West Germany
From Wikinfo
West Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland or, in a term widely used by the GDR and people of a more leftist position in West Germanys, but traditionally not appreciated by the more conservative West Germans because actually thus the term "Germany" would have sort of been "erased" from speaking, although this does not seem to be common knowledge recently with young people - "BRD"), was proclaimed May 23, 1949 and included the post-World War II UK, US, and French occupation zones. West Germany joined NATO on May 9, 1955 and thus became a focus of the Cold War with its juxtaposition to Warsaw Pact member GDR (the capital of the German Reich, Berlin, was also divided, but was completely surrounded by the GDR, the GDR claiming East Berlin as its capital).
After the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the unification of West Germany and the territories that had hitherto formed the GDR took place October 3, 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights March 15, 1991.
The territories of the Federal Republic of Germany in its former size and the former GDR now form the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Related articles
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "West Germany" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany January 1, 2004
