Culture Germany
The cultural and scientific heritage was the main factor of identification for the Germans before 1871, as there was no ground for unity on a state level. This was the time when the phrase "Land der Dichter und Denker" (country of poets and thinkers) came up and it is still being used in a patriotic sense. At the beginning of the 20th century, Germany was the leading scientific and cultural nation in the world, e.g. with the development of movies. The Goethe Institute has the task of spreading the German language throughout the world, it has already found home in 128 locations.
Some of the most famous representatives of culture and science are Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Heinrich Heine, Kurt Tucholsky, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, and Albert Einstein, among many others.
The German ambition to always succeed led to Garmisch-Partenkirchen hosting of the winter Olympics in 1936, an honour which Germany has not received again up to now. In the 2010 Olympics, Germany was one of the most successful nations, the ladies fought their way to the top in the alpine disciplines of slalom skiing and giant slalom skiing.
