The concept of "Germany" originated with the Romans, who called the area north of the Danube and east of Rhine Germania. This was a geographic expression, as the area included both Germanic tribes and Celts. The victory of the Germanic tribes at Teutoberger Wald (AD 9) prevented annexation by the Roman Empire.

Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks subdued the West Germanic tribes. When the Frankish Empire was divided among Charlemagne's heirs in 843, the eastern part (now Western Germany) became East Francia, ruled by Louis the German. Henry the Fowler became the first king of Germany in 919.

In 962, Henry's son Otto I became the first emperor of what historians refer to as the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval German state. In the High Middle Ages, the dukes and princes of the empire gained power at the expense of the emperors. The northern states became Protestant in the early 16th century, while the southern states remained Catholic.

In 1618-48, Protestants and Catholics clashed in the Thirty Years' War, leaving vast areas depopulated. The peace of Westphalia, which ended the war, is considered the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire and the beginning of the modern nation-state system. Although the Hapsburg imperial house continued to use the title "emperor", from this point on its authority was limited to Austria.

After the Napoleonic Wars, Germany was reorganized and the number of states reduced to thirty nine. These states were loosely allied in an Austrian-led German Confederation, formed in 1815. The eastern German state of Prussia gained considerable territory at this time.

Nationalist sentiment led to the unsuccessful 1848 March Revolution. A German Empire was created in 1871 under the leadership of Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. For the first time, "Germany" was defined in a way that excluded Austria, much to the dismay of Pan-Germans.

The empire's Reichstag, or elected parliament, had only a limited role in the government. The empire underwent industrial revolution and promoted nationalistic ideas. After the First World War, Germany faced territorial losses and war reparations.

The kaiser abdicated and democracy was introduced under the Weimar Republic. In 1933, the Nazis took over Germany and made Adolf Hitler chancellor. The Nazis imposed drastic changes on German society and administration, initiated the Holocaust, and followed an expansionist foreign policy that led to World War II.

After Nazi Germany's defeat, the country was divided into democratic West Germany and communist East Germany. In 1990, East Germany was reunited with West Germany.

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