Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler (ˈaːdɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ; 20 April 1889 - 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust, the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.
SaarlouisSaarlouis (ˌzaːɐ̯luˈiː; Sarrelouis, saʁlwi; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on the river Saar. It was built as a fortress in 1680 and was named after Louis XIV of France. With the Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen in 1678/79, Lorraine fell to France. In 1680, Louis XIV of France gave orders to build a fortification (to defend the new French eastern frontier) on the banks of the river Saar which was called Sarre-Louis.
BizoneThe Bizone (ˈbiːˌt͡soːnə) or Bizonia was the combination of the American and the British occupation zones on 1 January 1947 during the occupation of Germany after World War II. With the addition of the French occupation zone on 1 August 1948 the entity became the Trizone (ˈtʁiːˌt͡soːnə; sometimes jokingly called Trizonesia (Trizonesien, tʁit͡soˈneːzi̯ən)). Later, on 23 May 1949, the Trizone became the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as West Germany.
SaarlandSaarland (ˈzaːɐ̯lant, ˈzaːlɑnt; Sarre saʁ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in population apart from Bremen. Saarbrücken is the state capital and largest city; other cities include Neunkirchen and Saarlouis.
SaarbrückenSaarbrücken (zaːɐ̯ˈbʁʏkn̩; Sarrebruck saʁbʁyk; Rhine Franconian: Saarbrigge zaːˈbʁɪɡə; Saarbrécken zaːˈbʀekən; Saravipons) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is Saarland's administrative, commercial and cultural centre and is next to the French border. The modern city of Saarbrücken was created in 1909 by the merger of three towns, Saarbrücken, St. Johann, and Malstatt-Burbach. It was the industrial and transport centre of the Saar coal basin.
Saar (river)The Saar (zaːɐ̯; Sarre saʁ) is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier. It has two headstreams (the Sarre Rouge and Sarre Blanche, which join in Lorquin), that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak of the northern Vosges. After (129 kilometres; 80 miles in France and on the French-German border, and 117 kilometres; 73 miles in Germany) the Saar flows into the Moselle at Konz (Rhineland-Palatinate) between Trier and the Luxembourg border.
Deutsche MarkThe Deutsche Mark (ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈmaʁk; English: German mark), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (ˈdeːˌmaʁk), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was typically called the "Deutschmark" (ˈdɔɪtʃmɑrk). One Deutsche Mark was divided into 100 pfennigs. It was first issued under Allied occupation in 1948 to replace the Reichsmark and served as the Federal Republic of Germany's official currency from its founding the following year.
ReichsmarkThe Reichsmark (ˈʁaɪçsˌmaʁk; sign: R︁M︁; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in Trizone, where it was replaced by the Deutsche Mark, and until 23 June 1948 in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany , where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennigs (Rpf or R︁₰). The Mark is an ancient Germanic weight measure, traditionally a half pound, later used for several coins; Reich (realm in English) comes from the official name for the German state from 1871 to 1945, Deutsches Reich.
German reunificationGerman reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single full sovereign state, which took place between 9 November 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the "Unification Treaty" entered into force dissolving the German Democratic Republic (GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR, or East Germany) and integrating its recently re-established constituent federated states into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD, or West Germany) to form present-day Germany, has been chosen as the customary German Unity Day (Tag der deutschen Einheit) and has thereafter been celebrated each year as a national holiday in Germany since 1991.
European Coal and Steel CommunityThe European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The organization's subsequent enlargement of both members and duties ultimately led to the creation of the European Union.