History of Germany

Germany has a tremendous amount of History, so I will give you a overview.

Germanic tribes are believed to have existed in what is today northern Germany since around 500 B.C. These tribes migrated and settled in the central and southern regions of Germany.
They first became part of the Frankish Empire under the rule of Charlemagne, who is considered the father of the German monarchy. Much of Germany also became part of the Holy Roman Empire.

From 1700 to 1918 the Kingdom of Prussia was established in Germany. In 1914 World War I broke out. Germany was on the losing side of the war and is estimated to have lost 2 million soldiers.

In the wake of WWI, Germany tried to recover. There was revolution and the monarchy collapsed.
Soon a young leader named Adolf Hitler rose to power. He created the Nazi party which believed in the
superiority of the German race. Hitler became dictator and decided to expand the German empire. He started WWII and at first conquered much of Europe including France. However, the United States, Britain and the Allies managed to defeat Hitler. Germany was divided into two countries; East Germany and West Germany.

East Germany was a communist state under control of the Soviet Union, while West Germany was a free market state.

The Berlin Wall  was built between the two countries to prevent people from escaping from East Germany to the West. It became a central point and focus of the Cold War. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and communism, the wall was torn down in 1989 and on October 3, 1990 Germany was reunited.

Following the formation of European common market, Germany has reason to become the most powerful economic force in Europe.