What is Germany and is it Truly United?
Throughout history Germany has been a changing nation. It has changed so much that many lines in Germany have been blurred, such as who is German and what Germany comprises of. Germany has gone from a series of kingdoms and principalities to one nation, but even today Germany remains divided. Many of these issues of unity stem from what Germany actually is and the change in that definition over the course of the last couple centuries. Germany has almost never been a united nation, and one might argue that Germany is still not truly united. Until 1871 there was no central Germany. From 962 – 1806 the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation existed, but it had no central government or ruling state. There was an emperor, but he had little to no power. At that point there was not a “Germany”, but a loose collection of little kingdoms that made up Germany. After the Holy Roman Empire ended in 1806, Germany remained as a collection of loose territories. In 1848, the first steps toward unification occurred. A series of revolutions occurred for German unity, and it was the first time Germans tried to join into one larger nation. The revolutions were only somewhat successful. A small German nation was created, but that nation was hardly a country. In 1849 the revolution ended, and Germany was not much closer to actually becoming united. It was not until 1871 that Otto von Bismarck finally created one unified Germany. Bismarck rose to power from Prussian victory in the “smaller Germany” war. The revolutions leading up to Bismarck’s rule and the creation of one Germany was a good first step to unification, but there were still large cultural differences scattered throughout the new unified Germany. This was due to the fact that each previously existing kingdom and territory had its own way of doing things. One such difference was religion. At that time, each kingdom was allowed to decide what religion was present throughout the region. As a result, these religious differences held through to united Germany. The religious differences can still be seen in modern Germany. Due to these changes, one could argue that Germany was still not a unified nation (Schayan 21-25). The World Wars may have offered the most unity for Germany until the Cold War. Germans enjoyed some sense of nationality until World War I. Under Bismarck’s German Reich, a small amount of democratization was given to the government. At that time Germany could be recognized as an actual united country. When the First World War occurred, Germany had to become united to participate in the war. However, when Germany lost the war they also lost a lot of their territory. This change in borders made it difficult to determine who was German or what constituted …show more content…
These workers were brought to Germany after World War II to help rebuild the economy and infrastructure. Since these guest workers were from different countries, such as Turkey, there is no clear line where German-ness starts. Many guest workers and their families have continued to reside in Germany. The German government is trying to take steps to remedy this. They now require people of Turkish descent living in Germany to decide if they want to be a German citizen or a Turkish citizen, but they cannot be both. This might clear up a few lines, but it is far from actually determining who is German and what German-ness …show more content…
It has a stable and democratic government that truly represents the people. Germany rallies behind things like sports and causes like environmental energy. Germany is also a part of world affairs in a greater way than ever. Many of the goals of the German nation are for making Germany better. For example, one goal is to make Germany’s national economy as good as it can be. People are willing to make a few sacrifices to help Germany grow as a nation. One such sacrifice would be the church tax, or Kirchensteuer, that everyone has the option to pay. Even though the tax is optional, people still choose to pay it and the church flourishes in Germany. Germany is also doing a lot to remedy its problem of German-ness and who is German. It is a political issue that the government is focusing on to clear up some of these problems and increase the German unity inside of
Throughout history Germany has been a changing nation. It has changed so much that many lines in Germany have been blurred, such as who is German and what Germany comprises of. Germany has gone from a series of kingdoms and principalities to one nation, but even today Germany remains divided. Many of these issues of unity stem from what Germany actually is and the change in that definition over the course of the last couple centuries. Germany has almost never been a united nation, and one might argue that Germany is still not truly united. Until 1871 there was no central Germany. From 962 – 1806 the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation existed, but it had no central government or ruling state. There was an emperor, but he had little to no power. At that point there was not a “Germany”, but a loose collection of little kingdoms that made up Germany. After the Holy Roman Empire ended in 1806, Germany remained as a collection of loose territories. In 1848, the first steps toward unification occurred. A series of revolutions occurred for German unity, and it was the first time Germans tried to join into one larger nation. The revolutions were only somewhat successful. A small German nation was created, but that nation was hardly a country. In 1849 the revolution ended, and Germany was not much closer to actually becoming united. It was not until 1871 that Otto von Bismarck finally created one unified Germany. Bismarck rose to power from Prussian victory in the “smaller Germany” war. The revolutions leading up to Bismarck’s rule and the creation of one Germany was a good first step to unification, but there were still large cultural differences scattered throughout the new unified Germany. This was due to the fact that each previously existing kingdom and territory had its own way of doing things. One such difference was religion. At that time, each kingdom was allowed to decide what religion was present throughout the region. As a result, these religious differences held through to united Germany. The religious differences can still be seen in modern Germany. Due to these changes, one could argue that Germany was still not a unified nation (Schayan 21-25). The World Wars may have offered the most unity for Germany until the Cold War. Germans enjoyed some sense of nationality until World War I. Under Bismarck’s German Reich, a small amount of democratization was given to the government. At that time Germany could be recognized as an actual united country. When the First World War occurred, Germany had to become united to participate in the war. However, when Germany lost the war they also lost a lot of their territory. This change in borders made it difficult to determine who was German or what constituted …show more content…
These workers were brought to Germany after World War II to help rebuild the economy and infrastructure. Since these guest workers were from different countries, such as Turkey, there is no clear line where German-ness starts. Many guest workers and their families have continued to reside in Germany. The German government is trying to take steps to remedy this. They now require people of Turkish descent living in Germany to decide if they want to be a German citizen or a Turkish citizen, but they cannot be both. This might clear up a few lines, but it is far from actually determining who is German and what German-ness …show more content…
It has a stable and democratic government that truly represents the people. Germany rallies behind things like sports and causes like environmental energy. Germany is also a part of world affairs in a greater way than ever. Many of the goals of the German nation are for making Germany better. For example, one goal is to make Germany’s national economy as good as it can be. People are willing to make a few sacrifices to help Germany grow as a nation. One such sacrifice would be the church tax, or Kirchensteuer, that everyone has the option to pay. Even though the tax is optional, people still choose to pay it and the church flourishes in Germany. Germany is also doing a lot to remedy its problem of German-ness and who is German. It is a political issue that the government is focusing on to clear up some of these problems and increase the German unity inside of