This article describes the historical and political background of today’s German party system and characteristics of political parties in the German Bundestag. It focuses on the period between the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany and last year’s Bundestag election. The author introduces the basic history of Germany’s coalition governments and the political trajectory of each six parties in Germany’s 19th legislative assembly, i.e. CDU/CSU, SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, FDP, Die Linke, and AfD.