Germany / Deggendorf Bavaria / St.Martin church tower Ruselbe

About Germany

     Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (help·info), IPA: [ˈbundəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant]), is a country in West-central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

     Germany is a parliamentary federal republic of sixteen states (Bundesländer). The capital city and seat of government is Berlin. As a nation-state, the country was unified near the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. After World War II, Germany's government was re-formed, its territory was divided into two separate states along the lines of allied occupation in 1949 and then was reunified in 1990. Germany is a founding member of the European Union, and with over 82 million people it has the largest population among the EU member states.

     The Federal Republic of Germany is a modern great power, a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G4 nations and, as of 2006, ranked sixth in military expenditure. Germany is the world's third largest economy by nominal GDP, the world's largest exporter of goods, and the world's second largest importer of goods. In 2007 it held the rotating presidencies of both the European Council and the G8 summits.

About Deggendorf Bavaria

     Deggendorf is a town in Bavaria, capital of the district Deggendorf. The earliest traces of settlement in the area are found near the Danube, about 8,000 years ago. Both Bronze Age and Celtic era archeological finds indicate continuous habitation through the years. Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor established in 1002 his supremacy over the area.

     Deggendorf was the site of a displaced persons camp for Jewish refugees after World War II. It housed approximately 2,000 refugees, who created a cultural center that included two newspapers (the Deggendorf Center Review and Cum Ojfboj, theater group, synagogue, mikvah, kosher kitchen, and more. The camp even issued its own currency known as the Deggendorf Dollar. Many of the camp's residents were survivors of the concentration camp at Theresienstadt.

The camp closed on June 15, 1949.