Germany

[jur-muh-nee] /ˈdʒɜr mə ni/

noun
1.
a republic in central Europe: after World War II divided into four zones, British, French, U.S., and Soviet, and in 1949 into and ; East and West Germany were reunited in 1990. 137,852 sq. mi. (357,039 sq. km).
Capital: Berlin.
/ˈdʒɜːmənɪ/
noun
1.
a country in central Europe: in the Middle Ages the centre of the Holy Roman Empire; dissolved into numerous principalities; united under the leadership of Prussia in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War; became a republic with reduced size in 1919 after being defeated in World War I; under the dictatorship of Hitler from 1933 to 1945; defeated in World War II and divided by the Allied Powers into four zones, which became established as East and West Germany in the late 1940s; reunified in 1990: a member of the European Union. It is flat and low-lying in the north with plateaus and uplands (including the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps) in the centre and south. Official language: German. Religion: Christianity, Protestant majority. Currency: euro. Capital: Berlin. Pop: 81 147 265 (2013 est). Area: 357 041 sq km (137 825 sq miles) German name Deutschland Official name Federal Republic of Germany See also East Germany, West Germany related adjective Teutonic

c.1300, from Latin Germania, a Roman designation (see German (n.)). In Middle English the place also was called Almaine (early 14c.).

Republic in north-central Europe, divided into East Germany and West Germany in 1949 and reunited in 1990. Officially called the Federal Republic of Germany.

Note: Germany was a collection of competing states until it was unified during the second half of the nineteenth century under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck.

Note: Germany’s industrial, colonial, and naval expansion was considered a threat by the British and French and was one of the main causes of World War I, in which Germany was badly defeated.

Note: After the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, Germany was divided into four zones occupied by British, French, Soviet, and American forces.

Note: Since reunification Germany has become Europe’s leading economic power. (See East Germany and West Germany under “World History since 1550.”)