Germans

The German ethnicity emerged among early Germanic peoples of Central Europe, particularly the Franks, Frisians, Saxons, Thuringii, Alemanni and Baiuvarii.[21] Germanic culture originated in parts of what is now Northern Germany, and has been associated with the Nordic Bronze Age and the Jastorf culture, which flourished in Northern Germany and Scandinavia during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.[21] The Germanic peoples have inhabited Central Europe since at least the Iron Age.[2]

From their northern homeland, the Germanic peoples expanded southwards in a series of great migrations.[22] Much of Central Europe was at that time inhabited by Celts, who are associated with the La Tène culture.[21] Since at least the 2nd century BC the Germanic peoples began displacing Celts.[23] It is likely that many of these Celts were Germanized by migrating Germanic peoples.[21]

Germanic Kingdoms in Europe and Africa c. 476 AD

Detailed information about the Germanic peoples is provided by the Roman general Julius Caesar, who campaigned in Germania in the 1st century BC. By this time Germanic peoples are believed to have dominated an area stretching from the Rhine in the west to the Vistula in the east, and the Danube in the south to Scandinavia in the north. Under Caesar's successor Augustus, the Romans sought to conquer the Germanic peoples and colonize Germania, but these efforts were significantly hampered by the victory of Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, which is considered a defining moment in German history.[21] The early Germanic peoples are famously described in Germania by the 1st century Roman historian Tacitus. At this time, the Germanic peoples were fragmented into a large number of tribes who were frequently in conflict with both the Roman Empire and one another.[24] By the 3rd century, Germanic peoples were beginning to merge into great coalitions, and had begun conquering and settling areas within the Roman Empire. During the 4th and 5th centuries, in what is known as the Migration Period, Germanic peoples overran the decaying Roman Empire and established new kingdoms within it. Meanwhile, formerly Germanic areas in parts of Eastern Europe were settled by Slavs.[23]

Extent of Holy Roman Empire in 972 (red line) and 1035 (red dots) with Kingdom of Germany marked in blue

The beginnings of the German states can be traced back to the Frankish king Clovis I, who established the kingdom of Francia in the 5th century. In subsequent centuries the power of the Franks grew considerably.[23] By the 8th century AD, the Germanic populations of Central Europe were known as diutisc, an Old High German term meaning "ethnic" or "relating to the people". The endonym of the Germans is derived from this word. From this time on, a distinct German ethnic identity began to emerge.[2]

By the early 9th century AD, large parts of Central Europe had been united under the rule of the Frankish leader Charlemagne, who defeated the Lombards, Saxons and other Germanic peoples and established the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne was crowned emperor by Pope Leo I in 800.[23] During the rule of Charlemagne's successors, the Carolingian Empire descended into civil war. The empire was eventually partioned at the Treaty of Verdun (843), resulting in the creation of the states of West Francia, Middle Francia and East Francia (led by Louis the German). Beginning with Henry the Fowler, Saxon dynasties dominated the German lands, and under his son Otto I, Middle Francia and East Francia, which were mostly German, became part of the Kingdom of Germany, which constituted the core of the Holy Roman Empire.[25] Leaders of tribal duchies such as Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia, Saxony and Lorraine continued to wield considerable power independent of the king.[23] German kings were elected by members of the noble families, who often sought have weak kings elected in order to preserve their own independence. This prevented an early unification of the Germans and contributed to the formation of strong German national groups, such as the Bavarians, Swabians and Franconians.[26][27]

A warrior nobility dominated the feudal German society of the Middle Ages, while the majority of the German population consisted of peasants with little political rights.[23] The church played an important role among Germans in the Middle Ages, and competed with the nobility for power.[28] Between the 11th and 13th centuries, Germans actively participated in five Crusades to "liberate" the Holy Land.[28]

During the Middle Ages, German political power was imposed on Slavic populations in the east. This process was accompanied by the migration of Germans into conquered territories, in what is known as the Ostsiedlung. Over time, some Slavic populations were assimilated by Germans, resulting in many Germans acquiring substantial Slavic ancestry.[25] From the 11th century, the German lands came under the domination of the Swabian Hohenstaufen family. The German population expanded significantly during this time.[27] Trade increased and there was a specialization of the arts and crafts.[28] From the 12th century, many Germans settled as merchants and craftsmen in the Kingdom of Poland, were they came to constitute a significant proportion of the population in many urban centers such as Gdańsk.[25]

The Holy Roman Empire after the Peace of Westphalia, 1648

The late 13th century saw the election of Rudolf I of the House of Habsburg to the German throne, and the Habsburg family would continue to play an important role in German history for centuries afterwards. They competed for power in the German lands with several noble families, most notably the Limburg-Luxemburg dynasty and the House of Wittelsbach. During the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights began conquering the Old Prussians, and established what would eventually become the powerful German state of Prussia.[27]

The German territories continued to grow in the late Middle Ages. Great urban centers increased in size and wealth and formed powerful leagues, such as the Hanseatic League and the Swabian League, in order to protect their interests, often through supporting the German kings in their struggles with the nobility.[27] These urban leagues significantly contributed to the development of German commerce and banking. German merchants of Hanseatic cities settled in cities throughout Northern Europe beyond the German lands.[29]

Boundaries of the German Confederation marked with red, with the Kingdom of Prussia in blue, the Austrian Empire in yellow, and other member states in grey.

The introduction of printing by the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg contributed to the formation of a new understanding of faith and reason. At this time, the German monk Martin Luther ushered the Reformation, which was to have a major impact on German history.[28] In response to the advance of Protestantism, Catholics began the Counter-Reformation.[30] The resulting religious schism among he Germans was a leading cause of the Thirty Years' War, which led to the death of millions of Germans. The war ended with the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which resulted in the central authority of the Holy Roman Empire being significantly reduced.[31] Among the most powerful German state to emerge in the aftermath of the Peace of Westphalia was Prussia, which was under the rule of the House of Hohenzollern.[30] In the 18th century, German culture was much influenced by the Enlightenment.[31]

Languages of Central Europe around 1937.

After centuries of political fragmentation, a sense of German unity began to emerge in the 18th century.[2] The Holy Roman Empire continued to exist until being dissolved by Napoleon in 1806. The Napoleonic conquest of Central Europe ushered great social, political and economic changes, and catalyzed a national awakening among the Germans. Already in the late 18th century, German intellectuals such as Johann Gottfried Herder articulated the concept of a German identity rooted in language, and this notion helped spark the German nationalist movement, which sought to unify the Germans into a single nation state.[26] Eventually, shared descent and culture came to be a defining characteristic of the Germans.[24] The Napoleonic Wars ended with the Congress of Vienna (1815), during which the German states were loosely united in the German Confederation. The confederation came to be dominated by the Catholic Austrian Empire, to the dismay of many German nationalists, who saw the German Confederation as an inadequate answer to the German Question.[30]

Victims of the Holocaust in a mass grave at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Throughout the 19th century, the German state of Prussia continued to grow in power.[32] German revolutionaries of the revolutions of 1848 were able to create a temporary Frankfurt Parliament, but failed in their aims to immediately unify the German homeland. The Prussians proposed an Erfurt Union of the German states, but this effort was torpedoed by the Austrians through the Punctation of Olmütz (1850), resulting in the recreation of the German Confederation. As a response, the Prussians sought to use the Zollverein customs union to increase its power among the German states.[30] Under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, Prussia and allied German states defeated Denmark in the Second Schleswig War and the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War, subsequently establishing the North German Confederation. In a subsequent Franco-Prussian War, the Prussians and their German allies defeated France, and proclaimed the German Empire in 1871.[26]

In the years following unification, German society was radically changed by numerous processes, including industrialization, rationalization, secularization and the rise of capitalism.[32] German power increased considerably and numerous German colonies were established overseas.[33] During this time, the German population expanded considerably, and many emigrated to other countries, contributing to the growth of the German diaspora. Competition for colonies between the French, British and German empires contributed to sparking World War I, in which the German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires formed the Central Powers in opposition to the Allies of World War I. In the aftermath of the war, which was won by the Allies, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary were both dissolved and partially partitioned, resulting in millions of Germans becoming ethnic minorities in other countries.[34] Rulers of numerous German states, including the German emperor Wilhelm II, were overthrown, and the Weimar Republic was proclaimed. The Germans of Austria-Hungary proclaimed the Republic of German-Austria, and sought to be incorporated into the German state, but this was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and Treaty of Saint-Germain.[33]

Germans expelled from Poland in 1948.

What many Germans saw as the "humiliation of Versailles",[35] continuing traditions of authoritarian and antisemitic ideologies,[32] and the Great Depression all contributed to the rise of Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, who established the totalitarian state of Nazi Germany and started World War II in his quest to subjugate Europe. Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, about one million of them at Auschwitz concentration camp. The war resulted in widespread destruction and the deaths of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians, while the German state was partitioned. About 12 million Germans had to flee or were expelled from Eastern Europe.[36] The devastations also did much damage to the identity and reputation of the Germans.[34] As a result of the war, German identity became less nationalistic than what is was in the past.[35]

The German states of West Germany and East Germany became focal points of the Cold War, but were reunified in 1990. Although there were fears that the reunified Germany might resume nationalist politics, the country is today widely regarded as a "stablizing actor in the heart of Europe" and a "promoter of democratic integration".[35]