Germany

Researched by Whitney K.
2002-03
  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
    • PRODUCTS I  CREATED
    • DEDICATION 
    • WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC 
    • SELF-EVALUATION 
    • THANK YOU

Germany

Germany is a country in central Europe that borders France, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, and Denmark. The capital of Germany is Berlin. Germany is slightly smaller than the US state of Montana.  Germany was one of the biggest bombing targets in World War II.  Adolf Hitler ruled Germany during WW II and caused many problems for the German people and for the world.

Germany has had a rough history, but you can’t judge the people who live there now from the past. Some probably did not want those things to happen. Every country has had bad times and you can’t blame the people who live there now. 
 
 

Way of life

School- In the year 2000 Germany had 51,400 schools with 785,000 teachers. The law said that everyone had the right to pick which school they wanted to go to. Each person could have an opportunity to get an education so they could do whatever job they wanted to do.

Cities- most of Germany’s cities were destroyed during World War II. Now Germany has rebuilt most of the ruined buildings that were important.
 
 

People

Germany has a population of about 83,250,000 today.

Religion- Germany was the home of the Protestant revolution.  Today these are the religious groups: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, other 28.3%

Language- Here are some useful words in the German language.
Please- gefallen
Thanks-danken
Stop-halt
No-nein
None of you- keener von euch
Monday- motag
Tuesday- dichstag
Wednesday- mittwock
Thursday- Donnerstag
Friday- reibug
Saturday- Samstag
Sunday- Sonntag
Transportation- There is a total of 44,000 km of railroad track. 
 
 

Government

The head of the German government is the chancellor, who is a little like a president.  The current chancellor is Gerhard Schroeder.

The government’s main law making group is the parliament. The parliament’s two houses are the federal assembly (about 600 members, elected for 4 year terms) and the federal council (69 members, 3-5 from each state). The current government was created after the East and West reunited. 
Germany’s national holiday is United Day on October 3 (1990). The holiday known as Basic Law is on May 23 (1949).
 
 

Climate

Germany’s climate differences are small because of the sea. In winter the sea helps keep Germany warm. In the summer the sea cools Germany. Far away from the sea it is colder in winter and warmer in summer.
One of Germanys natural hazards is flooding. 
     History
1,000 BC  Tribes from northern Europe came to Germany.
486 AD  A German king defeated a Roman governor.
843 AD  A treaty divided Charlemagne’s empire.
1,517 AD  Protestant reformation started in Germany.
1,618-1,648  the war hit most of Germany.
1740-1786  Fredric the great gave Prussia lots of power.
1,848   Revolution started to spread but stopped.
1870-1871  Germany defeated France.
1914-1918  The Allies defeated Germany in World War I.
1933   Hitler began destruction of the Jews. 
1939-1949  The Allies defeated Germany in World War II.
1961 A wall was put between east and West Germany because the East did not want people escaping to the West.
1973   Both East and West Germany joined the United Nations.
1989  East Germany opened the wall so their people could go to the west freely.
1990  East Germany decided to have a free election. In October East and West Germany became one nation again. 
 
 


The land

The Black Forest- the Black Forest is filled with many wild animals. Wild boars are a big danger to anyone who goes in.
The Bavarian Alps- is the largest mountain system in Europe. It rises too more than 6,000 feet. Bavaria forms some of the southern boundary in Germany.
The North German plain- The North German plain is the largest land in Germany. Most of the plain is 300 feet above sea level. The rivers are the Elbe, Ems, Oder, Rhine, and Weser.
The southern hills- in the southern German hills sheep are raised. Down low between the hills there is clay soil.
The central highlands- the central highlands is covered in rock with only a tiny bit of soil.
Animals- Many birds, red deer, wild cat, wild boar, beavers, and muskrats.
 
 

Economy

The German Federal Republic has the third largest economy in world trade. In 2001 the G.D.P. (gross domestic product) produced goods and services worth  $1,574,330,000,000. Their services include community, government, personal services, finance, insurance, real estate, wholesale, retail trade, transportation, and communication.
Some of Germany’s natural resources are: Iron, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, and arable land. Some of the manufactured goods are iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food, and beverages. Some of the farm products are potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages, cattle, pigs, and poultry. 
After World War II the economy was called an "economic miracle". The minister of Economics did not like that term. He said it was "Merely the result of honest endeavor on the part of a whole nation who were given the opportunity and freedom to make the best of freedom and energy". 
 
 




Berlin

The Berlin wall- the wall was put up because East Germany did not want their people escaping to West Germany. They had cut the wall through the best land. The wall was 100 miles long and 13 feet tall.   The people on the East Side had guards in a guard tower to make sure no one jumped over. A man from the East Side tried to climb the wall. Just as he was at the top and about to jump over the guards shot him. The people from the West Side put a cross where he fell to honor him.           
 
 
 
My interview of Heike
I interviewed Heike (HI-KA) on the topic of Germany by E-mail. I thought that she was a good person to interview because she lived in Germany and is a family friend.

Heike has lived in Germany all of her life. She can speak German, English, Spanish, and French fluently. The rest of her friends can speak at least two different languages. She says that Germany is a nice place to live. Heike was 11 when the Berlin Wall was taken down, and had lived on the East Side before it was taken down. She is still a student in Germany. The thing that she likes best about Germany is the freedom to do whatever you want to do. 

Heike says that Berlin has changed the most in recent years because there are many new buildings and much construction going on. She thinks that one of the biggest problems in Germany is unemployment. Heike hopes for the best in Germany’s future, and that the economy will stabilize. 

Heike was shocked like all the rest of us on September 11, but she was more shocked over the choices that George Bush has made. She thinks that world peace has never been further away, and hopes that it will come soon. In her opinion Americans live in such a beautiful country with fantastic people and incredible opportunities. 
 


 
 

My interview of Claudia Hofmann

Claudia (Claw-de-a) was nine years old when the Berlin Wall was taken down. She said that it was New Years and everyone was celebrating, she remembers thinking how happy the people must be. Claudia speaks German, English, and French fluently, but says that she is trying to improve her Spanish. She has lived in Frankfurt Germany for 19 years, which was on the West Side of the wall before it was taken down. Her favorite thing about Germany is their food. Claudia says that it gets very cold in the winter, down to about 10 degrees C or less. During the summer Germany can get up to 30 or 35 C. 

Claudia said that Germans were shocked like the rest of the world on September 11, and she was upset for the loss of loved ones for some families. She and other Germans think that to improve things Americans should not use force, but increase the education around the U.S.A. `l*She says, "Germany is a beautiful country with friendly people and a diversity that is worth seeing." She recommends a visit.
Whitney Bibliography 
Cavendish, Marshall. "Germany". The World Book Encyclopedia.  2002

Discovery Channel. "Germany". England. APA publications.

Fuller, Barbar. "Germany". New York Times. 1998

Gem, Collins. German Dictionary.  London. Willam Collons sons. 1988

Sheehan, James J. "Germany". The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998
 
 

 

Top of page

Menu of 2003 SOAR Projects

Back to the Selah Homepage