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West Germany: Quick Facts

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37 years after fall of Berlin Wall: How divided are Germans today? • Nov. 9, 2026, 9:02 AM ET (Deutsche Welle)

Facts

Date 1949 - 1990

Photos and Videos

West Germany
Konrad Adenauer and West Germany's Western alliance
Understanding the Berlin blockade and airlift
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Impact of the deutsche mark in Germany
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Related Topics and References

Topics

Major Events

Large crowd celebrates on and around the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate
German reunification
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Spiegel affair
George C. Marshall
Marshall Plan
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Schengen Agreement
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
Ostpolitik
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Schuman Plan

Related Places

Germany
Germany
country, Europe

Key People

Konrad Adenauer, 1966
Konrad Adenauer
chancellor of West Germany
Formula One winner
Michael Schumacher
German race-car driver
“Gisèle, the women thank you”
Gisèle Pelicot
French author
Phebe Novakovic, chair and CEO of General Dynamics
Phebe Novakovic
German-born business executive
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Thomas Middelhoff
German businessman
Sebastian Vettel, wearing a racing suit, sits cross-legged and works on a crossword puzzle in a book before practice at the Italian Formula One Grand Prix in Monza.
Sebastian Vettel
German race-car driver
Six-time Tony winner
Audra McDonald
American actress and singer
Max Born
Max Born
German physicist
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt
German statesman
Michael Fassbender in 2017, wearing a dark collared shirt with a zipper, facing forward against a plain background.
Michael Fassbender
German-Irish actor
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
chancellor of Germany
German football (soccer) player Franz Beckenbauer is one of only three people to win the World Cup as a player and as a coach (1974 and 1990, respectively)
Franz Beckenbauer
German football (soccer) player
Böll, Heinrich
Heinrich Böll
German author
Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg
Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg
German military officer
Strauss, Franz Josef
Franz Josef Strauss
German politician
Boris Becker stands on a tennis court at the 2008 Rogers Cup in Toronto, wearing a white jacket and black shorts, raising his right hand to acknowledge the crowd.
Boris Becker
German tennis player
Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence
American comedian
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Schmidt
chancellor of West Germany
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Alfred Hugenberg
German industrialist
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Arnold Brecht
German political scientist