Germany Federal Republic of Germany

General Information  Europe’s largest economy.  Europe’s most populous nation.  Germany is a main player in the European economic, Political, and defense organizations.

 Germany was totally consumed in WWI and WWII.  In 1949, Germany separated into two states. This was a result of the Cold War.  The East side of Germany was communist, and the West side was democratic.

 The Cold War declined and Germany unified in  Since 1990, Germany expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards.

 In January of 2002, Germany and 11 other European countries switched to a uniform currency known as the Euro.

Location  Absolute: 51° North Latitude, 9° East Longitude.  Relative: Central Europe. Borders the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Germany is sandwiched in between the Netherlands and Poland. South of Denmark.

Place:  A little smaller than the state of Montana.  Climate is temperate marine. Cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers. Occasional warm winds called Foehn Winds.

 Terrain has lowlands in the Northernmost areas. The central region has uplands and the South is home to the Bavarian Alps.  Flooding is their most dangerous natural hazard.  Germany is geographically located in the Northern European Plain and they are along the entrance to the Baltic Sea.

 Nationality is German.  Berlin is the capital.  German is the main language spoken.

Religions

Human and Environmental Interaction:  Coal burning and industry contribute to air pollution.  Acid Rain is damaging forests.  Baltic Sea is polluted with Raw Sewage and industrial effluents.  Government is working on a plan to preserve wildlife and nature.

Movement:  Railways  Highways  Waterways  Pipelines for movement of natural gas.  Ports and Harbors: Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart.

 Source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors.  Southwest Asian Heroin transshipment point.  Shipment point for European synthetic drugs.

Region:  No International disputes.  Every time throughout recorded history that Germany has been united, there has been a war.