A Brief Look At The Federal Republic Of Germany

Germany is located in the heart of Europe and has a population of about 80 million making it the most populous country in the European Union, of which it is was a founding member, and the second most populous country in Europe (Bailey, 2016; “Germany,” n.d.; “EU Member Countries,” n.d.). It is officially called The Federal Republic of Germany and was founded in 1949 following Germany’s defeat in World War II. The Federal Republic of Germany originally included only West Germany; guided by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France; as East Germany became the German Democratic Republic, directed by the U.S.S.R. In late 1990, East and West Germany were reunified, and the four foreign powers stepped back (Germany, 2012). “Ordnung muss

“The rise of Germany’s reputation is a story of long, conscious and consistent effort to apply the lessons of the past to the present…Germany’s ongoing self-examination in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust contributed substantially to a modern society that is so admired around the world it was judged best country overall…” (Gerzema & Reibstein, 2015, p 17 & p189).

Their country is filled with cultural institutes such as museums, memorials and monuments dedicated to the Holocaust, making ignorance of their transgressions impossible (Fareed, 2015). “Having twice plunged Europe into war, many Germans believe their country’s duty is to be a bigger version of Switzerland: economically prosperous, politically modest” (“The Reluctant Hegemon,” 2013). It is of note that the author of this article uses the word duty in this quote which is one of the German core values. The Germans have made it their duty to repair the damage from World War II and not allow such a thing to happen again. Since the end of World War II, Germany has paid reparations and foreign aid totaling in the hundreds of billions (Fareed, 2015). They have made an effort to participate in all endeavors aimed at cooperation with Western Europe. They helped found the European Union and have

She is only the third chancellor since World War II to preside over the country for more than a decade. Merkel has shown herself to be a decisive, moral and empathic leader whose popularity rivals that of the United States leadership. While not necessarily favorable with everyone, Merkel was responsible for suspending regulations for Syrian refugees in 2015 (Drew, 2016). She later reinstated the regulations, but defended her decision by saying "If we now have to start apologizing for showing a friendly face in response to emergency situations, then that's not my country" (as cited in Drew, 2016). Germany was estimated to receive 800,000 refugees, more than all of Europe combined (Fareed, 2015). Her generosity shows a stark contrast between the Germany of today and the Germany of the World War II era. Peter Wittig, the German ambassador to the United States, backed up Merkel’s refugee decision by arguing that Germany’s asylum law must be liberal due to Germany’s past. “This is a lesson our founding fathers prescribed to us after the Second World War,” he states (Gerzema & Reibstein, 2015, p 56). That same year, TIME Magazine named her person of the year (Vick,