Reckless printing of money caused hyperinflation in 1923, when the currency became so worthless that basic items were priced at trillions of Marks the introduction of the Rentenmark then stabilized the economy before the Great Depression of 1929 sent it back into dramatic decline. Reparations and economic mismanagement also financially crippled Germany and led to bitter indignation among many Germans in the interwar period something that was exploited by Adolf Hitler on his rise to power. Mass displacement and the restructuring of Europe's borders through the Treaty of Versailles saw the population drop by several million more. By the war's end in 1918, Germany suffered over 2 million civilian and military deaths due to conflict, and several hundred thousand more during the accompanying influenza pandemic. As the war progressed, both the military and civilian populations grew increasingly weakened due to malnutrition, as Germany's resources became stretched. Viewed as the strongest of the Central Powers, Germany mobilized over 11 million men throughout the war, and its army fought in all theaters. These endeavors were cut short, however, when the Austro-Hungarian heir apparent was assassinated in Sarajevo Germany promised a 'blank check' of support for Austria's retaliation, who subsequently declared war on Serbia and set the First World War in motion. The first decades of unification saw Germany rise to become one of Europe's strongest and most advanced nations, and challenge other world powers on an international scale, establishing colonies in Africa and the Pacific. In 1886, the Austro-Prussian War united northern Germany under a new Confederation, while the remaining German states (excluding Austria and Switzerland) joined following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 this established the German Empire, under the Prussian leadership of Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.ġ871 to 1945 - Unification to the Second World War In contrast, industrialization and poor harvests also saw high unemployment in rural regions, which led to waves of mass migration, particularly to the U.S. As Germany industrialized and the economy grew, so too did the argument for nationhood calls for pan-Germanism (the unification of all German-speaking lands) grew more popular among the lower classes in the mid-1800s, especially following the revolutions of 1948-49.

The population grew throughout the remainder of the century, as improvements in sanitation and medicine (namely, mandatory vaccination policies) saw child mortality rates fall in later decades. Napoleonic reforms led to the abolition of serfdom, extension of voting rights to property-owners, and an overall increase in living standards. This empire was dissolved, however, in 1806, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Europe, and the German Confederation was established in 1815. In 1800, the region of Germany was not a single, unified nation, but a collection of decentralized, independent states, bound together as part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Us population density map 1840