main allied powers.  The United States, England, and France united their sections.  The Soviet Union now Communist did not decide to unite their section.  By 1955 east and west Germany were declared independent countries.  West Germany decided to join NATO.  Later in 1961 the Berlin wall was erected.  In 1963 Ludwig Erhard became chancellor of West Germany and the following year Willi Stoph was elected as the East German premier.  Martial law was then declared in Poland by 1981.  The seperation of Germany finally started coming to a close when travel restictions were lifted on November 9, 1989.  Then at the stroke of midnight, October 3, 1990 East Germany no longer existed.  The two seperate countries were united under article 23 of West Germany's consitution.  Germany then honored all of the Jewish Holocaust in 1992 with the Wannsee Holocaust Museum opened.   The United Nations then held a conference in Berlin in 1995.  More than one hundred twenty countries attended.  Germany recently celebrated ten years since the reunfication of Germany.

Country Stats

Official Name: Federal Republic of Germany

Capital: Berlin

Official Language: German

Official Religion: None; 49% are Protestants

National Anthem: Third Stanza of "Deutschland-Lied"

Government: Federal Republic

Head of Government: Chancellor 

Population: 81,966,000

Currency: Deutsche Mark

Literacy: 99%