Changes

==History==

==History==

The emergence of Germany as a nation in its own right came later than for most European powers.  The German-speaking areas of Europe had historically been parts of diverse other nations, among them [[Prussia]], [[Austria]], and the [[Holy Roman Empire]], along with numerous smaller principiates. It was not until after the fall of [[Napoleon Bonoparte]] in 1814 that the [[German Confederation]], a loosely-organized league of 39 states, began to lay the ground for nationhood. Numerous conflicts between these sates marked the first half of the nineteenth cenrury, and it was not until Otto von Bismarck's ascension as Prime Minister of [[Prussia]] in mid-century that something resembling the modern sense of "Germany" came into being.  Austria was, however, not a part of this new [[North German Confederation]].

The emergence of Germany as a nation in its own right came later than for most European powers.  The German-speaking areas of Europe had historically been parts of diverse other nations, among them [[Prussia]], [[Austria]], and the [[Holy Roman Empire]], along with numerous smaller principiates. It was not until after the fall of [[Napoleon Bonoparte]] in 1814 that the [[German Confederation]], a loosely-organized league of 39 states, began to lay the ground for nationhood. Numerous conflicts between these sates marked the first half of the nineteenth cenrury, and it was not until [[Otto von Bismarck]]'s ascension as Prime Minister of [[Prussia]] in mid-century that something resembling the modern sense of "Germany" came into being.  Austria was, however, not a part of this new [[North German Confederation]].  After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, the German Empire was formally proclaimed, with its capital in [[Berlin]].

European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious [[Allied powers]] of the [[USA]], [[UK]], [[France]], and the [[Soviet Union]] in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western [[Federal Republic of Germany]] (FRG) and the eastern [[German Democratic Republic]] (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the [[EC]], which became the [[European Union]] (EU), and the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO), while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the [[Cold War]] allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the [[euro]].

European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious [[Allied powers]] of the [[USA]], [[UK]], [[France]], and the [[Soviet Union]] in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western [[Federal Republic of Germany]] (FRG) and the eastern [[German Democratic Republic]] (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the [[EC]], which became the [[European Union]] (EU), and the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO), while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the [[Cold War]] allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the [[euro]].