Editing Germans (section)

===Modern history===
{{See Also|Early Modern history of Germany|History of Germany (1990–present)}}
[[File:Map-GermanConfederation.svg|thumb|Boundaries of the [[German Confederation]] in red, [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in blue, [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] in yellow, and other member states in grey. Large parts of [[Austria]] and some parts of [[Prussia]] did not belong to the German Confederation.]]
[[File:Mass Grave at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - Fritz Klein - IWM BU4260.jpg|thumb|Victims of [[the Holocaust]] in a mass grave at [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]]]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2003-0703-500, Rückführung deutscher Kinder aus Polen.jpg|thumb|Germans [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II|expelled]] from [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]] in 1948]]
The Habsburg dynasty managed to maintain their grip upon the imperial throne in the [[early modern period]]. While the empire itself continued to be largely de-centralized, the Habsburgs' personal power increased outside of the core German lands. [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] personally inherited control of the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, the wealthy low countries (roughly modern Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), the Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Sicily, Naples, and Sardinia, and the Dukedom of Milan. Of these, the Bohemian and Hungarian titles remained connected to the imperial throne for centuries, making Austria a powerful multilingual empire in its own right. On the other hand, the [[low countries]] went to the Spanish crown and continued to evolve separately from Germany.

The introduction of printing by the German inventor [[Johannes Gutenberg]] contributed to the formation of a new understanding of faith and reason. At this time, the German monk [[Martin Luther]] pushed for reforms within the Catholic Church. Luther's efforts culminated in the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]].{{sfn|Moser|2011|p=173}}

Religious schism was a leading cause of the [[Thirty Years' War]], a conflict that tore apart the Holy Roman Empire and its neighbours, leading to the death of millions of Germans. The terms of the [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) ending the war, included a major reduction in the central authority of the Holy Roman Emperor.{{sfn|Moser|2011|pp=173–174}} Among the most powerful German states to emerge in the aftermath was Protestant [[Prussia]], under the rule of the [[House of Hohenzollern]].{{sfn|Minahan|2000|pp=290–291}} Charles V and his Habsburg dynasty defended Roman Catholicism.

In the 18th century, German culture was significantly influenced by the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]].{{sfn|Moser|2011|pp=173–174}}

After centuries of political fragmentation, a sense of German unity began to emerge in the 18th century.{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=313}} The Holy Roman Empire continued to decline until being [[Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire|dissolved]] altogether by [[Napoleon]] in 1806. In central Europe, the Napoleonic wars ushered in great social, political and economic changes, and catalyzed a [[national revival|national awakening]] among the Germans. By the late 18th century, German intellectuals such as [[Johann Gottfried Herder]] articulated the concept of a German identity rooted in language, and this notion helped spark the [[German nationalism|German nationalist]] movement, which sought to unify the Germans into a single [[nation state]].{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=314}} Eventually, shared ancestry, culture and language (though not religion) came to define German nationalism.{{sfn|Moser|2011|p=172}} The [[Napoleonic Wars]] ended with the [[Congress of Vienna]] (1815), and left most of the German states loosely united under the [[German Confederation]]. The confederation came to be dominated by the Catholic [[Austrian Empire]], to the dismay of many German nationalists, who saw the German Confederation as an inadequate answer to the [[German Question]].{{sfn|Minahan|2000|pp=290–291}}

Throughout the 19th century, Prussia continued to grow in power.{{sfn|Moser|2011|p=174}} [[Revolutions of 1848|In 1848]], German revolutionaries set up the temporary [[Frankfurt Parliament]], but failed in their aim of forming a united German homeland. The Prussians proposed an [[Erfurt Union]] of the German states, but this effort was torpedoed by the Austrians through the [[Punctation of Olmütz]] (1850), recreating the German Confederation. In response, Prussia sought to use the [[Zollverein]] customs union to increase its power among the German states.{{sfn|Minahan|2000|pp=290–291}} Under the leadership of [[Otto von Bismarck]], Prussia expanded its sphere of influence and together with its German allies defeated [[Denmark]] in the [[Second Schleswig War]] and soon after [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] in the [[Austro-Prussian War]], subsequently establishing the [[North German Confederation]]. In 1871, the Prussian coalition decisively defeated the [[Second French Empire]] in the [[Franco-Prussian War]], annexing the German speaking region of [[Alsace-Lorraine]]. After taking Paris, Prussia and their allies [[Proclamation of the German Empire|proclaimed]] the formation of a united [[German Empire]].{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=314}}

In the years following unification, German society was radically changed by numerous processes, including industrialization, rationalization, secularization and the rise of capitalism.{{sfn|Moser|2011|p=174}} German power increased considerably and numerous overseas colonies were established.{{sfn|Minahan|2000|pp=291–292}} During this time, the German population grew considerably, and many emigrated to other countries (mainly North America), contributing to the growth of the [[German diaspora]]. Competition for colonies between the Great Powers contributed to the outbreak of [[World War I]], in which the German, Austro-Hungarian and [[Ottoman Empire]]s formed the [[Central Powers]], an alliance that was ultimately defeated, with none of the empires comprising it surviving the aftermath of the war. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires were both dissolved and partitioned, resulting in millions of Germans becoming ethnic minorities in other countries.{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|pp=314–315}} The monarchical rulers of the German states, including the German emperor [[Wilhelm II]], were overthrown in the [[November Revolution of 1918|November Revolution]] which led to the establishment of the [[Weimar Republic]]. The Germans of the [[Cisleithania|Austrian]] side of the [[Austria-Hungary|Dual Monarchy]] proclaimed the [[Republic of German-Austria]], and sought to be incorporated into the German state, but this was forbidden by the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)|Treaty of Saint-Germain]].{{sfn|Minahan|2000|pp=291–292}}
[[File:Thefalloftheberlinwall1989.JPG|thumb|People standing on top the [[Berlin Wall]] during [[Fall of the Berlin Wall|its fall]] in 1989 in front of the [[Brandenburg Gate]]]]
What many Germans saw as the "humiliation of Versailles",{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=316}} continuing traditions of authoritarian and [[antisemitic]] ideologies,{{sfn|Moser|2011|p=174}} and the [[Great Depression]] all contributed to the rise of Austrian-born [[Adolf Hitler]] and the Nazis, who after coming to power democratically in the early 1930s, abolished the Weimar Republic and formed the totalitarian [[Nazi Germany|Third Reich]]. In his quest to subjugate Europe, six million [[Jews]] were murdered in [[the Holocaust]]. WWII resulted in widespread destruction and the deaths of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians, while the German state was partitioned. About 12 million Germans [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|had to flee or were expelled]] from Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Troebst|first=Stefan|title=The Discourse on Forced Migration and European Culture of Remembrance|journal=The Hungarian Historical Review|volume=1|number=3/4|year=2012|pages=397–414|jstor=42568610}}</ref> Significant damage was also done to the German reputation and identity,{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|pp=314–315}} which became far less nationalistic than it previously was.{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=316}}

The German states of [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]] became focal points of the [[Cold War]], but were [[German reunification|reunified]] in 1990. Although there were fears that the reunified Germany might resume nationalist politics, the country is today widely regarded as a "stablizing actor in the heart of Europe" and a "promoter of democratic integration".{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=316}}