Konrad Adenauer to a central position in Europe, presiding over the German Economic Miracle. He was a driving force behind West Germany becoming the first German state to re-establish a national military (the "Bundeswehr") in 1955. He came to terms with France, which made possible the economic unification of Western Europe. Adenauer opposed rival East Germany and made his nation a member of NATO and a firm ally of the United States. Adenauer, who was Chancellor until age 87, was dubbed "Der Alte" ("the elder"). British politician and historian Roy Jenkins says he was "the oldest statesman ever to function in elected
West Germany at the 1976 Summer Olympics West Germany at the 1976 Summer Olympics West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 290 competitors, 233 men and 57 women, took part in 163 events in 20 sports. West Germany finished in fourth position in the final medal rankings, with 10 gold medals and 39 medals overall. In their second Olympics competing in archery, West Germany captured seventh place on the national leaderboard with a 6th place in the men's competition and an 8th place in the women's. In addition to those two competitors, West Germany also sent one other