Block 8

The Eastern Treaties are associated with Willy Brandt, chancellor from 1969 to 1974. His new Ostpolitik ("change through rapprochement") produced treaties with the Soviet Union, Poland, and the GDR, and won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.

The full official name is Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany). "Federal" points to the structure of 16 states, and "republic" to the elected head of state.

Germany has around 84 million inhabitants, making it the most populous member state of the EU. About a quarter of the people here have a migration background.

The federal flag is black, red, and gold, in three horizontal bands. The colours go back to the uniforms of the Lützow Free Corps and the student movement of the 19th century, and since the 1848 Paulskirche constitution have stood for unity and freedom.

Helmut Kohl (CDU) was chancellor from 1982 to 1998 and brought about reunification in 1990, which is why he is called the "Chancellor of German Unity". He is also regarded as a driving force behind the euro and the Maastricht Treaty.

The plenary chamber of the Bundestag is dominated by the federal eagle, popularly nicknamed the "fat hen". It is the modern, plain eagle of the Federal Republic, not the imperial eagle of earlier German states.

The GDR existed from its founding on 7 October 1949 until its accession to the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990: just under 41 years.

Five federal states were added in 1990: Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The eleven West German states thus became today's 16. East and West Berlin merged into the single state of Berlin.

Germany's present borders date from 1990. The Two Plus Four Agreement between the two German states and the four victorious powers definitively recognised the Oder-Neisse line as the eastern border and restored Germany's full sovereignty.

27 January is the day of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism. The date marks the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945.

The Schengen Agreement abolishes checks on people at the internal borders of participating countries. Germans can therefore travel to many European countries without passport control, but not worldwide, and the external borders of the Schengen area are still controlled.

Switzerland borders Germany to the south. In total Germany has nine neighbouring countries: Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Poland is Germany's eastern neighbour; the border runs along the Oder and Neisse rivers. Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece lie in south-eastern Europe and share no border with Germany.

EU stands for European Union. It emerged in 1993 from the European Community under the Maastricht Treaty and is a union of states with a common internal market, its own parliament, and largely open borders.

Austria is Germany's largest German-speaking neighbour with about 8.9 million inhabitants. German-speaking populations also exist in Switzerland (~65% German-speaking), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol (Italy), and East Belgium, but Austria has the most.

The EU flag shows twelve gold stars in a circle on a blue field. The number twelve does not stand for the number of member states but symbolises completeness and unity: it stays the same however many countries join.

Denmark is Germany's only northern neighbour; the border runs through Schleswig-Holstein. Norway, Sweden, and Finland lie further north with no land border with Germany.

The GDR's accession to the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990 is called German reunification. NATO and EU enlargement to the east, by contrast, concerned other Central and Eastern European states and happened later.

Luxembourg borders Germany in the west, between Belgium and France. With around 660,000 inhabitants it is one of the EU's smallest countries and one of its three working locations.

The European Parliament is elected directly by the citizens of the member states every five years. In Germany you may vote in European elections from the age of 16.

European integration means the ever-closer coming together of European states: from the Coal and Steel Community in 1951 through the EEC to today's EU with its single market, common currency, and shared institutions. The term has nothing to do with immigration or emigration.

In a European election, the members of the European Parliament are elected directly. The European Commission, by contrast, is proposed by the governments and confirmed by parliament: it is not elected by the people.

The Czech Republic borders Germany in the south-east, along Bavaria and Saxony. Bulgaria, Greece, and Portugal lie far away at the edges of Europe.

The official seat of the European Parliament is Strasbourg, where the plenary sessions are held. Committee meetings take place in Brussels, and the administration is based in Luxembourg.

The joint commemoration at Verdun in 1984 (a First World War battlefield) stood for Franco-German reconciliation. It makes visible the core aim of European integration: peace and security through cooperation instead of war.

The EU has 27 member states. Until 2020 there were 28; with Brexit the United Kingdom became the first country to leave the union.

With the Treaties of Rome in 1957, six states founded the European Economic Community (EEC) and the atomic energy community Euratom. The EEC is the direct predecessor of today's EU.

The European Parliament works in three places: plenary sessions in Strasbourg, committee meetings and additional plenaries in Brussels, and the secretariat in Luxembourg. This split is a political compromise between the member states.

The Treaties of Rome were signed in Rome in 1957 and established the EEC. The founding members were West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Euro cash has been in circulation since 1 January 2002. The euro had already existed as book money since 1999; until the end of February 2002 you could still pay in Deutsche Mark.