History of Germany

What has been established about the history of Germany was that it likely began as a collection of Germanic tribes in 500 B.C. that hailed from the coast of the Baltic Sea, in the northern part of Europe. It wouldn't be until 100 B.C. that they would be found in the territories of what is present-day Germany.

According to German history, the tribes came under threat from the expansionist Romans in 70 B.C. - however, they defeated the Romans and reclaimed their land in A.D. 9. It was not until around 100 A.D. that the Romans managed to reoccupy the territory. In the course of five centuries (the second until the sixth), brought in major changes – the Roman Empire fell and the Germanics firmly settled in the lands, their heroic epics were written. But it would be the Frankish tribes that would found and establish the German state – a turning point in the history of Germany.

Arguments between Charlemagne's heirs – his grandchildren – led to the the partitioning of an empire some centuries later. From this rose the first German Empire, which consists of the Franks, the Saxons, the Swabians and the Bavarians. They were united by Duke Henry of Saxony (919-936), who was crowned their king. Strong affiliations with the Holy Roman Empire would continue until the sixteenth century.

According to the history of Germany, modern Germany as we know it probably started with the sixteenth-century Reformation, when Martin Luther's essays on the Church's abuse of power caught the interest of the masses. Among other things, it was Luther who established what would be recognized as the modern German language, and the protestant religion that has taken over Germany at this point.

Th part of the history of Germany from then on included a war that cost much of the Empire's territory, the Counter-Reformation, and the End of the Holy Roman Empire. Then in the early nineteenth century, the liberal idea of having a united Germany took flight among the youth. It would not be until 1871, however, until the proper German Empire was founded.

Following the first World War, the history of Germany took a dark turn. While it was around this point that Germany became a truly democratic republic, the German Communist Party (KPD) and later the National Socialist German Worker's Party (NSDAP) were also established to undermine the democratic system.

NSDAP soon took over Germany; in 1933, it appointed one Adolf Hitler as chancellor. Hitler, of course, eventually rose to more power and brought forth the Nazi Revolution, which in turn caused the Second World War. The movement and all its horrors were finally stopped in 1945; this part of the history of Germany has since been taboo.

Following 1945, Germany was split into two territories (East and West, Communist and Liberal). It was reunified in 1989, following political changes in East Germany.