West Germany

West Germany (German: West Deutschland) is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD; listen), retrospectively designated the Bonn Republic. It was a country in Central Europe. It was created on May 23, 1949. It ended on October 3, 1990 due to German Reunification. During the Cold War, West Germany was part of the Western bloc. It was created from the eleven states in Allied-occupied Germany after World War II. The capital city was Bonn.

Federal Republic of Germany Bundesrepublik Deutschland
1949–1990
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" "Unity and Justice and Freedom"
Anthem:  "Das Lied der Deutschen" (1952–1990) (English: "Song of the Germans") "Ich hab' mich ergeben" and "Hymne an Deutschland" (1949–1952)
Territory of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from the accession of the Saar on 1 January 1957 to German reunification on 3 October 1990
Capital	Bonnf
Largest city	Hamburg
Common languages	German
Demonym(s)	West German
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
President
• 1949–1959	Theodor Heuss
• 1959–1969	Heinrich Lübke
• 1969–1974	Gustav Heinemann
• 1974–1979	Walter Scheel
• 1979–1984	Karl Carstens
• 1984–1990	Richard von Weizsäckerb
Chancellor
• 1949–1963	Konrad Adenauer
• 1963–1966	Ludwig Erhard
• 1966–1969	Kurt Georg Kiesinger
• 1969–1974	Willy Brandt
• 1974–1982	Helmut Schmidt
• 1982–1990	Helmut Kohlc
Legislature	Bundestag
Historical era	Cold War
• Formation	23 May 1949
• Accession of Saar Protectorate	1 January 1957
• Admitted to the United Nations	18 September 1973
• Reunification	3 October 1990
Area
1990	248,577 km2 (95,976 sq mi)
Population
• 1950	50,958,000d
• 1970	61,001,000
• 1990	63,254,000
Currency	Deutsche Marke (DM) (DEM)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Calling code	49
Internet TLD	.de
Preceded by Succeeded by Allied-occupied Germany Saar Protectorate Federal Republic of Germany (reunified Germany)
Today part of	Germany
From 1952 to 1991, the official national anthem of Germany was Deutschlandlied in its entirety, but only the third stanza was to be sung at official events. Continued as President of the reunified Germany until 1994. Continued as Chancellor of the reunified Germany until 1998. Population statistics according to Statistisches Bundesamt. In Saarland, between January 1957 and July 1959, the French franc and Saar franc. At first, Bonn was referred to only as the provisional seat of government institutions, but from the early 1970s it was called the "federal capital" (Bundeshauptstadt).

West Germany was very important in the Cold War. The last capital city of Germany Berlin was also split into West Berlin and East Berlin.

History

After World War II, Germany was split into four zones. These zones were controlled by the - British, French, Americans, and Soviets. From 1946 to 1949, the British, French, and American zones combined (came together) to create West Germany. The Soviet zone became East Germany. The two zones would not come together again until 1990.

Konrad Adenauer was called in as chancellor from 1947 until 1962. He was not meant to be the chancellor for a long time, but he stayed longer than expected. As chancellor, he helped West Germany recover (get better) from World War II and improved the economy.

After Adenauer left, he was followed by Ludwig Erhard, who was also followed by Kurt Georg Kiesinger. In 1968 the West German student movement protests began.

In 1969 Willy Brandt became chancellor. Under him, West Germany was nicer to the Eastern countries, and he managed to sign agreements with East Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, who had been more hostile to West Germany. Brandt had to resign in May 1974 when it was found out that one of his staff members was a spy.

Helmut Schmidt served as chancellor until 1982. He helped launch the European Monetary System (EMS). Schmidt was followed by Helmut Kohl, who was chancellor when the Berlin Wall collapsed and Germany reunified in 1990.

Other websites

Media related to West Germany at Wikimedia Commons