Germany is the largest country in Western Europe: history and modernity

Modern Germany is an example of a flawlessly functioning neoliberal state with a developed capitalist economy that occupies an important place in the world structure of production and consumption. The country's powerful economy is based on a high-tech industry, a developed service sector and the most up-to-date information technologies that are used not only by commercial firms, but also by government agencies and socially important organizations.

Life in Germany: how everything is arranged

Being one of the most developed states of Europe, Germany attracts seekers of a better fate from all over the world. Almost any person who is a professional in any field can find application for his talents in this country.

Practically all branches of industry in Germany require from specialists an extremely high level of competencies that can be acquired in traditional German universities. Many of these universities occupy high positions in international ratings of educational institutions.

Following the principles of an open and hospitable society, the German authorities set very loyal requirements for foreign students wishing to study at German higher schools. However, the main requirement for scholarships, grants and, of course, subsequent employment is still the possession of German language at a high level.

German Hospitality

Angela Merkel, certainly, will go down in history as one of the most gifted chancellors of Germany. Wishing to emphasize her special merits, the Germans introduced the feminist "chancellor" into circulation, which previously did not exist in German. But first of all Angela Merkel will be remembered for her humane approach to resolving the humanitarian crisis that has been developing in Europe since 2014 and, most likely, caused by the wave-like growth of the number of refugees from the belligerents of the Middle East and North Africa. Despite the growing discontent among the citizens, the Chancellor continues to insist that Germany is obliged to accept those who really need patronage, providing them with at least the most necessary: shelter, basic medical care and a basic set of products.

The capital of the Federal Republic of Germany accepted a large number of refugees from states suffering a humanitarian disaster, and this, of course, could not but affect the urban space, because the burden on social infrastructure objects has multiplied. However, the governments of the country and of Berlin pay great attention to the development of urban infrastructure, so necessary in these difficult times. Thus, Germany is a home for millions of victims who need help.

Geography and economics

Germany, whose geography for centuries has been extremely favorable to the all-round development of industry, crafts and trade, entered the phase of active capitalist development relatively late. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain have already reached a fairly high level of economic and industrial development at the end of the XlX century, but Germany was still an extremely paramilitary alliance of disparate principalities, duchies and kingdoms.

Thus, political instability, conflicts between different interest groups and influential ruling houses did not allow rapid development in a short time.

Everything changed with the coming to power of Chancellor Bismarck, who managed to unbelievable - he not only united the German people, but also achieved fairly rapid industrialization and modernization. Having gained strength, Germany initiated a war that radically changed the course of human history. From the First World Germany came out completely ravaged, plundered and actually torn to pieces. Life in Germany after that catastrophic defeat was restored for a long time, but everything ended in another war, which resulted in even more humiliating consequences for the whole people.

After the disaster

After the Second World War, Germany's policy was aimed at economic and social development, as well as peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. Slowly but steadfastly, the German government corrected the mistakes of its predecessors, paying compensation and publicly admitting guilt. Germany after the war was an extremely miserable sight: the destroyed cities, the destroyed industry and division into two states.

The initial division into zones of occupation of the defeated empire led to the creation of two states - the GDR and the FRG. To say that at that time Germany's policy was one, it would be wrong.

The German state, created with the participation of the United States and Britain, was called the FRG and was under considerable pressure from its democratic allies. The East German state was called the German Democratic Republic. At the same time, both countries claimed Berlin, which was also divided into two parts - the western and the eastern. Such a neighborhood could not but create undue strain, because East German citizens were actively trying to escape from their all-seeing authoritarian government into the zone of responsibility of democratic states.

For a limited time, the problem of the flight of citizens was practically solved when they built the Berlin Wall, which divided the city until 1990. However, the already uncontrolled flight of people to the west through extensive borders with neighboring states brought to nothing the effect of this structure.

Germany: East Germany and Germany

Two states symbolized models of economic and social development, each of which fundamentally excluded the other. Moreover, it was on the border between the two Germanys that a very intensive cultural exchange took place, because the citizens remembered that they had recently lived in one country.

The subsequent economic development of the two neighboring states was due to the fact that Germany's industries were evenly distributed across the territory of all Germanic lands.

When the Berlin Wall was built, the great country was again divided and substantially weakened for many decades. However, after the collapse of the Warsaw bloc, a slightly simpler period in the life of this European nation has come, because unifying the two so different models of life is not a simple task. There was also a significant difference in the standard of living: the eastern Germans lived significantly poorer than their fellow citizens in the West of Germany and, moreover, were accustomed to other standards of rendering public services and to another level of responsibility for their lives.

And although the destruction of the barrier between the two states marked the beginning of a new period in the life of the German people, everyone understood that it was impossible to forget about their past. Of course, the wall was not completely destroyed, leaving its separate areas for descendants as a reminder of what excessive hostility can lead to. Meeting here and there in Berlin, the pieces of the wall are very popular among tourists who remember to capture their meeting with the history in the photo.

After twenty years, in May 2010, in Berlin, a memorial complex was opened, called the "Window of Memory". Such a romantic name carries in itself the history of many tragic incidents. The line of division ruthlessly cut the living fabric of the city, disregarding the interests of the inhabitants, and in the places where the border passed under the windows of apartment houses, many GDR citizens who jumped from windows hoping to find themselves in a capitalist paradise perished.

Modern Germany: demography

The study of the composition of the population of the republic is carried out by a special statistical agency, which studies the demography of the country. According to the statistical office, after the unification of the country the population reached eighty million people. This number puts Germany on the sixteenth place in the world. The composition of the population of Germany is varied and pestr.

Of particular interest is the fact that for many years the German demography and economy have been characterized by a slow but steady growth. Even in times of crisis, the population grew, and the economy never declined to such an extent that one could speak of a significant recession.

The agency of the statistical agency has detailed information not only about the population of the federal republic, but also about its national and religious composition. The availability of such information allows you to plan spending on the social sphere. For example, it is for certain known that persons who do not profess any religion have fewer children than their religious fellow citizens. At the same time, educated women prefer to acquire children later than women with low education or even refrain from procreation.

However, it should be clarified that the stable, though small, growth of the country's population is based primarily on the fact that Germany, according to the UN report, is the second country in the world in terms of the number of migrants. In the first place, of course, are the United States. It is also noteworthy that the most significant diaspora in size and influence is represented by immigrants from Turkey and their descendants. Most of the immigrants from Turkey came to the country during the construction boom, which came after the war. However, not only workers are coming to Germany today, but also refugees, to whom the German constitution guarantees political asylum. It, however, should be reviewed every year.

Federated device: how it works

One of the most typical federations in the world is Germany. The history of the state shows that the traditions and customs of individual regions are very important for the construction of a stable and democratic political system. Each of the lands influences the national policy through elections to the country's parliament and presidential elections.

At the same time, citizens organize local life through elections to municipalities and land parliaments, which are engaged in the redistribution of collected funds in the form of taxes.

Administrative Germany is divided into sixteen lands, each of which has its own parliament and government. The most populated is North Rhine-Westphalia with seventeen million inhabitants, the smallest is the free Hanseatic city of Bremen - a land consisting of two cities: actually Bremen and Bremerhaven.

The interesting fact is that Bremen is the only land in which there is a speed limit on autobahns: it should not exceed one hundred and thirty kilometers per hour. It is in such seemingly small things that the true spirit of federalism and democracy manifests itself, because citizens themselves establish the rules that most accurately reflect the local way of life.

So, it becomes clear that Germany is a developed democratic country with rich traditions of self-government and federation.

As for North Rhine-Westphalia, the special status of the region is enshrined in both the Federal Constitution and the laws of the land itself. In the united Germany, North Rhine is included in the status of the state, which allows it to have its own parliament and executive body.

Berlin - the youth capital of Europe

Despite the fact that the capital cities such as Budapest and Prague are becoming increasingly popular among traveling youth, Berlin still remains the leader in the rating of the most dynamic and cultural cities of the European Union. This glory has a firm foundation, because in the capital of Germany officially live more than six thousand registered artists.

Such a number of art workers is due to the fact that in Berlin the system of art education, both public and private, as well as informal, is very developed. At the service of artists there are a large number of art residences, workshops and, of course, galleries, which willingly provide sites for young and talented artists. There are more than four hundred such galleries in the capital, but in fact much more, because there are a lot of unofficial exhibition grounds.

In addition to hundreds of galleries and dozens of museums with world-famous collections, Berlin is also famous for its dance culture, which is represented by a variety of clubs, regular roaming parties.

State Symbols

As already mentioned above, Germany is a modern democratic federal state. However, we must also remember that, despite all the progressiveness and manufacturability, it has a rich and long-standing imperial history, which caused the German people much suffering.

Thus, the modern civil flag of Germany dates back to the first Republican flag of the Weimar Republic, which existed from 1919 to 1933. After the Nazi regime was approved in Germany, the flag was abolished, but was again adopted in 1949. The flag and the coat of arms of Germany, whose importance is difficult to overestimate, are an important component of national identity and symbolize the unity of the nation.

The modern flag of the Federative Republic is a three-color canvas with historically important colors for Germany - black, red and gold (from top to bottom). These colors were often used in Germany in the nineteenth century by movements protesting against the conservative European order established after the defeat of Napoleon.

While the general flag is a simple tricolor with horizontally arranged stripes, the national flag is the coat of arms of the republic.

On the arms of the FRG used the most common heraldic symbol - the eagle. The eagle has wings open, but the plumage descends vertically downward. The tongue, claws, paws and eagle's beak are made in red.

The approval of the most important state symbol took place in two stages: in the first, in 1950, only the description of the emblem was accepted. Two years later, a graphic display, i.e., a drawing executed in accordance with the previously adopted description, was also approved. Since Germany is a federal republic, each of its subjects has its own coat of arms, as well as cities have their own historical arms and flags that exist for many centuries.

Foreign policy

Germany in the modern world has a very special place in the world political arena. Given the size of the population, the level of economic development and military potential, no important event in the world can not do without the attention of the German foreign policy department.

Germany is a member of a huge number of leading international organizations, institutions and institutions. International experts point out that in their strategy the country follows the principle of peace and humanism, remembering the greatest tragedy of the 20th century, the repetition of which neither the people nor the government want.
However, this does not prevent the country from taking an active part in the work of NATO - the military-political association - and provide its territory for the quartering of the US military. In addition, Germany is a full-fledged member of the Nuclear Powers Club, which allows it to take part in the UN Security Council on an ongoing basis, which in turn provides significant advantages for lobbying German interests in the organization.

Peace Initiatives

Although Germany has one of the most powerful armies in the world, it also takes its position thanks to global peace initiatives concerning humanitarian aid to the countries of the so-called Third World. Germany, whose geography makes it a crossroads of cultures, receives a large number of refugees from the warring regions and delivers there large amounts of humanitarian aid for those who have decided not to leave their native country. Environmentally-oriented parties have a great influence on the domestic German political life, and this significantly influences, among other things, the international agenda of the country. Thanks to this, Germany is an active supporter of environmental initiatives aimed at combating global climate change and the effects of industrial pollution.

The balanced environmental policy of the country makes it possible to compensate for the negative effect of a huge number of industrial enterprises, which are subject to strict control by state bodies and non-commercial environmental organizations. Germany is one of the leaders in the field of high-tech renewable energy, which invests significant private and budgetary money. It is also important that the country's best scientific teams, in cooperation with international organizations, are developing more and more modern technologies for energy production.

Briefly about the main

To summarize, it is worthwhile to say that a powerful economy, progressive science, quality education and affordable health care would be impossible without effectively functioning state institutions that were built by German citizens for many decades.

The state and citizens in close cooperation are working to create the most comfortable conditions on their territory, and human capital is the most important for the whole country.

The German government understands that without a careful attitude to the needs of people, stable economic development is impossible, and culture is an integral part of human life. It is this attitude towards citizens that allows Germany to occupy the top positions in international ratings of living standards and economic development.

Harmonious development of society and the state became possible due to the fact that Germany is a legal democratic state with an independent court and government, not indifferent to the aspirations of its citizens.