The German Federal Republic.

Map   Questions.

The German Federal Republic covers an area of 248,000 square kilometres and is a highly developed capitalist country. In the east it borders on socialist countries, in the south and west—on capitalist. In the north it is washed by two seas, the North and Baltic. To shorten communications, the K i e 1 Canal (98 kms. long) was built, connecting these two seas. Thus, the GFR has free access to the sea-ways of the world, while its long land boundaries promote trade with the many neighbouring countries of Europe, both by railway and inland water-way.
The German Federal Republic has a population of over 54,000,000, which places it among the most higly populated countries of Europe. The average density of population in the country is high (about 220 persons to the square kilometre).
In the northern part of the country lies the North German Plain. This is a level and marshy region crossed by many drainage canals. Along the North Sea coast, portions of the Plain lie below sea level and are protected from the water by dykes. These reclaimed, marshy areas (mars Wands) are very fertile and densely peopled. Further inland stretches a series of sandy plains alternating with peat bogs. They are crossed by the Elbe and W e s e r, which form bays at their estuaries that make convenient harbours. On the Elbe, at a distance of 100 kms. from the sea, stands Hamburg. This is the largest city (1,800,000 inhabitants) and chief port of the GFR and a prominent shipbuilding centre.

The northern plain has a maritime climate, rather mild and wet. The original oak, beech and birch forests have been almost entirely felled and replaced in places by man-planted pine forests. There are many meadows with strikingly green verdure

Fig. 64. The Ruhr Basin. (Above: A map of the Ruhr Basin)

and heatherclad moors, on which cattle, pigs and sheep are reared. Small deposits of oil have been discovered.
In the central areas of the country rise the Central Up­lands which consist of isolated ranges separated by broad valleys. The Weser and further west, the Rhine River cut across the Uplands, the Rhine cutting a narrow gorge through the Rhine Schistose Mountains. The Rhine Valley has a warm climate, the winter temperatures being above zero. It is covered with orchards, vineyards and tobacco plantations. The slopes of the mountains are covered with beech forests and higher up with mixed and coniferous forests. There are small deposits of iron ore and alloys of zinc and lead in the mountains, and deposits of coal, lignite (brown coal) and potassium at their foot.
Along the northern edge of the Schistose Mountains, on the banks of the Ruhr (a tributary of the Rhine), lies the R u h r coal­field, or Ruhr Basin, the greatest in Western Europe. It produces coking coal. This is Western Germany's chief industrial region (Fig. 64). Pitheads and huge heaps of burrow are scattered every­where. Amidst the mines rise the smoking chimneys of power-plants and smelteries. Wreathing clouds of smoke covering the sky, bright flashes of flame overhead at night, the windows and walls of houses covered with thick layers of soot—such are the characteristics of this region. Various machines are produced of the smelted metal. Chemical plants manufacture paints, fertilizers, artificial fiber and synthetic rubber. Mills producing cotton and other fabrics are situated a little to the south, close to the coal­field.
The Ruhr Basin is very densely peopled. Town follows town in close succession. The largest is Essen, noted for its munition factories.
The. Ruhr Basin has a dense network of railways. Wide use is also made of the canals linking the Ruhr Basin with the other parts of the country and with the North Sea.
In the south of the country is the Bavarian Plateau, crossed by the upper course of the Danube and its tributaries. Fur­ther south are the Bavarian Alps, covered with mixed and coniferous forests below and with meadows at higher altitudes. There are hydroelectric power-stations on the rivers flowing down the slopes. Dairy cattle are reared on the mountain pastures. The valleys are under wheat, barley and hop (the latter two are used in beer brewing).
In industrial output the GFR has outstripped Great Britain and left France far behind.
In the German Federal Republic the power lies in the hands of the capitalists, bankers and mill and mine owners who fatten on the exploitation of the workers. The capital of the GFR is Bonn, a small town on the Rhine, numbering 200,000 inhabitants. The ruling circles of the GFR, with the help of the United States of America, are rapidly rearming the country, thus turning it into the chief European hotbed of war.
Questions and Assignments.

• What European country is the GFR similar to in quantity and
  density of population and in economic development?
• Mark on the outline map the mountains, rivers, mineral de­
  posits and towns of the German Federal Republic.