Germany is Europe’s most industrialised and populous country. Famed for its technological achievements, it has additionally produced a few of Europe’s most celebrated composers, philosophers and poets.
Achieving national harmony later than other Eu international locations, Germany temporarily stuck up economically and militarily, earlier than defeats in World Warfare One and Two left the rustic shattered, facing the difficult legacy of Nazism, and divided between Europe’s Cold Struggle blocs.
Germany rebounded to transform the continent’s financial giant, and a main mover of Eu cooperation. With the end of the Chilly War, the 2 portions of the country have been once again united, even supposing the financial system of the previous east keeps to lag behind that of the previous west.
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FACTS
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Angela Merkel, Germany’s first female chancellor, won a third time period in September 2013, best her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) to victory and only narrowly failing to secure an outright majority.
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Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected federal president in February 2017, succeeding Joachim Gauck.
A Social Democrat, Mr Steinmeier has the make stronger of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “grand coalition” of centre-right and centre-left parties.
In his popularity speech, Mr Steinmeier pledged to stand as much as the rising trend of populism and advertise dialogue and democracy.
MEDIA
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Germany’s aggressive television marketplace is the most important in Europe, with a few 34 million TELEVISION households.
The many neighborhood and national public broadcasters – organised in line with the federal political structure – vie for audiences with robust business operators. Each And Every of the SIXTEEN regions regulates its own private and public broadcasting.
Around 90% of German families have cable or satellite tv for pc TV, and audience enjoy a comprehensive mixture of unfastened-to-view public and commercial channels. This has acted as a brake on the building of pay-TV.
Germany is home to some of the world’s greatest media conglomerates, including Bertelsmann and the publisher Axel Springer. Some Of Germany’s best unfastened-to-air commercial TELEVISION networks are owned by means of ProSiebenSat1.
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TIMELINE
A Few key dates in Germany historical past:
1871 – Otto von Bismarck achieves unification of Germany.
Symbol copyright Getty Photographs Image caption Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, is housed in the Reichstag in the capital Berlin
1914-1918 – International War I. Germany defeated, Kaiser Wilhem II abdicates, Germany goes directly to transform a republic.
1933 – Adolf Hitler, head of the National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Birthday Party, turns into chancellor.
1939-45 – Global War II sees defeat of Germany and its allies.
1949 – Germany is split. the united states, French and British zones in the west transform the Federal Republic of Germany; the Soviet zone within the east turns into the communist German Democratic Republic.
1955 – West Germany joins Nato; East Germany joins the Warsaw Pact.
1957 – West Germany is a founding member of the eu Financial Group.
Image copyright Getty Pictures Symbol caption The Fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 marked a pivotal moment in Germany’s modern history
1961 – Construction of the Berlin Wall.
1989 – Mass exodus of East Germans as Soviet bloc nations relax commute regulations. Berlin Wall is torn down.
Symbol copyright Getty Photographs Symbol caption Oktoberfest – Germany’s traditional beer festival is held once a year
1990 – Helmut Kohl leads a reunified Germany.
2005 – Angela Merkel becomes chancellor.
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