History

The contrasts between German history and American history make for an interesting parallel. Neither country is over 300 years old, and both combine the ideals and culture of different groups of people that inhabited the countries prior to their formation. While the U.S. were formed on a combination of ties to the British Empire, influences from France and Spain, and a large amount of European immigrants that migrated over throughout the country's formative years, Germany saw a similar combination of influences from the Roman Empire, and ancient Germanic tribes such as the Franks and Saxons. Both countries also struggled with identity crises throughout their history. The United States wanted to prove itself in a highly imperialistic world during the 1800s, and at the same time wanted to shed its ties with Great Britain. Germany's struggle, however, was more internal, as the nation juggled attempting to meld the ideals and prides of several distinct nations into a working singular unit, all while trying to keep from being swallowed up in a heavily nationalistic Renaissance Europe. The United States wanted to establish an identity globally, while the Germans wanted to simply establish a national identity. The Americans wanted others to know what being American meant. The Germans wanted their own people to understand what being German meant. This was a difficult question to answer, as the area had undergone several ruling changes, particularly from the 1300s to the early 1900s. The Holy Roman Empire, German Confederation, Weimar Republic, and Nazi Regime all held power for a period over this span, and for much of this 600-year period, Germany was operated as a collage of principalities and small states that were governed independently of each other. So, when the country was unified as one entity, they of course struggled to mesh into a working national identity, much as the American colonies did during the American Revolution. It's fairly amazing to see how far this country, which is now known as one of the top economic powers in the world as well as a reputation as a savvy nation that excels in making two things Americans like (Beer and cars), has come from the days of the different states in the confederation fighting among themselves. This also makes this topic an interesting one to study, as the answers as to how this transition occurred in German history are complicated and sometimes unclear. This struggle for identity is a major problem throughout most of German history, and makes this a highly riveting area of study.

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