Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany and...

Germany

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Country in Central Europe.

Martin Luther (1483–1546), Protestant Reformer

Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

German-occupied Europe in 1942 during World War II

American, Soviet, British, and French occupation zones in Germany and the French-controlled Saar Protectorate, 1947. Territories east of the Oder-Neisse line were transferred to Poland and the Soviet Union under the terms of the Potsdam Conference.

The Berlin Wall during its fall in 1989, with the Brandenburg Gate in the background

German TPz Fuchs armoured personnel carrier

Frankfurt is a leading business centre in Europe and the seat of the European Central Bank.

An ICE 3 on the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line

Cologne Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Heidelberg University is Germany's oldest institution of higher learning and generally counted among its most renowned.

The Hospital of the Holy Spirit in Lübeck, established in 1286, is a precursor to modern hospitals.

A typical German Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in Dresden

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), composer

The Brothers Grimm collected and published popular German folk tales.

Babelsberg Studio in Potsdam near Berlin, the world's first large-scale film studio

Bavarian Bratwurst with mustard, a pretzel and beer

The German national football team after winning the FIFA World Cup for the fourth time in 2014. Football is the most popular sport in Germany.

Germany hosted the 2022 G7 summit at Schloss Elmau, Bavaria.

The role of the Bundeswehr is described in the Constitution of Germany as defensive only.

The Kingdom of Prussia (light gray) within the German Empire (1871–1918)

The Federal Republic of Germany, as a federal state, consists of sixteen partly sovereign federated states (Land (state), plural Länder (states); commonly informally Bundesland / federated state, plural Bundesländer / federated states).

The states of the Weimar Republic in 1925, with the Free State of Prussia as the largest

West Germany (blue) and East Germany (red) and West Berlin (yellow)

Composition of German states' governing coalitions

Map of German districts. Yellow districts are urban, white are sub-urban or rural.

According to the German constitution (Basic Law, or Grundgesetz), some topics, such as foreign affairs and defence, are the exclusive responsibility of the federation (i.e., the federal level), while others fall under the shared authority of the states and the federation; the states retain residual or exclusive legislative authority for all other areas, including "culture", which in Germany includes not only topics such as the financial promotion of arts and sciences, but also most forms of education and job training.

President of Germany

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Head of state of Germany.

Hammerschmidt Villa, Bonn (secondary seat)

Former President Joachim Gauck and his partner Daniela Schadt

Bodo Ramelow, the current President of the Bundesrat and deputy of the president of Germany

Airbus A340 aircraft used by the president

The standard of the president of Germany as used from 1921 to 1933 and since 1950

Under the 1949 constitution (Basic Law) Germany has a parliamentary system of government in which the chancellor (similar to a prime minister or minister president in other parliamentary democracies) is the head of government.

Weimar Constitution

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The constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933).

Chart: political system of Germany according to the Weimar Constitution of 1919

The German state's official name was Deutsches Reich until the adoption of the 1949 Basic Law.

The German Unity Flag is a national memorial to German Reunification that was raised on 3 October 1990; it waves in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, seat of the Bundestag

Bundestag

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German federal parliament.

The Bundestag within the political system of Germany

Bundestag ballot from the 2005 election in the Würzburg district. The column for the constituency vote (with the name, occupation, and address of each candidate) is on the left in black print; the column for the party list vote (showing top five list candidates in the state) is on the right in blue print.

The Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus, one of the official buildings of the complex, housing the parliamentary library

The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz, ) in 1949 as one of the legislative bodies of Germany and thus it is the historical successor to the earlier Reichstag.

Chancellor of Germany

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Head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime.

Willy Brandt talking at an SPD meeting in Dortmund, 1983

The cabinet bench in the Reichstag building (to the left of the flag) with the raised seat of the chancellor in the front row

Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor of Germany

The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate (Article 63 of the German Constitution).

Bonn

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City on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000.

The Sterntor, originally built around 1244, is a gate reconstructed on the remnants of the medieval city wall.

The Altes Rathaus (old town hall) as seen from the central market square. It was built in 1737 in the Rococo style.

Founded in 1818, the University of Bonn counts Nietzsche, Marx, and Adenauer among its alumni.

French president Charles de Gaulle on state visit to Bonn (1962), the capital of West Germany until German reunification.

Between 1950 and 1994, Villa Hammerschmidt was the primary official residence of the President of Germany. Today it serves as the President's secondary residence.

Ashok-Alexander Sridharan (CDU) was the mayor of Bonn from 2015 until 2020.

Results of the 2020 city council election.

Erected in the 11th and 13th century, the Roman Catholic Minster of Bonn is one of Germany's oldest churches.

The Bundeskunsthalle focuses on the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe, at the crossroads of culture, the arts, and science.

The Museum Koenig is Bonn's natural history museum.

Drachenburg Castle in the Siebengebirge south of Bonn

The international airport of Cologne and Bonn (IATA: CGN) is Germany's seventh-largest.

The underground Stadtbahn station at Bonn Hauptbahnhof, Bonn's busiest railway station

Being one of the biggest employers in the region, Deutsche Post DHL have their headquarters in Bonn.

Offices of DFG, an important research funding organisation

Results of the second round of the 2020 mayoral election.

From 1949 to 1990, Bonn was the capital of West Germany, and Germany's present constitution, the Basic Law, was declared in the city in 1949.

East Germany

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State that existed from 1949 to 1990 in east Germany as part of the Eastern Bloc in the Cold War.

The territory of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990

On the basis of the Potsdam Conference, the Allies jointly occupied Germany west of the Oder–Neisse line, later forming these occupied territories into two independent countries. Light grey: territories annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union; dark grey: West Germany (formed from the US, UK and French occupation zones, including West Berlin); red: East Germany (formed from the Soviet occupation zone, including East Berlin).

West Germany (blue) comprised the Western Allies' zones, excluding the Saarland (purple); the Soviet zone, East Germany (red) surrounded West Berlin (yellow).

GDR leaders: President Wilhelm Pieck and Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl, 1949

SED First Secretary, Walter Ulbricht, 1960

Erich Honecker, head of state (1971–1989)

Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) Helmut Schmidt, Chairman of the State Council of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) Erich Honecker, U.S. president Gerald Ford and Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky signing the Helsinki Act

Karl Marx monument in Chemnitz (renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt from 1953 to 1990)

Demonstration on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin on 4 November 1989

SED logotype: the Communist–Social Democrat handshake of Wilhelm Pieck and Otto Grotewohl, establishing the SED in 1946

GDR flag at the United Nations headquarters, New York City, 1973

The Palast der Republik, seat of the Volkskammer

Poster with the inscription "Berlin – Hauptstadt der DDR", 1967

Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation Emblem (13 December 1948 – August 1990)

Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation Parade

Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation uniform

East Berlin: XII Parliament of the FDJ During the opening in the Great Hall of the Palace of the Republic.

Pioneer choir "August Bebel" Zwickau of the pioneer house "Wilhelm Pieck" in Zwickau (Schwanenschloß)

A woman and her husband, both medical students, and their triplets in East Germany in 1984. The GDR had state policies to encourage births among educated women.

Districts of the German Democratic Republic in 1952

Uni-Riese (University Giant) in 1982. Built in 1972, it was once part of the Karl-Marx-University and is Leipzig's tallest building.

East German Nationale Volksarmee changing-of-the-guard ceremony in East Berlin

Angola's José Eduardo dos Santos during his visit to East Berlin

The Trabant automobile was a profitable product made in the German Democratic Republic.

A 1980 meeting between representatives of the BEK and Erich Honecker

Katholikentag, Dresden, 1987 (left to right) Bishop Karl Lehmann and Cardinals Gerhard Schaffran, Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) and Joachim Meisner

Pop singer Frank Schöbel (center) giving autographs in 1980

The East German football team lining up before a match in June 1974

Gerhard Behrendt with character from the stop-animation series Sandmännchen

Percentage of Zweitstimme for Die Linke in the 2017 federal election

Standard of the Chairman of the Council of State 1960–1990

Service flag of the National People's Army

Service flag for combat ships and boats of the People's Navy

Service flag for auxiliary ships and boats of the People's Navy

alt=Service flag|Deutsche Post (1955–1973)

Service flag for ships and boats of the Border Brigade Coast

Flag of the Ministry of State Security (Stasi), East Germany, until 1990

Emblem of the Ministry of State Security (MfS) (Stasi) of the GDR (until 1990)

Coat of arms of National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic (from 1956 until 1990)

Emblem of the Ground Forces of National People's Army (1956-1990)

The coat of arms of the People's Navy with the Order of Karl Marx (between 1956 and 1990)

Emblem of Air Force of the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic before 1959 (until 1956 the People's Police Air of the GDR)

Emblem of aircraft of National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic (1959–1990)

Emblem of the Grenztruppen used for vehicles (1949–1990)

The national ensign of the GDR Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften (from 1962 to 1990)

Combat Groups of the Working Class coat of arms of the fighting groups of the working class, without oak leaves (between 1953 and 1990)

Emblem of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1950–1990)

Flag of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1950–1990)

Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation Flag (13 December 1948 – August 1990)

The GDR ceased to exist when its states ("Länder") joined the Federal Republic of Germany under Article 23 of the Basic Law on 3 October 1990.

West Berlin

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Political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War.

The four occupation sectors of Berlin. West Berlin is in light blue, dark blue, and purple, with several exclaves shown. Borough borders are as of 1987.

Map of West and East Berlin, border crossings, metro networks (interactive map)

In 1969 U.S. military vehicles pass through the residential district of Zehlendorf, a routine reminder that West Berlin was still legally occupied by the Western Allies of World War II

West Berlin auxiliary identity card, bearing the words "The holder of this identity card is a German national" in German, French and English

President John F. Kennedy addressing the people of West Berlin from Rathaus Schöneberg on Rudolf-Wilde-Platz (today's John-F.-Kennedy-Platz), 26 June 1963

President Reagan speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate giving the "Tear down this wall!" speech in 1987

Map of divided Berlin, indicating by broken lines at Berlin's western border the land swap decided by the Allies. Five of the larger of West Berlin's originally twelve exclaves (Steinstücken, Laßzinswiesen, Falkenhagener Wiesen, Wüste Mark, Kienhorst ) are shown.

East German border crossing Potsdam-Drewitz on 31 March 1972: Applying eastern lead seals to western trucks, entering the transit route, in order to prevent potential Eastern German escapees from hiding in the cargo space

Eastern refugees boarding an Avro York at Tempelhof Airport to fly into West Germany, 1953

The only three permissible West Berlin Air Corridors

Map showing location of the Berlin Wall and transit points

An eastern water cannon vehicle directed at western protesters in front of the Brandenburg Gate, August 1961

Western police awaiting an eastern border controller at the opening of a new pedestrian border crossing. View into the vaults of Oberbaumbrücke, 21 December 1963.

West Berliners entering East Berlin at the border crossing Chausseestraße on 28 December 1963 after having been banned from visiting the eastern sector for more than two years

East Berliners, just having passed the now-open eastern checkpoint Bornholmer Straße, passing Bösebrücke into the French sector of Berlin on 18 November 1989

Under Article 127 of the Basic Law (or constitution) of the Federal Republic, provision was made for federal laws to be extended to Greater Berlin (as Berlin was called during the 1920 expansion of its municipal boundaries) as well as Baden, Rhineland-Palatinate and Württemberg-Hohenzollern within one year of its promulgation.

Map showing the division of East (red) and West Germany (blue) until 3 October 1990, with Berlin in yellow

German reunification

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The process in 1990 by which the German Democratic Republic (GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR) became part of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD) to form the reunited country of Germany.

Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, national symbol of today's Germany and its reunification in 1990

1990 Day of German Unity, with flags of all German states at the Reichstag building in Berlin

Erich Honecker, who effectively lost control of the East in August 1989

Flag of the GDR/DDR with cut-out emblem, prominently visible during protests against the Communist Regime

Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate on 10 November 1989 showing the graffiti Wie denn ("How now") over the sign warning the public that they are leaving West Berlin

Police officers of the East German Volkspolizei wait for the official opening of the Brandenburg Gate on 22 December 1989.

Berlin Wall, October 1990, Saying "Thank You, Gorbi"

The two original copies of the Unification Treaty signed on 31 August 1990. West German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble signed for the FRG and the East German State Secretary Günther Krause signed for the GDR.

Fireworks at Brandenburg Gate after the reunification.

German people raising the German Flag in front of the Reichstag building, 1990

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had initially called for a united but neutral Germany.

Helmut Kohl became the first chancellor of a reunified Germany.

Many Trabants were abandoned after 1989 (this one photographed in Leipzig, 1990)

Reenacting the V-J Day in Times Square photo at 12:01 am on Reunification night in Cologne, Germany.

Placard found in all roads between western and eastern Germany that were blocked during division. Text translated as: "Here, Germany and Europe were divided until 10 December 1989 at 10:15 am". The date and time vary according to the actual moment when a particular crossing was opened.

Crowds at the Brandenburg Gate on 1 December 1989. The entrance to the Western side was still not opened.

East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and mayor of West Berlin Walter Momper, among other figures, take part in the official opening of the Brandenburg Gate on 22 December 1989.

The Palace of the Republic was demolished in 2006 to make space for the reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace, which was finished in 2020, but houses the Humboldt Forum museum.

The process chosen was one of two options implemented in the West German constitution (Grundgesetz or Basic Law) of 1949 to facilitate eventual reunification.

A report on Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

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