German nationality lawGerman nationality law details the conditions by which an individual is a national of Germany. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 1 January 1914. Germany is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all German nationals are EU citizens. They have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country and may vote in elections to the European Parliament.
ReichsautobahnThe Reichsautobahn system was the beginning of the German autobahns under Nazi Germany. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highways in Germany under the Weimar Republic, and two had been constructed, but work had yet to start on long-distance highways. After previously opposing plans for a highway network, the Nazis embraced them after coming to power and presented the project as Hitler's own idea. They were termed "Adolf Hitler's roads" ("Straßen Adolf Hitlers") and presented as a major contribution to the reduction of unemployment.
Potsdam AgreementThe Potsdam Agreement (Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe on 1 August 1945 and it was published the next day. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned the military occupation and reconstruction of Germany, its border, and the entire European Theatre of War territory. It also addressed Germany's demilitarisation, reparations, the prosecution of war criminals and the mass expulsion of ethnic Germans from various parts of Europe.
NeumarkThe Neumark (), also known as the New March (Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945. Called the Lubusz Land while part of medieval Poland, the territory later known as the Neumark gradually became part of the German Margraviate of Brandenburg from the mid-13th century.
German questionThe "German question" was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve a unification of all or most lands inhabited by Germans. From 1815 to 1866, about 37 independent German-speaking states existed within the German Confederation. The Großdeutsche Lösung ("Greater German solution") favored unifying all German-speaking peoples under one state, and was promoted by the Austrian Empire and its supporters.
RevanchismRevanchism (revanchisme, from revanche, "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. As a term, revanchism originated in 1870s France in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War among nationalists who wanted to avenge the French defeat and reclaim the lost territories of Alsace-Lorraine. Revanchism draws its strength from patriotic and retributionist thought and is often motivated by economic or geopolitical factors.
Polish diasporaThe Polish diaspora comprises Poles and people of Polish heritage or origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish as Polonia, the name for Poland in Latin and many Romance languages. There are roughly 20,000,000 people of Polish ancestry living outside Poland, making the Polish diaspora one of the largest in the world and one of the most widely dispersed. Reasons for displacement include border shifts, forced expulsions, resettlement by voluntary and forced exile, and political or economic emigration.
KwidzynKwidzyn ( ˈkfjid͡zɨn; Marienwerder; Latin: Quedin; Old Prussian: Kwēdina) is a town in northern Poland on the Liwa River. With a population of 37,975, it is the capital of Kwidzyn County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Kwidzyn is located on the Liwa River, some east of the Vistula river, approximately south of Gdańsk and southwest of Kaliningrad. It is part of the region of Powiśle. The Pomesanian settlement called Kwedis existed in the 11th century.
Helmut KohlHelmut Josef Michael Kohl (ˈhɛlmuːt ˈkoːl; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longest of any German chancellor since Otto von Bismarck, and oversaw the end of the Cold War, the German reunification and the creation of the European Union (EU). Furthermore, Kohl's 16 years and 30-day tenure is the longest for any democratically elected chancellor of Germany.
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.
