Z3

The Z3 was a computer designed and built in Germany by Konrad Zuse during the 1930s and 1940s. Zuse's work was largely isolated from developments in the United States and England. He utilized binary representation from the outset, simplifying construction and clarifying the connection between logic and computer circuits.

Completed in December 1941, the Z3 was the first program-controlled processor. Zuse also developed software for his machines and created Plankalkül, the first real computer programming language, in 1944–45. This language allowed for procedures and structured data, and included conditional and loop statements. Zuse's innovations were ahead of their time, but his work was not widely known outside of Germany due to the war. The Z3 was destroyed in an air raid in 1945.12