From the post war period and until today Germany (West Germany) has become one of the world’s most developed and successful countries.

During several hundred years Germany consisted of small independent states. Wilhelm I appointed Otto von Bismarck as his Chancellor. Bismarck united Germany within a decade. After 1871, Germany was united as the Second Reich with King Wilhelm of Prussia as the emperor. The differences between the various peoples were still considerably big.

After the Second World War Germany was divided into four occupied zones which were controlled by the Soviet Union, Great Britain, the USA and France. In May 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany was founded (West Germany) by the areas that were controlled by France, Great Britain and the USA. The Soviet-controlled part became GDR, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). After this, Germany was divided up in two independent parts. In 1961 the Berlin Wall was built and this came to symbolize the Cold War and its division of Europe.

In November 1989 the East Germans were demonstrating openly for their political rights, in the aftermath of the collapse of the communistic Eastern bloc. Since East Germany no longer had any support from the former allies, the Soviet Union, the government had to give in to the demands of the demonstrators. The decision to tear down the hateful Berlin Wall was made and after this everything happened at a furious pace.

On October 3, 1990, the two states were reunited and became Germany once more, and today Berlin is once again the capital. Still differences between eastern and western Germany can be noted.