Germany (An Honorable Retelling)

German People’s Republic Deutsche Volksrepublik (German) Gimmasa Prūsiskaaná Raštajmō (Prussian) Němska ludowa republika (Upper Sorbian) Nimska ludowa republika (Lower Sorbian) Timeline: An Honorable Retelling
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch! "Workers of the world, unite!"
Anthem:  Auferstanden aus Ruinen "Risen from Ruins"
Location of Republic of Germany Germany Location of Germany (green)
Capital (and lagest city)		Berlin
Official languages		German • Prussian • Upper Sorbian • Lower Sorbian
Religion		State atheism
Demonym		German
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
-	Chancellor	Bodo Ramelow
-	Council Speaker	Tessa Ganserer
Legislature		Nationalrat
Formation
-	Kingdom of Germany	1806-1919
-	German Revolution	1919-23
-	Spartacist republic	1924-94
-	The Great Reforms	1994-2006
Population
-	2020 estimate	92,000,000
Currency		Deutschmark (DM) (DEM)
Drives on the		right

Germany (German: Deutschland; Prussian: Gimmaanmō; Upper Sorbian: Němska; Lower Sorbian: Nimska), officially the German People’s Republic (German: Deutsche Volksrepublik; Prussian: Gimmasa Prūsiskaaná Raštajmō; Upper Sorbian: Němska ludowa republika; Lower Sorbian: Nimska ludowa republika), is a nation in Central Europe. Bordered by Cisleithania, Helvetia, the Grisons, Italy, Alsace-Lorraine, Wallonia-Luxembourg, the Dutch Republic, the United Commonwealths, Denmark-Norway, and Czechoslovakia, it covers an area of X square kilometres, with its capital and largest city being Berlin. The nation is a federal parliamentary constitutional multi-partisan Spartacist socialist republic. Oskar Lafontaine has been its People’s Chancellor since 2024, and with Gregor Gysi serving as the People’s Premier since 2022.

Germany was first named in 100 AD, as a region where the Germanic peoples lived beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire. By the 800sm it had developed into East Francia, and later the Kingdom of Germany, which would form the bulk of the Holy German Empire’s territory. Following the collapse of the Holy German Empire in 1450, Germany was ruled by various competing former states, but saw the majority of its urban centers controlled by the Bernkastel domain, and, much later, the Hanseatic League.

In 1806, France invaded the German states during the War of the Third Coalition. Many states, such as Bavaria and Saxony, initially resisted the French advances, but ultimately the German kingdoms capitulated, joining the Confederation of the Rhine, which was dominated by the French-created Kingdom of Westphalia and made the German kingdoms subservient to France. In 1848, revolutionaries in Frankfurt attempted to create a liberal German Empire, but their efforts were crushed by French and loyalist forces. In response to the revolts, supported by many kings of the other German states, in 1852 the Kingdom of Germany was formed, unifying the Confederation into a single state led by the Bonapartist monarch of Westphalia, resulting in a "royal exodus" from the country. Noble houses such as the Wittlesbachs and Wettins left to countries that they held in union, such as Scotland and the United Commonwealths. The newly unified German kingdom was effectively a duplicate of the French Empire in both governmental and political structure, and it acted as such in global affairs.

Throughout the 1870s, Germany’s industrial base rapidly expanded, but military expansion was curtailed by French dabbling in the government. Not wishing to create a potential rival state, military spending and training was deliberately curtailed by French-supported governments to avoid a military buildup, lest Germany threaten the dominance of the French Empire in the future. Such measures ensured that the German Army suffered heavy casualties and endless tactical defeats throughout the Third Great War, and contributed to increasing social tensions in the country. A revolution broke out in the country in 1919 following the abdication of Emperor Jerome IV, and led to the destructive German Civil War, which was won by the Spartacus League. Both Liebknecht and Luxemburg were assassinated in 1926 in Munich, leading to a power struggle in the KPD. Eventually, paramilitary leader Ernst Thälmann rose to become the Volkskanzler in 1927.

Under his rule, the government became KPD-dominated through the system of "popular fronts", press freedoms were curtailed, industries were masively nationalized and expanded in the so-called "Five Year Plans", and a Red Terror was initiated, purging 'enemies of the state' from Germany. Later on, in the 1930s, the KPD and SPD were purged of so-called 'radical and imperialist elements' as an extension of the Red Terror. Rearmament was commenced with the Five Year Plans too, in preparation for the expansion of the socialist domain. Countries like Cisleithania and Denmark fell victim to German-backed Communist coups and revolutions. While initially neutral in the Fourth Great War, in March 1939 the country was invaded by fascist France and capitulated in August following tactical defeats in the Battle of the Fulda Gap. A government-in-exile was founded in East Prussia and Pomerania, and from there the war continued to be fought. Germany would eventually reclaim its lands and push all the way to Paris, as well as participating in the fall of Hungary. The Germans set up socialist republics in the occupied territories, leading to outcry from the United States, England, Russia and the United Commonwealths, and sanctions from the four countries being imposed on Germany. The Cold War resulted from these sanctions, and Germany would compete against the capitalist and fascist blocs for dominance.

In 1952, Germany would form the Frankfurt Pact, a common defence and economic organization. The 1950s would see multiple German involvements in foreign conflicts, including the Crainnian Crisis. Both the Paris Standoff and the St. George’s Sea Crisis in the early 1960s would nearly bring the three sides to a nuclear war, and afterwards, Germany began to enter detente with the GTO. Germany made several technological advancements and missions throughout this era, landing the first humans on the Moon in 1955. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, thanks to Chancellor Willy Brandt, the German economy boomed as tourism and foreign investment began to increase significantly. However, his time in the office was also marred by involvement in the Borneo War, the crushing of revolutions in Helvetia in 1969 and Wallonia in 1976 and the fact that both his liberal and almost capitalist reforms brought him the disdain of many hardliners.

Forced to resign following the discovery of an English spy in his cabinet in 1975, Thälmannist Erich Hoenecker took over and he immediately reversed the course on the liberalization measures. Tensions increased throughout the early 1980s, as Hoenecker took a hardline approach to governance. In 1986, following unpopular austerity measures taken by Hoenecker, Egon Krenz was voted in on a reform ticket. Under Krenz, a framework for the reunification of France was laid down and later activated, reuniting the country in 1992, along with a landmark agreement on nuclear weapons limitations in 1989. Germany then began to reform further under Krenz and later Lothar de Mazière, signing agreements with the GTO and the European Community, as well as ending KPD dominance in the Volkskammer and creating a mixed market economy. This period is often referred to as the Great Reforms. However, in recent years due to increasing IMF intervention and feelings of belittlement, the KPD has seen a resurgence under the leadership of firstly Bodo Ramelow, and currently Oskar Lafontaine, who has moved Germany back into isolation and defiance to the West. The renewal of Germany’s nuclear and space war programmes in 2025 further confirmed this, setting up the stage for a Second Cold War.

Today, Germany is regarded as a major European power. Its economy is the fourth largest in Europe and it is one of the largest exporters in the world. As a major force in several industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer. It offers social security, a universal health care system, and tuition-free university education. Widely considered a great power, Germany is part of multiple international organisations and forums. It has the third-highest number of LTEPESCO World Heritage Sites: 77, 63 of which are cultural sites.

History

Early history: Germanic tribes, Roman conquests, and the Migration Period

The earliest recorded Germanic tribes emerged in the dense forests and river valleys of the northern European plain around 100 BC. The Romans referred to the land beyond the Rhine and Danube as Germania, a term that soon came to describe the vast expanse inhabited by peoples such as the Suebi, Cherusci, and Chatti. In 9 AD, the Cheruscan chieftain Arminius defeated three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest, halting Roman expansion eastward. Despite repeated campaigns under Germanicus and Domitian, Roman control remained limited to the western frontier.

By the 2nd century AD, the Germanic confederations, the Alemanni, the Saxons, and the Franks, began to dominate central Europe. Trade with the Empire enriched the southern tribes, while northern clans raided coastal settlements. The collapse of Roman authority in the West in the 5th century allowed these tribes to expand freely, establishing kingdoms that would later define the early medieval order.

Middle Ages

Nicholas von Kues, a polymath and political figure who unified a portion of Germany under the Bernkastel-Kues domain.

Following the disintegration of imperial authority, the Franks under Clovis unified Gaul and parts of western Germany. When Charlemagne established his empire in 800 AD, the eastern regions of his dominion, Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, and Franconia, became known collectively as East Francia. Upon his death, the Carolingian inheritance was divided; the eastern portion, ruled by Louis the German, evolved into the Kingdom of Germany. Throughout the 9th and 10th centuries, East Francia faced invasions from Magyars in the east and Norse raiders from the north. The rise of the Ottonian dynasty under Henry I and Otto I restored stability. In 962, Otto was crowned Emperor in Rome, establishing the Holy German Empire, a union of the German crown with the dignity of Rome. The empire’s structure combined Germanic feudalism with ecclesiastical authority. The Emperor was elected by the leading princes and archbishops, while regional dukes retained substantial autonomy. The Hohenstaufen dynasty, ascending in the 12th century, consolidated imperial control across both Germany and Italy. Conradin of Hohenstaufen, ruling from 1262 to 1291, restored the family’s fortunes by conquering the island of Sicily, reaffirming German influence in the Mediterranean. His campaigns reestablished imperial prestige and united the disparate duchies of the realm behind the crown. The imperial court in Mainz flourished as a cultural and intellectual center, fostering ties with scholars from Padua and Paris.

The Hussite Wars (1419–1434) in Bohemia proved destabilizing, and the Hussite movement spread westward into Saxony and Bavaria, inspiring reformist clergy and peasantry alike. By 1440, the Hussite “League of Tabor” formed a proto-Protestant confederation controlling Bohemia, parts of Moravia, and Upper Saxony. Its democratic religious structure and radical preaching against both papal and imperial authority inspired German burghers and city leagues. Emperor Conrad VI's attempt at quelling this sentiment concluded with his assassination in 1448. This event led to the Reichstag of Worms, which saw the Diet dissolve amid chaos; several princes declared Reichsunabhängigkeit, independence from the imperial crown.

After Conrad's death, the Empire descended into political disarray. Feudal disputes and dynastic rivalries splintered the realm into twelve semi-sovereign states, each ruled by princes, bishops, or merchant leagues. France, under King Louis XI, exploited the vacuum of power by invading Lotharingia in 1451, igniting the War of the Sovereigns. During the chaos, Nicholas von Kues governed the prosperous Bernkastel-Kues domain, which oversaw many of the empire’s principal cities along the Rhine. The Hanseatic League, an alliance of northern trade cities, gradually expanded its influence, creating a de facto maritime republic from Lübeck to Hamburg. Charles the Bold of Burgundy invaded the Rhineland in 1477, seizing Cologne and Trier during the German civil war. His rule introduced Burgundian administrative reforms that temporarily restored order but deepened French resentment and fear of a rising German power.

In 1494, France renewed its expansionist ambitions under Charles VIII, launching a sweeping campaign that subjugated large parts of Germany and Italy. The War of the Princes began as the German nobility resisted French puppet regimes. Burgundy collapsed in 1592, its remnants divided between France and the Dutch Republic. John IV of the old Burgundian line inherited scattered German territories and formed a rump principality centered around Trier and Mainz. His government maintained German independence in name but relied heavily on Dutch and English subsidies. Meanwhile, Sweden consolidated its holdings in Pomerania, and Denmark-Norway exerted influence along the Baltic coast. In 1610, the Bernkastel domain collapsed entirely, with its cities absorbed by the Hanseatic League under Danish protection. The League’s merchant oligarchies dominated commerce but proved politically fragile, sowing the seeds of later decline.

Early Modern Germany

In 1722, the War of the Hungarian Succession erupted following the death of King Michael I. His daughter Amalia claimed the throne against her uncle Joseph. The Waldensian nations supported Joseph in exchange for promises of religious tolerance, while France and newly independent Castile backed Amalia. The conflict devastated central Europe. The northern German states, already weakened by mercantile rivalries, suffered heavily. The Hanseatic ports fell into economic ruin, and Hungary lost territories in San Esteban, Greece, and Montenegro. Both Amalia and Joseph perished at Miskolc in 1731, ending the Rakoczi line. England, Rhomania, and the Dutch Republic intervened to restore the Esterhazy line under Nikolaus II. The First Great War (1756–1763) followed soon after, engulfing the continent. In 1759, Tsar Peter III of Russia was assassinated before his likely coronation, leading to chaos in the east. Prussia, already overstretched and isolated, collapsed in 1762, its lands divided between Saxony, Russia, and Poland, who formed a network of client states in the former Prussian territories.

France’s domination of Europe reached its zenith in 1806 when its armies swept through the German states during the War of the Third Coalition. Bavaria and Saxony initially resisted but were compelled to submit. The Confederation of the Rhine replaced the fragmented German states, with the Kingdom of Westphalia, a Bonapartist creation, serving as the nucleus of a new German order. French influence extended into every corner of German politics. The Rhine Confederation became a vassal empire, supplying troops and taxes for French wars. German intellectuals, alienated by foreign domination, formed secret societies that preserved the ideal of national unity. In 1848, revolutionaries in Frankfurt attempted to establish a liberal German Empire based on constitutional principles. The uprising, however, was crushed by French forces and loyalist armies. However, the calls for German unity had not fallen on deaf ears.

Napoleonic Kingdom

Victor, the final king of Napoleonic Germany (reigned from 1891 until 1919).

With the defeat of the German states in the War of the Third Coalition, France was the master of Central Europe. Punititve treaties with states such as Bavaria, Saxony and Wurttemberg allowed for their sovereignty to remain, and even allowed for certain states to become kingdoms, but tied them to French foreign and economic policy. Some states, like Hesse-Kassel and Hannover, were absorbed into the Kingdom of Westphalia, led by Jerome Bonaparte. These states were incorporated into the Confederation of the Rhine, led by the Kingdom of Westphalia and with Napoleon Bonaparte as the Confederation's "protector". In 1852, amid the turmoil following the revolutions, the Kingdom of Germany was formally proclaimed under the Bonapartist monarch of Westphalia. The new state unified the Confederation into a centralized monarchy closely modeled on the French imperial system.

Many of the old noble houses, the Wittelsbachs, Wettins, Nassaus and Habsburg cadets, departed for territories in personal union with Scotland or the United Commonwealths, either through pressure from a France desperate to prevent any challenges to their grip on Europe or in protest at the new unitary Kreise system, which redrew the boundaries of Germany’s states and inevitably broke up the "hostile" kingdoms. Their departure marked the end of the medieval aristocracy. The new German Kingdom became a modernized bureaucracy governed by prefects and military governors. Industrialisation surged from the 1860s onward, transforming the Ruhr, Saxony, and Silesia into centers of iron and coal production. Yet the French-influenced ministries deliberately restricted economic and military expansion, fearing the emergence of Germany as a continental rival. Indeed, for many years the German Army was deliberately hamstrung by successive governments choosing to focus on maintaining Germany’s position as a subservient force to France, resulting in low readiness, low military budgets and an officer corps dominated by conservative, pro-French figures unwilling to modernise their tactics.

While massive reform had begun within the military in the late 1900s, the start of the Third Great War completely blindsided German society and government. As a de facto French tributary, the German parliament voted near-unanimously to declare war on the Allies. However, it quickly became apparent that the German military apparatus was not up to par with its opponents, or the French. The policies of neglect imposed on the military had come back to haunt both the French and German High Commands. From 1915 onwards, German industry was crippled by a universal blockade against the country, made worse when Ireland, one of the country’s last trading partners, joined the Allies and comprehensively defeated the German fleet, in conjunction with the Scots and English navies, at battles in the Hebrides and Oresund Straits, destroying the major naval capabilities of Germany. By 1918, it was apparent that Germany was far from a useful ally of France. Indeed, at the Battle of Tondern in 1917, the German forces needed help from French stormtroopers - and approximately three army corps.

The German Revolution

As the Third Great War turned against the Continental System, mass dissent began to take root within the Kingdom. On the 29th of October, 1919, the day after the huge strategic loss for Germany at the Battle of Sonderburg, sailors of what remained of the Royal German Navy began to mutiny in port. Simultaneously, pressure began to grow on the King, Victor, to resign in light of a possible defeat of Germany. Victor, however, was stubborn and blatantly refused to resign or pull Germany out of the war - in later years, this was discovered to have been caused by French High Command and French Emperor Joseph I demanding that Germany remain fighting in the war until the bitter end.

By mid-November, civil unrest had spread to all parts of the Kingdom, and multiple groups, including the Spartacus League, were demanding the abdication of the King. With Germany in a state of de facto civil war, Marshal Petain sent Victor a telegram, advising him to take action against the protesters and force a return to order. Instead, the king tore up the telegram and, on the 19th, wrote a hastily-devised letter of abdication and fled to Paris, where he lived in exile for the remainder of his days. From the balcony of the Royal Palace in Berlin, a spokesman read out the abdication and quickly hurried inside. Germany was no longer a kingdom, and now a new government would have to be formed.

Revolutionaries armed with a Maschinegewehr 08 and multiple Mauser rifles take guard on the Brandenburg Gate, 1921.

Immediately afterwards, the country devolved into chaos. Communist revolutionaries, seeing their opportunity to create a socialist German nation, ordered troops to take key buildings in Berlin and other large cities, while simultaneously spreading word of the revolution. By December a provisional democratic government was formed by Friedrich Ebert in Weimar, a town in modern-day Thuringia, while Communists, led by the KPD and Spartacus League of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, held multiple key cities and regions. Civil war officially began with the Dresden Skirmishes on the 23rd, where Freikorps and revolutionaries clashed in the Saxon capital. In the interim, the Northern Front was ended with the withdrawal of French troops from the Holstein peninsula, and a large contingent of French were now stuck on the Eastern Front. The loss of Germany hurt France greatly, as now it was left without its key ally. German troops serving on all fronts hurried back to their homeland to fight in the civil war, with swathes joining the Freikorps, People’s Army and other military and paramilitary groups.

Initially it seemed that the better-equipped Freikorps and Reichswehr had the upper hand. Ebert's new government was quickly recognised as the official German government, and received materiel from Ireland, Russia, England and the United States. During the Civil War, France was crushed and surrendered, ending the Third Great War. Ebert was summoned to New York, as head of the provisional Weimar government, to attend peace talks. Much like the rest of the Continental System, the terms hit like a bombshell for Ebert: the Treaty of Wilitwyck demanded many things, including:

• Heavy financial compensation to Lublin, Denmark-Norway and the newly independent Czechoslovakia.
• The handover of the German blue water fleet.
• The annexation of Schleswig-Holstein by Denmark-Norway.
• The annexation of Danzig by the United Commonwealths.
• The independence of the Rhineland, thereby denying Germany the use of its resources and industrial capacity, and East Prussia.
• Plebiscites in Pomerania, Westphalia, Tyrol and Emsland.
• The reduction in size of the German military, the abolition of the Royal Air Corps and the handover of all armored vehicles.

Reluctantly, Ebert agreed. Knowing that the Spartacists would try fight against this proposal, but having no other choice, he signed on the 16th of June, 1922, effectively signing away the fate of the Weimar Republic. The Treaty ended up destroying any popularity the Weimar Republic had, as most Germans were opposed to the conditions of the Treaty. In the wake of its signing, the Spartacists surged in popularity. Angry and dissatisfied Germans flocked to the Communists in droves, who promised to restore German territorial integrity. Many Freikorps soldiers defected, hurting the Weimar Republic's military capability.

A Spartacist-captured tank in Leipzig, 1923.

The civil war would end in Spartacist victory. The staff of the People’s Army planned a "great liberation campaign" (Große Befreiungskampf) to destroy the provisional government and unify the country under Communist domination. By them the Weimar Republic’s military, the Reichsheer, had been severely weakened by desertions and mutinies, leading to a quick victory. The Sack of Weimar in January 1923 led to the dissolution of the "Weimar Republic" and the proclamation of the German People’s Republic. But the civil war raged on, as foreign intervention by the Allied Powers resulted in the brief War of the Internationals from 1923-24, which was unpopular among the public in the Allied nations. Even the industrial might and manpower of the Allied Powers were no match for the revolutionaries. Tired and worn out by nearly 10 years of constant warfare, the intervention was deeply unpopular in many countries, and morale throughout was low. In March 1924, hostilities ceased and negotiations for a peace began.

Consolidation of power and the interwar years

The Treaty of Arnhem officially ended the Civil War and Germany was finally at peace. Signed by England, Rhomania, Lublin, Denmark-Norway, Germany, the US, Ireland, Scotland and Russia on the 7th of October, 1924, the Treaty recognised that the borders would remain as of the end of hostilities, which angered a lot of neighbouring nations, especially Czechoslovakia, which lost most of Silesia. Agreements were made that renounced German claims to the Sudetenland and Northern Schleswig. The new Communist government was recognised as the legitimate government of Germany, and generally all claims and demands against Germany were settled.

The KPD, under Grotewohl, Pieck, Ulbricht, Luxemburg and Liebnicht, pushed ahead with establishing the framework of the Republic. According to the 1925 constitution, the German People’s Republic would be governed via people's democracy, allowing for multi-party elections (also featuring universal enfranchisement), which were held immediately after the constitution was accepted via a referendum. Local government was to be via a federal system, with separate parliaments. The first federal elections in 1925 was a landslide for the KPD, as the SPD had been purged due to their role in the Civil War and other parties were too weak to oppose the KPD initially, and Luxemburg became the first Chancellor, with Liebnicht elected to the position of Speaker of the People’s Council. The two would end up sharing the Chancellorcy, with Grotewohl taking over as Council Speaker.

Fourth Great War

The rise of France and French fascism was of great concern to the new Germany. Throughout the 1930s the nation had slowly remilitarised, but with the resurgence of French wants for European dominance, massive economic programs were created by Thälmann to build up German inventory. While some saw it as Germany rising again to create a socialist Europe, it was a matter of survival for Communist Germany. France would no doubt try to reclaim the territories of the Rhine left bank, and as such heavy investment was put into defences along the Rhine, plus in the Fulda Gap, a designated weak point in German topography - without the Fulda Gap, it was almost certain Berlin would fall and with it, the "worker’s paradise". New small arms, tanks, artillery, aircraft and naval ships would bring the fight to the French, and in their retrospective arrogance, the generals of the Volkswehr believed that the industrial superiority of the People’s Republic would win out against the fascists.

German troops in Hesse, June 1939.

The invasion of Wallonia-Luxembourg and Flanders in 1938 would be the start of the Fourth Great War. Germany, wishing not to be involved, neither declared war on France nor condemned the invasion, although a secret memorandum passed to the US ambassador in Frankfurt explicitly condemned the invasion. However, Maurras had his eyes on Germany, wanting to regain territory west of the Rhine. In February 1939, Maurras, through Foreign Minister Daladier, sent an ultimatum to Germany to allow French troops through Germany in preparation for an invasion of Lublin. Germany refused access, though announced it would conventionally agree to allow military divisions to use its airspace under heavy supervision. Nonetheless, France was using this as preparation for an act of war, and if Germany were to reject any stipulations it offered, it would immediately pursue with a land invasion.

While France had deeply overestimated the capabilities of the German military, having only expected that their invasion would last a month in advance, Germany was not organised to fight an immediate conflict on the Rhine. As a result, it was poised into a strategic defence that failed to achieve its goals of preventing France from reaching the river. French forces and their allies in Luxembourg overran the local governments there and were able to conquer much of the country by July. Ernst Thälmann fled to Sweden soon afterwards, and Berlin fell in August 1939. German resistance remained scattered, but prominent, among areas of industrial production, and France was never fully able to use German territory to finance its war efforts from 1939 to the end of the war in 1946. Remnants of the Volkswehr fled to Russia, while tank and aircraft development continued in Sweden. A large portion of the forces in Brandenburg were enlisted by the United Commonwealths to fight French forces in Polotsk, and German troops were instrumental in the defence of Minsk. In the meantime, France would divide Germany into a patchwork of puppet states and occupied territories, and relied heavily on forced German labour, both in industry and in military terms.

In 1943, Swedish forces entered the conflict in order to liberate Germany and Denmark-Norway from their French occupiers, and had seized all of Pomerania by the end of the year through naval landings. Berlin was subsequently recaptured, and Thälmann was reinstated as leader. The Oder River saw fierce fighting, but ultimately French forces were outpaced, and were forced to withdraw from the entire country by 1945. With France having not bothered to destroy the industrial plants that they were unable to seize proper materiel from, German industry was very quickly revitalised, and it accelerated production at a faster pace, effectively leading to German forces reaching the Seine River, and declaring a puppet state out of eastern France. The initial intent was to recreate the defunct Commune of France, but the German High Command transitioned it into a direct puppet, intended to relieve France of its wartime capacity while exerting humanitarian costs as punishment for their prior occupations.

Cold War and rivalry with the United States and the Union of England

Members of the Karl Liebknecht Pioneer Organization, a party-supported youth movement in Germany, active from 1946 to 1989.

During the immediate post-war period, Germany rebuilt and expanded its economy, while maintaining its strictly centralized control, although reforms were introduced in the early 1950s to improve the then-stagnating economy, transforming Germany towards quasi-market socialism. It took near-effective control over its occupied territories, turning them into satellite states. Germany bound its satellite states in a military alliance, the Frankfurt Pact, in 1955, and declined to join the Eurasian Community, mostly because of Russian veto, but also because of their inherent opposition to capitalism. Germany concentrated on its own recovery, seizing and transferring most of eastern France's industrial plants. It also instituted trading arrangements deliberately designed to favour the country. Frankfurt largely controlled the Communist parties that ruled the other Spartacist states, and they followed orders largely from the country, although they were allowed some leeway in external trading and cooperation; however, Sweden expressed strong recalcitrance and was the only nation willing to maintain trade relations with other nations, a policy which Germany generally tolerated. Also, despite Germany advocating for the full imposition of council communism, many of Germany's allies chose to interpret its ideology in different ways, leading to a spectrum of states based on how literally they interpreted Marxism-Luxemburgism. Fearing its ambitions, Germany's prior wartime allies, Russia and the United States, became its enemies. In the ensuing Cold War, the two sides clashed indirectly in proxy wars.

Alongside the United States, Germany found itself increasingly rivaled by the Union of England as well, which the state reviled as the "continuation of fascism", which was also touted by Western outlets. However, the majority of those in the government expressed disdain towards cooperation with the United States, due to economic and social differences, particularly both hardline communists and Litonists. A period of collective leadership ensued, and while press censorship was eased, Germany maintained its "no-contest" policy with the general public, and Chancellor Walter Ulbricht viewed civil liberties as unnecessary in an era where three nations were competing for geopolitical dominance, leading to crackdowns during his Chancellery from 1954 to 1963. Infrastructure projects received heavy funding, and in the 1950s, the KPD opted for a fiscal approach by having high spending in both industrial and military programmes.

Crainnian Crisis and the Paris Standoff

APC soldiers during an ambush in rural Camoline County, Crainnia, 1961. Germany provided covert support to the APC, including both armored vehicles and small arms.

In 1957, Ireland formally withdrew troops from their colony of Crainnia, and a provisional government declared the independence of Crainnia. For the past few years, Germany had covertly supported insurgents in the country, and knowing how important it was for them to gain allies there, they began to fund Spartacist parties and groups within the country. Elections held in 1958 would see the Western-aligned Crainnian Development Bloc (CDB) win, with the Spartacist-aligned Workers' Party not gaining many seats. Immediately, the government collapsed and a civil war broke out, with fascists and ultraconservatives forming the Free State of Crainnia. As a counter, in March 1958, with German assistance, the Workers' Party and their military wing, the APEN, left the government and established a state in the eastern part of the country, centered on Ardaragh County. The provisional government requested aid, leading to Operation Greenhouse, which saw Irish paratroopers and marines redeployed to fight guerrillas. This, obviously, caused a global crisis, with Germany pushing for a LTEP intervention.

On the 9th of July, 1958, LTEP Security Council Resolution 124 demanded the immediate withdrawal of Irish forces from Crainnia and the creation of COSFC, a multinational peacekeeping force comprised of soldiers from Kurdistan, Afrocolumbia, Ethiopia, Italy, Albania and others. For the next five years, the three groups would clash in the former Irish colony, with Crainnia being supported by COSFC after 1959 and 1960, with the force transitioning from a peacekeeping force to a military one, engaging in skirmishes with both secessionist rebels and guerillas. Throughout all of this, both Germany and its allies covertly funded the APC, supplying them with fighter jets, small arms, gear and armoured vehicles. In 1963, the crisis ended with the capture of Ardaragh County by government forces. COSFC would remain as a stabilising force in Crainnia until 1971, when operations were ended entirely.

Boulevard de la Chapelle, Hiberno-Scottish occupation zone, Paris, June 1961. Irish, Scottish and German tanks face off against each other. (AP).

The Crainnian Crisis was not the only crisis that Germany had either instigated or was involved in. Since 1946, Germany had stationed troops in East Paris, in its sector of the joint occupation zone of Ile-de-France. During the Crainnian Crisis, German troops were on constant alert and they were mobilized at the inner French border in the event of a nuclear escalation. The closest that the world would come to catastrophe was in 1961, due to two important events, one of which was the Paris Standoff. For a month in June 1961, Columbian, Russian, Irish and Scottish tanks faced down their German counterparts on the "Line of Control", the line dividing the Allied and German occupation zones of Ile-de-France. However, a second crisis preceded this, one that very nearly brought the world to nuclear ruin.

The Paris Crisis was started by a 1961 speech to the Frankfurt Pact Conference by People’s President Maurice Thorez of the French Democratic People’s Republic. In it, a Swedish journalist asked him about the escalating tensions in Europe and the continual population exodus from East France via Ile-de-France. Thorez replied, "There will be no exodus once we get the shovels". Many took this as a sign there would be a full closure of the East French border, including in Ile-de-France, contrary to the 1946 Dearborn Agreement to keep the zone’s borders open to all. On the morning of the 17th of June, residents of Ile-de-France were greeted by barricades and roadblocks into the German zone of control, de-facto a part of East France. Units of the German Army and militias of the DSPF had been instructed to bar entry into East France. Over the next three months, construction workers, guarded by East French armed police and militiamen, built a wall cutting off the two French states from each other.

Détente and Hoenecker

Willy Brandt, the Chancellor credited with bringing about detente.

…

By the mid-1970s, the German People’s Republic stood at a historical crossroads. The prosperity of the Brandt years, marked by increased foreign tourism, cautious trade with the capitalist bloc, and mild decentralization of the planned economy, had brought new optimism to the republic. Yet beneath the surface of this apparent liberalization lay deep ideological fractures. Brandt’s New Course policies, loosening price controls, encouraging private cooperatives, and courting détente with both the Global Treaty Organization (GTO) and the British-led International Defence of Liberty Association (IDLA), were viewed by party purists as a betrayal of Thälmannist orthodoxy. In late 1974, state newspapers revealed the presence of an English intelligence operative within Brandt’s cabinet, later revealed as Brandt’s secretary, Günter Guillaume, an embarrassment exploited by the KPD’s Central Committee. Under intense political pressure, Brandt resigned in March 1975. The People’s Assembly swiftly confirmed Erich Hoenecker as Volkskanzler. His rise marked the end of the reformist thaw and the beginning of a new, hardline period in German socialism.

Hoenecker’s decade in power was characterized by the deliberate dismantling of Brandt’s liberalizations and the reassertion of centralized Thälmannist control. The economy was reorganized around the National Planning Commission, and the Council for the Protection of Socialist Morality expanded censorship of the arts, press, and universities. Abroad, Hoenecker faced renewed unrest in the socialist periphery. In 1976, German troops brutally suppressed a burgeoning democratic movement in Wallonia, bringing considerable international condemnation. Continued involvement in Asia became a drain on resources, as German advisors supported anti-imperialist movements across Southeast Asia, and funded rival militant groups in the Persian bloc across Central Asia. Domestically, Hoenecker’s austerity measures in 1983, implemented to stabilize a faltering industrial base, led to bread shortages and declining living standards. The so-called Silent Winter of 1984–85 saw widespread worker absenteeism and sporadic strikes, unprecedented in the tightly controlled German economy. Party unity frayed as reform-minded officials began privately calling for “a return to the pragmatic socialism of the Brandt years.”

The Great Reforms and the 21st century

Egon Krenz, a member of the KPD's Reformist Wing, who oversaw the introduction of liberalization

In April 1986, mounting unrest within both the party and the armed forces led to Hoenecker’s assassination. The reformist wing of the KPD rallied around Egon Krenz, a younger figure promising a “revival of socialist humanism.” Within months, Krenz announced a comprehensive economic reform package known as the Frankfurt Framework, allowing limited worker self-management, small-scale private enterprise, and the legalization of independent trade cooperatives. Diplomatically, Krenz’s tenure saw a decisive thaw in the Cold War. In 1989, Germany signed the Vienna Accords with the GTO and the European Community, introducing a historic system of nuclear weapon limitation and verification. Three years later, the Treaty of Reunification restored France’s divided socialist republics into a single state, mediated under German supervision, an event hailed as a triumph of diplomacy.

In 1994, Krenz was succeeded by Lothar de Mazière, whose Great Reforms expanded on the Krenz-era liberalizations. The new Mixed Socialist Market System allowed for domestic competition under state oversight, while the Volkskammer was restructured to include non-KPD parties, effectively ending majority-party rule for the first time since 1927. Western commentators declared the German People’s Republic “a model of socialist modernization.” The political vacuum was filled by Bodo Ramelow, who rebuilt the KPD on a populist platform of national socialism without imperialism. His election as Volkskanzler in 2018 marked a definitive end to the reformist consensus. Ramelow nationalized the energy and transit sectors, restored agricultural collectivization, and withdrew from some European trade mechanisms.

Under his leadership, Germany returned to a policy of global isolation, emphasizing self-sufficiency and technological autarky. The National Cyber Authority and the Space Research Bureau received renewed funding, while censorship laws were reinstated under the Public Information Protection Act of 2018. Despite international criticism, Ramelow’s government enjoyed popular support among industrial workers and rural cooperatives, who benefited from renewed domestic investment.

Recent events: Die Linke, fall of the traditional parties and the concerning re-emergence of the Thälmannists

Following Ramelow’s retirement in 2024, the KPD selected Oskar Lafontaine as its new leader. A veteran economist and advocate of “post-market socialism,” Lafontaine inherited a state disillusioned with global liberalism and determined to reassert its independence. He announced the Five-Year Technological Sovereignty Plan in early 2025, directing vast resources into artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and aerospace industries. Relations with the West deteriorated rapidly. In mid-2025, the Red Comet Initiative was unveiled, an artificial intelligence (AI)-coordinated interstellar weapons and communications network designed to secure Germany’s strategic autonomy in outer space. The United Commonwealths and the European Community condemned the program as destabilizing, while the GTO warned that it represented “the militarization of intelligence itself.” Germany’s rearmament and renewed nationalism signaled the dawn of what observers have called the Second Cold War. Trade restrictions, sanctions, and propaganda battles once again dominate international relations. Yet within the republic, the government has framed this confrontation as a revival of the Thälmannist spirit.

Government and politics

Gregor Gysi (KPD), Volkspräsident since 2023.

Oskar Lafontaine (KPD), Chancellor since 2024.

Germany is governed as a federal parliamentary multiparty socialist republic, under the principles of social democracy and people’s democracy. While officially the country is "committed to the principles of socialism, Marxism and the freedom of the proletariat, the underprivileged and working class", German economic policies have grown increasingly capitalist since the Great Reforms initiated by Gerhard Schröder. Under the constitution, "free and fair" elections are guaranteed to be held every four years. The Chancellor is the elected head of state and has the power to veto any decisions made by the Nationalrat. However, openly capitalist political parties have been barred from participating in general elections, with all parties needing to take an official pledge to "the advancement of socialism and Marxist-Luxemburgist ideals" in order to officially run candidates in federal elections.

The Council Speaker is the head of government and heads the Nationalrat, the main executive body of the German government. The Nationalrat is comprised of 554 members, and is the unicameral legislature of Germany. All government ministers are appointed from the Nationalrat, and are seated at the front benches. The Chancellor has a special raised seat in the middle of the very first row, while the Council Speaker sits at the head of the hall. The People’s Court of Germany, headed by a Supreme Justice, is the highest court of appeal and can overturn decisions made by the Nationalrat if the motion is deemed unconstitutional, along with overturning local, regional or national court rulings.

List of political parties

Federal political parties in the Nationalrat

Party		Abbr.	Leader	Ideology	Political position	Seats in Nationalrat
	Communist Party of Germany	KPD		Marxism-Luxemburgism Revolutionary Socialism Council communism	Far-left
	Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany	USPD		Centrist Marxism Democratic socialism Pacificism	Left-wing to far-left
	All-German People's Party	GVP		Democratic socialism Social conservatism Christian democracy	Centre-right to centre-left
	Volkstaat Socialist Party	VSP		Democratic socialism Socialist militarism Left-wing nationalism	Left-wing to far-left
	Free Democratic Party	FDP		Liberal socialism social liberalism	Centre-left
	Alliance of Greens and Environmental Socialists	AGU		Environmentalism Eco-socialism	Left-wing
	Die Linke	LINKE		Democratic socialism Left-wing populism	Left-wing
	Die Partei	DP		Political satire Humanitarianism Environmentalism	Left-wing

Regionalist parties in the Nationalrat

Party		Abbr.	Leader	Ideology	Political position	Seats in Nationalrat
	Spartacus League of Bavaria			Marxism-Luxemburgism Revolutionary Socialism Regionalism	Far left
	South Schleswig Voters' Association			Regionalism Social liberalism Democratic socialism	Centre
	Brandenburg Civic Movement			Regionalism Democratic socialism Social democracy	Center-left
	Citizens for Silesia			Regionalism Social liberalism Democratic socialism	Center-left
	Spartacus League of Thuringia			Regionalism Big tent party	Centre

Foreign relations

Throughout most of its early and modern history, Germany was forced to rely on itself, becoming a dominant power in Europe and the largest, militarily, economically and statistically, and most developed nation of the Frankfurt Pact. From the Crainnian Crisis and the beginnings of detente in the 1960s, Germany opened up significantly to the world, becoming a major trade partner with the West and even allowing Western companies to invest in Germany. The 1975 coup by Hoenecker reversed this, but since the Great Reforms

Administrative divisions

Map of Germany.

The German People’s Republic is a federal state, made up of 12 "spartacist republics", 5 "autonomous republics", 3 free cities and the Berlin Capital Region. All have their own parliament, the Staatenrat.

Name	Population	Capital	Leader	Bezirke
Bavaria SR	13,124,737	Munich	Markus Söder (FDP)	Oberbayern, 'Niederbayern, Unterfrenken, Mittelfranken, Oberfranken, Schwaben
Brandenburg SR	6,197,670	Potsdam	Dietmar Woidke (VSP)	Barnim, Dahme-Spreewald, Elbe-Elster, Havelland
Prussia AR	3,733,648	Königsberg	Adolf Weissmuller (KPD)	Bezirke Westpreußen, Bezirke Ostpreußen, Bezirke Königsberg
Saxony SR	4,077,937	Dresden	Michael Kretschmer (GVP)	Bezirke Leipzig, Bezirke Dresden, Bezirke Chemnitz
Anhalt SR	2,169,253	Magdeburg	Reiner Haseloff (KPD)	Bezirke Magdeburg, Berzirke Halle/Salle
Lower Saxony SR	8,003,421	Hanover	Stephan Weil (SPD)	Bezirke Hannover, Bezirke Braunschweig, Bezirke Lüneburg, Bezirke Oldenburg
Silesia AR	8,000,000	Breslau	Marek Wójcik (KPD)	Bezirke Niederschlesien, Bezirke Oberschlesien

Military

Messerschmitt Me420 Tornado fighter jet as used by the Volksluftwaffe.

See also: Deutsche Volkswehr

The German military, the Volkswehr, is organised into the Volksbodentruppen (Army, VBT and the Special Forces, the VSEH), Volksmarine und Seestreitkräfte (Navy, VMSE), Volksluftwaffe (Air and Space Forces, VLW) and the Volkssturm (Reserve forces/militia, VSM). German military spending has remained considerably high since the end of the Cold War, with it taking up 3.8% of the country’s GDP in 2021.

As of January 2020, the Volkswehr has a strength of 288,901 active soldiers and 91,212 civilians. Reservists are available to the armed forces and participate in defence exercises and deployments abroad. Until 2008, military service was compulsory for men at age 21, but this has been officially suspended and replaced with a voluntary service. Since 1999 women may serve in all functions of service without restriction. According to the Oslo International Peace Research Institute, Germany was the fourth-largest exporter of major arms in the world from 2014 to 2018. Germany itself is a nuclear power, in possession of around 4600 warheads as of 2018.

During peacetime the Volkswehr is commanded by the General Secretary of the Volkswehr, but in wartime the chancellor takes the position of General Secretary. The role of the Volkswehr as described in the 1997 constitution is to defend German territory and its allies against any attacks, as well as to participate in LTEP international missions.

Economy

The German economy is one of the most advanced in Europe and the world, and is the third-largest importer and exporter in the world, along with being the second-largest economy in Europe and the fourth largest economy in the world by gross domestic product (GDP). Its economic system is that of a "social market economy" (otherwise known as Rhenish socialism, Pieckism (after German Chancellor Wilhelm Pieck, who instituted the framework for the social market economy after the Fourth Great War) or German market socialism), with a prevalence of public-owned and state-owned enterprises. While different from American social capitalism due to its emphasis on state control of the economy and generally more regulation in the economy, it shares many aspects with it. Another unique aspect of the German economy is the type of companies that exist within the economy. Since 1988 limited companies and limited stock companies have been allowed to function within Germany, but most companies are either state-owned enterprises (Staatliches Unternehmen, SLU), joint union-stock cooperative enterprises (Gemeinsames Gewerkschafts-Aktien-Genossenschaftsunternehmen, GGAG) or the two above types of corporations.

Since 1997, Germany has been part of the European single market and the Schengen Free Travel Area, and has multiple arrangements with the European Community, which were started by Egon Krenz in the mid-1980s. Unemployment has consistently been below 5% since the late 1980s, one of the lowest rates in Europe. Its currency, the Deutschmark (DEM), introduced in 1990, is one of the most stable global currencies known.

Being the birthplace of the modern automobile, it comes as no surprise that a large portion of Germany's exports are vehicles, primarily cars. The automotive industry in Germany is one of the largest and most advanced in the world. Famous brands in this sector from Germany include Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, Wartburg, the Auto Union Group (Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer), Trabant, Opel and Mercedes-Benz. Other well known companies include Adidas, Siemens, Zeiss, Bosch, Allianz, Deutsche Telekom, AEG, DFT-Gruppen, Heckler & Koch and Rheinmetall.

Infrastructure

The German People's Republic possesses one of the most advanced and expansive infrastructure networks in Europe. Following the major economic reorganizations of the late 20th century, the state adopted a system of centralized planning that prioritized industrial efficiency, public transit, and interregional integration. Today, its infrastructure reflects decades of sustained investment in urban modernization, high-speed transportation, and renewable energy.

Transportation

The country maintains a dense and hierarchically organized transportation system. The Volksautobahn network spans the entirety of the republic, connecting major industrial centers with secondary cities through multi-lane motorways maintained by the Ministry of Transport. Automated tolling and surveillance systems are commonplace, and electric freight vehicles dominate intercity logistics. The national rail service, Deutsche Volksbahn, operates a high-speed network linking the principal metropolitan regions. The Magnetbahnlinie Ost-West, a magnetically levitated line between the cities of Bremen, Leipzig, and Dresden, serves as the backbone of passenger mobility. Urban centers are characterized by interconnected subway, tram, and bus systems managed through municipal transport unions that emphasize punctuality and state efficiency.

Energy and industry

The Republic’s energy infrastructure is heavily electrified and centrally coordinated under the National Energy Administration. Hydroelectric, wind, and solar energy account for the majority of domestic generation, with significant contributions from nuclear facilities in Saxony and the North Sea coast. The electrical grid operates on a unified smart-distribution model, allowing for real-time regulation of industrial and civilian consumption. Heavy industry remains concentrated in the Ruhr Basin, Halle-Leipzig corridor, and coastal ports, each surrounded by government-planned industrial parks designed for proximity to logistics and worker housing.

Urban development and housing

Urban planning follows a system of socialist modernism, emphasizing mixed-use districts, green corridors, and mass public housing complexes known as Volkswohnungen. Cities are divided into administrative zones integrating residential, cultural, and industrial sectors. Public utilities, including water treatment and telecommunications, are state-owned and operate under a standardized efficiency index. Broadband and fiber-optic networks are universally accessible and integrated into the government’s Digital Republic Program, ensuring continuous connectivity across urban and rural zones alike.

Telecommunications and digital infrastructure

The Volkesnetzagentur oversees the republic’s digital infrastructure, including the nationwide 6G network and state-managed data servers located in the Harz and Black Forest regions. Digital identity systems and e-governance platforms allow citizens to access public services electronically. Cybersecurity is treated as a strategic priority, with extensive monitoring infrastructure to maintain system integrity and information control.

Environmental management

Sustainability policies are deeply embedded in infrastructure planning. Urban centers feature extensive electric vehicle charging grids, waste-to-energy plants, and district heating systems. River management programs along the Elbe and Rhine integrate flood control with hydroelectric generation and ecological restoration. The Republic’s Five-Year Environmental Plans set quantitative targets for emissions, urban greening, and rural revitalization, ensuring alignment between technological progress and environmental stability.

Demographics

As of 2023, the German People's Republic had an estimated population of 92 million, making it one of the most populous nations in Europe. The country maintains a notably stable demographic profile, characterized by sustained fertility, controlled migration, and an extensive social welfare framework that underpins long-term population growth.

Population growth and fertility

The total fertility rate in 2023 stood at 2.38 children per woman, a figure that has remained virtually unchanged since the early 2000s. This stability is attributed to a combination of economic security, comprehensive social policy, and cultural emphasis on family as a social institution. The government’s policies on parental leave, housing subsidies for families, and universal childcare have been instrumental in maintaining replacement-level fertility. Additionally, the widespread participation of women in the workforce, supported by flexible maternity arrangements and workplace equality laws, has balanced economic productivity with demographic sustainability. Sociologists in the republic often refer to this equilibrium as the Volksfamilienmodell, a synthesis of socialist collectivism and practical modernity.

Migration and ethnic composition

Emigration, once a significant demographic factor during the mid-20th century, declined sharply during the 1960s and 1970s as living standards rose and internal mobility increased within the socialist bloc. Since the late 20th century, Germany has become a net receiver of immigrants, primarily from allied socialist nations such as Croatia, Helvetia, and, to a lesser degree, Sweden. These communities have integrated into the broader social fabric through state-managed housing cooperatives and vocational programs.

In addition, the republic has recruited skilled and semi-skilled laborers from southern Asia, particularly from Majapahit and Borneo, through bilateral labor agreements established in the 1980s and 1990s. These workers are most commonly employed in the manufacturing, logistics, and energy sectors, and many have since obtained permanent residency or citizenship. The resulting demographic composition is increasingly multiethnic, though linguistically unified through widespread education in Standard German.

Education and human capital

Education in the German People’s Republic is compulsory and universally accessible through the National Educational Framework. The country ranks among the top in Europe for educational attainment and quality, just below Czechoslovakia and the Dutch Republic. Secondary and technical education emphasize science, engineering, and civic instruction, reflecting the state’s commitment to economic self-sufficiency and social cohesion.

Heidelberg University, established as a national research institute under the Ministry of Education, is recognized as the second most prestigious university in Europe. Its research output in physics, medicine, and political economy has shaped intellectual life throughout the socialist world. In addition to Heidelberg, major technical universities in Dresden, Hamburg, and Essen maintain global reputations for innovation and applied sciences.

Social welfare and public health

Germany’s social welfare system forms one of the pillars of its demographic success. Universal healthcare ensures comprehensive medical coverage from birth to old age, and unemployment compensation provides stable income for displaced workers. Child benefits are extensive and progressive, covering not only direct subsidies but also education credits and reduced public housing costs. State-run eldercare facilities and pension programs further contribute to a sense of long-term social stability, minimizing economic anxiety associated with family formation.

Demographic outlook

The demographic structure of the republic is comparatively young by European standards, with a median age of 36.4 years and a balanced rural-urban distribution. Population density is highest in the industrial corridors of the Ruhr, Saxony, and the Lower Elbe, while population growth in peripheral regions has been encouraged through agricultural and infrastructural incentives.

Religion

Religion in the German People’s Republic plays a limited but officially tolerated role in public life. Although Christianity and Judaism continue to be practiced by a small minority, primarily through state-registered congregations and cultural associations, the overwhelming majority of citizens, approximately 95%, identify as irreligious or atheist. This demographic pattern is the product of extensive secularization campaigns initiated during the 1920s and reinforced throughout the 20th century, which sought to replace traditional faith structures with socialist humanism and scientific materialism. Religious institutions operate under strict oversight by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and are largely confined to ceremonial or heritage functions. While freedom of belief is nominally guaranteed, public discourse, education, and civic life remain firmly grounded in secular and rationalist principles, reflecting the state’s long-standing commitment to ideological atheism.