West Germany
Cold War democracy
West Germany was the informal name for the Federal Republic of Germany, the democratic state occupying the western portion of Germany from 1949 to 1990.
After World War II, the Allied powers divided Germany into occupation zones; the western zones became West Germany while the Soviet zone became East Germany.
Reunification in 1990 absorbed East Germany into the Federal Republic, making "West Germany" purely historical: My parents grew up in West Germany before the Wall came down.
Cold War's political divide
- Berlin WallCold War partition
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- Marshall PlanPostwar American economic assistance
- BonnFormer West German capital
Checkpoint Charlie · espionage · defectors · propaganda · Radio Free Europe · denazification · containment · reconnaissance
Postwar German revival
- economic miracleRapid postwar prosperity surge
- Deutsche MarkFormer German monetary unit
- export economyWealth through foreign sales
- VolkswagenGerman automobile corporation
Mercedes-Benz · Siemens · manufacturing · reconstruction · prosperity · trade surplus · labor shortage · heavy industry
German federal parliament
- chancellorSenior administrative official
- federal republicElected government with autonomous regions
- BonnFormer West German capital
- Christian DemocratsCenter-right religious parties
coalition government · parliamentary democracy · Bundesrat · constitutional court · federalism · denazification · proportional representation
Cold War partition
- Brandenburg GateTriumphal arch in Berlin
- LeipzigMajor Saxon metropolis
- November 1989Month the Wall opened
- border openingAuthorized crossing point
Western European trading bloc
- EECFormer European trade bloc
- founding memberOriginal establisher of organization
- European integrationUnifying the continent politically
- RhineMajor Central European waterway
coal and steel · Schengen · Benelux · Brussels · Strasbourg · trade partnership · economic cooperation
German federal defense forces
- rearmamentRebuilding military capacity
- military integrationEnding armed forces segregation
- troop deploymentStationing soldiers operationally
- defense spendingGovernment outlay for armed forces
nuclear deterrence · strategic position · military exercises
Iron Curtain
Cold War's political divide
- Berlin WallCold War partition
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- Marshall PlanPostwar American economic assistance
Bonn · Checkpoint Charlie · espionage · defectors · propaganda · Radio Free Europe · denazification · containment · reconnaissance · intelligence
Wirtschaftswunder
Postwar German revival
- economic miracleRapid postwar prosperity surge
- Deutsche MarkFormer German monetary unit
- export economyWealth through foreign sales
Volkswagen · Mercedes-Benz · Siemens · manufacturing · reconstruction · prosperity · trade surplus · labor shortage · heavy industry · banking
Bundestag
German federal parliament
- chancellorSenior administrative official
- federal republicElected government with autonomous regions
- BonnFormer West German capital
Christian Democrats · coalition government · parliamentary democracy · Bundesrat · constitutional court · federalism · denazification · proportional representation
Berlin Wall
Cold War partition
- Brandenburg GateTriumphal arch in Berlin
- LeipzigMajor Saxon metropolis
- November 1989Month the Wall opened
Common Market
Western European trading bloc
- EECFormer European trade bloc
- founding memberOriginal establisher of organization
- European integrationUnifying the continent politically
Rhine · coal and steel · Schengen · Benelux · Brussels · Strasbourg · trade partnership · economic cooperation
Bundeswehr
German federal defense forces
- rearmamentRebuilding military capacity
- military integrationEnding armed forces segregation
- troop deploymentStationing soldiers operationally
defense spending · nuclear deterrence · strategic position · military exercises
- Cold War GermanyBerlin Wall, Berlin Airlift, Checkpoint Charlie, GDR, fall of the wall
- GermanyBerlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt
- Directional PlacesNorth Korea, South Korea, North America, South America, East Timor
- Former StatesPrussia, Czechoslovakia, Austria-Hungary, Soviet Union, Byzantine Empire
- World Cup WinnersBrazil, Italy, Argentina, France, Uruguay
- Cold WarBerlin Wall, Iron Curtain, arms race, Warsaw Pact, Cuban Missile Crisis
West GermanyEast Germany
Former communist German state
Eastern Bloc · Soviet Union · USSR · Czechoslovakia · Poland