Pray for Germany

Germany is a country in western-central Europe.
It is bordered by Denmark  in the north, Poland and the Czech Republic in the east, Austria
and Switzerland in the south, France and Luxembourg in the southwest,
and Belgium and the Netherlands to the northwest.

The population is over 81.million.
The capital and largest city is Berlin.
Other important cities are Munich, Cologne and Hamburg,

FACTS
Germany is the 7th largest country in Europe  and most populous state
in the European Union.

The German word 'Kaiser' is derived from the Latin title Caesar.  
The word 'Reich' means ‘Kingdom’ or ‘Empire’.

During it’s history Germany was part of three Reichs.
The 1 Reich     The Holy Roman Empire (962-1806)
The 2nd Reich   The New German Empire (1871-1918.)
The 3rd Reich   The Nazi Regime (1933-1945)

Germany has been famous throughout history as a center of learning and culture.

The printing press was invented in Germany.

The Grimms Fairy tales were written in Germany.

The custom of decorating Christmas trees began in Germany during the 16th century.

The story of the Easter Bunny was introduced to the US by German immigrants during the 18th century.

Cuckoo clocks were first designed in the Black Forest area of Germany.

The Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th
and 18th centuries were from Alsace, Switzerland and southwestern Germany.

Volkswagen BMW, Porsche and Mercedes are all German companies.

FAMOUS GERMANS
Theologian
Martin Luther 1483-1546)

Scientists
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)

Composers
Johann Sebastian Bach  (1685 – 1750)
Ludwig von Beethoven   (1770-1827)
Johannes Brahms        (1833-1897)
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Richard Georg Strauss  (1864 –1949)

Writers
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe      (1749 -1832)
Jacob Grimm  (1785-1863)
Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)

Philosophers
Immanuel Kant       (1724-1804)
Karl Heinrich Marx  (1818-1883)
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche     (1844–1900)

DEMOGRAPHICS
81%      German
7%       Other Europeans
4%       Turks
2%       Asian
6%       Others

34%      Agnostic/Atheist
30%      Catholic
29.9%    Protestant
4%       Muslim   (3-4 million)
1.6%     Orthodox
0.2%     Buddhist   (250,000)  
0.3%     Jewish       (200,000
0.1%     Hindu        (90,000)

HISTORY
Around 2000 B.C. many Eurasian tribes moved westward into Scandinavia.

Around 1000 B.C. descendants of these tribes began migrating again.
Over a thousand year period, (1000 B.C.- 1 A.D.) they split into three major groups:
The North Germani,The East Germani, and the West Germani

The North Germani remained in Scandinavia and became the ancestors of the Vikings.
The East Germani settled in Poland and became the ancestors of the Goths and Vandals.
The West Germani settled in Germany by the Rhine and Danube Rivers around 500 B.C.

In time the West Germani tribes were collectively called Germani and their territory
Germania.
The Roman Empire tried to conquer Germania, several times, but were unsuccessful.

During the 3rd century A.D. many different West Germani tribes emerged:
The Alemanni, Angles, Franks and Saxons.

Around 260 A.D. Germanic tribes broke into Roman-controlled lands.

During the 4th century Germanic tribes moved further south-west.

By the 5th century the Roman Empire had collapsed and Germanic tribes
took over its former territory.

The Vandals conquered North Africa
The Ostrogoths and Lombards conquered Italy
The Visigoths conquered Spain and parts of France
The Franks and Burgundi conquered most of France
The Angles, Saxons and Jutes conquered England

From the 5th century through the 751 the Franks established the Merovingian Dynasty
The Merovingians came to dominate France and Germany.

In 800 A.D. the Frankish king Charlemagne founded the Carolingian Empire (800-888 A.D)

In 919 A.D. Henry I of Saxony began the Saxon Dynasty.(919-1024 A.D.)
The rise of the Saxon Dynasty caused Germany to separate from control of France.

Henry's grandson Otto I established the Holy Roman Empire. (962-1806)

At its height,(1519-1556) the Holy Roman Empire covered Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Spain, the Spanish colonies in Asia and the Americas, and had inroads into Bohemia and Hungary.

During this time it was described as "The empire on which the sun never sets".

The Holy Roman Empire was later called the First Reich (Kingdom).

During this time Germany was made up of dozens of different kingdoms and states.
The largest kingdoms were Saxony, Bavaria, Swabia, and Franconia.
The rulers of the states were very powerful and responsible for electing emperors.

During the 14th century Germany's population plummeted due to the Great Famine (1315)
and the Black Death (1348-1350)

In 1517 the monk Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation.
The Lutheran church became the official religion in many German states after 1530.

Religious conflict between Catholic and Protestant states led to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)
The war devastated Germany and reduced the population by about 30%.

In 1525 the Kingdom of Prussia was formed in northern Germany.
During the 18th century Prussia became the most powerful state in Germany.

In 1806 the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved due to the Napoleonic Wars.
Following the fall of Napoleon, the German Confederation was formed in 1814.

In 1862 King William I of Prussia appointed Otto von Bismarck Prime Minister.

In 1871 Germany was unified under the German Empire, with Berlin as the capital.
William I became the 1st Kaiser (Emperor) of Germany.
Bismarck became the 1st Chancellor.
The German Empire was called the Second Reich.

In 1884 Germany had several colonies including Togo, Cameroon, German East Africa
(Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania)and German South-West Africa (Namibia).

Under Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888-1918) Germany became increasingly imperialistic.

During WWI Germany was part of the Central Powers.
During the war about two million German soldiers were killed.

In 1918 the German Revolution broke out.
Kaiser Wilhelm II and all German ruling princes abdicated.
The Weimar Republic was established.

As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost a lot of territory and had to pay heavy war reparations.
The Treaty left many Germans poverty stricken and very angry and bitter.

From 1929-1933 Germany went through the Great Depression and a succession of unstable governments.
Many Germans became increasingly dissatisfied with the government.

By 1932, the Nazi Party controlled the majority of Parliament.
Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany from 1933-1945.
Hitler established a centralized totalitarian state.
Hitler's government was called the Third Reich.

The Third Reich began a brutal policy of extermination of minorities and dissidents.
Over 11 million people were murdered in Concentration Camps.
Six million of them were Jews.
Five million of them were non Jews.

In 1939 Germany invaded Poland which triggered WWII. (1939-1945)
WWII resulted in over 60 million deaths worldwide.

After WWII, Germany was partitioned by the Allies into military occupation zones.
The western area were controlled by France, Britain and the United States.
The eastern area was controlled by the Soviet Union.

The western area became West Germany in 1949 and established a republic.
Bonn became its capital.

That same year the Soviet controlled area became East Germany.
East Berlin became its capital.

West Germany began a period of economic growth during the 50's and joined NATO.

East Germany was an Eastern Bloc state under control of the USSR until 1990.

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to prevent East Germans from escaping to West Germany.
The wall became a symbol of the Cold War.

In 1989 Hungary opened its borders.
This caused thousands of East Germans to immigrate to West Germany via Hungary.

East German authorities eased the border restrictions, allowing its citizens to travel to the West.

In 1990 Germany regained full sovereignty.
Eastern and Western Germany were reunified that same year.

In 1994 Berlin became the capital of the reunified Germany.

Since reunification, Germany has taken an active role in the European Union and NATO.

CONDITIONS
Germany has the most powerful economy in Europe.

Germany is a social market economy with a highly skilled labor force.

Germany is very much into innovation and industrialization.
Germany is the world's second largest exporter in goods.

Germany is relatively poor in raw materials.
Oil, natural gas and other resources are mostly imported from other countries.

Due to its central position in Europe, Germany is a major transport hub.

Tourism is a major vector.
Germany is the third most visited country in Europe.

Germany has a high cost of living.

The disparities between rich and poor are growing.

Former East Germans are still affected by the years of Marxism.

There have been environmental problems.
Emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries have been causing air pollution.
Acid rain has been damaging forests.
There have been problems with water pollution and hazardous waste disposal.

Germany is a major supporter for clean renewable energies.
Unfortunately this has also increased the high cost of living.

Europe has recently been suffering from heightened Islamist terrorist activity.
In 2016 there were several terrorist attacks in Germany and in neighboring countries.

On December 19, 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market beside
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.
The attack left 12 people dead and 56 injured

SPIRITUAL CONDITIONS
30% of the population is Catholic.
29.9% is Protestant

Catholicism is concentrated in the south and west.
Protestantism is concentrated in the north and east

The more evangelical/conservative groups are concentrated in Wuumlrttemberg,
Siegerland and south Saxony.

For many church attendance is purely cultural/traditional.

Protestant churches suffer from deep divisions on many levels.

Many churches have lost much of their identity, purpose and income.

There has been steadily declining attendance, particularly among younger generations.
34% of the population is agnostic/atheist.
Churches are often seen as irrelevant.
There has been an increase in hostility to anything Christian.

It is expensive to maintain many church buildings, especially if they're
under monument protection.
As a result many churches have been changed into living space.

In the Catholic church there have been both financial and child molestation scandals.

Modernism has increased in church leadership.
Many Lutheran clergy do not believe in life after death.
It is often difficult for born-again ministers to openly minister in their own churches.

Due to immigration there has been a rise in Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Occult, pagan and New Age worldviews are on the rise.

PRAYER NEEDS
Pray for those suffering from unemployment.

Pray that immigrants be treated with equality and justice.

Pray for solutions to environmental problems.

Prayer that the country be protected from terrorism and acts of violence.
Pray for those who lost loved ones in the attacks

Pray that churches experience a revival.

Pray that the Gospel spread.

Pray that churches experience renewal, encouragement and discernment.

Pray that occult spirits be bound