Ostpolitik

The goal of the Ostpolitik of the 1970s was to surmount but not to reverse the existing status quo between the two German states, which were formed in 1948 after World War II, and to ultimately lead to their reunification, while giving up the goal of immediate reunification as a prerequisite to all other decisions. Among the elements of Ostpolitik was abandonment of the Hallstein Doctrine and recognition of the Oder-Ne ...

See also:

Ostpolitik, Ostpolitik - Intention and Realisation, Ostpolitik - Development, Ostpolitik - Current Ostpolitik, Ostpolitik - List of Treaties

Read more here: » Ostpolitik: Encyclopedia II - Ostpolitik - Intention and Realisation

More than 7 million Germans, including at least 3 million civilians, died during World War II. After the war, the German people were often viewed with contempt because they were blamed for Nazi crimes by other Europeans. Germans visiting abroad, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, attracted insults from locals, and from foreigners who may have had their families or friends live through or perish in the attrocities. Today in Europe and worldwide (particularly in countries that fought against the Axis), Germans still might get scorned ...

See also:

Consequences of German Nazism, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Germany, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Jewry, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Austria, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Poland, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Central Europe, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on the Soviet Union, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Western Europe, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Greece, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on world politics, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on international law, Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on racism

Read more here: » Consequences of German Nazism: Encyclopedia II - Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Germany

Willy Brandt (December 18, 1913 – October 8, 1992) was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany from 1969 to 1974. The social democrat received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his work in improving relations with the German Democratic Republic, Poland and the Soviet Union, but was controversial in Germany because of his Ostpolitik (relations with Eastern Europe and Russia) and had ...

Including:

• Willy Brandt - Early life the war
• Willy Brandt - Mayor of Berlin Foreign Minister
• Willy Brandt - Chancellor
• Willy Brandt - Resignation
• Willy Brandt - Late life
• Willy Brandt - Brandt's First Ministry 21 October 1969 - 14 December 1972
• Willy Brandt - Works selected
• Willy Brandt - Biographies

Read more here: » Willy Brandt: Encyclopedia - Willy Brandt

German Nazism and the acts of the Nazi German state impacted profoundly on many countries, communities and peoples before, during and after World War II and the Holocaust. Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Germany. More than 7 million Germans, including at least 3 million civilians, died during World War II. After the war, the German people were often viewed with contempt because they were blamed for Nazi crimes by other Europeans. Germans visiting abroad, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, attrac ...

Including:

• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Germany
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Jewry
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Austria
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Poland
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Central Europe
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on the Soviet Union
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Western Europe
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on Greece
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on world politics
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on international law
• Consequences of German Nazism - Impact on racism

Read more here: » Consequences of German Nazism: Encyclopedia - Consequences of German Nazism

The Berlin Wall (German: Die Berliner Mauer) was a long barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the surrounding territory of East Germany. The East German authorities called it the "antifaschistischer Schutzwall" (Anti-Fascist Protection Wall). Its purpose was to restrict access between West Berlin and East Germany. It was built in 1961 and fortified over the years, but was opened to unrestricted transit on November 9, 1989 and subsequently almost entirely demolished. Berlin Wall - BackgroundIncluding:

• Berlin Wall - Background
• Berlin Wall - Construction of the Wall
• Berlin Wall - How the Wall worked
• Berlin Wall - The Wall years
• Berlin Wall - The fall of the Wall
• Berlin Wall - Celebrations
• Berlin Wall - Aftermath

Read more here: » Berlin Wall: Encyclopedia - Berlin Wall

The German Democratic Republic (GDR) German Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), informally known in English as East Germany, was a Communist state that existed from 1949 to 1990 in the former Soviet occupation zone of Germany. The German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Berlin on October 7, 1949, five weeks after the Federal Republic of Germany in western Germany. It was declared fully sovereign in 1 ...

Including:

• East Germany - History
• East Germany - Politics
• East Germany - Persons of note in East Germany
• East Germany - Subdivisions
• East Germany - Economy
• East Germany - Culture
• East Germany - GDR mainstream
• East Germany - Bach
• East Germany - Miscellaneous topics

Read more here: » East Germany: Encyclopedia - East Germany

(German: Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit) 2 Prior to 2002: Deutsche Mark Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Deutschland or Bundesrepublik Deutschland listen ▶ (help·info)) is one of the world's leading industrialised countries, located in Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by Fr ...

Including:

• Germany - History
• Germany - Early history of the Germanic tribes 100 BC-300 AD
• Germany - The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation 843–1806
• Germany - Restoration and revolution 1814–1871
• Germany - German Empire 1871–1918
• Germany - Weimar Republic 1919–1933
• Germany - Third Reich 1933–1945
• Germany - Division and reunification 1945–1990
• Germany - Politics
• Germany - Legal system
• Germany - Foreign Relations
• Germany - Armed Forces
• Germany - Energy policy
• Germany - Geography
• Germany - States Länder
• Germany - Territory
• Germany - Climate
• Germany - Economy
• Germany - Exports
• Germany - Imports
• Germany - Agriculture
• Germany - Industrial sector
• Germany - Service sector
• Germany - Natural resources
• Germany - Society
• Germany - Demographics
• Germany - Religion
• Germany - Education
• Germany - Social issues
• Germany - Culture
• Germany - Miscellaneous topics

Read more here: » Germany: Encyclopedia - Germany

Asymmetric warfare is a military term describing warfare in which the two belligerents are mismatched in their military capabilities or their accustomed methods of engagement. In such a situation the militarily disadvantaged power must press its special advantages or effectively exploit its enemy's particular weaknesses if the disadvantaged power is to have any hope of prevailing. Asymmetric warfare - Concepts. Asymmetric warfare - Strategic basis. Usually in warfare at the star ...

Including:

• Asymmetric warfare - Concepts
• Asymmetric warfare - Strategic basis
• Asymmetric warfare - Tactical basis
• Asymmetric warfare - The use of terrain in asymmetric warfare
• Asymmetric warfare - War by proxy
• Asymmetric warfare - Asymmetric warfare and terrorism
• Asymmetric warfare - Morality of asymmetric warfare
• Asymmetric warfare - Examples of asymmetric warfare
• Asymmetric warfare - Pre-20th century asymmetric warfare
• Asymmetric warfare - 20th century asymmetric warfare
• Asymmetric warfare - 21st century

Read more here: » Asymmetric warfare: Encyclopedia - Asymmetric warfare

Détente is French for relaxation. Generally, it may be applied to any international situation where previously hostile nations not involved in an open war "warm up" to each other and threats de-escalate. However, today it has come primarily to refer to a general reduction in the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and a weakening of the Cold War, occurring from the late 1960s until the start of the 1980s. It is this Soviet-American détente that is the subject of this article. Détente - Causes ...

Including:

• Détente - Causes
• Détente - Summits and Treaties
• Détente - Continued Conflicts
• Détente - End of Détente
• Détente - Opinions on Détente

Read more here: » Détente: Encyclopedia - Détente

Iraq disarmament crisis - Missing WMD stockpiles. After the invasion of Iraq, the Iraq Survey Group, headed by David Kay was formed to find WMD in Iraq. No stockpiles of WMD have yet been found in Iraq, although limited quantities have been found. Iraq had destroyed stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons (but discoveries made by the ISG include a "clandestine network of laboratories ... that contained equipment ... suitable for continuing chemical biological weapons research"). Artillery shells cont ...

See also:

Iraq disarmament crisis, Iraq disarmament crisis - Background, Iraq disarmament crisis - Issues of Concern, Iraq disarmament crisis - Missing WMD stockpiles, Iraq disarmament crisis - Oil For Food Scandal, Iraq disarmament crisis - Authority under International Law, Iraq disarmament crisis - Authority under US Constitution, Iraq disarmament crisis - Iraqi opposition groups, Iraq disarmament crisis - War on Terrorism

Read more here: » Iraq disarmament crisis: Encyclopedia II - Iraq disarmament crisis - Issues of Concern

Kohl joined the CDU in 1947. He then went on to earn a doctorate (dr. phil.) in history. From 1969-1976 he was Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate state. In 1976 he was elected to the Bundestag from that state, and became the leader of the CDU opposition against the coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Free Democratic Party of the time. He was the CDU's candidate for Chancellor in the 1976 federal elections, won again by the reigning coalition of SPD and Free Democratic Party. In 1980 Kohl had to pay tribute to his inner conservative rival, the Bavarian Minister-President Franz Josef Strauss, who claimed to ...

See also:

Helmut Kohl, Helmut Kohl - Early Life, Helmut Kohl - Political Career, Helmut Kohl - German reunification, Helmut Kohl - Defeat, Helmut Kohl - Party funding scandal, Helmut Kohl - Personal Life, Helmut Kohl - Quotes, Helmut Kohl - Kohl's First Cabinet 4 October 1982 - 29 March 1983, Helmut Kohl - Kohl's Second Cabinet 29 March 1983 - 11 March 1987, Helmut Kohl - Kohl's Third Cabinet 12 March 1987 - 17 January 1991, Helmut Kohl - Kohl's Fourth Cabinet 18 January 1991 - 15 November 1994, Helmut Kohl - Kohl's Fifth Cabinet 15 November 1994 - 27 October 1998

Read more here: » Helmut Kohl: Encyclopedia II - Helmut Kohl - Political Career

The final decision to move Poland's boundary westward was made by the US, Britain and the Soviets at the Yalta Conference, shortly before the end of the war. The precise location of the border was left open; the western Allies also accepted in general the principle of the Oder River as the future western border of Poland and of population transfer as the way to prevent future border disputes. The open question was whether the border should follow the eastern or western Neisse rivers, and whether Stettin, the traditional seaport of Berlin, sh ...

See also:

Oder-Neisse line, Oder-Neisse line - History of the line, Oder-Neisse line - Allies decide Polish border, Oder-Neisse line - Recognition of the border by Germany

Read more here: » Oder-Neisse line: Encyclopedia II - Oder-Neisse line - Allies decide Polish border

At the Potsdam Conference in August 1945, after Germany's unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945, the Allies divided Germany into four military occupation zones – French in the southwest, British in the northwest, United States in the south, and Soviet in the east. The territories east of the Oder-Neisse line (East Prussia, Eastern Pomerania and Silesia) were removed from Germany and put under Polish administration, effectively shifting Poland westward. A transfer of Germans from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary was agreed on, but the co ...

See also:

History of Germany since 1945, History of Germany since 1945 - The division of Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - Two Germanies, History of Germany since 1945 - West Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - East Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - East-West Relations, History of Germany since 1945 - The unification of East and West Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - Background, History of Germany since 1945 - Settlement, History of Germany since 1945 - Germany today

Read more here: » History of Germany since 1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Germany since 1945 - The division of Germany

Main article: Holy Roman Empire. History of Germany - Middle Ages. From 772 to 814 king Charlemagne extended the Carolingian empire into northern Italy and the territories of all west Germanic peoples, including the Saxons and the Bajuwari (Bavarians). In 800 Charlemagne's authority in Western Europe was confirmed by his coronation as emperor in Rome. The Holy Roman Empire was established. The Frankish empire was divided into counties, and its frontiers were protected by border Marches. Imperial strongholds (Kaiserpfalzen) became econo ...

See also:

History of Germany, History of Germany - The Germans and the Romans, History of Germany - Holy Roman Empire, History of Germany - Middle Ages, History of Germany - Reformation and Thirty Years War, History of Germany - End of the Holy Roman Empire, History of Germany - German Confederation, History of Germany - Restoration and Revolution, History of Germany - North German Confederation, History of Germany - German Empire, History of Germany - Age of Bismarck, History of Germany - Wilhelminian Era, History of Germany - Weimar Republic, History of Germany - Third Reich, History of Germany - Nazi revolution or 'Seizure of Power', History of Germany - Expansion and defeat, History of Germany - Germany since 1945

Read more here: » History of Germany: Encyclopedia II - History of Germany - Holy Roman Empire

By the mid-1980s, the prospect of German reunification was widely regarded within both East and West Germany as a distant hope, unattainable as long as Communist governments ruled Eastern Europe. However, the hope of reunification was suddenly placed within reach by political changes within the Soviet Union. The advent of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 caused waves of reform to propagate t ...

See also:

German reunification, German reunification - Background, German reunification - The end of the division “Wende”, German reunification - Effects of reunification

Read more here: » German reunification: Encyclopedia II - German reunification - The end of the division “Wende”

Under previous governments, especially those led by the CDU, the West German government had shown more rhetorical support for the refugeed and expelled Germans. Social Democratic governments have traditionally been less supportive — and it was under Willy Brandt that West Germany recognized the Oder-Neisse line as part of his Ostpolitik. In the early 1990s the German political establishment realised that they had an opportunity to remove the division between West Germany and East Germany. However it was believed that if this histori ...

See also:

Federation of Expellees, Federation of Expellees - German laws concerning the Expellees, Federation of Expellees - Recent developments, Federation of Expellees - Organization, Federation of Expellees - Charter of the Ethnic German Expellees, Federation of Expellees - Presidents, Federation of Expellees - Member organizations

Read more here: » Federation of Expellees: Encyclopedia II - Federation of Expellees - Recent developments

In 1871 those provinces or regions east of the Oder–Neisse line under administration of the Prussian state were incorporated into the German Empire created by Otto von Bismarck. But unlike the regions in what is today Germany, although there were large settled German communities in the territories east of the Oder–Neisse line, Germans did not make up all of the population, and in some regions they did not even make up a majority. The territories to the east of the Oder–Neisse line which in 1871 were included in the German Empire were East Brandenburg, Sil ...

See also:

Historical Eastern Germany, Historical Eastern Germany - History, Historical Eastern Germany - Post World War II politics, Historical Eastern Germany - Usage, Historical Eastern Germany - External link

Read more here: » Historical Eastern Germany: Encyclopedia II - Historical Eastern Germany - History

Franz Josef Strauß - Early years. Born as Franz Strauß in Munich as the second child of a butcher, Strauß studied germanistics, history and economics at the University of Munich from 1935 to 1939 where he had to become a member of the NSDStB-Nationalsozialistischen Studentenbund or Nazi Students Association as this was mandatory for students at that time. He never was a Nazi supporter. In World War II, he served in the German Wehrmacht, on the Western and Eastern Fronts. While on furlough, he pas ...

See also:

Franz Josef Strauß, Franz Josef Strauß - Basic biography, Franz Josef Strauß - Early years, Franz Josef Strauß - Political life, Franz Josef Strauß - Der Spiegel scandal, Franz Josef Strauß - Rivalry between Kohl and Strauß, Franz Josef Strauß - United States of Europe, Franz Josef Strauß - Final decade of life, Franz Josef Strauß - Death, Franz Josef Strauß - Legacy

Read more here: » Franz Josef Strauß: Encyclopedia II - Franz Josef Strauß - Basic biography

The impetus for the creation of the Berlin Wall came from East German leader Walter Ulbricht, approved by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev but with conditions imposed. Ulbricht's proposal for a second air blockade was refused, and the construction of a barrier was permitted only if it were composed at first of barbed wire. If the Allies challenged the barbed-wire barrier, the East Germans were to fall ...

See also:

Berlin Wall, Berlin Wall - Background, Berlin Wall - Construction of the Wall, Berlin Wall - How the Wall worked, Berlin Wall - The Walls ears, Berlin Wall - The fall of the Wall, Berlin Wall - Celebrations, Berlin Wall - Aftermath

Read more here: » Berlin Wall: Encyclopedia II - Berlin Wall - Construction of the Wall

Main article: History of Gdańsk, see also: History of Pomerania Gdańsk - Foundation and the Middle Ages. According to archeologists, the Gdańsk stronghold was built in the 980s by Mieszko I of Poland. However, the year 997 has in recent years been considered to be the date of the foundation of the city, this being the year when Saint Adalbert of Prague (sent by the Polish king Boleslaus the Brave) baptized the inhabitants ...

See also:

Gdańsk, Gdańsk - Names, Gdańsk - Historical documents, Gdańsk - Special celebration names, Gdańsk - History, Gdańsk - Foundation and the Middle Ages, Gdańsk - World Wars and Inter-War Years, Gdańsk - Modern age, Gdańsk - Population developments, Gdańsk - Economy, Gdańsk - Culture, Gdańsk - Tourism, Gdańsk - Transportation, Gdańsk - Sports, Gdańsk - Politics and local government, Gdańsk - Regional center, Gdańsk - Education and science, Gdańsk - Scientific and regional organizations

Read more here: » Gdańsk: Encyclopedia II - Gdańsk - History