Germany is a country in Europe, and one of the world's great economic powers.
The German states went through three confederations, then became the German Empire in 1871. They entered World War I, but were defeated in 1918. The Treaty of Versailles, which dealt harsh punishments towards Germany, left Germans bitter towards non-Germans.
From 1933 to 1945, Germany came under the control of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who, among other things, instituted a wave of genocide that is now well-known as the Holocaust. Millions of Jews, Roma, Sinti, homosexuals and other ethnic, religious, and political minorities were rounded up and sent to concentration camps; 11 million did not survive, 6 million of them were Jews. Among the survivors, many ended up in New York City, like the late Leah Glaser. Others ended up in Israel, which was established in 1948 as a homeland for the Jews.
Mitch Carroll
The crippling defeat that Germany suffered at the end of the war, coupled with the establishment of Israel, has inspired new waves of anti-Semites who are convinced that the Holocaust either never happened or was heavily exaggerated. Among these ranks are former actor Mitch Carroll and his son John, gun salesman Brian Ackerman and his son Kyle, and record producer Kyle Mellors.
Kyle Ackerman
In 2004, the Holocaust became the cause of new violence when Mellors helped former concentration camp guard Stefan Anders kill Leah Glaser, who was in the process of testiying to the Office of Special Investigations about Anders' murdering her sister Rebekkah, which would have caused him to be deported back to Germany. Anders and Mellors were both caught, and are currently rotting away in jail. (L&O: "Evil Breeds")
Of course, Germany isn't all bad. Detective Robert Goren spent time over there in 1987, when he was serving in the Criminal Investigation Division of the United States Army. (CI: "Cuba Libre")