Bundesrepublik Ostalba
From SCJU Wiki
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| Motto: "Steige hoch, oh Kronenbanner!" Rise high, oh crown's banner! | |||||
| Anthem: Kronenbanner | |||||
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| Capital | Hansestadt Böhlingen Haven | ||||
| Largest city | Hansestadt Böhlingen Haven | ||||
| Official language(s) | German regional also Welsh, Hebrew | ||||
| Government Federal President
Federal Chancellor | Federal Parlamentary Republic Herrmann von Gröhnen Friedrich Gustav Demusch | ||||
| Republic Act of Unity Prussian Colonization Bad Precht Treaty Foundation of the Federal Republic | 1010 1702 1936 1953 | ||||
| Area • Total • Water (%) | 29,590 km² (127th) 9.3 | ||||
| Population • 2009 est. • 2009 census • Density | 3,567,000 (132th) 2009 120.5/km² (87th) | ||||
| GDP (PPP) • Total • Per capita | US$ 79 billion estimate KP (KP) $US 22.147 (101th) | ||||
| HDI (2003|2009) | KP KP – KP | ||||
| Currency | Neue Albische Mark (NAM)
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| Time zone • Summer (DST) | GMT-2 (UTC-3) (UTC) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .oa | ||||
| Calling code | +492
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The Federal Republic of East Alba (Bundesrepublik Ostalba) is a country located on Atlantica Alba. In the east, it borders the Atlantic Ocean and the East Alban Bay. It also shares land borders with Royal Cytheria in the north, Calderwood in the west and Valicia in the south. The territory covers 29,590 square kilometers which compose the four federal states (Bundesländer). East Alba is inhabited by about 3.5 million people, which makes it to one of the smallest member states of the Sim City Journal Union, by both population and economic size.
History
The name Bundesrepublik Ostalba is a relatively new term for the area. Until the foundation of the Republic in 1953, the country was known as Deutsch Alba (German Alba). After WWII, the new government decided to make a complete new start and give the new country a ethno-neutral name.
East Alban Tribes (until 1010 AD)
The time of the East Alban Tribes is not well documented; most knowledge about this era is taken from fairy tales and local legends. The most important historian on that topic is Ysmael Silberwasser (1822-1901), who wrote the book "Legends and Truth - History of the East Alban area" which is known today as being the most expansive book on East Alban history until 1010. In Legends and Truth, he collected the most important, and probably the most realistic, legends of that time into one encyclopaedia.
In 356, the war ended with a victory for the Four Tribes. However, the victory was also the beginning of an alliance between the Four Tribes and Valicia. The conquerers brought the Valician technology into the Four Tribes, increasing the standard of living of the Four Tribes peoples; especially in the areas of healthcare and technical technology, which were copied and resulting in the Four Tribes establishing a unique civilization. The capital of this civilization was called Berl, which means swamp lands. The exact location of Berl is not known, but historians assume that it must have been in the south, in the great swamp lands of New Wales. In 373 the town of Berl already had about 20,000 inhabitants and the central temple was built there. Each of the four tribes --Mudd, Addacom, Orny, and Sawlu-- were monotheistic, believing in a single deity they called Eyschey. It is assumed that this is a short form for Eyeh asher eyeh the name of the Jewish God. It is also believed that the East Alban tribes are descendants of the 10 north Israeli tribes, so that the temple in Berl would be the East Alban version of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
During the following years a religious rift began between the Orny tribe and the remaining Four Tribes nations. The rift centered around the question of rebirth. The Orny tribe believed that the soul dies as soon as the body dies, while the other tribes believed that the soul is immortal, irrespective of physical death. The rift soon spiraled into a civil war and the Orny tribe built its own temple and invaded the Shawlu tribe in 534, conquering and annexing the Shawlu Nation. In the same year the army of the Orny tribe invaded the two southern tribes. Now, Valicia supported the Mudd and Addacom tribe and the civil war became a war of international importance. The final battle took place at the Wehr-Hill in New Wales, where the southern tribes built their largest castle. The war ended with a victory for the Orny, and its army marshalled to Berl and completely razed the city, killing all male men and children as well.
In 600, the Orny tribe established the first kingdom what was to become East Alba. The King became the high priest of the Orny temple called Daniel Yeshey Melem (Daniel, God's King), who just was 9 years old at this time.
In short, King Daniel was a tyrant, oppressing his people and using armed force as an instrument of national policy. He ruled the East Alban kingdom for 51 years until his death in 651. After his death a second civil war broke out due to a weak successor.
In 666, the former southern tribes of Mudd and Addacom formed a new tribe and established their own kingdom. This Kingdom was allied with Valicia, which grew very fast in the last years, so that the Orny kingdom did not dare to invade the southern kingdom. At the end of the 7th century, the Kingdom of Orny was suffering from a severe famine, which resulted in the dissolution of the Kingdom into several small city-states. In 787, the king of the southern kingdom died, soon after, the Kingdom began to break apart, so that by 788, the Southern Kingdom was nothing but a memory. Until 1010, the city-states were not able to establish a nation-state, often forming alliances and invading each other, but none were able to become dominant state in East Alba
Act of Unity, Germanization & Christianization (1010 until 1701)
In 1010, there were 54 small states in East Alba. In the same year, an army of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations arrived in East Alba and conquered a small land-strip at the southern coast. The native inhabitants called these strangers Goy Zarah, which means an unreligious stranger and were everything but happy about their arrival. For a long time after there were no more direct confrontations between the native East Albans and the Germans. In almost 50 years the Germans made the small land-strip to an economic well-developed area and built the town of Sankt Saßnitz, and to defend the area, two castles. Even today Sankt Saßnitz still is the 2nd most important habour city in the country.
The fact that suddenly these unreligious strangers collected an unbelievably large amount of wealth made the native inhabitants of East Alba angry and soon a guerrilla warfare broke out. Due to the split of East Alba in 54 small states there was no large army, which was able to fight against the Germans, so the only fights that took place were East Alban farmers against German soldiers. Often Sankt Saßnitz itself and the surroundings were attacked by the farmers who stole mostly money, domesticated animals and food in general. In 1059, after almost 50 years of guerrilla warfare, the Germans put their interest on expanding their territory yet again, invading several small states in the south and pushing a huge wave of refugees forwards. This emigration is written down in one of the most famous East Alban poems, which was written in 1073:
Tränen des Vaterlandes
Wir sind doch nunmehr ganz, ja mehr denn ganz vertrieben
Die Fremden kamen und haben geklaut, uns're Männer aufgerieben
Das Schwert ist fett vom ganzen Blut und niemand kann's ertragen
Tausend Jahre Vaterland haben wir im Staub vergraben
Die Türme brennen, die Städte auch, der Hafen ist ersoffen
Nun sin' 'ma hier und ziehen fort, worauf können wir noch hoffen?
Tears of the Fatherland
Now we are completely, even more that this chased away
The stranges came and stole, our men were killed
The knife is full of blood and nobody can take it
Tousand years fatherland we have burried in the dust
The towers burn, the cities too, the habour is drowned
Now we're here, moving away, what can we still hope for?
This poem illustrates how the Germans conquered the East Alban states. The towns they had conquered, were destroyed, as were many men killed; the people who remained, were hunted and tortured. During the following 150 years, about three-fourths of the native population emigrated to neighbouring countries. Especially in Valicia they found a new home. This wave of emigration was the largest one that Atlantica Alba had seen in its early history. More than 250,000 people left their homes and fleed from the Germans. Out of the fourth fourth, that stayed in East Alba, survived about one half.
In 1209 an alliance finally was formed between the 19 East Alban city states that still existed to fight against the Germans. After four years the large East Alban army was founded and marched into the German areas. The final battle took place in 1213. About 100,000 native East Albans and Valicians fought against 60,000 Germans. The battle ended with a victory for the Germans and 80,000 dead East Albans. On that battlesite, the Germans founded a monastery and called it Gloria. The surviviors were mostly punished and were brought to Germany as slaves. About 5,000 stayed in Gloria and were forced to learn German in that monastery and had to become Christians. Today Gloria belongs to the Maewydd-Addacom metropolitan area, and is home of the country's largest memorial. On August 1st in 1214, one year after the final battle the leaders of the native East Albans came to Sankt Saßnitz, and were required to disarm themselves to the Governor of German East Alba as a symbol of surrender. That day is known as Act of Unity because it was the first time since 666 that one country composed the whole East Alban area. August 1st still is the national holiday of East Alba.
In the following 500 years East Alba became an important economic and cultural extension of the German Empire. The population grew fast and soon many new cities were built. These 500 years also known as the longest peace-time period East Alba ever had because there were no more wars taking place in that time. But for the native population this time was everything but peaceful. Even though the war officially had ended they still had to suffer a lot and had to give up their roots. The languages and the religion of the tribes were forbidden in German East Alba. By forbidding Jewish people doing any other work than making clothes a lot of them were urged to become Christians so that the old religion soon was forgotten and German East Alba a Christian country. The first Jews resettled in that area in the 17th century in the HaKartel-Area in New Wales.
Prussian Colonization and the 2nd German Empire (1701 until 1918)
In 1701, Prussia became a kingdom and therefore, East Alba became a part of that German kingdom as present of the Emperor for the Prussian King. King Friedrich I visited East Alba for the first time in 1703 and explained the will to build a new capital. Treptow was chosen to become the new capital of the province and thereby Sankt Saßnitz lost its status as the capital after about 650 years. In Treptow Friedrich I built the
After the death of Friedrich I, his son, Friedrich Wilhelm I, became King of Prussia. He despised everything his father had done and his character and kind of leadership differed very much from those of his father. He ruled the kingdom in a very citizen-friendly way and saved much money by selling royal furniture and diamonds, as well as reducing the size of the royal budget and the size of the army. Even though he hated spending money on senseless things he decided to built a new capital in East Alba. After just ten years after Treptow became capital he built a new capital in the north-east of the country. He called the city "Wilhelmstadt" and made it to the industrial heart of the country. Because of the missing of any large and royal buildings the city never had the same golden and prompy atmosphere as Treptow or Sankt Saßnitz. In the time Friedrich Wilhelm I ruled the country, the army became very strong, even though the size had been reduced by about one third. He achieved this aim by giving the soldiers a special training and good-quality armaments. The army was never engaged in any wars by Friedrich Wilhelm I himself. During his leadership the Jewish community grew rapidly, especially since his government started a few programs to settle down Jewish families in the country because they were known for being very good traders, bankiers and civil servants. About the half of the government of Friedrich Wilhelm I was Jewish and thereby Wilhelmstadt became the second largest Jewish community in East Alba He died in 1740 and was the first Prussian king, that was buried in East Alba. His coffin is put in the large Wilhelm Mausoleum at the east cap of Wilhelmstadt, one of the only large buildings that were built in the name of Friedrich Wilhelm I.
In 1740, Friedrich II, also known as Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great), became King of Prussia and East Alba. He is mostly known for his affection of poetry and music, which made his relationship to his father Friedrich Wilhelm I very complicated. But in the way of ruling the country he was quite similar to his father. He didn't spend money on extravagant projects and preferred that the army espouse quality over quantity. Even though he visited East Alba very often to put some space between himself and the troubles going on in Prussia proper, he never realized large projects in the country. There are only two buildings of cultural importance that were built during his leadership: The large Wilhelm Memorial Cathedral in Wilhelmstadt, to honour his father and the New City Hall in Böhlingen Haven. Friedrich II always prefered being in Böhlingen Haven during his visits but he never made the city the capital. In East Alba he was the first king to regulate the country in a bureaucratic way. In 1757 he made a census which had shown, that back then, East Alba had about 1.1 million inhabitants and that Wilhelmstadt was, with about 300,000 inhabitants, the largest city in the country. In addition to his cultural affection he also used the strong army his father had established in East Alba. He invaded Valicia and conquered the area around the town of Llwlhyma. This area was known of being full of natual resources, such as iron and coal. In 1772, Prussia became a sovereign kingdom and therefore East Alba a part of a European superpower again. In the years he ruled East Alba the Jewish community aswell as the Welsh community (the former East Alban tribes) had a climax of emancipation and social equality. He gave these two minorities the rights to settle wherever they liked and to do every job, except serving in the army. But still Jewish people mostly worked as traders and civil servants. Friedrich II died in 1786 in Potsdam (Berlin). His death shocked the country, especially since he died without producing an heir, but also because he was the most popular leader East Alba ever had. Today he is honoured in many different ways. For instance, the central airport in the Hanseatic City of Böhlingen Haven is called "Frederick II, King of Prussia International Airport" and the largest street in the city is called "Friedrich Damm" (Frederick's Avenue). But the largest honour is the fact that his quotaion, Ich bin der erste Diener des Staates (I am the first server of the state), still is known as the raison of the East Alban parliament.
In 1786, his nephew Friedrich Wilhelm II became King of Prussia. He was known of doing nothing sensefull for the country. In his 53 years long leadership he never visited East Alba and therefor is the most unpopular King East Alba ever had. He died in 1797 and after his death the people of East Alba hoped for a King, who knows how to rule a kingdom.
In 1797, his son Friedrich Wilhelm III became King. He was known for being very shy and talking in a very simple and military way. He was the king who established the compulsory military service in Prussia and East Alba for all citizens, Germans, Welshs and Jews. Thereby he wanted to fulfill his duties to fight against the Grand Armée of Napoleon in Europe. His letter "An mein Volk" (To my Nation), which was printed in almost all large newspapers in Prussia and East Alba, was the beginning of the military culture in East Alba. Nearly 150,000 inhabitants of East Alba became a member of the army voluntarily to support the war against France. Friedrich Wilhelm III also established the medal "Eisernes Kreuz" (Iron Cross), which still is the highest medal people can get in Germany and East Alba. He died in 1840 in Berlin. In East Alba he isn't known for constructing large buildings but for giving the nation a new military identity. He established a new school system aswell as compuslory education, which still is in use, reformed the East Alban navy and also established the Gesetz zum Erhalt der Lebensumstände (Law for keeping life standards), which makes sure that every citizen in East Alba had access to free food and water if needed.
In 1840, Friedrich Wilhelm IV became King. He was the oldest son of Friedrich Wilhelm III and reformed the whole Prussian and East Alban justice-system. He established the protective custody for instance. Because of an illness he had to retreat in 1858 and his brother Wilhelm I became king.
Wilhelm I is one of the most important kings in the East Alban and German history. He reigned during the Prussian-French wars and the Prussian-Danish wars. Due to his glorious victories in these wars, he became Emperor of the 2nd German Empire in 1871 in Versailles after the victorious Prussian-French war. In East Alba itself he was a great builder and built buildings such as the Great Cathedral in Treptow, the Berlin Gate and the former National Libary (today East Alban Parliament Building) in Böhlingen Haven, the former Orangerie (today Parliament Building of new Wales) in Friedrichsburg, the former Summer's Residence (today Parliament Building of the Westmark) in Velten and the former Opera House in Bad Heiligensee, which is used as parliament building of the Nordmark today. He used to visit East Alba at least once a year until his death in 1888.
His son Friedrich III became King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany in the same year, but died 99 days later. In his life he only visited East Alba once in 1792.
His son, WIlhelm II, became King and Emperor in 1888. As was his grandfather before him, Wilhelm III was a great builder and constructed whole districts in a very luxurious and prompy way. The architectural style is called Wilhelminisch and was very popular in Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg and Böhlingen Haven. In Böhlingen Haven, you still find many buildings that are of that style. In 1914 he made a speech in which he told to the German people that the army would support Austria-Hungary in its war against the Russian Empire; this is known as the beginning of World War I. In World War I the harbours of East Alba were a very important base of the Imperial German Navy. The position of East Alba made it possible to the German armies to attack France from East and from West. In 1918 Wilhelm II retreated from all positions for now and for the future after the First German Republic (the Weimar Republic) was founded. For the rest of his life Wilhelm II lived in East Alban exile in the palace of Bad Heiligensee in the Nordmark.
Bad Precht Treaty and World War Two (1918 until 1945)
With the foundation of the Weimar Republic in Germany, East Alba became a free and independent state after about 900 years of Germanization. The fact that suddenly there wasn't a King ruling the country from Germany led East Alba into a financial, cultural and political crisis. The lack of a strong leader confused the population. In 1919 a national convention took place in Wilhelmstadt what all citizens were allowed to attend. About 5,000 volunteers and elected representives met at Wilhelmplatz, the large central square in the city. They discussed for two weeks and wrote the first republican constitution of the country, the Präambel. But not all citizens were confident with this constitution. The Welsh minority felt unrepresented by the new government and therefore demanded a new constitution, in which their cultural group would be represented in a better way. Their demands were left unheard and that's why the Welsh minority founded the Welsh Republic of East Alba in the south of the country. This caused a civil war between the German population and the Welsh population. Some areas in the south of East Alba lost up to one third of their population. The city of Friedrichsburg lost about 50,000 inhabitants out of its original population of 150,000. The civil war ended in 1930 with a surrender of the Welsh state which immediately was re-occupied by the German Republic of East Alba.
In the following five years, the government was not able to rule the country in a stable way. The missing of any election thresholds caused a varity of parties in the parliament which resulted in East Alba having eleven different governments in only five years. This might explain why the people of East Alba were looking for a strong leader, which was soon be found in the national socialistic leadership in Germany. In 1933 the NSAAP Nationalsozialistische Albische Arbeiterpartei (National Socialistic Workers' Party of Alba) was founded as sister party of the German NSDAP, or National Socialist German Worker's Party, or as it is commonly known, the Nazi Party of Germany. The totalitarian attitude of this party's ideology attracted many people in East Alba, who recognised it as the legitimate panacea in harsh conditions. That's why the party already had one-fourth of the votes in the German areas. In 1936, the then Imperial German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, visited Wilhelmstadt and other large cities in the country, this caused a wave of enthusiasm in East Alba and soon the NSAAP reached the absolute majority in 1937. In the same year the government led by the NSAAP and the German government led by the NSDAP met in the small town of Bad Precht east of Böhlingen Haven and drew up the Bad Precht Treaty. Due this treaty East Alba became a part of the Third Reich, completely absorbed by Nazi Germany as Austria and party of the Czech Republic were two years later . Even today the town still is the heart of the fascist movement in East Alba and seat of the fascist party.
During World War II, East Alba was a strategic base for the Wehrmacht (Nazi-German military). Especially advantageous for Germany in northern Africa, helping Germany to conquer large areas very quickly. But the fact that East Alba is situated far away from contiguous Germany was its demise at the same time. After D-Day, Germany was not able to defend East Alba anymore and put all energy in defending Germany proper. East Alba was conquered by the United Nations (Allied) Forces within just three days. Some cities suffered immense damage due to widespread bombing. Wilhelmstadt was virtually leveled, and Sankt Saßnitz, Güterslow and Böhlingen Haven were heavily damaged during the war.
During the leadership of the NSAAP, the cultural minorities (Jews, Gypsies, Gays, Slavs, Non-Germans) suffered immensly under the East Alban Nazi reign. The fascist regime in East Alba built one concentration camp in 1937. But because of the fact that the news of what's happening to minorities and other-thinkings in Germany made a lot of these unwanted people flee before the concentration camp was finished. Yet again Valicia symbolized a save place for people being hunted in East Alba.
British Occupation and the Federal Republic (1945 until 2010)
After WWII, East Alba stood under British occupation. As in Germany, the main aims of the Allied powers was the De-Nazification of the population and the establishing of a real republican system. Since the former capital Wilhelmstadt was completely destroyed, the British decided to declare the Hanseatic City of Böhlingen Haven the new capital. Böhlingen Haven was also an attractive site due to the relatively low amount of damage inflicted to the city during the war and the central location within the country. Thereby the former National Libary became the new parliamentary building and therefor heart of the new East Alban Republic. In 1947 the new constitution was written by the British Occupation Authority together with East Alban specialists and representatives. But the constitution was called Grundgesetz (basic laws) because it only was supposed to be the constitution of the country until the moment that the country can write and own constitution. But the country did not get a new constitution until nowadays.
In the following years the relationship between the East Alban population and the occupation forces changed and friendship began to grow. Very soon, the people started to see the British forces as helpers and no longer as occupiers. East-Albans started to act like Britons; they began to talk in English and copied elements of the British culture. In 1953 the Federal Republic of East Alba was founded; its seat of power was to be Böhlingen Haven. Cities that were heavily damaged in WWII were repaired, or at the very least, they were cleaned, and the country found a new identity. In 1951, two years before the foundation of the Bundesrepublik, the people even made a bid to become a part of the United Kingdom, but the British Government denied. Three years later in 1954, East Alba again asked to become a member of the Commonwealth but again the request was denied. But the very close relationship between East Alba and the United Kingdom remained. For the Welsh minority in the south it was the first time, that they were really recognized as a part of the country's population. This way of treatement changed in the following decades again and the german majority fell back into the old behaviour and soon the old conflicts between the German majority and the Welsh minority broke out again. But this conflict remained small and did not become a national problem.
The Federal Republic was founded in the borderes before WWII and without the area around Llwlhyma because this area still was internationally recognized as part of Valicia even though Friedrich der Große conquered it 200 years ago. This area was given back to Valicia and the protests of the inhabitants remained unheard. In 1955 a vote took place in which the inhabitants of Llwlhyma and the surrounding areas had to decide whether they want to be a part of East Alba or of Valicia. The poll has shown that about three fourth of the population preferred staying a part of East Alba but of course this vote was internationally not recognized so that the government of Valicia did not accept the area to become East Alban again. Since that day the area is claimed by the Eat Alban government, which says that it's a part of East Alba because of historical and cultural reasons, while the government of Valicia says it's not. The argument still affects the relations between East Alba and Valicia.
In the following years the economy of East Alba grew very fast and reached pre-war-level in 1960 and still the economy kept growing so that soon the country achieved full employment and even had to rely on immigration so that the companies would find enough workers. Especially the coal and iron industry, the chemistry industry and the vehicle inudstry was the basic of this 'Economy-Wonder', how the late 50s and 60s are known in East Alba. The creator of this grow was the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who was chancellor between 1957 and 1969. He was the 2nd Federal Chancellor and until today the only one who remained chancellor for 3 legislative sessions. He attracted lots of international, and especially german, companies to build factories in East Alba. The country had a low earn-level and low taxes and was able to produce needed recources on its own, so that an import of recources, such as iron and steel, was not needed. These years were also the time when the cities got rebuilt and East Alba made first own steps on the international parkett.
in the beginning 80s East Alba had its first economy crisis. The fact that the country's economy relied almost only on heavy industry caused the country to become an unimportant economy in the new high-tech world. The country suddenly had to import more goods than it produced itself. Especially the import of computer-technology, other high-tech technology and oil brought the country into an economiy and financial crisis. The Federal Republic made depts it couldn't take anymore so that taxes rised and soon first companies left the country and the unemployment rised. In 1985 East Alba had a 15% unemployment-rate yet. This is a crisis the country never completely recovered from, because even in the 2000s the country had almost no own high-tech industry. Between 1980 and 2000 the economy lost 10%. The financial crisis of 2001/2002 even increased this effect. Within the following 5 years the country lost further 8% of its economy and the unemployment rate soon rised above 25%. The negativ-trend stoped in 2008 for the first time for almost 30 years. Especially the joining of the SCJU in 2007 and the linked financial helps and new trade contacts made the economy grow by 0.8% in 2008. This doesn't seem to be much but for a country which was used to lose about the same amount of economy per year it was a great success. In 2009 the economy grew by 1.2% and the unemployment rate in December 2009 was at 24.7%.
The Welsh Separation Fight and the New Repulic (2010 until today)
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