1. Chapter Sixteen Central Western Europe Section Two Germany

2. Germanys Struggle for Unity: Divided German States The area that is now Germany used to be part of The Holy Roman Empire ruled by Charlemagne. After his rule, Germany broke up into many small, independent regions. During the 1500s, the Protestant Reformation further divided Germany along religious lines. Thirty years of warfare began between Catholics and Protestants. In the late 1700s, Prussia, a German region, organized a confederation. Confederation- a loose political union. After the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, all German states joined the new German Empire.

3. United Germanys Defeats In 1882, Germany joined an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy. Between 1914 and 1918, Germany, fought against France, Russia, and the united Kingdom in World War I. The treaty that followed the war required Germany to pay reparations. Reparation- money for war damages. Germany suffered economically. In the 1920s inflation and unemployment went up. Inflation- sharply rising prices. In the early 1930s, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party came to power in Germany. In 1939, Germany started World War II. Hitler had millions of Jews, Poles, Gypsies, Slavs, and others killed in concentration camps. In 1945, Germany was defeated by the United States, United Kingdom, France and Soviet Union.

4. One People, Two Countries Following WWII, tensions grew between the Soviet Union and Western Allies. In 1949, Western leaders established West Germany. The Soviet Union established East Germany. For forty years Germany remained divided. In late 1989, a movement swept Germany that would help open its borders. On October 3 rd, 1990, East and West Germany were officially united. The Berlin Wall, that had separated the city was demolished.