Changes

===Post WWII History===

===Post WWII History===

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 border between East and West-Germany was fortified in the course of the 50s, to prevent East-Germans from fleeing to the West. However, the border to West-Berlin, the sectors occupied by the the US, UK, and France, which were de-facto part of West-Germany, was open for rrefugees until the [[Berlin Wall]] was build on 13 August 1961. The Berlin Wall spanned more than 166 km around West-Berlin, and cut through the historic center of Berlin. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for a peaceful revolution in East Germany in 1989, which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a year later to the German unification on October 3, 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern infra structure up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European currency, the [[Euro]].

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 border between East and West Germany was fortified in the course of the 1950s, to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West. However, the border to West Berlin, the sectors occupied by the the US, UK, and France, which were de-facto part of West Germany, was open for refugees until the [[Berlin Wall]] was built on 13 August 1961. The Berlin Wall spanned more than 166 km around West Berlin, and cut through the historic center of Berlin. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for a peaceful revolution in East Germany in 1989, which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a year later to the German unification on October 3, 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern infrastructure up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and ten other EU countries introduced a common European currency, the [[Euro]].

==The states (Bundesländer) and their capitals==

==The states (Bundesländer) and their capitals==