paragraph_text: The territorial changes of Germany include all changes in the borders and territory of Germany from its formation in 1871 to the present. Modern Germany was formed in 1871 when Otto von Bismarck unified most of the German states, with the notable exception of Austria, into the German Empire. After the First World War, Germany lost about 10% of its territory to its neighbours and the Weimar Republic was formed. This republic included territories to the east of today's German borders.

paragraph_text: Not a maritime power, and not a nation-state, as it would eventually become, Germany’s participation in Western imperialism was negligible until the late 19th century. The participation of Austria was primarily as a result of Habsburg control of the First Empire, the Spanish throne, and other royal houses.[further explanation needed] After the defeat of Napoleon, who caused the dissolution of that Holy Roman Empire, Prussia and the German states continued to stand aloof from imperialism, preferring to manipulate the European system through the Concert of Europe. After Prussia unified the other states into the second German Empire after the Franco-German War, its long-time Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (1862–90), long opposed colonial acquisitions, arguing that the burden of obtaining, maintaining, and defending such possessions would outweigh any potential benefits. He felt that colonies did not pay for themselves, that the German bureaucratic system would not work well in the tropics and the diplomatic disputes over colonies would distract Germany from its central interest, Europe itself.

paragraph_text: Agnes Miegel (9 March 1879 in Königsberg, East Prussia – 26 October 1964 in Bad Salzuflen, West Germany) was a German author, journalist, and poet. She is best known for her poems and short stories about East Prussia, but also for the support she gave to the Nazi Party.

paragraph_text: Historians debate whether Otto von Bismarck -- Minister President of Prussia -- had a master plan to expand the North German Confederation of 1866 to include the remaining independent German states into a single entity or simply to expand the power of the Kingdom of Prussia. They conclude that factors in addition to the strength of Bismarck's Realpolitik led a collection of early modern polities to reorganize political, economic, military, and diplomatic relationships in the 19th century. Reaction to Danish and French nationalism provided foci for expressions of German unity. Military successes -- especially those of Prussia -- in three regional wars generated enthusiasm and pride that politicians could harness to promote unification. This experience echoed the memory of mutual accomplishment in the Napoleonic Wars, particularly in the War of Liberation of 1813 -- 14. By establishing a Germany without Austria, the political and administrative unification in 1871 at least temporarily solved the problem of dualism.

paragraph_text: The Kingdom of Prussia became the leading state of the German Empire after its creation in 1871. However, the Treaty of Versailles following World War I granted West Prussia to Poland and made East Prussia an exclave of Weimar Germany (the new Polish Corridor separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany), while the Memel Territory was detached and was annexed by Lithuania in 1923. Following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II in 1945, war-torn East Prussia was divided at Joseph Stalin's insistence between the Soviet Union (the Kaliningrad Oblast in the Russian SFSR and the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region in the Lithuanian SSR) and the People's Republic of Poland (the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship). The capital city Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. The German population of the province was largely evacuated during the war or expelled shortly thereafter in the expulsion of Germans after World War II. An estimated 300,000 (around one fifth of the population) died either in war time bombings raids or in the battles to defend the province.[citation needed]

paragraph_text: Siegfried Heinrich Aronhold (16 July 1819 Angerburg, East Prussia – 13 March 1884, Berlin, Germany) was a German mathematician who worked on invariant theory and introduced the symbolic method.

paragraph_text: Heinrich Caro (February 13, 1834 in Posen, Prussia Germany now Poznań, Poland – September 11, 1910 in Dresden), was a German chemist.

paragraph_text: Tannenbusch is a section of Bonn, Germany with approx. 17,000 inhabitants. It is split between the subsections Alt-Tannenbusch and Neu-Tannenbusch. The roads in Tannenbusch are almost exclusively named after places in the former GDR and former eastern territories of Germany (e.g. Schlesienstrasse, Oppelner road, west Prussia route). Around 1949 – 1960 there was a US military camp in Tannenbusch.

paragraph_text: The Bismarck Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Prince Otto von Bismarck and his wife Johanna von Puttkamer. It is on the Schneckenberg hill just outside Friedrichsruh in northern Germany. Bismarck was the first Chancellor of Germany (1871–1890). The chapel is now a protected monument.

paragraph_text: In December 1848 the "Basic Rights for the German People" proclaimed equal rights for all citizens before the law. On March 28, 1849, the draft of the Paulskirchenverfassung constitution was finally passed. The new Germany was to be a constitutional monarchy, and the office of head of state ("Emperor of the Germans") was to be hereditary and held by the respective King of Prussia. The latter proposal was carried by a mere 290 votes in favour, with 248 abstentions. The constitution was recognized by 29 smaller states but not by Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Hanover and Saxony.

paragraph_text: With the forced abdication of Emperor William II in 1918, Germany became a republic. Most of West Prussia and the former Prussian Province of Posen, territories annexed by Prussia in the 18th century Partitions of Poland, were ceded to the Second Polish Republic according to the Treaty of Versailles. East Prussia became an exclave, being separated from mainland Germany. After the Treaty of Versailles, East Prussia was separated from Germany as an exclave; the Memelland was also separated from the province. Because most of West Prussia became part of the Second Polish Republic as the Polish Corridor, the formerly West Prussian Marienwerder region became part of East Prussia (as Regierungsbezirk Westpreußen). Also Soldau district in Allenstein region was part of Second Polish Republic. The Seedienst Ostpreußen was established to provide an independent transport service to East Prussia.

paragraph_text: Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony.

paragraph_text: The FIBT World Championships 1991 took place in Altenberg, Germany (Bobsleigh) and Igls, Austria (Skeleton). This was Altenberg's first time hosting a championship event. Igls was hosting its third, doing so previously in 1935 (Two-man) and 1963. It marked the first time a unified German team competed since World War II with East Germany and West Germany having been unified the previous year.

paragraph_text: After World War II, eastern European countries such as the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia expelled the Germans from their territories. Many of those had inhabited these lands for centuries, developing a unique culture. Germans were also forced to leave the former eastern territories of Germany, which were annexed by Poland (Silesia, Pomerania, parts of Brandenburg and southern part of East Prussia) and the Soviet Union (northern part of East Prussia). Between 12 and 16,5 million ethnic Germans and German citizens were expelled westwards to allied-occupied Germany.

paragraph_text: In 1866, the feud between Austria and Prussia finally came to a head. There were several reasons behind this war. As German nationalism grew strongly inside the German Confederation and neither could decide on how Germany was going to be unified into a nation-state. The Austrians favoured the Greater Germany unification but were not willing to give up any of the non-German-speaking land inside of the Austrian Empire and take second place to Prussia. The Prussians however wanted to unify Germany as Little Germany primarily by the Kingdom of Prussia, whilst excluding Austria. In the final battle of the German war (Battle of Königgrätz) the Prussians successfully defeated the Austrians and succeeded in creating the North German Confederation.

paragraph_text: Johannes Abromeit (17 February 1857, in Paschleitschen, East Prussia – 19 January 1946, in Jena, Germany) was a German botanist and teacher.

paragraph_text: Following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II in 1945, East Prussia was partitioned between Poland and the Soviet Union according to the Potsdam Conference. Southern East Prussia was placed under Polish administration, while northern East Prussia was divided between the Soviet republics of Russia (the Kaliningrad Oblast) and Lithuania (the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region). The city of Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. The German population of the province largely evacuated during the war, but several hundreds of thousands died during the years 1944–46 and the remainder were subsequently expelled.

paragraph_text: In 1939 the Regierungsbezirk Zichenau was annexed by Germany and incorporated into East Prussia. Parts of it were transferred to other regions, e.g. Suwałki to Regierungsbezirk Gumbinnen and Soldau to Regierungsbezirk Allenstein. Despite Nazi propaganda presenting all of the regions annexed as possessing significant German populations that wanted reunification with Germany, the Reich's statistics of late 1939 show that only 31,000 out of 994,092 people in this territory were ethnic Germans.[citation needed]

paragraph_text: Johann Carl Ludwig Schmid (12 September 1780 in Cottbus – 4 September 1849 in Berlin) was a German architect. He succeeded August Günther as leader of the Oberbaudeputation in 1842, and in 1848 the kingdom of Prussia made him director of Berlin's Bauakademie.

paragraph_text: Bolesław Domański (*1872 in Przytarnia ("Wildau"), near Konitz, West Prussia - † 1939, Berlin, Germany) was a famous Polish Catholic priest, chief of the Union of Poles in Germany. In the years 1903-1939 he was a parson of Zakrzewo parish. Domański was a fighter for the rights of the Polish minority in Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia, at the time a Prussian province on the border of Germany and Poland, as well as for the rights of Polish emigrants in the Ruhr area.

Question: Who was the spouse of the Prussian leader who wanted to unify Germany?
Answer: Johanna von Puttkamer