Western Germany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The geographic term Western Germany (German: Westdeutschland) is used to describe a region in the west of Germany. The exact area defined by the term is not constant, but it usually includes, but does not have the borders of, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, the Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate are also often included.

In contrast, West Germany is used in English as a common informal name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1990, before the German Democratic Republic (GDR, informally East Germany) acceded to the Federal Republic which is simply called Germany again since.

[edit] See also

• Eastern Germany, which historically describes different regions and political entities
• Northern Germany, Southern Germany, Middle Germany