A Brief History of Germany

Abstract

While Germany has a history that stretches back to antiquity, it is important to remember that it was fi rst unifi ed as a nationstate only in 1871, making it in a sense even younger than the United States. Located in the heart of Europe, without natural boundaries, Germany has experienced centuries of immigration, confrontation, and negotiation. Consequently, the arrangement of its constituent parts has changed repeatedly, with individual territories joining together or breaking apart. Thus, Germany’s boundaries, and what it means to be German, have always been unstable and have evolved continually throughout the region’s long and troubled history.