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Germany, more than one millennium a loose association of many territorial states that together made up the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation". It was a long and laborious way until the founding of the German Reich in 1871 and until the present Federal Republic of Germany. The history Germanies was taken in extracts from the web site "www.tatsachen-ueber-Deutschland.de" (Facts about Germany)(see below*), and some comments were added which may interesting for genealogists:
For most of its history, Germany was not a unified state but a loose association of territorial states that together made up the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”. It was a long time until the founding of the German Reich in 1871.
The term "deutsch" first surfaced in the 8th century. It referred to the language spoken in the eastern part of the Franconian realm, and meant "as the people speak" – as opposed to Latin, the language of scholars. After Charlemagne’s death in 814 the Franconian realm disintegrated, primarily along the linguistic divide between early Medieval French and Old High German. A feeling of belonging together emerged only gradually among the inhabitants of the eastern areas. “Germany” ought to be where “German” was spoken.
As of the 11th century, the German empire itself was called “Roman Empire”, as of the 13th century “Holy Roman Empire” and in the 15th century the words “of the German Nation” were added. In this empire, the high nobility elected the King. The Medieval empire had no capital city; the monarchy constantly moved from one city to the next. There were no imperial taxes; the king drew his sustenance from “imperial estates” which he administered in trust. The King was perceived as a ruler bound by the laws of the people as handed down across time and subject to the approval of the great nobles of the realm, and yet he held the power to pass laws, decide on taxation, as well as over the courts and the army, added to which he was head of the Church. He was also the uppermost authority as regards the protection of peace.
Because the Kings always had to make their way to Rome to be crowned Emperor, they also paid careful attention to ensuring they wielded some form of power in Italy as well. It was Henry IV who no longer allowed the clear supremacy of the Kaiser over the Papacy. A quarrel over the investiture of bishops ended with him doing penance to Pope Gregory VII in 1077 in Canossa, from which time onward the Pope and the Kaiser were equal-ranking powers. Despite an external show of power in the ensuing Staufen dynasty, territorial fragmentation ensued, and the ecclesiastical and temporal princes became semi-sovereign territorial rulers. Whereas nation states were emerging in other western European countries, the forces in Germany tended to be disintegrative.
The “Golden Bull” issued by Charles IV in 1356 was a form of Imperial constitution. It decreed that seven prominent princes, the Electors, were, amongst other thingsy awarded the exclusive right to elect the German king. Whereas the importance of the smaller counts, nobles and knights gradually declined, the economic power of the towns increased, even more so when they joined forces to form leagues. However, the Reich continued to hold together and within it the towns emerged as centers of economic power.
Remark: In the waning Middle Ages the given names (first names) alone were no more sufficient to identify a person unmistakably, in particular because of the increasing population in the towns. For this reason family names (surnames) were established. In general they were in use since the 13th til 14th century, in some regions also much later, additional names "Hausnamen" (name of a house) were partially used in other regions.
A critical spirit, marked by the Renaissance and Humanism was also being kindled, and above all attacked church abuses. Following the emergence of Martin Luther, this dissatisfaction broke out with the Reformation, which began with the publication of Luther’s 95 theses against abuses by the old Catholic church on October 31, 1517. It aimed to return the Christian religion to the truths of church doctrine as revealed in the Gospels. The consequences went far beyond the religious sphere. The social fabric started to come apart. Even the Knights of the Reich dared to rise up and attempts at political and social change led to the Peasants’ Revolt in 1525, the first major revolutionary movement in Germany, which was crushed in a bloody manner.
Politically, the Reformation enabled the territorial princes to increase their powers. After the changing fortunes of war, the 1555 Peace of Augsburg bestowed them with the right to dictate their subjects’ religion (“cuius regio eius religio”). Henceforth Protestants enjoyed the same rights as Catholics, and Germany became four-fifths Protestant.
Remark: The protestant parish register in Germany predominantly were established due to church rules of the sovereign in the middle of 16th century. The catholic predominantly are based on the council of trient (between 1545 and 1563) with the introduction of parish register to record baptism and marriages in each parish. With the "Rituale Romanum" for the catholic confession the documuntation in form of parish register death register included were obligatory.
Yet the struggle between the faiths continued, and during the Counter-Reformation the Catholic Church was able to recapture many areas. The differences between the faiths sharpened, leading to the formation of religious parties (the Protestant Union and the Catholic League), culminating in the Thirty Years’ War. Between 1618 and 1648, this European conflict left a trail of blood behind it in many areas of Germany, which were left devastated and depopulated.
Remark: During the Thirty Years’ War many parish registers were destroyed in the southwest region of Germany, therefore many parish register start around the end of the Thirty Years’ War.
Prussia and Austria were in the same boat when they intervened by force in the revolutionary events in neighboring France in an attempt to save the crumbling feudal social order there. However, the vision of freedom and equality, of human rights and the division of powers began to run its own course. Instead of merely resisting the attempts at interference from the East, the French revolutionary armies went on the counter-attack. The Reich finally collapsed, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation formally ceased to exist in 1806.
The joint resistance to the push into German territory by the French and the victory over Napoleon served to nourish the longing of many Germans for their own national state. Yet the 1815 Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe, only produced the German Confederation, a loose association of individual sovereign states, with its sole organ the Federal Diet (Gesandtenkongress in Frankfurt, Bundestag) in Frankfurt, which was not an elected but a delegated diet.
Remark: Since 1808 family register were recorded.
As Federal Chancellor, Bismarck worked towards achieving “smaller German” unity and, following a diplomatic conflict over succession to the Spanish throne, broke France’s resistance in the 1870-71 war. Patriotic enthusiasm for this use of arms was also strengthened in the southern German states, which then allied with the North German Confederation to form the German Reich. On January 18, 1871, King William I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor in a coronation ceremony in Versailles.
Remark: In Germany introduction of civil registry offices about 1871, about 1875 the change from parish records to civil registry records was achieved for obligatory registration.
The two World Wars resulted in a country completely political and territorial mofified.
The separation of Germany was brought to an end with the peaceful revolution within the GDR. With the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, the sovereign unity of Germany had been re-established.
The Federal Republic of Germany is located in the heart of Europe and covers an area of 357,022 square kilometres. The longest distance from north to south as the crow flies is 876 kilometers, and from west to east, 640 kilometers. There are some 82.6 million people living in Germany; the country boasts a great cultural diversity and special region-specific qualities.
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