Author Description

"The story of Germany, a key player in international geopolitical and economic affairs, is crucial to our understanding of global history and the contemporary world. Boasting the world's third-largest economy, Germany's growing financial might is increasingly matched by its diplomatic importance. The country maintains a key position in European affairs and supports a multitude of global partnerships. While Germany has a history that stretches back to antiquity, it was first unified as a nation-state only in 1871, making it, in a sense, even younger than the United States. Located in the heart of Europe, Germany has experienced centuries of immigration, confrontation, and negotiation, and its borders, and what it means to be German, have evolved throughout the region's long and troubled history. After centuries of division, the German people are now unified by a shared set of civic values. Covering the past 2,000 years of tragedies and triumphs, [this book] provides a comprehensive and thorough account of the events, people, and customs and traditions that have shaped Germany from ancient times to the present. Coverage includes: formation of a distinctive German language and culture during the Germanic migrations and the confrontation with Rome; consolidation of medieval principalities in the wake of the collapse of Carolingian authority and the construction of the Holy Roman Empire; tumultuous events of the Reformation and the devastation of the Thirty Years' War; unification of Germany; rise of Prussian imperialism in the 19th century; the two world wars, the rise of Nazism, and the Holocaust; experience of a divided Germany during the cold war; the country's eventual reunification as the Federal Republic of Germany; contemporary Germany. Basic facts, a chronology, a bibliography, and a list of suggested reading make up the appendixes."--Back cover.