Division of Germany

Research on Germany reveals that during the Third Reich that lasted from 1933 to 1945, Germany attempted to gain military and political domination over Europe. This period in German history is particularly complex and Paper Masters will help any student understand it by providing a custom written project on the division of Germany after World War II.

After World War II, Germany was a divided nation with the Federal Republic in the west as a democracy and the eastern part of the nation as a communist state in the Soviet bloc. Berlin was in the eastern zone, but the city was divided with the western portion remaining under the control of the Federal Republic. The allied victors after the war divided the country into four zones:

1. American
2. British
3. Soviet
4. French

Furthermore, out of these four zones emerged the two new states of:

1. The German Federal Republic in the West
2. The German Democratic Republic in the East

After the war, Germany was a devasted and defeated country with starvation and extreme lack of material goods propelling many citizens into desperation. Due to the bombing of nearly all the large German cities, millions of refugees also left their homes in the East and scrambled to West Germany to avoid the inevitable Soviet advance.

Because of the repressive regime in the east, a large number of Germans attempted to flee to the Federal Republic during the 1950s and 1960s. At the same time, Federal Republic was militarily part of NATO which it believed was necessary to protect the nation from the Soviet Union while East Germany was part of the Warsaw Pact.

Post-war Germany's economic growth was slow as its' economy had been shattered at the end of the war. With Allied occupation, a good part of what survived was further destroyed and focus became directed on rebuilding the economy. According to Gordeeva, the country followed the lead of Ludwig Erhard who became a economic political leader in the new Germany. Erhard proposed and helped to enact that which became known as the social market economy which is based on the concept of a socially responsive market economy formulated on free trade and enterprise. The social market economy was aided by the infusion of capital through the Marshall Plan and proved to be ideal for the strong recovery of the German economy. As Gordeeva explained, the enactment of a social market economy resulted in what has become known as the economic miracle of the 1950's within Germany. Under this type of economy, the state can implement price controls and subsidies when needed. Additionally, the state has the power to prevent the formation of cartels and to foster monetary stability while allowing and protecting the accumulation of private capital by individuals. Germany's social market economy has also reflected a system in which citizens are further protected through the state's capacity to establish a strong social service system which has included statutory health, unemployment and pension insurance programs.

Following the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union in 1989, the people in East Germany were able to expel the communist leadership. In 1990, the two parts of the nation were reunited to form a single nation of Germany. The process of reunification created some degree of economic difficulties in the first few years, with much of the industry in East Germany owned by the government. East Germany also had a poorly developed infrastructure, which required significant investment by the west in order to improve. At the current time, the issues that dominate Germany are the election of a German Pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church. The nation remains is also concerned with terrorism and with immigration issues.