West Germany
Federal Republic of Germany Bundesrepublik Deutschland | |||||||||||
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1949–1990 | |||||||||||
Motto: "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" "Unity and Justice and Freedom" | |||||||||||
Anthem:
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![]() Territory of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from the accession of the Saar on 1 January 1957 to German reunification on 3 October 1990 | |||||||||||
Capital | Bonnf | ||||||||||
Largest city | Hamburg | ||||||||||
Common languages | German | ||||||||||
Demonym(s) | West German | ||||||||||
Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional republic | ||||||||||
President | |||||||||||
• 1949–1959 | Theodor Heuss | ||||||||||
• 1959–1969 | Heinrich Lübke | ||||||||||
• 1969–1974 | Gustav Heinemann | ||||||||||
• 1974–1979 | Walter Scheel | ||||||||||
• 1979–1984 | Karl Carstens | ||||||||||
• 1984–1990 | Richard von Weizsäckerb | ||||||||||
Chancellor | |||||||||||
• 1949–1963 | Konrad Adenauer | ||||||||||
• 1963–1966 | Ludwig Erhard | ||||||||||
• 1966–1969 | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | ||||||||||
• 1969–1974 | Willy Brandt | ||||||||||
• 1974–1982 | Helmut Schmidt | ||||||||||
• 1982–1990 | Helmut Kohlc | ||||||||||
Legislature | Bundestag | ||||||||||
Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||
23 May 1949 | |||||||||||
1 January 1957 | |||||||||||
• Admitted to the United Nations | 18 September 1973 | ||||||||||
3 October 1990 | |||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
1990 | 248,577 km2 (95,976 sq mi) | ||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||
• 1950 | 50,958,000d | ||||||||||
• 1970 | 61,001,000 | ||||||||||
• 1990 | 63,254,000 | ||||||||||
Currency | Deutsche Marke (DM) (DEM) | ||||||||||
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||||||||||
Calling code | 49 | ||||||||||
Internet TLD | .de | ||||||||||
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Today part of | ![]() | ||||||||||
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West Germany (German: West Deutschland) is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD; listen), retrospectively designated the Bonn Republic.[3] It was a country in Central Europe. It was created on May 23, 1949. It ended on October 3, 1990 due to German Reunification. During the Cold War, West Germany was part of the Western bloc. It was created from the eleven states in Allied-occupied Germany after World War II. The capital city was Bonn.
West Germany was very important in the Cold War. The last capital city of Germany Berlin was also split into West Berlin and East Berlin.
History
[change | change source]After World War II, Germany was split into four zones. These zones were controlled by the - British, French, Americans, and Soviets. From 1946 to 1949, the British, French, and American zones combined (came together) to create West Germany. The Soviet zone became East Germany. The two zones would not come together again until 1990.
Konrad Adenauer was called in as chancellor from 1947 until 1962. He was not meant to be the chancellor for a long time, but he stayed longer than expected. As chancellor, he helped West Germany recover (get better) from World War II and improved the economy.
After Adenauer left, he was followed by Ludwig Erhard, who was also followed by Kurt Georg Kiesinger. In 1968 the West German student movement protests began.
In 1969 Willy Brandt became chancellor. Under him, West Germany was nicer to the Eastern countries, and he managed to sign agreements with East Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, who had been more hostile to West Germany. Brandt had to resign in May 1974 when it was found out that one of his staff members was a spy.
Helmut Schmidt served as chancellor until 1982. He helped launch the European Monetary System (EMS). Schmidt was followed by Helmut Kohl, who was chancellor when the Berlin Wall collapsed and Germany reunified in 1990.
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ Though all stanzas were official, only the third stanza was sung in practice.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ [1] Archived 5 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Bevölkerungsstand Archived 13 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ The Bonn Republic — West German democracy, 1945-1990, Anthony James Nicholls, Longman, 1997
Other websites
[change | change source] Media related to West Germany at Wikimedia Commons