What the Russian army marches to

[DeistPaladin]

Where in Germany are you TGAC?

My Father's family came from Gdańsk (Danzig) and Todtnauberg

I thought he mentioned being in the former German federal state of "Austria"

Weird thing about "Austria". That used to BE Germany. No, not just included in Germany; it actually was Germany.

When the Frankish Germanic tribe's empire conquered under that Christian thug "Charlemagne" was split between his three sons, the western empire became France (Frankish kingdom) and the eastern empire became the first German empire (Ost Der Reich or "Eastern Empire"). Ost Der Reich became Osterreich or Austria.

Austria became known as the Holy Roman Empire when it conquered northern Italy. It was, as Napoleon observed, neither Holy nor Roman but it fit with the German obsession to become the revived Roman Empire, or at least that's a theory of mine which I can go into in further depth.

After the 30 Years War, Germany was ravaged and disunited (an occupational hazard being a country located in the middle of Europe). It was Prussia that would later reunite Germany under its banner becoming the 2nd Reich and cutting Austria out. And so the 2nd German empire became a separate country from the 1st German empire.

Any effort to unite the two must overcome having a very unfortunate advocate so the separation is a done deal. Still, I regard it as kind of funny, as if London were a separate country from England, but that's the way international politics unfolds sometimes.

TGAC, please let me know if there's any part of your country's history I got wrong. Thanks.