The
Mauer 1 mandible shows that a local version of Homo Erectus lived here 600.000 years ago, and the fossils of
the Neander Valley led to the discovery of our cousins the Neanderthals.
Germanic tribes violently interacted with the Roman
Empire, as Varus found out, and during the Migration Period Germanic tribes founded France, settled in Spain and sacked Rome
twice.
For 900 years German states formed the political and cultural heart of The Holy Roman Empire which ended in 1806 after
the victory of Napoleon at Austerlitz.
In 1871 Germany became a Prussian dominated nation state under Kaizer Wilhelm I.
From 1870
till 1945 Germany waged war with France three times and was at the center of both world wars, causing mayham and destruction
to much of the world.
The Holocaust is a terrible and lasting stain on Germany's history, but unlike Japan, post-war
Germans have accepted and come to terms with the committed war crimes.
In 1990 East and West were
reunited, and nowadays Germany is the most populous country in the EU and its economic and political powerhouse.
