How did the political development of Germany differ from other Western European states of the Middle Ages?

In the early Middle Ages, Germany was partly part of the Frankish state, part of the empire of Charlemagne (from 800 to 843, the capital was in the city of Aachen in western Germany), part of the East Frankish state. Western pagan Slavs lived in the east of Germany until the 11th century – they were encouraged. In the XI-XV centuries, Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire, but on its territory there were many principalities and duchies. Feudal fragmentation lingered on. In the north of Germany in the XIII century there was a union of merchant cities – the Hansa. Its capital was Lubeck.