PrussiaPrussia (ˈprʌʃə; Preußen, ˈpʁɔʏsn̩, Old Prussian: Prūsa or Prūsija) was a German state located on most of the North European Plain, also occupying southern and eastern regions. It formed the German Empire when it united the German states in 1871. It was de facto dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and de jure by an Allied decree in 1947. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army.
German ConfederationThe German Confederation (Deutscher Bund, ˌdɔɪ̯t͡ʃɐ ˈbʊnt) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved in 1806. The Confederation had only one organ, the Federal Convention (also Federal Assembly or Confederate Diet). The Convention consisted of the representatives of the member states. The most important issues had to be decided on unanimously.
Protestant Church in GermanyThe Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD), formerly known in English as the Evangelical Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in Germany, collectively encompassing the country's vast majority of Protestants. In 2020, the EKD had a membership of 20,236,000 members, or 24.3% of the German population. It constitutes one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world.
History of BerlinThe history of Berlin starts with its foundation in the 14th century. It became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1417, and later of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia grew about rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries and formed the basis of the German Empire in 1871. The empire would survive until 1918 when it was defeated in World War I. After 1900 Berlin became a major world city, known for its leadership roles in science, the humanities, music, museums, higher education, government, diplomacy and military affairs.
Frankfurt ParliamentThe Frankfurt Parliament (Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally Frankfurt National Assembly) was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The session was held from 18 May 1848 to 30 May 1849 in the Paulskirche at Frankfurt am Main. Its existence was both part of and the result of the "March Revolution" within the states of the German Confederation.
WestphaliaWestphalia (wɛstˈfeɪliə; Westfalen vɛstˈfaːlən; Westfalen vεs(t)ˈfɔːln) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the historic Province of Westphalia, which was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1918 and the Free State of Prussia from 1918 to 1946. In 1946, Westphalia merged with North Rhine, another former part of Prussia, to form the newly created state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Prussia (region)Prussia (Old Prussian: Prūsa; Preußen; Prūsija; Prusy; Пруссия, Pruthenia/Prussia/Borussia) is a historical region in Europe on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, that ranges from the Vistula delta in the west to the end of the Curonian Spit in the east and extends inland as far as Masuria. This region is often also referred to as Old Prussia. Tacitus's Germania (98 AD) is the oldest known record of an eyewitness account on the territory and its inhabitants.
Flag of GermanyThe national flag of Germany is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: black, red, and gold (Schwarz-Rot-Gold). The flag was first sighted in 1848 in the German Confederation. It was officially adopted as the national flag of the German Reich (during the period of the Weimar Republic) from 1919 to 1933, and has been in use since its reintroduction in Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. Since the mid-19th century, Germany has two competing traditions of national colours, black-red-gold and black-white-red.
History of the Jews in GermanyThe history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (circa 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish community. The community survived under Charlemagne, but suffered during the Crusades. Accusations of well poisoning during the Black Death (1346–53) led to mass slaughter of German Jews and they fled in large numbers to Poland.
AnschlussThe Anschluss (ˈʔanʃlʊs, or Anschluß, joining), also known as the Anschluß Österreichs (, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 12 March 1938. The idea of an Anschluss (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Greater Germany") began after the unification of Germany excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire in 1871.
