As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro. In January 2011, Germany assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.
From the CIA World Fact Book.
Recommended
- One predictable effect of the various states charging the fake electors is that because these people were State Party officials, any lawyers hired by the defendants will very likely have their fees paid by the state party. e.g. In GA, the State...57 comments 277 Recs
- I just want to say thank you from Ukraine to every US citizen and every friend of Ukraine all over the world who took action and made this critically needed military assistance package possible. Thank you for every call and email to your congressman,...151 comments 630 Recs
- “Waaahhh...” Via The Lincoln Project, who would’ve ever guessed that the strongest, smartest, bravest, most patriotic American president in the history of our country (with the most perfect memory, no less) would turn out to be such a… Well, wait for...16 comments 28 Recs
- Multiple news outlets are reporting that infamous right-wing election conspiracy-slinging website, The Gateway Pundit, has declared bankruptcy in order to “consolidate” risk associated with multiple pending lawsuits. These defamation lawsuits are the...27 comments 197 Recs
- I just found out that some of our oldest (longest term) and dearest Kossacks have recently been laid off or resigned. Apparently It came up in the comments in the diary about the Second DK Site Maintenance with the recent update. I had no idea. I...755 comments 1308 Recs
- Latest news out of Arizona: Arizona state House passes a bill to repeal 1864 abortion ban The issue now moves to the state Senate, which is also expected to vote to repeal the near-total ban the Arizona Supreme Court upheld earlier this month. After...51 comments 218 Recs
- The type of dyslexia that I have is referred to as visual dyslexia, I have tinted glasses, and use colored overlays. The reason that I am writing this short diary? I learned to read late, and as a result, I was mocked until it was both diagnosed and...28 comments 46 Recs
- Ukrainian strikes against Russian logistics or Russian aviation assets in deep rear areas will likely be operationally significant, however, only if Ukrainian forces successfully coordinate them with ground operations to exploit the degraded Russian...24 comments 98 Recs
- From The Detroit News: Lansing — Michigan prosecutors consider former President Donald Trump and some of his top aides co-conspirators in the plot to submit a certificate falsely claiming he won Michigan's 2020 election, an investigator for Attorney...88 comments 389 Recs
- Ukraine keeps up the pressure on Russian oil supplies. If you freeze the video at 0:03, I think you can see in the flames the appearance of Oil Terminal Jesus. Speaking of attacks inside Russia. Since when is it a crime in Russia to take bribes? If...148 comments 370 Recs
- Biden sponsored the very first climate change bill ever. In 1986, Biden introduced the � Global Climate Protection Act , the � first climate ...6 comments 18 Recs
- Huge numbers of prospective voters don’t. This lack is one of the major messaging issues in this campaign. Now, in reality, Biden’s people are on this, and are just getting started with tens of ...17 comments 32 Recs
Recent Diaries
- THE PERSONHOOD BATTLE: Why It Matters to You By Don C. Reed Think of a little plastic dish full of salt water, a Petri dish. And floating in the water are a dozen tiny dots, almost invisible: fertilized human eggs, or blastocysts. According to a recent...1 comments 0 Recs
- "He Wrote All of it Down" - Prosecution has Weisselberg's Handwritten Notes, Spelling Out the SchemeMichael Cohen’s testimony in the election interference trial of Donald Trump shall be corroborated by a simple bank statement, on which CFO Allan Weisselberg broke down the reimbursement scheme. The prosecution has that bank statement, as they told the...1 comments 0 Recs
- Over the past 3 election cycles, I’ve raised over $7.6 MILLION for HUNDREDS of Democratic candidates at the federal, statewide and state legislative levels. For statewide races, I list every GOP state, no matter how deep red, because I trust people to...1 comments 0 Recs
- The headlines coming out of Arizona now are concentrating on the fake elector fraud from the 2020 election. Rightly so. Those political terrorists did attempt to overthrow the legitimate and verified Arizona election for President of the US of A. But...1 comments 0 Recs
- When looking at the impact of climate change on the Caribbean, it is important to pay attention to�and support local efforts to mitigate it. Our news agencies tend to cover climate disasters only as ...2 comments 3 Recs
- “Waaahhh...” Via The Lincoln Project, who would’ve ever guessed that the strongest, smartest, bravest, most patriotic American president in the history of our country (with the most perfect memory, no less) would turn out to be such a… Well, wait for...16 comments 28 Recs
- Biden sponsored the very first climate change bill ever. In 1986, Biden introduced the � Global Climate Protection Act , the � first climate ...6 comments 18 Recs
- As Israel’s genocide against Palestine continues to escalate, students from universities across the United States are leading campus protests en masse. Students and faculty alike from the University of Southern California joined this call to action on...3 comments 5 Recs
- 1 comments 0 Recs
- Huge numbers of prospective voters don’t. This lack is one of the major messaging issues in this campaign. Now, in reality, Biden’s people are on this, and are just getting started with tens of ...17 comments 32 Recs
- Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post from a host of editors and guest writers. �We support our community, invite and share ideas, encourage thoughtful and respectful ...37 comments 12 Recs
- www.rawstory.com/… "Unclear when the representation ended," he said. "Blanche told Epshteyn tonight that he needs to find an Arizona lawyer ASAP." news.yahoo.com/… “Trump’s lawyer got creamed": Experts say flailing Todd Blanche "blew it" at gag order...5 comments 16 Recs
- The type of dyslexia that I have is referred to as visual dyslexia, I have tinted glasses, and use colored overlays. The reason that I am writing this short diary? I learned to read late, and as a result, I was mocked until it was both diagnosed and...28 comments 46 Recs
- The vast majority of police officers in the US are decent, hard-working people who may never fire their weapons once in the line of duty. Law-enforcement personnel are members of the DailyKos community. We have relatives who are cops. But too many...5 comments 10 Recs
- Welcome to White House Picture of the Day Showcasing a photo from the White House Photography staff, led by Adam Schultz. Feel free to join us anytime and share with us what is happening in ...4 comments 11 Recs
- Of all the damn fool stupid ideas …4 comments 9 Recs
- If you're willing to lie about the climate, what are you not willing to lie about? There are few things as cut and dried as hundred year old physics. There are few things as obvious as the fact that if you extract massive amounts of hydrocarbons from...4 comments 5 Recs
- Episode 164 has been uploaded. iHeartRadio this podcast all podcasts Omny.FM this podcast all podcasts ivoox this podcast all podcasts Apple this podcast all podcasts Preview: YouTube, later A-Block SPECIAL COMMENT: The “Presidential Immunity” case...10 comments 12 Recs
- More than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza. Half of those were children. The number could easily be twice that. Given the number of people missing in the rubble. Students and faculty have been protesting at universities across the U.S. Columbia,...44 comments 21 Recs
- On Saturday, I will perform a wedding ceremony in San Clemente, Ca.� It is a beautiful city on the coast.� I am speaking as a Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriage for the first time since the ...13 comments 13 Recs