GERMANY

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 357,021 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Germany is home to roughly 82 million people.

MISSIONARIES:

Richards, Bill & Brenda

HISTORY:

Germany was originally settled by various tribes and later by Roman legions. In 800AD, the separate tribes were united under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, which had a very close connection to Roman Catholicism.

In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his "theses," denouncing the traffic in indulgences, to the church door in Wittenberg, sparking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Conflict between Catholic and Protestant gave rise to the Thirty Years War which left the country broken and economically destroyed. It wasn't until it's absolution into the Napoleonic French Empire, that the country would be united again.

Following Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna instituted a German Confederation of thirty-five autonomous states and free towns. In 1871, these small states were formed into a great empire which crashed with Germany's defeat in World War I. Hitler controlled Germany starting in 1933, during the time of the Third Reich, which eventually led to World War II.

After its defeat in 1945, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation: American, English, French, and Russian. Later all but Russia would agree to come together leaving West Germany and East Germany. The Berlin wall was erected in 1961 to prevent traffic from the communist East Germany into prospering West Germany.

Following the Cold War, in 1989, the Berlin wall was finally torn down. In 1990, Germany was reunified and the occupying powers surrendered control of their territories, which allowed Germany to regain its sovereignty.

Recently, Germany has taken a leading role in the European Union and NATO, and has once again begun to prosper economically.

RELIGION:

Protestantism is concentrated in the north and east and Roman Catholicism is concentrated in the south and west. Both comprise about 31% of the population each. Atheists and agnostics amount to 29.6% of the population, and are especially numerous in the former East Germany and major metropolitan areas. Islam is also growing in Germany with approximately 4% of the population adhering to its beliefs.