The Federal Republic of Germany - Essay Example

Germany Any country’ current cultural make-up is brought about by different underlying factors like the history, tradition, federalism, economy, beliefs, culture, and many other factors. An example is Germany. Officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a central European country whose capital is Berlin. It is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, and it is a member of different international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, and was a founding member of the European Union. Germany is considered the mot populated and the most powerful country in terms of its economic standing against other European nations. The present cultural make-up of Germany has been shaped by a lot of factors. From its history, to its politics, from its traditions and beliefs to its educational system, Germany’s present status in the world is the result of its never-ending changes. Let us now take a look at the different factors that molded Germany into the country that it is today. History Germania is the first written account of the residents of Germany. Germans were believed to come from Scandinavia because of overpopulation in the said place. In the early times of Germany, they have what is called particularlism, which is the subsistence of various culture, principalities, and territories within in. In 1871, the disunity in Germany was intensified by the booming of different religions in Germany such as Lutheranism and Calvinism. For many years, followers of these two religions suspiciously viewed each other, the same way they view the Roman Catholic Church. These is the reason why the Catholic Church were forced to defend themselves or just to force other people to convert in their religion. The destruction brought about by the Thirty Years’ War in Germany is indeed a devastating experience for the people in those times. This war, which is said to be partially religious in nature create4d a terrible destruction which results to reduction of particularlism. On the other hand, it also did some reforms which results to the growth of industrialism and nationalism in the coming centuries. In 1815, there was a prerequisite that the existing states in Germany before the French revolution be substituted with thirty-eight states. This stipulation was conducted by the Vienna Congress. In the succeeding years, Prussia and Austria, the two largest States in Germany contended for primacy. Otto von Bismarck was the one responsible for the unification of Germany because of his intelligent diplomacy and ruthless practice of statecraft. This results to the unification of the two states, which later on became the unification of the whole Germany. This new state was the called The German Empire. However, it does not include the extensive empire of Austria and other non-German people and territories. The imperial Germany then became prosperous. The economy flourished and by the next century, the size of its economy rivaled that of Britain’s. Although the constitution of the empire is not responsible for the parliament, the foundation of different political parties became the main social groups. There was a contention between the socialists and the Roman Catholics, as well as with the conservative and progressive parties. These parties wanted to determine how their country should be governed. Emperor Wilhelm II then dismissed Bismarck in 1890, and Germany fired up its competition with other great states. Wide and aggressive reformations of Germany’s military force, created fear among neighboring countries. In the 1914, there was a tension on the international atmosphere because of the several military and colonial competitions between different countries. Germany’s rulers believed that the success of their country depends on the successful war against France and Russia, two of the most powerful countries who have powerful military forces at that time. They believed that before 1916, the war against these countries has to be over because after that year, there will be a completion of the Russian and French reforms, thus, it would be hard for them to triumph over these countries. Weeks later, there was a building of a convoluted alliance system which results to the World War I, and then ended with Germany’s defeat in 1918. The first attempt to bring a parliamentary democracy government in Germany was during the Weimar Republic, which was established during the war’s end. The public, however, does not support this move of the government, and attacks from the opponents of the government, was observed. It doesn’t help that Germany’s serious economic problems continue to burden Germany’s government. By the second half of the 1920’s, the parliament function better beacsue of foreign loans, although some elites were still unreceptive of it. Parliamentary politics then became impossible because of the Great Depression, which was why the public favored extremist politicians, one of which is Adolf Hitler, whose National Socialist German Worker’s Party became the strongest. In January 1933, Hitler headed Germany’s government. A few months in position and Hitler were able to achieve what was called a “legal revolution” that ended in the removal of his opponents. His regime, by 1935, transformed Germany into a totalitarian government. There was an economic and diplomatic success during Hitler’s first years of ruling. In 1939, however, he started World War II by invading Poland which results to his defeat. His defeat occurred after millions of lives was loss because of what was called The Holocaust. Economy Germany ranked 19th in the world (competing with other 176 countries) in terms of human development index. The literacy-rate of adults is very high, amounting to 99 percent. Only 8.3 % of the population lives below the poverty line having 50% of the median household income. All in all, Germany is by far one of the richest countries in the world with regards to the high employment rate of the people and with the high standards of living of the residents as well as the high rates of exports and the booming business industry. Germany is considered as one of the worlds most developed and successful market economies. It ranked fifth in terms of purchasing power, and third in the USD exchange rate terms. It is also the largest economy in Europe. Culture Germany is known for its diverse culture. In fact, a lot of national slogan has something “cultural” in it. In 1970’s was the slogan “Culture for Everyone”, which later on became “Everything is Culture” which is just like the post-modern mentality that “anything goes”. With the way the state supports different measures for the people’s equality, there was an increasing number of transformation in the way men and women work. Nowadays, couples are sharing the workload in bringing up the children, as well as in working for the family. Violence is also a no-no in bringing up the children. The government also promotes the harmonious relationship of the people with their fellow Germans and with other foreign population. Because individual states are responsible for their own cultural undertakings, different cultural centers of different standings boomed. Because Germany doesn’t have a clear cultural capital, the diversity in culture literally sprung. Germans are very unique people. Hospitality and being traditional, yet still being open-minded and tolerant are just some of the traits known to German people. Its population plays a vital role in it culture. Because of the multitude of people living in the country, a lot of cultures were formed. About 83 million people resides in Germany, 8 million of these have roots from other countries. There is also an unevenly distribution of the population in Germany. About one-third of the population live in more than 80 large towns, while some 50 million people live in communities having around 100 000 inhabitants. Because of the rapid growth in population since the time of the unification, the area around the town of Berlin is home to almost 5 million people. The industrialized region is home to around 11 million people. With its population density amounting to 230 people per square kilometer, Germany is considered one of the most populated countries in Europe. However, Germany also has the lowest birthrates amounting to 9 births per 1000 inhabitants every year. This is because most women tend to have their first child in their early thirties and each woman only have 1.3 children on the average. The population, despite the deficit in birth, remained stable because it was compensated by the immigration rate. Majority of the population still consider the family as the primary mode of coexistence. Majority of the population live with their families and almost half of them consists of a married couple and children. Every seventh inhabitant in small towns live alone, while every fourth in a small town live alone. The national minorities should also be considered in studying the population of Germany. There are four considered national minorities in Germany. These are the Friesian, the Danish, the Sinti, and the Sorbs. The ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, considered these four groups as the four national minorities in Germany. All the four minorities have their own culture which even makes the German culture diverse. All four minorities are supported by the state and federal governments. The immigrant population is also an important part of the diverse culture in Germany. Because of the people from different countries residing in Germany, more culture and beliefs were formed. Almost 10 percent of the total population of Germany is immigrants. Between the mid-50 and the 1970’s, foreign workers came to Germany because of Germany’s need for additional manpower. A lot of these workers remained in Germany, and later brought their families to live in Germany as well. By the end of 2003, one third of the immigrants live in Germany for more than 20 years, and more that two-thirds of children living in Germany were born in the country. Germany’s culture is also affected by its diverse language. German’s language is related to English, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Dutch. In the middle ages, there was a booming of written regional languages. There were a vast number of dialects in Germany, which is usually an indicator of where the speaker resides. Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, northern Italy, and northern Denmark also use German as their native tongue. More than 100 million people use German as their native tongue. Also, every tenth book published worldwide is written in German. Conclusion The massive amount of cultural events in Germany is hard to beat because of one major reason – federalism. The cultural institutions in Germany are under the Federal States which produced a remarkable result. With the vast population, wealth in language, and differences of the people, the diversity and richness of the culture in Germany can definitely be observed. Indeed, the culture of Germany is one unique culture that any German should be proud of. Read More