As Europe's largest economy and most populous
nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's
economic, political, and defense organizations. European
power struggles immersed the country in two devastating
World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and
left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers
of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945.
With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were
formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany
(FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR).
The democratic FRG embedded itself in
key Western economic and security organizations, the
EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the communist
GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.
The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War
allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany
has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity
and wages up to western standards. In January 2002,
Germany and 11 other EU countries introduced a common
European currency, the euro.
Info about studying German language:
- Learn German in Austria: Young and dynamic agency born with the aim of connecting schools and students from all over the world. Find here more information about German language schools and German language courses in Austria.
Info about studying in German countries:
- Guide to Study in Austria: Find universities and colleges in Austria. If offers also pratical information for students that are planning to study in Austria.
