历史

　　GermanygainedimportanceastheHolyRomanEmpireoftheGermanNation,whichwasthefirstReichtranslatedaskingdom.ItwasstartedbyCharlemagne,whobecamethefirstHolyRomanEmperorin800AD,anditlasteduntil1806thetimeoftheNapoleonicWars.

　　ThesecondReichwasstartedwithatreatyin1871inVersailles.ThebiggeststateinthenewGermanEmpirewasPrussia.TheKingsofPrussiawerealso"GermanEmperors"theydidnotcallthemselves"EmperorsofGermany".Thereweremanyotherkingdoms,duchiesandrepublicsintheEmpire,butnotAustria.Germanystayedanempirewithmanydifferentkindsofpeopleforanother50years.

　　ThetreatyofunificationwasmadeafterGermanywontheFranco-PrussianWarwithFrancein1871.InWorldWarI,GermanyjoinedAustria-Hungary,anddeclaredwaronFrance.Thewarbecameslowinthewestandwasfoughtintrenches,holessoldiersduginthegroundtoprotectthemselves.Manymenwerekilledonbothsides.IntheeastthesoldiersfoughtnormalbattlesandtheGermanswonintheeast.Thewarendedin1918becausetheGermanscouldnotwininthewest,andGermany'semperorhadtogiveuphispower.Germanywasputunderharshrestrictions,andFrancetookAlsacefromGermany.Afterarevolution,theSecondReichendedandthedemocraticWeimarRepublicbegan.

　　Afterthewar,therewerebadmoneyproblemsinGermanybecauseofthePeaceTreatyofVersaillesandtheworldwideGreatDepression.

　　The"ThirdReich"wasNaziGermany;itlasted12years,from1933to1945.AdolfHitlerbecametheHeadofgovernment,andbytheEnablingActonMarch23,1933,theparliamentgavehimtotalcontrolofthecountryandthegovernment.[3]OnMarch23,1933,theReichstagpassedtheEnablingAct,whichenabledHitler'sgovernmenttoissuedecreesindependentlyoftheReichstagandthepresidency;Hitlerineffectassumeddictatorialpowers.

　　HitlersoughttounifyallGermansinonestate,anddidthisbyunitingethniclandswhereGermanslivedinAustria,CzechoslovakiawiththeGermanRepublic.Buthisactionsbecameradical,aggressive,andarrogant.Hitlerstartedtoabusehispoweranddeclaredhimself"Führer"(dictator).HitlerthenstartedtoclaimnearbycountriestobepartofGermany,andtookthemover,beginningwithPoland,andincludingpartsofRussia,andtheBalticstates.TheinvasionofPolandstartedWorldWarIIonSeptember1,1939.Inthebeginning,Germanywaswinning,andquicklygotcontrolofmostofEuropeandalargepartoftheSovietUnion.AfterthedecisiveBattleofKursk,theGermanEasternFrontbeganaslowretreatuntilwar'send.ThereasonwasbecauseHitlerrefusedtolistentohisgenerals.On8May1945,GermanygaveupafterBerlinwascapturedandHitlerhadkilledhimselfaweekearlier.Becauseofthewar,GermanylostalotofGermanlandeastofOder-Neisseline,andfor45years,GermanywassplitintoWestGermanyWest-andGermanDemocraticRepublicEastGermany.

　　AftertheendofSocialisminEuropein1990,EastGermanyjoinedWestGermany.ThenewGermanyisanimportantpartoftheEuropeanUnion,agroupofcountriesthatwanttobringallofEuropetogetherforreasonsofpolitics,defence,andeconomy.

　　政治

　　Germanyisaconstitutionalfederaldemocracy[4].Itspoliticalrulescomefromthe1949'constitution'calledGrundgesetz(BasicLaw).Ithasaparliamentarysystem,andtheparliamentelectstheheadofgovernment,theBun