The Federal Republic of Germany is a large country in Europe today, covering an area of 357,022 square kilometres (137,847 sq. miles); it lies between the Baltic sea, the North sea to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west Various Germanic tribes inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity; a region named "Germania" was documented before AD 100. Several Germanic-speaking settlements are in this tree: Bayern, Mensleben, Rhineland (Rheineck), Sachsen, Suabia and Wendland, events there ranging from 450 to 895 Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. The historic creation of the settlements of German-speaking peoples across Central & Eastern Europe cover an extensive period, dating back to the departure of the Roman Empire in the early 300's; populations in these parts of Europe are commonly referred to as "Volksdeutsche" (German; translated "people whose language and culture had German origins, but who did not hold German citizenship") The presence of the German-speaking populations is rooted in centuries of history, with the settling in northeastern Europe of Germanic peoples predating even the founding of the Roman Empire. The presence of the independent German states in the region (particularly Prussia "Preußen"), and later the German Empire and also in other multi-ethnic countries, such as Austria-Hungary, Poland, Imperial Russia, etc., demonstrates the extent and duration of German-speaking settlements Central Europe underwent dramatic changes after the Roman Empire had lost its dominant position. The Franks created an empire that, besides former Roman Gaul, united the former West Germanic-speaking peoples and adopted Christianity. East Francia, an early predecessor of Germany, aimed to be the successor to the Christian Western Roman Empire, developed into the Holy Roman Empire. In Scandinavia, the former North Germanic-speaking peoples entered the Viking Age, affecting the whole of Europe through trade and raids. Some former East Germanic-speaking peoples had entered and merged into Rome, their own culture ceasing to exist. At the same time Slav states arose and became dominant in Eastern Europe and large parts of Central Europe With the break-up of the Frankish empire in 843, Germany emerges as separate realm, becoming a country in the early 900's that in turn becomes a part of the Holy Roman Empire less than a hundred years later. It then changes to the Confederation of the Rhine in 1800 and (with growth and contraction) is renamed as the Post Holy Roman Empire States. Prussia ("Preußen") was created during this time in 1500 "Ostsiedlung" (German, literally "east settling" / translated "the German eastward expansion") was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germanic-speaking peoples from the Holy Roman Empire, especially its southern and western portions, into less-populated regions of Central Europe, parts of west Eastern Europe, and the Baltics. The affected area roughly stretched from Estonia in the north all the way to Slovenia in the south and extended into Transylvania (today in Romania) in the east. In part, Ostsiedlung followed the territorial expansion of the Empire and the Teutonic Order Before and during the time of Germanic settlement, late medieval Central and Eastern European societies underwent deep cultural changes in demography, religion, law and administration, agriculture, settlement numbers and structures. Thus Ostsiedlung is part of a process termed Ostkolonisation ("east colonization") or Hochmittelalterlicher Landesausbau ("high medieval land consolidation"), although these terms are sometimes used synonymously During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Confederation was formed in 1815. In 1871, Germany became a nation state with the Post-Holy Roman Empire States, Prussia ("Preußen") and others, and become known as the North German Confederation. After World War I & the subsequent German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Holy Roman Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a dictatorship by Adolf Hitler, the 2nd World War and the Holocaust… Germany had numerous POW camps during WWII, where a significant part of Hitler's global dominance plan was deployed with 6 million Jewish people executed in the gas chambers After being crushed in Berlin in May of 1945 by the US miliary, the UK forces (including Australia, Canada, etc) and the USSR, there was a period of Allied occupation. Germany was then split on the 7th of October in 1949 into West & East Germany; the West went back to being a part of Europe and the East became part of the USSR. A wall was erected in Berlin and laid out as fences from the Baltic sea in the north to the Alps in the south; there were mines and guard stations all along the division Don was stationed in Soltau from 1973 through 1976, part of the defense line against the USSR; he took his family in 1985 to the East/West fence (see details in the trip page https://donshave.website/Home/Europe%20Trip%201985/Europe%20Trip%201985.html) The country was reunified on October 3rd, 1990, becoming today's Federal Republic of Germany. A few years earlier on June 12th, 1987, President Reagan's "Berlin Wall Speech" had said to the world "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union… this was the actual cause of the reunification The Federal Republic of Germany is a founding member of the European Economic Community and the European Union Sources: Visual of the Growth of Europe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxDyJ_6N-6A 2nd visual (slower) https://www.visualcapitalist.com/2400-years-of-european-history/ History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_German_settlement_in_Central_and_Eastern_Europe#17th_to_19th_century_settlements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostsiedlung#Assimilation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_German_history Key events https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17301646 Timeline pre-900 Germanic-speaking settlements 900-1499 Germanic Holy Roman Empire The Empire existed until 1877, with a division of Prussia and others 1500-1877 Germanic Preußen (Prussia) 1878-1949 Germany 1949-1990 East and West Germany aft-1990 The Federal Republic of Germany The Federal Republic of Germany shares more details See The Federal Republic of Germany for more info