When was the Federal Republic of Germany founded?

The Federal Republic of Germany was established when the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) came into force, creating the new West German state several years after World War II ended, but before the 1950s fully began. It was not at the outbreak of the war, nor immediately at its end.

• Link “founding of the Federal Republic” to the promulgation of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) rather than to wartime dates.
• Eliminate years tied to clear WWII milestones: the war’s start and its end are distractors.
• Remember it occurred a few years post-war, during the Allied occupation period, before the mid-20th-century 1950s.
• When unsure, think of constitutional landmarks (Basic Law adoption) rather than political events like surrender or later treaties.