Page 499 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

GERM AN Y  497

of defeat and the terms of the Treaty of
Versailles (1919) left Germany in economic
chaos. The Weimar Republic struggled on
until 1933 when Hitler seized power. His
nationalist policies appealed to a
demoralized people, but his territorial
ambitions led the country into World
War II and a second defeat.
Despite the atrocities committed by the
Nazis, the Germans were soon forgiven by
both America and Russia as they divided Celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
the country in such a way that it became Of all the arts, it is to classical music
the theater for the Cold War between that Germany has made the greatest
East and West. The Berlin Wall, erected contribution, Johann Sebastian Bach
in 1961 to stop East Germans fleeing to from the Baroque period and Ludwig
the West, became the symbol of an era. van Beethoven from the Classical period
Its fall in 1989 was the start of the being perhaps the two most influential
process of reunification. figures. In the 19th century, poems by
Modern Germany is a federal country, Goethe, Schiller, and others were set to
with each Land (state) electing its own music by composers Robert Schumann,
parliament. Regional differences due to Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf.
Germany’s checkered history are still much Germany has also produced many of
in evidence, the Catholic south being the world’s most influential philosophers:
much more conservative than the north. from Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), father
Differences between the former West of modern philosophy, to Karl Marx
Germany and the old DDR (East Germany) (1818–83), founder of the 20th century’s
are also very visible. The East suffers from most potent political ideology.
high unemployment and its people tend
to be suspicious of the motives of the West Modern Life
Germans, despite all the money poured The German economy tends to be
into the region to equalize living standards. dominated by long-established giants
such as Siemens in the electrical and
Culture and the Arts electronic sectors, Volkswagen and
Germany is rich in legends and sagas, BMW in cars, and BASF in chemicals.
such as the tale of Siegfried told in the Despite the continuing success of
epic poem the Nibelungenlied, written German industry and banking,
down around 1200. It has been reworked and the people’s reputation for
many times, notably in Richard Wagner’s hard work, the Germans actually enjoy
great Ring opera cycle. longer annual holidays and spend more
money on foreign travel than any
other European nation. When at
home, they are enthusiastic
participants in many sports, and
have enjoyed great success in
recent years at football, motor
racing, and tennis. They also enjoy
gregarious public merrymaking,
for example at Fasching (carnival)
and the Oktoberfest, Munich’s
Munich’s Olympic Stadium, built for the 1972 Olympic Games annual beer festival.

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