Editing Erfurt (section)

=== Since 1815 ===
[[File:Kaffeetrichter2.JPG|thumb|left|Streetscape in the southern city extension ({{lang|de|[[Gründerzeit]]}} style).]]
[[File:Kieler Straße Erfurt.JPG|thumb|Housing projects in [[Bauhaus]] style from 1930.]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J0422-0203-002, Erfurt, Hotel "Erfurter Hof".jpg|thumb|Hotel "{{lang|de|Erfurter Hof}}", place of the first meeting of [[East Germany|East]] and [[West Germany|West]] German heads of government in 1970.]]
After the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|1848 Revolution]], many Germans desired to have a united national state. An attempt in this direction was the failed [[Erfurt Union]] of German states in 1850.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Erfurt Union Parliament {{!}} German Confederation, Reforms, Nationalism {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Erfurt-Union-Parliament |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Industrial Revolution]] reached Erfurt in the 1840s, when the [[Thuringian Railway]] connecting [[Berlin]] and [[Frankfurt]] was built. During the following years, many factories in different sectors were founded. One of the biggest was the "Royal Gun Factory of [[Prussia]]" in 1862. After the [[Unification of Germany]] in 1871, Erfurt moved from the southern border of Prussia to the centre of Germany, so the fortifications of the city were no longer needed. The demolition of the city fortifications in 1873 led to a construction boom in Erfurt, because it was now possible to build in the area formerly occupied by the city walls and beyond. Many public and private buildings emerged and the infrastructure (such as a tramway, hospitals, and schools) improved rapidly. The number of inhabitants grew from 40,000 around 1870 to 130,000 in 1914, and the city expanded in all directions.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

The "[[Erfurt Program]]" was adopted by the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] during its congress at Erfurt in 1891.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Internet History Sourcebooks: Modern History |url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1891erfurt.asp |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=sourcebooks.fordham.edu |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202135744/https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1891erfurt.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

Between the wars, the city kept growing. Housing shortages were fought with building programmes and social infrastructure was broadened according to the welfare policy in the [[Weimar Republic]]. The [[Great Depression]] between 1929 and 1932 led to a disaster for Erfurt, nearly one out of three became unemployed. Conflicts between far-left and far-right-oriented milieus increased and many inhabitants supported the new Nazi government and [[Adolf Hitler]]. Others, especially some communist workers, put up resistance against the new administration. In 1938, the new synagogue was destroyed during the {{lang|de|[[Kristallnacht]]}}. Jews lost their property and emigrated or were deported to [[Nazi concentration camps]] (together with many communists). In 1914, the company ''[[Topf and Sons]]'' began the manufacture of crematoria later becoming the market leader in this industry. Under the Nazis, ''JA Topf & Sons'' supplied specially developed crematoria, ovens and associated plants to the [[Auschwitz-Birkenau]], [[Buchenwald]] and [[Mauthausen-Gusen]] concentration camps. On 27 January 2011 a memorial and museum dedicated to the Holocaust victims was opened at the former company premises in Erfurt.<ref>Schüle, Annegret (2017) ''J.A Topf & Söhne: ein Erfurter Familieunternehmen und der Holocaust''. Erfurt: Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Thüringen</ref>

During [[World War II]], Erfurt experienced more than 27 British and American air raids, about 1600 civilians died. Bombed as a target of the [[Oil Campaign of World War II]], Erfurt suffered only limited damage and was captured on 12 April 1945, by the US [[80th Infantry Division (United States)|80th Infantry Division]].<ref>Stanton, Shelby, ''World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946'', Stackpole Books (Revised Edition 2006), p. 150</ref> On 3 July, American troops left the city, which then became part of the [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany|Soviet Zone of Occupation]] and eventually of the German Democratic Republic ([[East Germany]]). In 1948, Erfurt became the capital of [[Thuringia]], replacing [[Weimar]]. In 1952, the {{lang|de|[[States of Germany|Länder]]}} in the GDR were dissolved in favour of centralization under the new socialist government. Erfurt then became the capital of a new "{{lang|de|[[Erfurt (Bezirk)|Bezirk]]}}" (district). In 1953, the {{lang|de|[[Hochschule]]}} of education was founded, followed by the {{lang|de|Hochschule}} of medicine in 1954, the first academic institutions in Erfurt since the closing of the university in 1816.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

On 19 March 1970, the East and West German heads of government [[Willi Stoph]] and [[Willy Brandt]] met in Erfurt, the first such meeting since the division of Germany. During the 1970s and 1980s, as the economic situation in GDR worsened, many old buildings in city centre decayed, while the government fought against the housing shortage by building large {{lang|de|[[Plattenbau]]}} settlements in the periphery. The [[Peaceful Revolution]] of 1989/1990 led to [[German reunification]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
[[File:DDR Street signs.jpg|thumb|Socialist-era street signs removed from around the city of Erfurt after 1990.]]

With the re-formation of the state of [[Thuringia]] in 1990, the city became the state capital. After reunification, a deep economic crisis occurred in Eastern Germany. Many factories closed and many people lost their jobs and moved to the former West Germany. At the same time, many buildings were redeveloped and the infrastructure improved massively. In 1994, the new university was opened, as was the Fachhochschule in 1991. Between 2005 and 2008, the economic situation improved as the unemployment rate decreased and new enterprises developed. In addition, the population began to increase once again.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

A [[Erfurt school massacre|school shooting]] occurred on 26 April 2002 at the Gutenberg-Gymnasium.<ref name="Observer20020428">{{Cite news |last=Hooper |first=John |date=2002-04-28 |title=How teacher stopped the school slaughter |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/28/schools.education |access-date=2013-04-25 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103085715/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/28/schools.education |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since the 1990s, organized crime has gained a foothold in Erfurt, with several mafia groups, including the [[Armenian mafia]] present in the city. Among other events, there has been a robbery and an arson attack targeting the gastronomy sector and in 2014 there was a shoot-out in an open street.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiß |first=Felix |date=2019-04-15 |title=German police closing in on Armenian mafia |url=https://georgian-knot.com/2019/04/15/german-police-closing-in-on-armenian-mafia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610113601/https://georgian-knot.com/2019/04/15/german-police-closing-in-on-armenian-mafia/ |archive-date=2023-06-10 |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=The Georgian Knot |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Baumgartner |first=Pete |date=2018-11-09 |title=Armenia Backs Berlin Envoy Despite Reported Ties To Mafia In Germany |language=en |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-backs-berlin-envoy-smbatian-mafia-ties-germany/29590378.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-09-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814092023/https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-backs-berlin-envoy-smbatian-mafia-ties-germany/29590378.html |archive-date=2022-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sattarov |first=Orkhan |date=2015-11-09 |title=Germany: Armenian mafia controls the streets of Erfurt |url=https://en.vestikavkaza.ru/articles/Germany-Armenian-mafia-controls-the-streets-of-Erfurt.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918193603/https://en.vestikavkaza.ru/articles/Germany-Armenian-mafia-controls-the-streets-of-Erfurt.html |archive-date=2023-09-18 |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=en.vestikavkaza.ru |language=en}}</ref>