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Germany is a country in the middle of EuropE and it takes part in the EuroCurrency.

Germany fought in World War I from 1914-1918 and World War II from 1936-1945. After that war it was split into two parts, the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland, aka West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, aka East Germany). West Germany was at first occupied and later allied with the United States of America, England, and France. It was a fairly free country with a combination socialist/market economy. East Germany was at first occupied and later allied with and controlled by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russia). It was a fairly unfree country (for example, its citizens were generally unable to leave) with a USSR-style communist economy. It was probably the richest, most advanced country in the Soviet bloc.

In 1989 East Germany opened its borders again and in 1990 the two Germanys were reunified, which in actuality meant that East Germany was annexed by West Germany, as the new country kept the name Bundesrepublik Deutschland, used the West German "Deutsche Mark" for currency, and the capital remained at Bonn. (Later it was moved back to Berlin, where it had been before World War II.) Citizens from each side were not necessarily unanimously behind this move that was orchestrated by Helmut Kohl, then the prime minister of the BRD. This was illustrated by a clever spray-paint slogan I saw on a wall in Jena (a university town in East Germany) ca. 1992: "Lasst euch nicht BRD-igen!" = Don't let yourselves be West Germanized. But also "Don't let yourselves be buried!" by a play on homonyms. Overall, most were very excited until the reality of extra taxes, unemployment in the East, etc. set in in the mid 1990s.

Today Germany is doing fairly well economically, being one of the stronger countries in Europe and the world. It's among the top 5 countries in Internet access worldwide. Many Germans speak English and/or French, in addition to German and their local dialect of German (of which there are many).