Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Christian Democratic Union

2007-05-23T21:22:26Z

Deutscher:

I would say the ideology part is nonsense. (Schifra)

::Warum? --[[User:Deutscher|Deutscher]] 17:22, 23 May 2007 (EDT)

User talk:Schifra

2007-05-23T21:21:53Z

Deutscher: Hallöchen

Wir versuchen eine alternativen Realität aufzubauen. Ihrer Bezug zur der bereits existierende Realität könnte dieses Projekt stören. Bitte merken Sie folgende 'Regel'([[Conservapedia:Locks and Blocks]]):
:''Sysop's and Bureaucrats are the Administrators of Conservapedia. Their instructions, as to Conservapedia policy and/or the appropriateness or inappropriateness of user actions, are to be followed. Failure to do so will result in the user being blocked.''
Merke: ''Their <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Special:Listusers%26group%3Dsysop|sysops]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> instructions, as to Conservapedia policy [...] are to be followed'', d.h. wenn einen sysop sich für seiner Version der Realität entschienden hat dann ist es auch so. Das Bestreiten dieser Realität könnte in der Verbannung enden. [[User:Auld Nick|Auld Nick]] 05:21, 23 May 2007 (EDT)

Das schreckt nicht wirklich ab, es zu versuchen. Sollte es sich tatsächlich so herausstellen, erspart es mir viel Zeit :-) --[[User:Schifra|schifra]] 05:36, 23 May 2007 (EDT)

== Hallöchen ==

Grüße von Deutschland nach Deutschland ;-) --[[User:Deutscher|Deutscher]] 17:21, 23 May 2007 (EDT)

Christian Democratic Union

2007-05-20T21:57:32Z

Deutscher:

The '''Christian Democratic Union of Germany''' (Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU) is a political party in [[Germany]].

==Ideology==
In the past, the party's ideology combined conservative, christian-minded and classical liberal as well as some etatist views and values. However, the CDU nowadays promotes mainly [[Social Democracy|social democratic]], [[Centrism|centrist]] and some left-wing christian ideas, for example forced [[Gender Mainstreaming]] programs, the idea of a [[multicultural society]], disbandment of the nation state/creating a transnational European state etc.

==Party Structure==
===Regional Party Groups===
The party has regional party groups, the federal group (''Bundesverband'', there is only one), the state group(s) (''Landesverbände'', singular: ''Landesverband''), the county group(s) (''Kreisverbände'', singular: ''Kreisverband'') and the local group(s) (''Ortsverbände'', singular: ''Ortsverband''). All local groups in a county (''Kreis'' or ''Landkreis'') are part of the county group, all county groups in a german (federal) state (''Land'' or ''Bundesland'') are part of the state group and all state groups form the federal group.

===Federal Leadership===
The present chairwoman (of the federal party group) is German [[chancellor]] [[Angela Merkel]], vice-chairman are [[Roland Koch]] ([[Minister-President]] of the federal state of [[Hesse]]), [[Jürgen Rüttgers]] (former Minister-President of state of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], now member of the German federal government), [[Annette Schavan]] (member of the German federal government) and [[Christian Wulff]] (Minister-President of the federal state of [[Lower Saxony]]). [[Ronald Pofalla]]

===Miscellaneous===
The federal party group holds a think tank called [[Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung]] (''Konrad Adenauer Foundation''), named after first chancellor of post-[[World War II]] Germany [[Konrad Adenauer]]. The state party groups have similar foundations.

There's a special relationship between the CDU and the [[Christian Social Union of Bavaria]] (CSU). The CSU is legally a party of it's own, but cooperates closelly with the CDU. The CDU only exists in the state of [[Bavaria]]. However, the CSU is independent and has it's own political structure and party platform, which differs in some positions from the CDU's one, so that the CSU can be considered more conservative.

The CDU has special organizations for demographic groups (youth, women, older/retired citizens, etc.).

==Famous Party Members==
*[[Konrad Adenauer]], first chancellor of the [[Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]]
*[[Angela Merkel]], present chancellor of Germany, present chairwoman of the CDU
*[[Helmut Kohl]], former chancellor of Germany

===External Links===
*[http://www.cdu.de Website of the CDU]

Christian Democratic Union

2007-05-20T21:42:50Z

Deutscher: New page: The '''Christian Democratic Union of Germany''' (Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU) is a political party in Germany. ==Ideology== In the past, the party's ideology comb...

The '''Christian Democratic Union of Germany''' (Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU) is a political party in [[Germany]].

==Ideology==
In the past, the party's ideology combined conservative, christian-minded and classical liberal as well as some etatist views and values. However, the CDU nowadays promotes mainly [[Social Democracy|social democratic]], [[Centrism|centrist]] and some left-wing christian ideas, for example forced [[Gender Mainstreaming]] programs, the idea of a [[multicultural society]], disbandment of the nation state/creating a transnational European state etc.

==Party Structure==
===Regional Party Groups===
The party has regional party groups, the federal group (''Bundesverband'', there is only one), the state group(s) (''Landesverbände'', singular: ''Landesverband''), the county group(s) (''Kreisverbände'', singular: ''Kreisverband'') and the local group(s) (''Ortsverbände'', singular: ''Ortsverband''). All local groups in a county (''Kreis'' or ''Landkreis'') are part of the county group, all county groups in a german (federal) state (''Land'' or ''Bundesland'') are part of the state group and all state groups form the federal group.

===Federal Leadership===
The present chairwoman (of the federal party group) is German [[chancellor]] [[Angela Merkel]], vice-chairman are [[Roland Koch]] ([[Minister-President]] of the federal state of [[Hesse]]), [[Jürgen Rüttgers]] (former Minister-President of state of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], now member of the German federal government), [[Annette Schavan]] (member of the German federal government) and [[Christian Wulff]] (Minister-President of the federal state of [[Lower Saxony]]). [[Ronald Pofalla]]

===Miscellaneous===
The federal party group holds a think tank called [[Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung]] (''Konrad Adenauer Foundation''), named after first chancellor of post-[[World War II]] Germany [[Konrad Adenauer]]. The state party groups have similar foundations.

There's a special relationship between the CDU and the [[Christian Social Union of Bavaria]] (CSU). The CSU is legally a party of it's own, but cooperates closelly with the CDU. The CDU only exists in the state of [[Bavaria]]. However, the CSU is independent and has it's own political structure and party platform, which differs in some positions from the CDU's one, so that the CSU can be considered more conservative.

===External Links===
*[http://www.cdu.de Website of the CDU]

Germany

2007-05-20T20:32:05Z

Deutscher: /* Political Parties */ +internal link

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:GermanyMap.gif|250px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Federal Republic of Germany
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Flag of Germany.JPG|250px]]
Flag of Germany
|-
|Capital
|Berlin
|-
|Government
|Federal Republic (parliamentary)
|-
|Official Language
|[[German language|German]]
|-
|President
|Horst Köhler
|-
|Chancellor
|Angela Merkel
|-
|Area
|137,858 sq. miles
|-
|Population (2006)
|82,310,000
|-
|GDP (2006)
|$3.045 trillion
|-
|GDP per capita (2006)
|$36,975
|-
|}

'''Germany''' (official name: '''Federal Republic of Germany''') is a federally organized [[Democracy]] in Western [[Europe]] with a population of about 82.4 million. The capital is [[Berlin]].

As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. The central German bank, the [[Bundesbank]], has historically been the most influential force within the financial markets of the European Union.

==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.

===Early Germanic Tribes===
The first distinct Germanic tribes emerged around 100BC in northern Germany, and are usually thought to have migrated south from [[Scandinavia]]. From there, the tribes continued to expand, coming in contact with the [[Celts]] of [[Gaul]] in the west, and Slavic tribes to the east. However, not much is known about the early Germanic people due to the lack of a written language. Most of what is known is due to contact with the [[Roman Empire]] and archaeological digs. To the rest of the world, the Germanic tribes inhabited a region known as [[Germania]], Latin for "Land of the Germans".<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html Medieval Sourcebook Tacitus: Germania]</ref> Soon, the Germanic people began low-intensity coflict with the Roman Empire, climaxing at the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. From this point, the Germanic tribes began winning battles against the Romans. In 410AD, The Germanic tribes assisted the [[Visigoths]] under [[Alaric I]] in sacking the city of [[Rome]].<ref>[http://www.vinland.org/scamp/grove/kreich/chapter7.html The Sack of Rome]</ref> This was a blow to the Western Empire, but not a killing one as the capital had moved to Ravenna in 402 AD. But in 476 AD, dissatisfied German mercanaries led by Odoacer captured Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Since Odoacer refused to assume the title of Emperor, this date is generally considered to be the official end of the Western Roman Empire.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/od/Odoacer.html]</ref>

===The Holy Roman Empire (843–1806)===

The medieval German empire originated from the division of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 843, and was known as the ''Holy Roman Empire''. It gradually expanded through the addition of Lorraine, Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, and Bavaria, and the German king was crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] of these regions in 962. Under the reign of the [[Salian]] emperors (1024–1125), the Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern [[Italy]] and Burgundy. The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the constitution of the empire; it established the election of the emperor by seven Prince-Electors, each of whom ruled one of the more powerful principalities or archbishoprics. Notably, one of these Electors, George Louis the Elector of Hanover (1660-1727), was recruited by the heirless [[Great Britain]] in 1714 to become its king, taking the name George I.

===The Reformation===

In 1517, [[Martin Luther]] wrote his [[The 95 Theses|95 Theses]] questioning the [[Roman Catholic Church]], an act which began the [[Protestant Reformation]]. A separate [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church was acknowledged as the new sanctioned religion in many states of Germany in 1530. Religious conflicts known as the 30 Years War pitted Protestant German states against Catholic one, and devastated the former Empire. The [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) ended religious warfare in Germany, but the empire broke down into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, the dualism between the Austrian [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] dominated German history. In 1806, the ''Imperium'' was overrun and dissolved as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

===Nationalism===

It was not until after the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] 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 century, 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, under [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]].

Aggressive nationalism fostered under the second empire of 1871, given greater impetus by the hubris of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and perverted into Nazism by the shock of defeat and the economic travails of the 1920s 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 [[Germany|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]].

[[Image:The_castle3.jpg|left|thumb|Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist destination.]]

== Economic Overview ==

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in [[PPP]] terms - showed considerable improvement in 2006 with 2.7% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth has led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% at the end of 2006. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were [[macroeconomic]] stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor [[Gerhard Schroeder]] launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and [[welfare]]-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html] CIA World Factbook</ref>

==Politics==
===Political Parties===
The political parties represented in the German [[parliament]] ([[Bundestag]]) are:

*[[Christian Democratic Union of Germany]] (CDU) - censtrist
*Christian Social Union of [[Bavaria]] (CSU) - conservative
*Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) - center-left
*Free Democratic Party (FDP) - liberal, centrist
*Alliance '90 / The Greens (Grüne) - left, green
*The Left Party - far left, partly communist

'''Note:''' CDU and CSU traditionally form a common parliamentary faction. The CSU only exists in Bavaria.

==Government==
===Executive Branch===
Germany has a President as [[Head of State]]. However real power is exercised by a Chancellor.
The current Chancellor is [[Angela Merkel|Dr. Angela Merkel]].

==Famous Germans==
*[[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
*[[Pope Benedict XVI]]
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
*[[Albert Einstein]]
*[[Friedrich Engels]]
*[[Georg Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Dietrich Buxtehude]]
*[[Ernst August von Hannover]]
*[[Daniel Fahrenheit]]
*[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
*[[Henry Kissinger]]
*[[Martin Luther]]
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Dirk Nowitzki]]
*[[Friedrich Nietzsche]]
*[[Friedrich Schiller]]
*[[Richard Wagner]]
*[[Otto von Bismarck]]
*[[Wernher von Braun]]
*[[Thomas Mann]]
*[[Hannah Arendt]]
*[[Rosa Luxemburg]]
*[[Marlene Dietrich]]
*[[Käthe Kollwitz]]
*[[Anne Frank]]
*[[Angela Merkel]]
*[[Gutenberg|Johannes Gutenberg]]
*[[Franz Beckenbauer]]
*[[Boris Becker]]
*[[Michael Schumacher]]
*[[Günter Grass]]
*[[Heinrich Böll]]
*[[Wim Wenders]]
*[[Roland Emmerich]]
*[[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]]
*[[Bertolt Brecht]]
*[[Loriot]]
*[[Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen]]
*[[Konrad Adenauer]]
*[[Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Joseph Haydn]]
*[[Otto Hahn]]
*[[Liese Meitner]]
*[[Werner Heisenberg]]
*[[Heinrich Hesse]]
*[[Albrecht Dürer]]
*[[Tillman Bitterberg]]

==War on Terror==
Germany currently contributes troops to the NATO-led operation in [[Afghanistan]], but did not support the invasion of [[Iraq]]. German military participates in NATO Force Protection Program, protecting US military bases located in Germany.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germany| ]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Germany

2007-05-18T21:00:56Z

Deutscher: /* Political Parties */ oops ... forgot one ;-)

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:GermanyMap.gif|250px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Federal Republic of Germany
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Flag of Germany.JPG|250px]]
Flag of Germany
|-
|Capital
|Berlin
|-
|Government
|Federal Republic (parliamentary)
|-
|Official Language
|[[German language|German]]
|-
|President
|Horst Köhler
|-
|Chancellor
|Angela Merkel
|-
|Area
|137,858 sq. miles
|-
|Population (2006)
|82,310,000
|-
|GDP (2006)
|$3.045 trillion
|-
|GDP per capita (2006)
|$36,975
|-
|}

'''Germany''' (official name: '''Federal Republic of Germany''') is a federally organized [[Democracy]] in Western [[Europe]] with a population of about 82.4 million. The capital is [[Berlin]].

As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. The central German bank, the [[Bundesbank]], has historically been the most influential force within the financial markets of the European Union.

==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.

===Early Germanic Tribes===
The first distinct Germanic tribes emerged around 100BC in northern Germany, and are usually thought to have migrated south from [[Scandinavia]]. From there, the tribes continued to expand, coming in contact with the [[Celts]] of [[Gaul]] in the west, and Slavic tribes to the east. However, not much is known about the early Germanic people due to the lack of a written language. Most of what is known is due to contact with the [[Roman Empire]] and archaeological digs. To the rest of the world, the Germanic tribes inhabited a region known as [[Germania]], Latin for "Land of the Germans".<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html Medieval Sourcebook Tacitus: Germania]</ref> Soon, the Germanic people began low-intensity coflict with the Roman Empire, climaxing at the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. From this point, the Germanic tribes began winning battles against the Romans. In 410AD, The Germanic tribes assisted the [[Visigoths]] under [[Alaric I]] in sacking the city of [[Rome]].<ref>[http://www.vinland.org/scamp/grove/kreich/chapter7.html The Sack of Rome]</ref> This was a blow to the Western Empire, but not a killing one as the capital had moved to Ravenna in 402 AD. But in 476 AD, dissatisfied German mercanaries led by Odoacer captured Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Since Odoacer refused to assume the title of Emperor, this date is generally considered to be the official end of the Western Roman Empire.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/od/Odoacer.html]</ref>

===The Holy Roman Empire (843–1806)===

The medieval German empire originated from the division of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 843, and was known as the ''Holy Roman Empire''. It gradually expanded through the addition of Lorraine, Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, and Bavaria, and the German king was crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] of these regions in 962. Under the reign of the [[Salian]] emperors (1024–1125), the Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern [[Italy]] and Burgundy. The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the constitution of the empire; it established the election of the emperor by seven Prince-Electors, each of whom ruled one of the more powerful principalities or archbishoprics. Notably, one of these Electors, George Louis the Elector of Hanover (1660-1727), was recruited by the heirless [[Great Britain]] in 1714 to become its king, taking the name George I.

===The Reformation===

In 1517, [[Martin Luther]] wrote his [[The 95 Theses|95 Theses]] questioning the [[Roman Catholic Church]], an act which began the [[Protestant Reformation]]. A separate [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church was acknowledged as the new sanctioned religion in many states of Germany in 1530. Religious conflicts known as the 30 Years War pitted Protestant German states against Catholic one, and devastated the former Empire. The [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) ended religious warfare in Germany, but the empire broke down into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, the dualism between the Austrian [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] dominated German history. In 1806, the ''Imperium'' was overrun and dissolved as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

===Nationalism===

It was not until after the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] 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 century, 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, under [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]].

Aggressive nationalism fostered under the second empire of 1871, given greater impetus by the hubris of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and perverted into Nazism by the shock of defeat and the economic travails of the 1920s 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 [[Germany|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]].

[[Image:The_castle3.jpg|left|thumb|Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist destination.]]

== Economic Overview ==

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in [[PPP]] terms - showed considerable improvement in 2006 with 2.7% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth has led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% at the end of 2006. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were [[macroeconomic]] stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor [[Gerhard Schroeder]] launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and [[welfare]]-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html] CIA World Factbook</ref>

==Politics==
===Political Parties===
The political parties represented in the German [[parliament]] ([[Bundestag]]) are:

*Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) - censtrist
*Christian Social Union of [[Bavaria]] (CSU) - conservative
*Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) - center-left
*Free Democratic Party (FDP) - liberal, centrist
*Alliance '90 / The Greens (Grüne) - left, green
*The Left Party - far left, partly communist

'''Note:''' CDU and CSU traditionally form a common parliamentary faction. The CSU only exists in Bavaria.

==Government==
===Executive Branch===
Germany has a President as [[Head of State]]. However real power is exercised by a Chancellor.
The current Chancellor is [[Angela Merkel|Dr. Angela Merkel]].

==Famous Germans==
*[[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
*[[Pope Benedict XVI]]
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
*[[Albert Einstein]]
*[[Friedrich Engels]]
*[[Georg Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Dietrich Buxtehude]]
*[[Ernst August von Hannover]]
*[[Daniel Fahrenheit]]
*[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
*[[Henry Kissinger]]
*[[Martin Luther]]
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Dirk Nowitzki]]
*[[Friedrich Nietzsche]]
*[[Friedrich Schiller]]
*[[Richard Wagner]]
*[[Otto von Bismarck]]
*[[Wernher von Braun]]
*[[Thomas Mann]]
*[[Hannah Arendt]]
*[[Rosa Luxemburg]]
*[[Marlene Dietrich]]
*[[Käthe Kollwitz]]
*[[Anne Frank]]
*[[Angela Merkel]]
*[[Gutenberg|Johannes Gutenberg]]
*[[Franz Beckenbauer]]
*[[Boris Becker]]
*[[Michael Schumacher]]
*[[Günter Grass]]
*[[Heinrich Böll]]
*[[Wim Wenders]]
*[[Roland Emmerich]]
*[[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]]
*[[Bertolt Brecht]]
*[[Loriot]]
*[[Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen]]
*[[Konrad Adenauer]]
*[[Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Joseph Haydn]]
*[[Otto Hahn]]
*[[Liese Meitner]]
*[[Werner Heisenberg]]
*[[Heinrich Hesse]]
*[[Albrecht Dürer]]
*[[Tillman Bitterberg]]

==War on Terror==
Germany currently contributes troops to the NATO-led operation in [[Afghanistan]], but did not support the invasion of [[Iraq]]. German military participates in NATO Force Protection Program, protecting US military bases located in Germany.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germany| ]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Germany

2007-05-18T20:59:36Z

Deutscher:

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:GermanyMap.gif|250px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Federal Republic of Germany
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Flag of Germany.JPG|250px]]
Flag of Germany
|-
|Capital
|Berlin
|-
|Government
|Federal Republic (parliamentary)
|-
|Official Language
|[[German language|German]]
|-
|President
|Horst Köhler
|-
|Chancellor
|Angela Merkel
|-
|Area
|137,858 sq. miles
|-
|Population (2006)
|82,310,000
|-
|GDP (2006)
|$3.045 trillion
|-
|GDP per capita (2006)
|$36,975
|-
|}

'''Germany''' (official name: '''Federal Republic of Germany''') is a federally organized [[Democracy]] in Western [[Europe]] with a population of about 82.4 million. The capital is [[Berlin]].

As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. The central German bank, the [[Bundesbank]], has historically been the most influential force within the financial markets of the European Union.

==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.

===Early Germanic Tribes===
The first distinct Germanic tribes emerged around 100BC in northern Germany, and are usually thought to have migrated south from [[Scandinavia]]. From there, the tribes continued to expand, coming in contact with the [[Celts]] of [[Gaul]] in the west, and Slavic tribes to the east. However, not much is known about the early Germanic people due to the lack of a written language. Most of what is known is due to contact with the [[Roman Empire]] and archaeological digs. To the rest of the world, the Germanic tribes inhabited a region known as [[Germania]], Latin for "Land of the Germans".<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html Medieval Sourcebook Tacitus: Germania]</ref> Soon, the Germanic people began low-intensity coflict with the Roman Empire, climaxing at the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. From this point, the Germanic tribes began winning battles against the Romans. In 410AD, The Germanic tribes assisted the [[Visigoths]] under [[Alaric I]] in sacking the city of [[Rome]].<ref>[http://www.vinland.org/scamp/grove/kreich/chapter7.html The Sack of Rome]</ref> This was a blow to the Western Empire, but not a killing one as the capital had moved to Ravenna in 402 AD. But in 476 AD, dissatisfied German mercanaries led by Odoacer captured Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Since Odoacer refused to assume the title of Emperor, this date is generally considered to be the official end of the Western Roman Empire.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/od/Odoacer.html]</ref>

===The Holy Roman Empire (843–1806)===

The medieval German empire originated from the division of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 843, and was known as the ''Holy Roman Empire''. It gradually expanded through the addition of Lorraine, Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, and Bavaria, and the German king was crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] of these regions in 962. Under the reign of the [[Salian]] emperors (1024–1125), the Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern [[Italy]] and Burgundy. The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the constitution of the empire; it established the election of the emperor by seven Prince-Electors, each of whom ruled one of the more powerful principalities or archbishoprics. Notably, one of these Electors, George Louis the Elector of Hanover (1660-1727), was recruited by the heirless [[Great Britain]] in 1714 to become its king, taking the name George I.

===The Reformation===

In 1517, [[Martin Luther]] wrote his [[The 95 Theses|95 Theses]] questioning the [[Roman Catholic Church]], an act which began the [[Protestant Reformation]]. A separate [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church was acknowledged as the new sanctioned religion in many states of Germany in 1530. Religious conflicts known as the 30 Years War pitted Protestant German states against Catholic one, and devastated the former Empire. The [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) ended religious warfare in Germany, but the empire broke down into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, the dualism between the Austrian [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] dominated German history. In 1806, the ''Imperium'' was overrun and dissolved as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

===Nationalism===

It was not until after the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] 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 century, 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, under [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]].

Aggressive nationalism fostered under the second empire of 1871, given greater impetus by the hubris of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and perverted into Nazism by the shock of defeat and the economic travails of the 1920s 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 [[Germany|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]].

[[Image:The_castle3.jpg|left|thumb|Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist destination.]]

== Economic Overview ==

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in [[PPP]] terms - showed considerable improvement in 2006 with 2.7% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth has led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% at the end of 2006. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were [[macroeconomic]] stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor [[Gerhard Schroeder]] launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and [[welfare]]-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html] CIA World Factbook</ref>

==Politics==
===Political Parties===
The political parties represented in the German [[parliament]] ([[Bundestag]]) are:

*Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) - censtrist
*Christian Social Union of [[Bavaria]] (CSU) - conservative
*Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) - center-left
*Free Democratic Party (FDP) - liberal, centrist
*The Left Party - far left, partly communist

'''Note:''' CDU and CSU traditionally form a common parliamentary faction. The CSU only exists in Bavaria.

==Government==
===Executive Branch===
Germany has a President as [[Head of State]]. However real power is exercised by a Chancellor.
The current Chancellor is [[Angela Merkel|Dr. Angela Merkel]].

==Famous Germans==
*[[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
*[[Pope Benedict XVI]]
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
*[[Albert Einstein]]
*[[Friedrich Engels]]
*[[Georg Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Dietrich Buxtehude]]
*[[Ernst August von Hannover]]
*[[Daniel Fahrenheit]]
*[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
*[[Henry Kissinger]]
*[[Martin Luther]]
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Dirk Nowitzki]]
*[[Friedrich Nietzsche]]
*[[Friedrich Schiller]]
*[[Richard Wagner]]
*[[Otto von Bismarck]]
*[[Wernher von Braun]]
*[[Thomas Mann]]
*[[Hannah Arendt]]
*[[Rosa Luxemburg]]
*[[Marlene Dietrich]]
*[[Käthe Kollwitz]]
*[[Anne Frank]]
*[[Angela Merkel]]
*[[Gutenberg|Johannes Gutenberg]]
*[[Franz Beckenbauer]]
*[[Boris Becker]]
*[[Michael Schumacher]]
*[[Günter Grass]]
*[[Heinrich Böll]]
*[[Wim Wenders]]
*[[Roland Emmerich]]
*[[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]]
*[[Bertolt Brecht]]
*[[Loriot]]
*[[Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen]]
*[[Konrad Adenauer]]
*[[Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Joseph Haydn]]
*[[Otto Hahn]]
*[[Liese Meitner]]
*[[Werner Heisenberg]]
*[[Heinrich Hesse]]
*[[Albrecht Dürer]]
*[[Tillman Bitterberg]]

==War on Terror==
Germany currently contributes troops to the NATO-led operation in [[Afghanistan]], but did not support the invasion of [[Iraq]]. German military participates in NATO Force Protection Program, protecting US military bases located in Germany.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germany| ]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Germany

2007-05-18T20:47:28Z

Deutscher: + official name in introduction

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:GermanyMap.gif|250px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Federal Republic of Germany
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Flag of Germany.JPG|250px]]
Flag of Germany
|-
|Capital
|Berlin
|-
|Government
|Federal Republic (parliamentary)
|-
|Official Language
|[[German language|German]]
|-
|President
|Horst Köhler
|-
|Chancellor
|Angela Merkel
|-
|Area
|137,858 sq. miles
|-
|Population (2006)
|82,310,000
|-
|GDP (2006)
|$3.045 trillion
|-
|GDP per capita (2006)
|$36,975
|-
|}

'''Germany''' (official name: '''Federal Republic of Germany''') is a federally organized [[Democracy]] in Western [[Europe]] with a population of about 82.4 million. The capital is [[Berlin]].

As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. The central German bank, the [[Bundesbank]], has historically been the most influential force within the financial markets of the European Union.

==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.

===Early Germanic Tribes===
The first distinct Germanic tribes emerged around 100BC in northern Germany, and are usually thought to have migrated south from [[Scandinavia]]. From there, the tribes continued to expand, coming in contact with the [[Celts]] of [[Gaul]] in the west, and Slavic tribes to the east. However, not much is known about the early Germanic people due to the lack of a written language. Most of what is known is due to contact with the [[Roman Empire]] and archaeological digs. To the rest of the world, the Germanic tribes inhabited a region known as [[Germania]], Latin for "Land of the Germans".<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html Medieval Sourcebook Tacitus: Germania]</ref> Soon, the Germanic people began low-intensity coflict with the Roman Empire, climaxing at the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. From this point, the Germanic tribes began winning battles against the Romans. In 410AD, The Germanic tribes assisted the [[Visigoths]] under [[Alaric I]] in sacking the city of [[Rome]].<ref>[http://www.vinland.org/scamp/grove/kreich/chapter7.html The Sack of Rome]</ref> This was a blow to the Western Empire, but not a killing one as the capital had moved to Ravenna in 402 AD. But in 476 AD, dissatisfied German mercanaries led by Odoacer captured Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Since Odoacer refused to assume the title of Emperor, this date is generally considered to be the official end of the Western Roman Empire.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/od/Odoacer.html]</ref>

===The Holy Roman Empire (843–1806)===

The medieval German empire originated from the division of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 843, and was known as the ''Holy Roman Empire''. It gradually expanded through the addition of Lorraine, Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, and Bavaria, and the German king was crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] of these regions in 962. Under the reign of the [[Salian]] emperors (1024–1125), the Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern [[Italy]] and Burgundy. The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the constitution of the empire; it established the election of the emperor by seven Prince-Electors, each of whom ruled one of the more powerful principalities or archbishoprics. Notably, one of these Electors, George Louis the Elector of Hanover (1660-1727), was recruited by the heirless [[Great Britain]] in 1714 to become its king, taking the name George I.

===The Reformation===

In 1517, [[Martin Luther]] wrote his [[The 95 Theses|95 Theses]] questioning the [[Roman Catholic Church]], an act which began the [[Protestant Reformation]]. A separate [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church was acknowledged as the new sanctioned religion in many states of Germany in 1530. Religious conflicts known as the 30 Years War pitted Protestant German states against Catholic one, and devastated the former Empire. The [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) ended religious warfare in Germany, but the empire broke down into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, the dualism between the Austrian [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] dominated German history. In 1806, the ''Imperium'' was overrun and dissolved as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

===Nationalism===

It was not until after the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] 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 century, 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, under [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]].

Aggressive nationalism fostered under the second empire of 1871, given greater impetus by the hubris of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and perverted into Nazism by the shock of defeat and the economic travails of the 1920s 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 [[Germany|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]].

[[Image:The_castle3.jpg|left|thumb|Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist destination.]]

== Economic Overview ==

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in [[PPP]] terms - showed considerable improvement in 2006 with 2.7% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth has led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% at the end of 2006. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were [[macroeconomic]] stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor [[Gerhard Schroeder]] launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and [[welfare]]-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html] CIA World Factbook</ref>

==Government==
===Executive Branch===
Germany has a President as [[Head of State]]. However real power is exercised by a Chancellor.
The current Chancellor is [[Angela Merkel|Dr. Angela Merkel]].

==Famous Germans==
*[[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
*[[Pope Benedict XVI]]
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
*[[Albert Einstein]]
*[[Friedrich Engels]]
*[[Georg Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Dietrich Buxtehude]]
*[[Ernst August von Hannover]]
*[[Daniel Fahrenheit]]
*[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
*[[Henry Kissinger]]
*[[Martin Luther]]
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Dirk Nowitzki]]
*[[Friedrich Nietzsche]]
*[[Friedrich Schiller]]
*[[Richard Wagner]]
*[[Otto von Bismarck]]
*[[Wernher von Braun]]
*[[Thomas Mann]]
*[[Hannah Arendt]]
*[[Rosa Luxemburg]]
*[[Marlene Dietrich]]
*[[Käthe Kollwitz]]
*[[Anne Frank]]
*[[Angela Merkel]]
*[[Gutenberg|Johannes Gutenberg]]
*[[Franz Beckenbauer]]
*[[Boris Becker]]
*[[Michael Schumacher]]
*[[Günter Grass]]
*[[Heinrich Böll]]
*[[Wim Wenders]]
*[[Roland Emmerich]]
*[[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]]
*[[Bertolt Brecht]]
*[[Loriot]]
*[[Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen]]
*[[Konrad Adenauer]]
*[[Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Joseph Haydn]]
*[[Otto Hahn]]
*[[Liese Meitner]]
*[[Werner Heisenberg]]
*[[Heinrich Hesse]]
*[[Albrecht Dürer]]
*[[Tillman Bitterberg]]

==War on Terror==
Germany currently contributes troops to the NATO-led operation in [[Afghanistan]], but did not support the invasion of [[Iraq]]. German military participates in NATO Force Protection Program, protecting US military bases located in Germany.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germany| ]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Germany

2007-05-18T20:46:10Z

Deutscher: /* Nationalism */ This is the name of present Germany and for that reason there's no need for a link

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:GermanyMap.gif|250px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Federal Republic of Germany
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Flag of Germany.JPG|250px]]
Flag of Germany
|-
|Capital
|Berlin
|-
|Government
|Federal Republic (parliamentary)
|-
|Official Language
|[[German language|German]]
|-
|President
|Horst Köhler
|-
|Chancellor
|Angela Merkel
|-
|Area
|137,858 sq. miles
|-
|Population (2006)
|82,310,000
|-
|GDP (2006)
|$3.045 trillion
|-
|GDP per capita (2006)
|$36,975
|-
|}

'''Germany''' is a federally organized [[Democracy]] in Western [[Europe]] with a population of about 82.4 million. The capital is [[Berlin]].

As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. The central German bank, the [[Bundesbank]], has historically been the most influential force within the financial markets of the European Union.

==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.

===Early Germanic Tribes===
The first distinct Germanic tribes emerged around 100BC in northern Germany, and are usually thought to have migrated south from [[Scandinavia]]. From there, the tribes continued to expand, coming in contact with the [[Celts]] of [[Gaul]] in the west, and Slavic tribes to the east. However, not much is known about the early Germanic people due to the lack of a written language. Most of what is known is due to contact with the [[Roman Empire]] and archaeological digs. To the rest of the world, the Germanic tribes inhabited a region known as [[Germania]], Latin for "Land of the Germans".<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html Medieval Sourcebook Tacitus: Germania]</ref> Soon, the Germanic people began low-intensity coflict with the Roman Empire, climaxing at the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. From this point, the Germanic tribes began winning battles against the Romans. In 410AD, The Germanic tribes assisted the [[Visigoths]] under [[Alaric I]] in sacking the city of [[Rome]].<ref>[http://www.vinland.org/scamp/grove/kreich/chapter7.html The Sack of Rome]</ref> This was a blow to the Western Empire, but not a killing one as the capital had moved to Ravenna in 402 AD. But in 476 AD, dissatisfied German mercanaries led by Odoacer captured Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Since Odoacer refused to assume the title of Emperor, this date is generally considered to be the official end of the Western Roman Empire.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/od/Odoacer.html]</ref>

===The Holy Roman Empire (843–1806)===

The medieval German empire originated from the division of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 843, and was known as the ''Holy Roman Empire''. It gradually expanded through the addition of Lorraine, Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, and Bavaria, and the German king was crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] of these regions in 962. Under the reign of the [[Salian]] emperors (1024–1125), the Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern [[Italy]] and Burgundy. The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the constitution of the empire; it established the election of the emperor by seven Prince-Electors, each of whom ruled one of the more powerful principalities or archbishoprics. Notably, one of these Electors, George Louis the Elector of Hanover (1660-1727), was recruited by the heirless [[Great Britain]] in 1714 to become its king, taking the name George I.

===The Reformation===

In 1517, [[Martin Luther]] wrote his [[The 95 Theses|95 Theses]] questioning the [[Roman Catholic Church]], an act which began the [[Protestant Reformation]]. A separate [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church was acknowledged as the new sanctioned religion in many states of Germany in 1530. Religious conflicts known as the 30 Years War pitted Protestant German states against Catholic one, and devastated the former Empire. The [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) ended religious warfare in Germany, but the empire broke down into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, the dualism between the Austrian [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] dominated German history. In 1806, the ''Imperium'' was overrun and dissolved as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

===Nationalism===

It was not until after the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] 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 century, 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, under [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]].

Aggressive nationalism fostered under the second empire of 1871, given greater impetus by the hubris of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and perverted into Nazism by the shock of defeat and the economic travails of the 1920s 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 [[Germany|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]].

[[Image:The_castle3.jpg|left|thumb|Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist destination.]]

== Economic Overview ==

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in [[PPP]] terms - showed considerable improvement in 2006 with 2.7% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth has led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% at the end of 2006. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were [[macroeconomic]] stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor [[Gerhard Schroeder]] launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and [[welfare]]-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html] CIA World Factbook</ref>

==Government==
===Executive Branch===
Germany has a President as [[Head of State]]. However real power is exercised by a Chancellor.
The current Chancellor is [[Angela Merkel|Dr. Angela Merkel]].

==Famous Germans==
*[[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
*[[Pope Benedict XVI]]
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
*[[Albert Einstein]]
*[[Friedrich Engels]]
*[[Georg Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Dietrich Buxtehude]]
*[[Ernst August von Hannover]]
*[[Daniel Fahrenheit]]
*[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
*[[Henry Kissinger]]
*[[Martin Luther]]
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Dirk Nowitzki]]
*[[Friedrich Nietzsche]]
*[[Friedrich Schiller]]
*[[Richard Wagner]]
*[[Otto von Bismarck]]
*[[Wernher von Braun]]
*[[Thomas Mann]]
*[[Hannah Arendt]]
*[[Rosa Luxemburg]]
*[[Marlene Dietrich]]
*[[Käthe Kollwitz]]
*[[Anne Frank]]
*[[Angela Merkel]]
*[[Gutenberg|Johannes Gutenberg]]
*[[Franz Beckenbauer]]
*[[Boris Becker]]
*[[Michael Schumacher]]
*[[Günter Grass]]
*[[Heinrich Böll]]
*[[Wim Wenders]]
*[[Roland Emmerich]]
*[[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]]
*[[Bertolt Brecht]]
*[[Loriot]]
*[[Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen]]
*[[Konrad Adenauer]]
*[[Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Joseph Haydn]]
*[[Otto Hahn]]
*[[Liese Meitner]]
*[[Werner Heisenberg]]
*[[Heinrich Hesse]]
*[[Albrecht Dürer]]
*[[Tillman Bitterberg]]

==War on Terror==
Germany currently contributes troops to the NATO-led operation in [[Afghanistan]], but did not support the invasion of [[Iraq]]. German military participates in NATO Force Protection Program, protecting US military bases located in Germany.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germany| ]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

User talk:DanH

2007-05-18T20:43:21Z

Deutscher: Hello!

'''Archives:'''

[[User talk:MountainDew]]

[[User talk:DanHarchive1]]

==Vandalism==

Dan,

Thanks for all your help dealing with this latest vandal. Rather than deleting all the pages he creates, I have been replacing them with content or redirecting them, and then protecting them. Eventually, we can hope he will run out of inventive names for Satan! ~ [[User:SharonS|Sharon]] [[User talk:SharonS|Talk]] 16:38, 11 May 2007 (EDT)

== [[deletedpage]] ==

when pages need to be deleted and protected, just protect it and replace the content with <nowiki>#REDIRECT [[deletedpage]]</nowiki>. that way it doesn't show up on searches. --[[User:CPAdmin1|Tim (CPAdmin1)]][[User talk:CPAdmin1|talk]] 12:24, 14 May 2007 (EDT)

== Please take a look at this edit ==

You might want to have a look at this [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Che_Guevara&diff=160970&oldid=160909 edit], and the associated photo that was uploaded to make the edit possible. I've already left a message with the user responsible for the photo and edit, but am not sure if it is revertable. [[User:HeartOfGold|HeartOfGold]] 18:41, 14 May 2007 (EDT)

==Allegation of Racism==

I fail to see how my comments on Sikhs are racist. Islam and Sikhism do not describe races they describe religion. Both are wrong in my opinion are to be condemed

== Thank you indeed ==

It has been an honor. Thank you indeed.

--[[User:Joaquín Martínez]], [[User talk:Joaquín Martínez|talk]] 19:42, 16 May 2007 (EDT)

== Deceit Entry ==

Dan, please accept my apologies on the Ward Churchill edit to the [[deceit]] entry. I was confused about who he is. Feel free to reinsert something, with support like this: [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3841949,00.html]
--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:08, 16 May 2007 (EDT)
No need to apologize. I just figured that this instance was not quite conducive to the direct you had intended for this article. I'll re-add it a little later this evening. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 23:29, 16 May 2007 (EDT)

== Hovind ==

May I ask why you removed "controversial". Given that many other YECs also have issues with him, calling him controversial seems fair. [[User:JoshuaZ|JoshuaZ]] 12:59, 17 May 2007 (EDT)

I've come under attack for my edits on this article (there was even a call for me to be blocked from the site, though it's not on any CP talk pages) and I was trying to "balance" the article somehow. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 13:02, 17 May 2007 (EDT)

== notice ==

please read this: [[New Sysops Training Page]]

[[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 21:22, 17 May 2007 (EDT)

== Hello! ==

First of all, thanks for the greeting. This project is very interessting. I'm trying to build up a counter-Wikipedia in german language. The situation of the german Wikipedia is really dire. If you are dissapoited by the english language Wikipeda, take a closer look at the german one. There are not liberals (left) dominating, there are partly well known left-wing extremists (communists, socialists) serving as administrators. It's bad. --[[User:Deutscher|Deutscher]] 16:43, 18 May 2007 (EDT)

Germany

2007-05-18T20:14:59Z

Deutscher: /* War on Terror */ + NATO Force Protection - I myself was a solider and protected NATO Joint Headquater Heidelberg and Ramstein US Air Base

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:GermanyMap.gif|250px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Federal Republic of Germany
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Flag of Germany.JPG|250px]]
Flag of Germany
|-
|Capital
|Berlin
|-
|Government
|Federal Republic (parliamentary)
|-
|Official Language
|[[German language|German]]
|-
|President
|Horst Köhler
|-
|Chancellor
|Angela Merkel
|-
|Area
|137,858 sq. miles
|-
|Population (2006)
|82,310,000
|-
|GDP (2006)
|$3.045 trillion
|-
|GDP per capita (2006)
|$36,975
|-
|}

'''Germany''' is a federally organized [[Democracy]] in Western [[Europe]] with a population of about 82.4 million. The capital is [[Berlin]].

As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. The central German bank, the [[Bundesbank]], has historically been the most influential force within the financial markets of the European Union.

==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.

===Early Germanic Tribes===
The first distinct Germanic tribes emerged around 100BC in northern Germany, and are usually thought to have migrated south from [[Scandinavia]]. From there, the tribes continued to expand, coming in contact with the [[Celts]] of [[Gaul]] in the west, and Slavic tribes to the east. However, not much is known about the early Germanic people due to the lack of a written language. Most of what is known is due to contact with the [[Roman Empire]] and archaeological digs. To the rest of the world, the Germanic tribes inhabited a region known as [[Germania]], Latin for "Land of the Germans".<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html Medieval Sourcebook Tacitus: Germania]</ref> Soon, the Germanic people began low-intensity coflict with the Roman Empire, climaxing at the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. From this point, the Germanic tribes began winning battles against the Romans. In 410AD, The Germanic tribes assisted the [[Visigoths]] under [[Alaric I]] in sacking the city of [[Rome]].<ref>[http://www.vinland.org/scamp/grove/kreich/chapter7.html The Sack of Rome]</ref> This was a blow to the Western Empire, but not a killing one as the capital had moved to Ravenna in 402 AD. But in 476 AD, dissatisfied German mercanaries led by Odoacer captured Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus. Since Odoacer refused to assume the title of Emperor, this date is generally considered to be the official end of the Western Roman Empire.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/od/Odoacer.html]</ref>

===The Holy Roman Empire (843–1806)===

The medieval German empire originated from the division of the [[Carolingian Empire]] in 843, and was known as the ''Holy Roman Empire''. It gradually expanded through the addition of Lorraine, Saxony, Franconia, Thuringia, and Bavaria, and the German king was crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]] of these regions in 962. Under the reign of the [[Salian]] emperors (1024–1125), the Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern [[Italy]] and Burgundy. The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the constitution of the empire; it established the election of the emperor by seven Prince-Electors, each of whom ruled one of the more powerful principalities or archbishoprics. Notably, one of these Electors, George Louis the Elector of Hanover (1660-1727), was recruited by the heirless [[Great Britain]] in 1714 to become its king, taking the name George I.

===The Reformation===

In 1517, [[Martin Luther]] wrote his [[The 95 Theses|95 Theses]] questioning the [[Roman Catholic Church]], an act which began the [[Protestant Reformation]]. A separate [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church was acknowledged as the new sanctioned religion in many states of Germany in 1530. Religious conflicts known as the 30 Years War pitted Protestant German states against Catholic one, and devastated the former Empire. The [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) ended religious warfare in Germany, but the empire broke down into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, the dualism between the Austrian [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] dominated German history. In 1806, the ''Imperium'' was overrun and dissolved as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

===Nationalism===

It was not until after the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] 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 century, 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, under [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]].

Aggressive nationalism fostered under the second empire of 1871, given greater impetus by the hubris of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and perverted into Nazism by the shock of defeat and the economic travails of the 1920s 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]].

[[Image:The_castle3.jpg|left|thumb|Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist destination.]]

== Economic Overview ==

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in [[PPP]] terms - showed considerable improvement in 2006 with 2.7% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth has led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% at the end of 2006. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were [[macroeconomic]] stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor [[Gerhard Schroeder]] launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and [[welfare]]-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html] CIA World Factbook</ref>

==Government==
===Executive Branch===
Germany has a President as [[Head of State]]. However real power is exercised by a Chancellor.
The current Chancellor is [[Angela Merkel|Dr. Angela Merkel]].

==Famous Germans==
*[[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
*[[Pope Benedict XVI]]
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
*[[Albert Einstein]]
*[[Friedrich Engels]]
*[[Georg Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Dietrich Buxtehude]]
*[[Ernst August von Hannover]]
*[[Daniel Fahrenheit]]
*[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
*[[Henry Kissinger]]
*[[Martin Luther]]
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Dirk Nowitzki]]
*[[Friedrich Nietzsche]]
*[[Friedrich Schiller]]
*[[Richard Wagner]]
*[[Otto von Bismarck]]
*[[Wernher von Braun]]
*[[Thomas Mann]]
*[[Hannah Arendt]]
*[[Rosa Luxemburg]]
*[[Marlene Dietrich]]
*[[Käthe Kollwitz]]
*[[Anne Frank]]
*[[Angela Merkel]]
*[[Gutenberg|Johannes Gutenberg]]
*[[Franz Beckenbauer]]
*[[Boris Becker]]
*[[Michael Schumacher]]
*[[Günter Grass]]
*[[Heinrich Böll]]
*[[Wim Wenders]]
*[[Roland Emmerich]]
*[[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]]
*[[Bertolt Brecht]]
*[[Loriot]]
*[[Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen]]
*[[Konrad Adenauer]]
*[[Friedrich Händel]]
*[[Joseph Haydn]]
*[[Otto Hahn]]
*[[Liese Meitner]]
*[[Werner Heisenberg]]
*[[Heinrich Hesse]]
*[[Albrecht Dürer]]
*[[Tillman Bitterberg]]

==War on Terror==
Germany currently contributes troops to the NATO-led operation in [[Afghanistan]], but did not support the invasion of [[Iraq]]. German military participates in NATO Force Protection Program, protecting US military bases located in Germany.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germany| ]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]