- Germany from 1250 to 1493
At a Glance
Germany: Media
country, Europe
Videos
Overview of Berlin.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Sean Pavone/Dreamstime.com
Overview of the decision to make Berlin—rather than Bonn—the capital of reunified...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Meinzahn/Dreamstime.com; © minnystock/Dreamstime.com; © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.com
Overview of Lake Müritz, Mecklenburg–West Pomerania, Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Travelpeter/Dreamstime.com
German as a nationality has really existed for only about a hundred and fifty years....
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Learn about the German language.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Take a video tour of Hamburg.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Erik Lattwein/Dreamstime.com
Learn more about the history of the German Black Forest cake.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Learn about the Saxon leader Widukind.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Jorisvo/Dreamstime.com
Learn about the Palatinate region, including wine production and Hambach Castle,...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Sjors737/Dreamstime.com
Learn about Germany's economic boom in 1870–71.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © clu-DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images; © Hunterbliss/Dreamstime.com
Learn about William II, king of Prussia and the last German emperor.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Learn about the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and its aftereffects.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Auckland Museum; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Learn about Germany's fledgling Weimar Republic and the challenges it faced.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.com; Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; JonRoma
Learn about the economic and political crises facing Germany's Weimar Republic after...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Romannerud/Dreamstime.com; © Claudiodivizia/Dreamstime.com
Learn about how Joseph Goebbels's use of propaganda and terror aided Adolf Hitler's...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Satori13/Dreamstime.com
Overview of the Weimar Republic's demise.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.com; © Alfredo Garcia Saz/Dreamstime.com
Overview of Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Romannerud/Dreamstime.com
Learn about the role of women in Nazi Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1994-040-15A (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Overview of the discrimination and exclusion of Jews in Germany following Adolf Hitler's...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Peewam/Dreamstime.com
Learn about Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), November 9–10, 1938.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
Allied strategic bombing over Germany escalating in 1943.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Learn about the July Plot of 1944, in which Claus, Count Schenk von Stauffenberg,...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1972-025-10 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
With German military losses mounting, Adolf Hitler ordered all able-bodied men between...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-J31391 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
As the Soviet army advances into eastern Europe, hundreds of thousands of Germans...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1978-063-29A (CC BY-SA 3.0)
War in Europe ending with Germany's unconditional surrender, May 1945.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Department of Defense/National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Learn more about the aftereffects of World War II on Germany.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Learn about the Potsdam Conference, attended by Winston Churchill, Harry Truman,...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Overview of the introduction of the deutsche mark in western Germany in 1948.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Air Force Historical Research Agency; National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History
Overview of the Soviet Union's blockade of West Berlin, with a detailed discussion...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Air Force Historical Research Agency
Learn about the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948–49 and the U.S. and British...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Overview of the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in 1949.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.com; Horst Tappe; Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Learn about Walter Ulbricht's career as leader of the German Democratic Republic...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail National Archives of the Netherlands/Anefo; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Muriel Woolf Hobson
Learn how Konrad Adenauer worked to integrate West Germany into the Western community...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston; © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.com; © Carsten Reisinger/stock.adobe.com
Learn about the economies of West and East Germany in the 1950s.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail National Archives of the Netherlands/Anefo; © 2022 Copyright Volkswagen US Media Site; United States Agency for International Development
Learn about the millions of refugees who migrated to Germany from the country's former...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1990-0927-501/Photographer: Krämer (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Tensions between East and West Germany leading to rearmament.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc; Horst Tappe/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; Jwnabd; © Sarayutoat/Dreamstime.com
Learn about cultural changes in East and West Germany during the 1950s.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Badboo/Dreamstime.com; © 1957 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; TV Radio Mirror Magazine, March 1957
Workers in East Berlin protesting against the East German government in 1953.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild F005191-0040A; © Coatchristophe/Dreamstime.com
Learn about Heinrich Lübke.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 146-1994-034-22A; © Coatchristophe/Dreamstime.com
Overview of student demonstrations in West Germany in 1968.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail National Archives of the Netherlands/Anefo; Stiftung Haus der Geschichte
Willy Brandt, the first West German Chancellor to travel to East Germany, 1970.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
In 1970 West German Chancellor Willy Brandt traveled to Poland, where he signed the...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Adrian Grycuk; © 1966 German Features/German Information Center
Learn about how East Germans risked their lives to escape to the West.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © SPC5 Vincent Kitts/U.S. Army; Archives of the National Volksarmee
Erich Honecker replacing Walter Ulbricht as first secretary of the Socialist Unity...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 183-R0518-182; photograph, o.Ang.; Fornax
Learn about Helmut Schmidt's political career.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; © Coatchristophe/Dreamstime.com
Learn how East German citizens seeking asylum at the West German embassy in Prague...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Anton Kothe/Dreamstime.com; © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.com; German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 183-1990-0228-030/Heintz Hirndorf
Learn about the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Vasile Bobirnac/Dreamstime.com; © Badboo/Dreamstime.com; German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 183-1989-1118-018/Robert Roeske
Overview of the reunification of Germany, including a discussion of the Berlin Wall's...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Ibrahim/stock.adobe.com
Learn about the first free parliamentary elections in East Germany in 1990, which...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © oxinoxi/stock.adobe.com; German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 183-1990-0318-046
Learn why the deutsche mark's becoming the official currency of East Germany in 1990...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Convisum/Dreamstime.com; © oxinoxi/stock.adobe.com
Learn about Helmut Kohl's political career, including his role in the reunification...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Markwaters/Dreamstime.com; © Leklek73/Dreamstime.com
Overview of the history of the euro.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Overview of East Germany's Stasi (Ministry for State Security) under the leadership...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Badboo/Dreamstime.com; © Steve Scott/Dreamstime.com; German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 183-69281-0005/Zimontkowski
Overview of asparagus farming in Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Learn about the building of the Berlin Wall, which closed off access to West Berlin...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail WORTH/AP/REX/Shutterstock.com
Dikes are an important part of Germany's efforts to protect its Baltic and North...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Adeliepenguin/Dreamstime.com
Tour the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Saxon Switzerland National Park, eastern Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
A family vacationing on a houseboat in Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Overview of the great bustard, with a discussion of mating rituals.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Mikelane45/Dreamstime.com
Learn about the German development project known as HafenCity Hamburg, an example...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Canoeing in the Mecklenburg Lake District, Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
The Soviet sinking of MV Wilhelm Gustloff in January 1945, one of the greatest...
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Vladimir Kosov (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Learn about Speyer Cathedral in Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Westend61/Getty Images
Time-lapse video of Berlin, Germany.
Video: Carl Finkbeiner/visualmondo.com (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Overview of the Cathedral of St. Peter (also known as Worms Cathedral), Worms, Germany.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Images
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Village built along a single street (Strassendorf); Stolberg, Germany.
Otto Stadler/© Silvestris
Barge on the Rhine River, with vineyards in the background, at the town of Kaub,...
E. Streichan—Shostal Associates/Superstock
At 9,718 feet (2,962-meters) above sea level, Zugspitze is the highest point in Germany.
© Whosegallery/Dreamstime.com
Mountain village in the Black Forest region, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
© peresanz/stock.adobe.com
Katz Castle, overlooking Sankt Goarshausen and the middle Rhine River, Rhineland-Palatinate,...
Ted McGrath (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Isar River at its source in the Karwendelgebirge (mountains), Bavaria, Germany.
© Helmut Martin/Dreamstime.com
Meander in the Rhine River valley at Boppard, Germany, just south of the confluence...
© pigprox/Fotolia
Patrons in a beer garden during Oktoberfest, an annual festival held in Munich, Germany.
© Pavel Losevsky/Dreamstime.com
Cathedral illuminated at night, Cologne, Germany.
© Goodshoot/Jupiterimages
Munich, Germany, with (left) the twin towers of the Church of Our Lady and (right)...
Camerique/H. Armstrong Roberts
Brown-coal (lignite) pit in Eschweiler in the Rhenish field between Cologne and Aachen,...
Gunter Brinkmann/Bavaria
Hops growing near Mainburg, in the Hallertau district, Niederbayern, Germany.
Ulrich Hofmann/© Silvestris
Fishermen's huts (Fischerhäuser) on the west coast of Lake Müritz near Röbel,...
Wilhelm Irsch/© Silvestris
The Kiel Canal, which runs from the North Sea, at the mouth of the Elbe River, to...
A.G.E. FotoStock
Freight train along the Rhine River in western Germany.
© Markus Mainka/Shutterstock.com
University Library, part of the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
© Heidelberger Kongress und Tourismus GmbH
Costumes with wooden masks worn during the pre-Lenten celebrations in Rottweil, Germany.
Otto Stadler/© Silvestris
Goethe's garden house, Weimar, Germany; detail of a photomechanical print, c. 1890–1900....
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-DIG-ppmsca-01163)
Portrait of Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital. id. cph 3c36145)
Johann Sebastian Bach, oil on canvas by Elias Gottlieb (Gottlob) Haussmann, 1746;...
© Photos.com/Getty Images
Ludwig van Beethoven, portrait by Josef Karl Stieler.
University History Archive/UIG/Shutterstock.com
German composer Felix Mendelssohn, painting by Wilhelm Hensel.
© Photos.com/Getty Images
The inventor C.A. Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and his robotic invention (Brigitte...
From a private collection
Booths at a fall festival in Heidelberg, Germany.
© Heidelberger Kongress und Tourismus GmbH
The Bode-Museum on Museum Island in the Spree River, Berlin, at dusk.
© AlexAnton/stock.adobe.com
Joe Louis (left) and Max Schmeling at a photo session prior to their heavyweight...
AP Images
West Germany Captain Franz Beckenbauer raising the FIFA World Cup trophy after defeating...
© Werner Schulze—ullstein bild/Getty Images
The West German World Cup soccer team celebrates after winning the FIFA World Cup...
© Bongarts/Getty Images
Nicknamed “der Kaiser,” Beckenbauer dominated German football in the 1960s and '70s....
Immanuel Giel
Henry V (left) receiving the imperial insignia from Pope Paschal II at Rome, April...
Courtesy of the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; photograph, The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Jan Hus at the stake, colored woodcut from a Hussite prayer book, 1563.
The Granger Collection, New York
Portrait of Martin Luther, oil on panel by Lucas Cranach, 1529; in the Uffizi, Florence.
Photos.com/Getty Images
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Klemens von Metternich, black and white chalk drawing by Anton Graff, c. 1803–05;...
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Fletcher Fund, 1941 (41.67), www.metmuseum.org
A still from Robert Wiene's classic Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari...
From a private collection
Thomas Mann.
League of Nations Archives, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (2021670579).
Adolf Hitler addressing a rally in Germany, c. 1933.
dpa dena/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
People from East and West Berlin gathering at the Berlin Wall on November 10, 1989,...
© dpa—picture alliance/Getty Images
German Pres. Joachim Gauck at the (Schloss) Bellevue Palace, June 24, 2015, Berlin,...
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras during...
Prime Minister of Greece
Anti-austerity protestors at the Greek parliament in Athens demanding a better bailout...
© Kostas Koutsaftikis/Shutterstock
World leaders meeting in Minsk, Belarus, to discuss the terms of a cease-fire in...
© Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images
A row of cherry trees in bloom at an orchard in Germany.
© ultimathule/Shutterstock.com
Mittelland Canal, west of Braunschweig, Germany
A.G.E. FotoStock
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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