ABSTRACT
The origins of the Federal Republic of Germany should be examined and evaluated in light of the history of the Weimar Republic, the National Socialist regime, and the consequences of World War II. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany draws on the federal and liberal traditions of German history. Prior to 1955, the sovereignty of the Federal Republic was limited in areas of domestic and foreign policy by rights reserved to the Western Allies. In comparison to the Weimar Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany has proved, on the whole, to have a stable and adaptable political system. The Federal Republic is one of the world's leading industrial nations. The development of a system of social security widely considered exemplary by other Western industrialized countries accompanied the economic development and was made possible by it. Reestablished after the war under Allied influence, the educational system of the Federal Republic has been considerably reformed since the mid-1960s.
