What is Germany, Anyway?

Written by Frank Li

What really is the biggest problem for you and me? World War III, as it may even destroy us as a species! To avoid it, we must study Germany. Two main reasons:

1. Germany was a major participant in both WWI and WWII.
2. Germany has the largest economy in Europe.

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Let’s try to understand Germany from four perspectives:

1. German history.
2. Two historical figures: Martin Luther and Karl Marx.
3. Germany in WWI and WWII.
4. Modern Germany.

1. German history

Let’s simply focus on the infamous notion of the “Third Reich” as follows:

1. The First Reich.
2. The Second Reich.
3. The Third Reich.

Let me elaborate on each …

1.1 The First Reich

It is also known as the “Holy Roman Empire.” Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Holy Roman Empire.

The Holy Roman Empire was a complex of territories in Central Europe and parts of Western Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806.[6] The largest territory of the empire after 962 was the Kingdom of Germany, though it also came to include the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Kingdom of Italy, and numerous other territories.[7][8][9]

In short, the “Holy Roman Empire” is a misnomer. Three main reasons:

1. It was not “Roman”, as it never occupied Rome, on top of the fact that it existed, for quite a few hundred years, along with the “real” [Eastern] Roman Empire (aka the Byzantine Empire).
2. It was not “Holy”, as it was not, for most of the time, blessed by the Roman Catholic Church.
3. It was, relatively, a weak empire, most of the time.

1.2 The Second Reich

It is also known as the “German Empire.” Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – German Empire.

The German Empire was the German nation state[9] that existed from the Unification of Germany in 1871 until the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918.

In short, it ended with the end of World War I.

1.3 The Third Reich

It is also known as “Nazi Germany.” Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Nazi Germany.

Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler through the Nazi Party (NSDAP). Under Hitler’s rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state in which the Nazi Party controlled nearly all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich (“German Reich“) from 1933 to 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich (“Great-German Reich“) from 1943 to 1945. The period is also known under the names the Third Reich (Drittes Reich, meaning “Third Realm” or “Third Empire”, with the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire being the first two) and the National Socialist Period (Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, abbreviated as NS-Zeit, literally “Time of National Socialism”). The Nazi regime ended after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.

In short, it ended with the end of World War II.

2. Two historical figures: Martin Luther and Karl Marx

Great nations make great individuals, and vice versa. Germany is no exception. Let’s focus on two historical figures: Martin Luther and Karl Marx.

2.1 Martin Luther

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Martin Luther.

Martin Luther, O.S.A. (/ˈluËθər/;[1] German: [ˈmaÉ̯tiËn ˈlÊŠtÉ]; 10 November 1483[2] – 18 February 1546) was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, and monk,[3] and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation.

In short, he was a, if not the, “father” of the Protestant Reformation.

2.2 Karl Marx

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Karl Marx.

Karl Marx[6] (/mÉ‘Ërks/;[7] German: [ˈkaÉ̯l ˈmaÉ̯ks]; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a philosopher, economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist.

Born in Trier to a middle-class family, Marx later studied political economy and Hegelian philosophy. As an adult, Marx became stateless and spent much of his life in London, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and published various works. His two most well-known are the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital. His work has since influenced subsequent intellectual, economic and political history.

In my opinion, Karl Marx was a brilliant scholar and writer. His understanding of capitalism was thorough and his theory of communism was basically sound, over a very long time-horizon, though. Unfortunately, it has been exploited by many revolutionaries (e.g. Russia’s Lenin and China’s Mao) in practice, over a very short time-horizon, resulting in total disasters. For more, read: Loop Theory – Capitalism vs. Socialism.

3. Germany in WWI and WWII

For WWI, read: Wikipedia – World War I. For WWII, read: Wikipedia – World War II.

In short, Germany was involved in both, for the same reasons in the big picture:

1. Germany was too developed to be confined in its then borders.
2. Germany was late in the game of discovering the “new” world, as well as colonizing the backward parts of the old world. Therefore, it wanted some (e.g. territories in North Africa) from its neighbors (e.g. the U.K. and France). More aggressively in WWII, Germany was vying for Russia, its huge land-mass and richness in natural resources, as if Russia was like North America in the 1500s, sparsely populated by the indigenous people …

A very important note: it was Russia, not the West, that decisively defeated Nazi Germany in WWII. For more, read: Who Actually Decisively Defeated Nazi Germany?

4. Modern Germany

After WWII, Germany was divided into two countries: East and West.

West Germany recovered quickly. Two main reasons:

1. The hard-working Germans.
2. America’s help, thanks to the Cold War, for which America needed a strong West Germany economically, if not militarily.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 (see image below), Germany became unified again. Today, Germany is the unquestionable leader of the EU.

Unfortunately for Germany, the leadership role comes with a huge price tag, such as bailing out her poor brothers (e.g. Greece). The short video below highlights another big challenge for Germany.

5. Closing

Overall, Germany has proven to be a great country, second only to the U.K. and China. For more, read: The Greatest Countries in Human History.

Now, please sit back and enjoy the short video below.