Germany
Germany is a country in Central Europe bordered by nine nations as well as the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Berlin is both its capital and largest city, German is the official language, and the country is governed as a federal republic composed of 16 states. Its landscape ranges from the broad northern plains and forested central highlands to the Bavarian Alps in the south. Major rivers include the Rhine, Danube, and Elbe.
For centuries, the German-speaking lands consisted of numerous independent kingdoms, duchies, and cities. These territories were unified as the German Empire in 1871. Germany’s defeat in the First World War was followed by political and economic instability, the rise of the Nazi dictatorship, the Holocaust, and the devastation of the Second World War. After the war, Germany was divided into East and West Germany until reunification in 1990. Modern Germany has become a leading European democracy and a central member of the European Union.
Recent Articles
Alexander von Humboldt
While walking along Unter den Linden in Berlin, we came across this imposing statue in front of Humboldt University. It honors Alexander von Humboldt, one of the great scientists, explorers and thinkers of the 19th century. His name was familiar to me, but seeing his monument in front of the university that bears the Humboldt […]
Sachsenhausen After 1945 — Under Soviet Administration
One of the things that surprised me during our visit to Sachsenhausen was discovering that the history of imprisonment here did not end when Nazi Germany collapsed in 1945. This interpretive panel, mounted against one of the old walls, tells a second and very different chapter of the site’s history. Its heading reads, “Under Soviet […]
The Names Beneath Our Feet
One of the most moving experiences while walking through Berlin is discovering the small brass plaques embedded in the sidewalks. It would be easy to miss them if you weren’t looking down, but that is exactly the point. These Stolpersteine, or “stumbling stones,” ask us to pause, not because we physically stumble over them, but because […]
Marx-Engels Forum
In a quiet green space in Berlin, we came upon the Marx-Engels Forum. There is no grand staircase, or towering pedestal. The monument is at ground level, integrated into the park. Karl Max is seated and beside him stands Freidrich Engles. One seated, one standing. One reflective, one present. To understand why they are here, […]
