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West Germany
built 289 days ago
The figure who dominated West Germany's politics in its first two decades was Konrad Adenauer, a politician totally committed to restoring his country to an honored place among nations. He saw little likelihood that the Soviet occupation of East Germany would soon end; hence, he sought to build a strong West Germany firmly attached to the Western community of parliamentary democracies. As president of the Parliamentary Council, Adenauer had played a leading role in the process of finalizing and passing the Basic Law in 1949.
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West Germany was the informal English name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1990 , during which years the Federal Republic did not include the German Democratic Republic (informally known in English as East Germany ). Since the German Democratic Republic disbanded itself, with its constituent Länder acceding to the Federal Republic on October 3 , 1990 , the Federal Republic has been known simply as Germany .
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The governments of the ten states of West Germany had broad powers, including rights to levy taxes, formulate educational and cultural policies, and maintain police. Each state had a popularly elected assembly, which chose a minister-president or (in Hamburg and Bremen) a first mayor to serve as chief executive. The states were subdivided into counties, municipalities, and communes.
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West Germany had an area of 248,577 sq km (95,976 sq mi). It was established officially as the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; German, Bundesrepublik Deutschland) on May 23, 1949, as one of two successor states—East Germany (officially the German Democratic Republic, or GDR) being the other—to the nation of Germany after its defeat in World War II. West Germany ceased to exist in 1990 when it merged with East Germany into a single nation known as Germany (officially the Federal Republic of Germany).
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West Germany's prosperity helped the republic gain the support of its citizens. Also, Adenauer was a strong leader, though he was criticized in his later years for ignoring the views of others. Adenauer retired in 1963. Ludwig Erhard succeeded Adenauer as chancellor and served until 1966. Kurt Georg Kiesinger was chancellor from 1966 to 1969. Adenauer, Erhard, and Kiesinger were members of a political party called the Christian Democratic Union.
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As partial reparation for war crimes and out of gratitude for post-war aid from the United States, West Germany assumed aid obligations to Israel and developing nations. Although not a member of the United Nations (UN) until 1973, the republic joined many UN agencies and made large contributions to UN projects. In 1963, in a move to reverse long-standing hostility between the French and Germans, Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle agreed to hold regular conferences. West Germany ... improved relations with Eastern European countries. With reunification as his goal, Adenauer encouraged trade with East Germany but steadfastly refused to recognize it as a sovereign state.
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West Germany