German Realm Deutsches Reich
Military occupation
← 1945–49 / 1990 ↓
The C-Pennant
Occupation zone borders and territories regarding former Nazi Germany. Areas in Beige indicate territories east of the Oder-Neisse line, that were attached to Poland and the USSR, as well as the detached Saar protectorate. Berlin is the multinational area within the Soviet zone.
Capital	Berlin (de jure) Frankfurt (American zone) Bad Oeynhausen (British zone) Baden-Baden (French zone) East Berlin (Soviet zone)
Political structure	Military occupation
Governors (1945)
- UK zone	FM Montgomery
- French zone	Gen. Lattre de Tassigny
- US zone	GA Eisenhower
- Soviet zone	Marshal G.K. Zhukov
Historical era	Cold War
- Surrender	May 8, 1945
- Allied Control Council	July 5, 1945 1945
- Saar protectorate	December 15, 1947 (joined the Fed. Rep. of Germany on January 1, 1957)
- Federal Republic of Germany	May 23, 1949
- German Democratic Republic	October 7, 1949 (joined the Fed. Rep. of Germany on October 3, 1990) 1949
- Final Settlement¹	September 12, 1990
Currency	Reichsmark and Rentenmark (1945–48) Deutsche Mark (West) (Trizone and Western sectors of Berlin, 1948–49) Deutsche Mark (East) (Soviet zone and sector of Berlin, 1948–49) Mark of the Saar (Protectorate of the Saar, 1947–48) Franc of the Saar (Protectorate of the Saar, 1948–59)
Preceded by Succeeded by Flensburg Government West Germany East Germany Saar (protectorate) West Berlin East Berlin
¹ Reunification of Germany took place on October 3, 1990. The four sectors of Allied occupation in Berlin

The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, United States forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the future zones of occupation, in some places by as much as 200 miles. The line of contact between Soviet and US forces at the end of hostilities was temporary. After two months in which they had held areas that had been assigned to the Soviet zone, US forces withdrew in the first days of July 1945.^[1] Some have concluded that this was a crucial move that persuaded the Soviet Union to allow US, British, and French forces into their predesignated zones in Berlin, which occurred at roughly the same time (July 1945), although the need for intelligence gathering (see Operation Paperclip) may also have been a factor.

The Zones of Occupation[link]

The Allied zones of occupation in post-war Germany, highlighting the Soviet zone (red), the inner German border (black line) and the zone from which British and American troops withdrew in July 1945 (purple). The provincial boundaries are those of pre-Nazi Weimar Germany, before the present Länder (federal states).

American Zone of Occupation[link]

The American zone consisted of Bavaria and Hesse in Southern Germany, and the northern portions of the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. The ports of Bremen (on the lower Weser River) and Bremerhaven (at the Weser estuary of the North Sea) were also placed under American control because of the American request to have certain toeholds in Northern Germany. The headquarters of the American military government was the former IG Farben Building in Frankfurt am Main.

Beginning in May 1945, many of the American combat troops and airmen in and around Germany were sent back to the United States based on their Advanced Service Rating Scores. Some of the experienced officers and non-commissioned officers were selected to be sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations for the proposed Invasion of Japan, but most of those men who had served the longest in combat were discharged from the U.S. Army, the Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy upon their returns home. Following the Surrender of the Japanese Empire in mid-August 1945 – by its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration – a higher percentage of soldiers, airmen, and sailors were granted their final discharges from service. The official signing of the surrender took place on Septermber 2, 1945, but the hostilities had ended weeks earlier.

British Zone of Occupation[link]

The Canadian Army was tied down in surrounding The Netherlands until the Germans there surrendered on May 5, 1945 – just two days before the final surrender of the Wehrmacht in Western Europe to General Eisenhower. After the liberation of The Netherlands and the conquest of northern Germany by the British Army, the bulk of the Canadian Army returned home, leaving northern Germany to be occupied by the British Army and (around Bremen and Bremerhaven) by the U.S. Army.

Then in July 1945, the British Army withdrew from small slices of Germany that had previously agreed to be occupied by the Soviet Army. The British government ceded some slices of its area of occupation to the Soviet Union – specifically the Amt Neuhaus of Hanover and some exclaves and fringes of Brunswick, for example, the County of Blankenburg).

Within the British Zone of Occupation, the British military government re-established the German state of Hamburg, but with borders that had been drawn by Nazi Germany in 1937. The British also created the new German states of Schleswig-Holstein – removed in 1946 from the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein; Lower Saxony – the merger of Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe with the Prussian province of Hanover in 1946; and North Rhine-Westphalia – the merger of Lippe with the northern part of the Prussian provinces of the Rhineland and Westphalia – during 1946 – 47. Also in 1947, the German state of Bremen became an exclave of the American Zone of Occupation located within the British Zone.

Much of the British Zone of Occupation had once been part of the Kingdom of Hanover. This Kingdom was in a personal union with the United Kingdom (formed in 1707) from 1714 through 1837 – with the same monarch, but otherwise completely separate. The first joint monarch was King George I.

French Zone of Occupation[link]

French forces in front of the Reichstag, Berlin 1946.

Despite its being one of the Allied Powers, the Republic of France was not granted an occupation zone in Germany at first because of concerns over the great historical animosity between France and Germany. Also the French Army had carried out a minor role within the alliance, as compared with the armies, navies, and air forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.S.R. (the Soviet Union).

On the other hand, throughout World War II in Europe, the leader of the Free French forces, Charles de Gaulle, persistently argued in favor of the role of France in post-war Europe. Finally, both the British government and the American government recognized the role of France during World War II in Europe (but not in the Pacific Theater). These two powers of occupation in Germany agreed to give some western parts of their Zones of Occupation to the French Army. This agreement created a French Zone of Occupation in westmost Germany. This zone consisted of two barely-contiguous areas of Germany along the French border that met at just a single point along the Rhine River.

The Saargebiet, an important area of Germany because of its large deposits of coal, was enlarged and in 1947, it was turned into the Saar protectorate. This was a state, nominally independent of Germany and France, but with its economy integrated into that of the French Zone.

Soviet Zone of Occupation[link]

Pink: portions of Germany east of the Oder-Neisse line attached to Poland (except for the northern portion of East Prussia and an adjoining area around Memel, which were joined directly to the Soviet Union.) Red: the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, later the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

The Supreme Commanders on June 5, 1945 in Berlin: Bernard Montgomery, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Georgy Zhukov and Jean de Lattre de Tassigny.

The Soviet occupation zone incorporated Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst.

Berlin[link]

While located wholly within the Soviet zone, because of its symbolic importance as the nation's capital and seat of the former Nazi government, the city of Berlin was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into four sectors. Berlin was not considered to be part of the Soviet zone.

Governance and the emergence of two German states[link]

The original Allied plan to govern Germany as a single unit through the Allied Control Council broke down in 1946–1947 due to growing tensions between the West and the Soviet Union, and was never fully implemented. In practice, each of the four occupying powers wielded government authority in their respective zones and carried out different policies toward the population and local and state governments there. A uniform administration of the western zones evolved, known first as the Bizone (the American and British zones merged as of January 1, 1947) and later the Trizone (after inclusion of the French zone). The complete breakdown of east-west allied cooperation and joint administration in Germany became clear with the Soviet imposition of the Berlin Blockade that was enforced from June 1948 to May 1949. The three western zones were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949, and the Soviets followed suit in October 1949 with the establishment of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

In the west, the occupation officially continued until May 5, 1955, when the General Treaty ("German: Deutschlandvertrag") entered into force. However, upon the creation of the Federal Republic in May 1949, the military governors were replaced by civilian high commissioners, whose powers lay somewhere between those of a governor and those of an ambassador. When the Deutschlandvertrag became law, the occupation officially ended, the western occupation zones ceased to exist, and the high commissioners were replaced by normal ambassadors. West Germany was also allowed to build a military, and the Bundeswehr, or Federal Defense Force, was officially established on November 12, 1955.

A similar situation occurred in East Germany. The GDR was founded on October 7, 1949. On October 10,, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany was replaced by the Soviet Control Commission, although limited sovereignty was not granted to the GDR government until November 11, 1949. After the death of Joseph Stalin in March 1953, the Soviet Control Commission was replaced with the office of the Soviet High Commissioner on May 28, 1953. This office was abolished (and replaced by an ambassador) and (general) sovereignty was granted to the GDR, when the Soviet Union concluded a state treaty (Staatsvertrag) with the GDR on September 20, 1955. On March 1, 1956, the GDR established a military, the National People's Army.

Despite the grants of general sovereignty to both German states in 1955, full and unrestricted sovereignty under international law was not enjoyed by any German government until after the reunification of Germany in October 1990. Though West Germany was generally independent, the Allies maintained some responsibilities for West Germany. At the same time, East Germany was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. The provisions of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, also known as the "Two-plus-Four Treaty," granting full sovereign powers to Germany did not become law until March 15, 1991, after all of the participating nations had ratified the treaty.

A 1956 plebiscite ended the French administration of the Saar protectorate within the former French occupation zone, and it joined the Federal Republic as the Saarland on January 1, 1957.

Officially, the city of Berlin was not part of either state and continued to be under Allied occupation until the reunification of Germany in October 1990. For administrative purposes, the three western sectors of Berlin were merged into the entity of West Berlin. The Soviet sector became known as East Berlin and while not recognized by the Western powers as a part of East Germany, GDR declared it its capital (Hauptstadt der DDR).

The German territory east of the Oder-Neisse line (Pomerania, Neumark, Silesia and East Prussia) was attached to Poland and the Soviet Union. The northern portion of East Prussia became the newly-formed Kaliningrad Oblast, a part of the Russian SFSR, with a small portion, Memelland, joined to the Lithuanian SSR.

All territory annexed by Germany during the war (from France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Yugoslavia, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Lithuania) was returned to those countries or annexed by the Soviet Union.

Occupation policy[link]

US warning against "fraternization" with images of concentration camp victims.

In order to impress the German people with the Allied opinion of them,^{[citation needed]} a strict non-fraternization policy was adhered to by General Eisenhower and the War Department. However, thanks to pressure from the State Department and individual US congressmen^{[citation needed]} this policy was lifted in stages. In June 1945 the prohibition of speaking with German children was made less strict. In July it became possible to speak to German adults in certain circumstances. In September the whole policy was completely dropped in Austria and Germany. However due to the large numbers of POWs being held in processing centers throughout Germany, the western allied powers – not the Soviets – used armed units of Feldgendarmerie to maintain control and camp discipline. In July 1946, they became the last Wehrmacht military units to surrender their arms to the western powers.

By December 1945 over 100,000 German civilians were interned as security threats and for possible trial and sentencing as members of criminal organizations.

The food situation in occupied Germany was initially very dire. By the spring of 1946 the official ration in the American zone was no more than 1275 calories per day, with some areas probably receiving as little as 700. In the British zone the food situation was dire, as found during a visit by the British (and Jewish) publisher Victor Gollancz in October and November 1946. In Düsseldorf the normal 28-day allocation should have been 1,548 calories including 10 kg of bread, but as there was limited grain the bread ration was only 8.5 kg. However as there was only sufficient bread for about 50% of this “called up” ration, the total deficiency was about 50%, not 15% as stated in a ministerial reply in the British Parliament on December 11,. So only about 770 calories would have been supplied, and he said the German winter ration would be 1,000 calories as the recent increase was “largely mythical”. His book includes photos taken on the visit and critical letters and newspaper articles by him published in several British newspapers; The Times, The Daily Herald, The Manchester Guardian etc.^[2]

Some occupation soldiers took advantage of the desperate food situation by exploiting their ample supply of food and cigarettes (the currency of the black market) as what became known as frau bait (The New York Times, June 25, 1945). Some soldiers still felt the girls were the enemy, but used them for sex nevertheless.^[3]

The often destitute mothers of the resulting children usually received no child support. In the earliest stages of the occupation, U.S. soldiers were not allowed to pay maintenance for a child they admitted having fathered, since to do so was considered "aiding the enemy". Marriages between white U.S. soldiers and Austrian women were not permitted until January 1946, and with German women until December 1946.^[3]

The children of black American soldiers, commonly called Negermischlinge^[4] ("Negro half-breeds"), comprising about three percent of the total number of children fathered by GIs^{[citation needed]}, were particularly disadvantaged because of their inability to conceal the foreign identity of their father. Black soldiers were reluctant to admit to fathering such children since this would invite reprisals,^{[citation needed]} and even in the cases where a soldier was willing to take responsibility, until 1948 the U.S. Army prohibited interracial marriages.^[4] The mothers of the children would often face particularly harsh ostracization.

Between 1950 and 1955 the Allied High Commission for Germany prohibited "proceedings to establish paternity or liability for maintenance of children."^[4] Even after the lifting of the ban West German courts had little power over American soldiers.

In general, the British authorities were less strict than the Americans about fraternization, and the French and Soviets more.

While Allied servicemen were ordered to obey local laws while in Germany, soldiers could not be prosecuted by German courts for crimes committed against German citizens except as authorized by the occupation authorities. Invariably, when a soldier was accused of criminal behavior the occupation authorities preferred to handle the matter within the military justice system. This sometimes led to harsher punishments than would have been available under German law – in particular, U.S. servicemen could be executed if court-martialed and convicted of rape.^{[citation needed]} See United States v. Private First Class John A. Bennett, 7 C.M.A. 97, 21 C.M.R. 223 (1956).

Insurgency[link]

Rumors of Nazi plans for insurgency, related to the Nazi Werwolf plan, and successful Nazi deception about plans to withdraw forces to its Alpine Redoubt and to use the redoubt as a base from which to conduct guerrilla warfare, affected the last Allied war advances into Germany and influenced Allied occupation plans. It has been estimated that no Allied deaths can be reliably attributed to any Nazi insurgency.^[5]

Expulsion policy[link]

The Potsdam conference, where the victorious Allies drew up plans for the future of Germany, noted in article XIII of the Potsdam Agreement on August 1, 1945 that "the transfer to Germany of German populations (...) in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary will have to be undertaken"; "wild expulsion" was already going on.

Hungary, which had been allied with Germany and where no expulsions had as yet taken place and in addition population was opposed to an expulsion of the German minority, tried to resist this, but in the end had to yield to the pressure exerted mainly by the Soviet Union but also by the Allied Control Council.^[6] Of the millions expelled from former eastern territories of Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and elsewhere, when they were not used for forced labor, over a period of years they were sent to the occupation zones of UK, USA, and USSR, who agreed in the Potsdam Agreement to absorb the post-war expellees into their zones, where many remained in refugee camps for a long time.

France was not invited to the Potsdam Conference. As a result, it took its own liberties to approve some decisions of the Potsdam Agreements and to dismiss others. As to the question of the post-war expellees, France maintained the position that it did not approve post-war expulsions and that therefore it was not responsible to accommodate and nourish the destitute expellees in its zone. While the few war-related refugees who had reached the area to become the French zone before July 1945 were taken care of, the French military government for Germany refused to absorb post-war expellees deported from the East into its zone. In December 1946, the French military government for Germany absorbed into its zone German refugees from Denmark, where 250,000 Germans had found a refuge from the Soviets by sea vessels between February and May 1945.^[7] These clearly were war-related refugees from the eastern parts of Germany however, and not post-war expellees.

Military governors and commissioners[link]

History of Germany
This article is part of a series
Early History
Germanic peoples
Migration Period
Frankish Empire
Medieval Germany
East Francia
Kingdom of Germany
Holy Roman Empire
Eastward settlement
Early Modern period
Sectionalism
18th century
Kingdom of Prussia
Unification of Germany
Confederation of the Rhine
German Confederation & Zollverein
German Revolutions of 1848
North German Confederation
The German Reich
German Empire
World War I
Weimar Republic Alsace-Lorraine, Saar, Danzig, Memel, Austria, Sudeten
Nazi Germany
World War II Flensburg Government
Cold War era
Occupation + Ostgebiete
Expulsion of Germans
West Germany, East Germany, and Saar
German reunification
Contemporary
New federal states
reunified Germany
Topics
Economic history of Germany
Military history of Germany
Territorial changes of Germany
Timeline of German history
History of Berlin
Names of Germany
Germany Portal v t e

American Zone[link]

Military governors

1. May 8, 1945 – November 10, 1945 Dwight D. Eisenhower
2. November 11, 1945 – November 25, 1945 George S. Patton (acting)
3. November 26, 1945 – January 5, 1947 Joseph T. McNarney
4. January 6, 1947 – May 14, 1949 Lucius D. Clay
5. May 15, 1949 – September 1, 1949 Clarence R. Huebner (acting)

High commissioners

1. September 2, 1949 – August 1, 1952 John J. McCloy
2. August 1, 1952 – December 11, 1952 Walter J. Donnelly
3. December 11, 1952 – February 10, 1953 Samuel Reber (acting)
4. February 10, 1953 – May 5, 1955 James Bryant Conant

British Zone[link]

Military governors

1. May 22, 1945 – April 30, 1946 Sir Bernard Law Montgomery
2. May 1, 1946 – October 31, 1947 William Sholto Douglas
3. November 1, 1947 – September 21, 1949 Sir Brian Hubert Robertson

High commissioners

1. September 21, 1949 – June 24, 1950 Sir Brian Hubert Robertson
2. June 24, 1950 – September 29, 1953 Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick
3. September 29, 1953 – May 5, 1955 Sir Frederick Hoyer Millar

French Zone[link]

Military commander

May 1945 – July 1945 Jean de Lattre de Tassigny

Military governor

July 1945 – September 21, 1949 Marie Pierre Kœnig

High commissioner

September 21, 1949 – May 5, 1955 André François-Poncet

Soviet Zone[link]

Military commander

April 1945 – June 9, 1945 Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov

Military governors

1. June 9, 1945 – April 10, 1946 Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
2. April 10, 1946 – March 29, 1949 Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky
3. March 29, 1949 – October 10, 1949 Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov

Chairman of the Soviet Control Commission

October 10, 1949 – May 28, 1953 Vasily Ivanoivich Chuikov

High commissioners

1. May 28, 1953 – July 16, 1954 Vladimir Semyonovich Semyonov
2. July 16, 1954 – September 20, 1955 Georgy Maksimovich Pushkin

See also[link]

• Allied-occupied Austria

References[link]

External links[link]

• Post-WWII commanders/governors of Germany
• The short film A DEFEATED PEOPLE (1946) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Civil Affairs In Germany (1945) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

v t e Subdivisions of Allied-administered Germany (1945–1949/1956/1990) American zone Bavaria Bremen Hesse Greater Hesse Württemberg-Baden British zone Lower Saxony Hanover Hamburg North Rhine-Westphalia Schleswig-Holstein French zone Baden Rhineland-Palatinate Saar, 1945–1947 Württemberg-Hohenzollern Soviet zone 22x20px Brandenburg Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Thuringia Berlin (1949–90) West Berlin (UK, FR, USA) East Berlin (USSR) Saar Protectorate (1947–56) Saarland (FR)

Federal Republic of Germany Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  The third stanza of Das Lied der Deutschen   The Song of the Germans
Location of  Germany  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Berlin 52°31′N 13°23′E / 52.517°N 13.383°E / 52.517; 13.383
Official language(s)		German[1]
Ethnic groups		Germans 91.5%, Turks 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)[1]
Demonym		German
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
-	President	Joachim Gauck
-	Chancellor	Angela Merkel
-	President of the Bundestag	Norbert Lammert
-	President of the Bundesrat	Horst Seehofer
Legislature
-	Upper house	Bundesrat
-	Lower house	Bundestag
Formation
-	Holy Roman Empire	2 February 962
-	Unification	18 January 1871
-	Federal Republic	23 May 1949
-	Reunification	3 October 1990
Area
-	Total	357,021 km2 (63rd) 137,847 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2.416
Population
-	2010 estimate	81,799,600[2] (16th)
-	Density	229/km2 (55th) 593/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$3.099 trillion[3] (5th)
-	Per capita	$37,896[3] (18th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$3.577 trillion[3] (4th)
-	Per capita	$43,741[3]
Gini (2006)		27 (low)
HDI (2011)		0.905[4] (very high) (9th)
Currency		Euro (€)[2](2002 – present) Swiss franc (de facto in Büsingen) (EUR, CHF)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		DE
Internet TLD		.de [3]
Calling code		49
1	^ Danish, Low German, Sorbian, Romany and Frisian are officially recognised by the ECRML.
2	^ Before 2002: Deutsche Mark (DEM).
3	^ Also .eu, shared with European Union member states.

Germany (ⁱ/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)),^[5] is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km² and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.

A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire.^[6] During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since.^[7] Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.

Germany was a founding member of the European Community in 1957, which became the EU in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area and since 1999 a member of the eurozone. Germany is a Great Power and member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, the OECD and the Council of Europe, and took a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011–2012 term.

It has the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest by purchasing power parity. It is the second largest exporter and third largest importer of goods. The country has developed a very high standard of living and a comprehensive system of social security. Germany has been the home of many influential scientists and inventors, and is known for its cultural and political history.

Etymology[link]

The English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine.^[8] The German term Deutschland (originally diutisciu land, "the German lands") is derived from deutsch, descended from Old High German diutisc "popular" (i. e., belonging to the diot or diota "people"; originally used to distinguish the language of the common people from Latin and its Romance descendants). This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz "popular" (see also the Latinised form Theodiscus), derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- "people".^[9]

History[link]

Germanic tribes and Frankish Empire[link]

Map of the Germania and the Roman Empire

The Germanic tribes are thought to date from the Nordic Bronze Age or the Pre-Roman Iron Age. From southern Scandinavia and north Germany, they expanded south, east and west from the 1st century BC, coming into contact with the Celtic tribes of Gaul as well as Iranian, Baltic, and Slavic tribes in Eastern Europe.^[10] Under Augustus, the Roman General Publius Quinctilius Varus began to invade Germania (an area extending roughly from the Rhine to the Ural Mountains). In AD 9, three Roman legions led by Varus were defeated by the Cheruscan leader Arminius. By AD 100, when Tacitus wrote Germania, Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube (the Limes Germanicus), occupying most of the area of modern Germany; Austria, southern Bavaria and the western Rhineland, however, were Roman provinces.^[11]

In the 3rd century a number of large West Germanic tribes emerged: Alemanni, Franks, Chatti, Saxons, Frisii, Sicambri, and Thuringii. Around 260, the Germanic peoples broke into Roman-controlled lands.^[12] After the invasion of the Huns in 375, and with the decline of Rome from 395, Germanic tribes moved further south-west. Simultaneously several large tribes formed in what is now Germany and displaced the smaller Germanic tribes. Large areas (known since the Merovingian period as Austrasia) were occupied by the Franks, and Northern Germany was ruled by the Saxons and Slavs.^[11]

Holy Roman Empire[link]

Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation.

On 25 December 800, Charlemagne founded the Carolingian Empire, which was divided in 843.^[13] The Holy Roman Empire resulted from the eastern portion of this division. Its territory stretched from the Eider River in the north to the Mediterranean coast in the south.^[13] Under the reign of the Ottonian emperors (919–1024), several major duchies were consolidated, and the German king was crowned Holy Roman Emperor of these regions in 962. The Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern Italy and Burgundy under the reign of the Salian emperors (1024–1125), although the emperors lost power through the Investiture Controversy.

Under the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138–1254), the German princes increased their influence further south and east into territories inhabited by Slavs, preceding German settlement in these areas and further east (Ostsiedlung). Northern German towns grew prosperous as members of the Hanseatic League.^[14] Starting with the Great Famine in 1315, then the Black Death of 1348–50, the population of Germany plummeted.^[15] The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the basic constitution of the empire and codified the election of the emperor by seven prince-electors who ruled some of the most powerful principalities and archbishoprics.^[16]

Martin Luther publicised The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, challenging the Roman Catholic Church and initiating the Protestant Reformation. A separate Lutheran church became the official religion in many German states after 1530. Religious conflict led to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated German lands.^[17] The population of the German states was reduced by about 30%.^[18] The Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended religious warfare among the German states, but the empire was de facto divided into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, 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.^[19]

German Confederation and Empire[link]

Following the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna convened in 1814 and founded the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund), a loose league of 39 sovereign states. Disagreement with restoration politics partly led to the rise of liberal movements, followed by new measures of repression by Austrian statesman Metternich. The Zollverein, a tariff union, furthered economic unity in the German states.^[20] National and liberal ideals of the French Revolution gained increasing support among many, especially young, Germans. In the light of a series of revolutionary movements in Europe, which established a republic in France, intellectuals and commoners started the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states. King Frederick William IV of Prussia was offered the title of Emperor, but with a loss of power; he rejected the crown and the proposed constitution, leading to a temporary setback for the movement.^[21]

Foundation of the German Empire in Versailles, 1871. Bismarck is at the centre in a white uniform.

Conflict between King William I of Prussia and the increasingly liberal parliament erupted over military reforms in 1862, and the king appointed Otto von Bismarck the new Minister President of Prussia. Bismarck successfully waged war on Denmark in 1864. Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 enabled him to create the North German Confederation (Norddeutscher Bund) and to exclude Austria, formerly the leading German state, from the federation's affairs. After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the German Empire was proclaimed 1871 in Versailles, uniting all scattered parts of Germany except Austria (Kleindeutschland, or "Lesser Germany"). With almost two thirds of its territory and population, Prussia was the dominating constituent of the new state; the Hohenzollern King of Prussia ruled as its concurrent Emperor, and Berlin became its capital.^[21] In the Gründerzeit period following the unification of Germany, Bismarck's foreign policy as Chancellor of Germany under Emperor William I secured Germany's position as a great nation by forging alliances, isolating France by diplomatic means, and avoiding war. Under Wilhelm II, however, Germany, like other European powers, took an imperialistic course leading to friction with neighbouring countries. As a result of the Berlin Conference in 1884 Germany claimed several colonies including German East Africa, German South-West Africa, Togo, and Cameroon.^[22] Most alliances in which Germany had previously been involved were not renewed, and new alliances excluded the country.^[23]

The assassination of Austria's crown prince on 28 June 1914 triggered World War I. Germany, as part of the Central Powers, suffered defeat against the Allies in one of the bloodiest conflicts of all time. An estimated two million German soldiers died in World War I.^[24] The German Revolution broke out in November 1918, and Emperor Wilhelm II and all German ruling princes abdicated. An armistice ended the war on 11 November, and Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. The treaty was perceived in Germany as a humiliating continuation of the war, and is often cited as an influence in the rise of Nazism.^[25]

Weimar Republic and Nazi Regime[link]

Adolf Hitler, chancellor and president¹ 1933–1945
1: office formally vacant from August 1934; Hitler styled himself "Führer und Reichskanzler"^[26]

At the beginning of the German Revolution in November 1918, Germany was declared a republic. However, the struggle for power continued, with radical-left communists seizing power in Bavaria. The revolution came to an end on 11 August 1919, when the democratic Weimar Constitution was signed by President Friedrich Ebert.^[27] Suffering from the Great Depression of 1929, the harsh peace conditions dictated by the Treaty of Versailles, and a long succession of unstable governments, Germans increasingly lacked identification with the government. This was exacerbated by a widespread right-wing Dolchstoßlegende, or stab-in-the-back legend, which argued that Germany had lost World War I because of those who wanted to overthrow the government. The Weimar government was accused of betraying Germany by signing the Versailles Treaty. By 1932, the German Communist Party and the Nazi Party controlled the majority of parliament, fuelled by discontent with the Weimar government. After a series of unsuccessful cabinets, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933.^[28] On 27 February 1933 the Reichstag building went up in flames, and a consequent emergency decree abrogated basic citizens' rights. An enabling act passed in parliament gave Hitler unrestricted legislative power. Only the Social Democratic Party voted against it, while Communist MPs had already been imprisoned.^[29][30] Using his powers to crush any actual or potential resistance, Hitler established a centralised totalitarian state within months. Industry was revitalised with a focus on military rearmament.^[31]

In 1935, Germany reacquired control of the Saar and in 1936 military control of the Rhineland, both of which had been lost in the Treaty of Versailles.^[32] In 1938, Austria was annexed, and in 1939, Czechoslovakia was brought under German control. The invasion of Poland was prepared through the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact and Operation Himmler. On 1 September 1939 the German Wehrmacht launched a blitzkrieg on Poland, which was swiftly occupied by Germany and by the Soviet Red Army. The UK and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.^[33] As the war progressed, Germany and its allies quickly gained control of most of continental Europe and North Africa, though plans to force the United Kingdom to an armistice or surrender failed. On 22 June 1941, Germany broke the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact and invaded the Soviet Union. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor led Germany to declare war on the United States. The Battle of Stalingrad forced the German army to retreat on the Eastern front.^[33] In September 1943, Germany's ally Italy surrendered, and German troops were forced to defend an additional front in Italy. D-Day opened a Western front, as Allied forces advanced towards German territory. On 8 May 1945, the German armed forces surrendered after the Red Army occupied Berlin.^[34]

Berlin in ruins after World War II

In what later became known as The Holocaust, the Third Reich regime had enacted policies directly subjugating many dissidents and minorities. Millions of people were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, including approximately six million Jews, and a sizeable number of Romani people, Jehovah's Witnesses, Poles and other Slavs, Soviet POWs, people with mental and/or physical disabilities, homosexuals, and members of the political and religious opposition.^[35] World War II was responsible for more than 40 million dead in Europe.^[36] The Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals were held after World War II.^[37] The war casualties for Germany are estimated at 5.3 million German soldiers^[38] millions of German civilians;^{[39][40][41][42][43]} and losing the war resulted in large territorial losses; the expulsion of about 15 million Germans from the eastern areas of Germany and other countries; mass rape of German women;^[44] and the destruction of multiple major cities.

East and West Germany[link]

Occupation zones in Germany, 1947. The territories east of the Oder-Neisse line, under Polish and Soviet de jure administration and de facto annexation, are shown as white as is the detached Saar protectorate.

After the surrender of Germany, the remaining German territory and Berlin were partitioned by the Allies into four military occupation zones. The western sectors, controlled by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, were merged on 23 May 1949 to form the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland); on 7 October 1949, the Soviet Zone became the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR). They were informally known as "West Germany" and "East Germany". East Germany selected East Berlin as its capital, while West Germany chose Bonn as a provisional capital, to emphasise its stance that the two-state solution was an artificial and temporary status quo.^[45]

West Germany, established as a federal parliamentary republic with a "social market economy", was allied with the United States, the UK and France. The country enjoyed prolonged economic growth beginning in the early 1950s (Wirtschaftswunder). West Germany joined NATO in 1955 and was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957. East Germany was an Eastern bloc state under political and military control by the USSR via the latter's occupation forces and the Warsaw Pact. Though East Germany claimed to be a democracy, political power was exercised solely by leading members (Politbüro) of the communist-controlled Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), supported by the Stasi, an immense secret service,^[46] and a variety of sub-organisations controlling every aspect of society. A Soviet-style command economy was set up; the GDR later became a Comecon state.^[47] While East German propaganda was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programmes and the alleged constant threat of a West German invasion, many of her citizens looked to the West for freedom and prosperity.^[48] The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 to stop East Germans from escaping to West Germany, became a symbol of the Cold War.^[21]

The Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate shortly before its fall in 1989

Tensions between East and West Germany were reduced in the early 1970s by Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik. In summer 1989, Hungary decided to dismantle the Iron Curtain and open the borders, causing the emigration of thousands of East Germans to West Germany via Hungary. This had devastating effects on the GDR, where regular mass demonstrations received increasing support. The East German authorities unexpectedly eased the border restrictions, allowing East German citizens to travel to the West; originally intended to help retain East Germany as a state, the opening of the border actually led to an acceleration of the Wende reform process. This culminated in the Two Plus Four Treaty a year later on 12 September 1990, under which the four occupying powers renounced their rights under the Instrument of Surrender, and Germany regained full sovereignty. This permitted German reunification on 3 October 1990, with the accession of the five re-established states of the former GDR (new states or "neue Länder").^[21]

Berlin Republic and the EU[link]

Based on the Berlin/Bonn Act, adopted on 10 March 1994, Berlin once again became the capital of the reunified Germany, while Bonn obtained the unique status of a Bundesstadt (federal city) retaining some federal ministries.^[49] The relocation of the government was completed in 1999.^[50] Since reunification, Germany has taken a more active role in the European Union and NATO. Germany sent a peacekeeping force to secure stability in the Balkans and sent a force of German troops to Afghanistan as part of a NATO effort to provide security in that country after the ousting of the Taliban.^[51] These deployments were controversial since, after the war, Germany was bound by domestic law only to deploy troops for defence roles.^[52] In 2005, Angela Merkel became the first female Chancellor of Germany as the leader of a grand coalition.^[21]

Geography[link]

Topographic map

Germany is in Western and Central Europe, bordering Denmark in the north, Poland and the Czech Republic in the east, Austria and Switzerland in the south, France and Luxembourg in the south-west, and Belgium and the Netherlands in the north-west. It lies mostly between latitudes 47° and 55° N (the tip of Sylt is just north of 55°), and longitudes 5° and 16° E. The territory covers 357,021 km² (137,847 sq mi), consisting of 349,223 km² (134,836 sq mi) of land and 7,798 km² (3,011 sq mi) of water. It is the seventh largest country by area in Europe and the 62nd largest in the world.^[1]

Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,962 metres / 9,718 feet) in the south to the shores of the North Sea (Nordsee) in the north-west and the Baltic Sea (Ostsee) in the north-east. The forested uplands of central Germany and the lowlands of northern Germany (lowest point: Wilstermarsch at 3.54 metres / 11.6 feet below sea level) are traversed by such major rivers as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe. Glaciers are found in the Alpine region, but are experiencing deglaciation. Significant natural resources are iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land and water.^[1]

Climate[link]

Most of Germany has a temperate seasonal climate in which humid westerly winds predominate. The climate is moderated by the North Atlantic Drift, the northern extension of the Gulf Stream. This warmer water affects the areas bordering the North Sea; consequently in the north-west and the north the climate is oceanic. Rainfall occurs year-round, especially in the summer. Winters are mild and summers tend to be cool, though temperatures can exceed 30 °C (86 °F).^[53]

The east has a more continental climate; winters can be very cold and summers very warm, and long dry periods are frequent. Central and southern Germany are transition regions which vary from moderately oceanic to continental. In addition to the maritime and continental climates that predominate over most of the country, the Alpine regions in the extreme south and, to a lesser degree, some areas of the Central German Uplands have a mountain climate, characterised by lower temperatures and greater precipitation.^[53]

The eagle is a protected bird of prey and the national heraldic animal.

Biodiversity[link]

The territory of Germany can be subdivided into two ecoregions: European-Mediterranean montane mixed forests and Northeast-Atlantic shelf marine.^[54] As of 2008^[update] the majority of Germany is covered by either arable land (34%) or forest and woodland (30.1%); only 13.4% of the area consists of permanent pastures, 11.8% is covered by settlements and streets.^[55]

Plants and animals are those generally common to middle Europe. Beeches, oaks, and other deciduous trees constitute one third of the forests; conifers are increasing as a result of reforestation. Spruce and fir trees predominate in the upper mountains, while pine and larch are found in sandy soil. There are many species of ferns, flowers, fungi, and mosses. Wild animals include deer, wild boar, mouflon, fox, badger, hare, and small numbers of beavers.^[56]

The national parks in Germany include the Wadden Sea National Parks, the Jasmund National Park, the Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park, the Müritz National Park, the Lower Oder Valley National Park, the Harz National Park, the Saxon Switzerland National Park and the Bavarian Forest National Park. More than 400 registered zoos and animal parks operate in Germany, which is believed to be the largest number in any country.^[57] The Zoologische Garten Berlin is the oldest zoo in Germany and presents the most comprehensive collection of species in the world.^[58]

Politics[link]

The Reichstag building in Berlin is the site of the German parliament (Bundestag).

Germany is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The German political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1949 constitutional document known as the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both chambers of parliament; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law are valid in perpetuity.^[59]

The president is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. He is elected by the Bundesversammlung (federal convention), an institution consisting of the members of the Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates. The second-highest official in the German order of precedence is the Bundestagspräsident (President of the Bundestag), who is elected by the Bundestag and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body. The third-highest official and the head of government is the Chancellor, who is appointed by the Bundespräsident after being elected by the Bundestag.^[21]

Joachim Gauck, President of Germany

The chancellor, currently Angela Merkel, is the head of government and exercises executive power, similar to the role of a Prime Minister in other parliamentary democracies. Federal legislative power is vested in the parliament consisting of the Bundestag (Federal Diet) and Bundesrat (Federal Council), which together form the legislative body. The Bundestag is elected through direct elections, by proportional representation (mixed-member).^[1] The members of the Bundesrat represent the governments of the sixteen federated states and are members of the state cabinets.^[21]

Since 1949, the party system has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany with all chancellors hitherto being member of either party. However, the smaller liberal Free Democratic Party (which has had members in the Bundestag since 1949) and the Alliance '90/The Greens (which has controlled seats in parliament since 1983) have also played important roles.^[60]

Germany has a civil law system based on Roman law with some references to Germanic law. The Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) is the German Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review.^[21][61] Germany's supreme court system, called Oberste Gerichtshöfe des Bundes, is specialised: for civil and criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the inquisitorial Federal Court of Justice, and for other affairs the courts are the Federal Labour Court, the Federal Social Court, the Federal Finance Court and the Federal Administrative Court. The Völkerstrafgesetzbuch regulates the consequences of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, and gives German courts universal jurisdiction in some circumstances.^[62] Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the Strafgesetzbuch and the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch respectively. The German penal system is aimed towards rehabilitation of the criminal and the protection of the general public.^[63] Except for petty crimes, which are tried before a single professional judge, and serious political crimes, all charges are tried before mixed tribunals on which lay judges (Schöffen) sit side by side with professional judges.^[64][65]

Constituent states[link]

Germany comprises sixteen states that are collectively referred to as Länder.^[66] Each state has its own state constitution^[67] and is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation. Due to differences in size and population the subdivision of these states varies, especially between city states (Stadtstaaten) and states with larger territories (Flächenländer). For regional administrative purposes five states, namely Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, consist of a total of 22 Government Districts (Regierungsbezirke). As of 2009^[update] Germany is divided into 403 districts (Kreise) on municipal level, these consist of 301 rural districts and 102 urban districts.^[68]

 Lower Saxony

 Bremen

 Hamburg

 Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern

 Saxony-
Anhalt

 Saxony

 Brandenburg

Berlin

 Thuringia

 Hesse

 North Rhine-
Westphalia

 Rhineland-
Palatinate

 Bavaria

 Baden-
Württemberg

 Saarland

 Schleswig-
Holstein

Foreign relations[link]

Chancellor Angela Merkel hosting the G8 summit in Heiligendamm

Germany has a network of 229 diplomatic missions abroad and maintains relations with more than 190 countries.^[69] As of 2011^[update] it is the largest contributor to the budget of the European Union (providing 20%)^[70] and the third largest contributor to the UN (providing 8%).^[71] Germany is a member of NATO, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the G8, the G20, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It has played a leading role in the European Union since its inception and has maintained a strong alliance with France since the end of World War II. Germany seeks to advance the creation of a more unified European political, defence, and security apparatus.^[72][73]

The development policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is an independent area of German foreign policy. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out by the implementing organisations. The German government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community.^[74] It is the world's third biggest aid donor after the United States and France.^[75][76]

During the Cold War, Germany's partition by the Iron Curtain made it a symbol of East-West tensions and a political battleground in Europe. However, Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik was a key factor in the détente of the 1970s.^[77] In 1999, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's government defined a new basis for German foreign policy by taking part in the NATO decisions surrounding the Kosovo War and by sending German troops into combat for the first time since World War II.^[78] The governments of Germany and the United States are close political allies.^[21] The 1948 Marshall Plan and strong cultural ties have crafted a strong bond between the two countries, although Schröder's vocal opposition to the Iraq War suggested the end of Atlanticism and a relative cooling of German-American relations.^[79] The two countries are also economically interdependent: 8.8% of German exports are U.S.-bound and 6.6% of German imports originate from the U.S.^[80]

Military[link]

The Eurofighter Typhoon is part of the Luftwaffe.

Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, is organized in Heer (Army), Marine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force), Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service and Streitkräftebasis (Joint Support Service) branches. As of 2011^[update], military spending was an estimated 1.3% of the country's GDP, that is low in a ranking of all countries; in absolute terms, German military expenditure is the ninth-highest in the world.^[81] In peacetime, the Bundeswehr is commanded by the Minister of Defence. If Germany went to war, which according to the constitution is allowed only for defensive purposes, the Chancellor would become commander in chief of the Bundeswehr.^[82]

As of March 2012^[update] the Bundeswehr employs 183,000 professional soldiers and 17,000 volunteers.^[83] The German government plans to reduce the number of soldiers to 170,000 professionals and up to 15,000 short-time volunteers (voluntary military service).^[84] Reservists are available to the Armed Forces and participate in defence exercises and deployments abroad, a new reserve concept of their future strength and functions was announced 2011.^[84] As of April 2011^[update], the German military had about 6,900 troops stationed in foreign countries as part of international peacekeeping forces, including about 4,900 Bundeswehr troops in the NATO-led ISAF force in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, 1,150 German soldiers in Kosovo, and 300 troops with UNIFIL in Lebanon.^[85]

Until 2011, military service was compulsory for men at age 18, and conscripts served six-month tours of duty; conscientious objectors could instead opt for an equal length of Zivildienst (civilian service), or a six-year commitment to (voluntary) emergency services like a fire department or the Red Cross. On 1 July 2011 conscription was officially suspended and replaced with a voluntary service.^[86][87] Since 2001 women may serve in all functions of service without restriction, but they are not subject to conscription. There are presently some 17,500 women on active duty and a number of female reservists.^[88]

Economy[link]

A Mercedes-Benz car. Germany was the world's leading exporter of goods from 2003 to 2008.^[89]

Frankfurt am Main is one of Germany's "economic powerhouses" and the main financial cluster in Central Europe.

Germany has a social market economy with a highly qualified labour force, a large capital stock, a low level of corruption,^[90] and a high level of innovation.^[91] It has the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth largest by nominal GDP in the world,^[92] and the fifth largest by PPP^[92] in 2009. The service sector contributes approximately 71% of the total GDP, industry 28%, and agriculture 0.9%.^[1] The official average national unemployment rate in March 2012 was 7.2%.^[93] However, the official average national unemployment rate also includes people with a part-time job that are looking for a full-time job.^[94] The unofficial average national unemployment rate in 2011 was 5.7%.^[1]

Germany is an advocate of closer European economic and political integration. Its commercial policies are increasingly determined by agreements among European Union (EU) members and by EU legislation. Germany introduced the common European currency, the euro, on 1 January 2002.^[95][96] Its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank. Two decades after German reunification, standards of living and per capita incomes remain significantly higher in the states of the former West Germany than in the former East.^[97] The modernisation and integration of the eastern German economy is a long-term process scheduled to last until the year 2019, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion.^[98] In January 2009 the German government approved a €50 billion economic stimulus plan to protect several sectors from a downturn and a subsequent rise in unemployment rates.^[99]

Germany is part of a monetary union, the Eurozone (dark blue), and of the EU single market.

Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in 2010, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are headquartered in Germany. 30 Germany-based companies are included in the DAX, the German stock market index. Well-known global brands are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, SAP, Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, Audi, Allianz, Porsche, Bayer, Bosch, and Nivea.^[100] Germany is recognised for its specialised small and medium enterprises. Around 1,000 of these companies are global market leaders in their segment and are labelled hidden champions.^[101]

The list includes the largest companies by turnover in 2009. Unranked are the largest bank and the largest insurance company in 2007: