SZ Photo Specials
75 years of the Federal Republic of Germany
Beginning with the post-war period, we have compiled important developments and events from 75 years of the Federal Republic of Germany in the form of thematic picture dossiers.
German football years
Germany has won the World Cup four times so far and has hosted it twice. This year, the European Championship is also taking place in Germany and we are commemorating the great events in German football history with this special.
The German Empire
In 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in the center of Europe, the first German nation state in history. A modern industrialized state emerges, which Kaiser Wilhelm II wants to lead to world power at all costs.
World War I
70 million under arms, 17 million dead - and it all began with two shots in Sarajevo. The First World War, the "primeval disaster of the 20th century", was a conflict of unprecedented proportions.
The Weimar Republic
"Democracy without democrats" - a widespread view on the Weimar Republic. Founded after war and revolution under difficult conditions, it experienced a cultural boom in the 1920s until it was destroyed by the onslaught of its many enemies.
Adolf Hitler's appointment as Reich Chancellor sealed the end of democracy in Germany. The National Socialists proclaimed a thousand-year Reich that was already over again after 12 years, but whose crimes still occupy us today.
Right-wing putschists, international brigades, the "Legion Condor" - the Spanish Civil War was the scene of a European test of strength in which the ideological lines of conflict of the 20th century clearly emerged.
The fall of Berlin and the dropping of the atomic bombs ended millions of deaths in Europe and Asia. The Second World War was over, leaving scattered troops, homeless people and victorious armies occupying destroyed lands.
The "68ers": civil rights movements and criticism of capitalism, social emancipation and counterculture, protests against the Vietnam War, coming to terms with the National Socialist past. The socio-political protest and the new attitude to life of an entire generation broke new ground worldwide.
The hosting of the 1972 Olympic Games changed Munich forever: the Olympics brought a surge of modernity to the city, and the world saw a cosmopolitan, international metropolis and cheerful games. But the Olympic assassination turned the dream into a trauma that Munich has still not fully come to terms with.
The Berlin Wall, the symbol of German division, stood for 28 years. In this special we show impressions of the construction of the Wall and life with the border, from the Peaceful Revolution to the reunification of West and East Germany.
In terms of German history, the 9th of November is "Schicksalstag". In the Czech Republic, on the other hand, every "eighth" year brings with it an entire conglomeration of anniversaries: independence and the founding of the state, the Munich Agreement, the communist seizure of power and the suppression of the "Prague Spring".