Germany
by Derek Gerlach
250,000 years ago
Spear stab for German elephant
A spear of hardened yew, presumably flung or thrust by a human, fixes itself between the ribs of an elephant in what is now Saxony
35,000 years ago
Prehistoric people carve human figures
The earliest known Venus figurine, with emphasized sexual features, is carved near the Hohle Fels cave in Germany from the tusk of a woolly mammoth
9
Arminius defeats Romans
The defeat of three Roman legions in the Teutoberg Forest by Arminius, establishes the Rhine as a natural boundary of the Roman empire
98
Tacitus on Britain and Germany
Tacitus begins his career with two specialized but influential works of history, one on Britain and the other on Germany
98
Trajan is emperor
Trajan, succeeding to the imperial throne in AD 98, is sufficiently confident to spend a year in Germany before returning to Rome
687
Pepin unites Frankish kingdoms
With a victory at Tertry, Pepin II wins effective control over all three Frankish kingdoms
743
Boniface preaches to Germans
Boniface, working as a missionary among pagan Germans, makes his headquarters at Mainz
750
Germanic bards
The professional bards of the Germanic tribes give lasting life to Norse legend
771
Charlemagne rules all Franks
On the death of his brother, Charlemagne inherits the entire kingdom of the Franks
772
Charlemagne demolishes Saxon shrine
Charlemagne destroys a great Saxon shrine, the Irminsul - the start of a 30-year campaign against his pagan neighbours in what is now Germany
781
Alcuin takes job at Aachen
Charlemagne, meeting the English scholar Alcuin on a visit to Italy, invites him to become head of the palace school in Aachen
796
Alcuin moves to Tours
Alcuin leaves the palace school at Aachen to become abbot of the monastery of Tours
800
Beowulf
Beowulf, the first great work of Germanic literature, mingles the legends of Scandinavia with the experience in England of Angles and Saxons
800
Jews prosper in Spain and Germany
The Jews prosper in the Muslim and Carolingian empires, forming strong communities in Spain and in Germany
805
Pope consecrates Charlemagne's chapel
Pope Leo III consecrates Charlemagne's new palace chapel in Aachen, modelled on San Vitale in Ravenna
843
Francia Media promotes friction
The central Frankish kingdom, Francia Media, becomes one of the great fault lines of European history
919
Henry I elected in east Frankish kingdom
Henry I is elected king of the east Frankish kingdom, consisting of four great feudal duchies - Bavaria, Swabia, Saxony and Franconia
1000
Islam reaches Niger
A Muslim dynasty is established at Gao, on the Niger
1024
Conrad II begins new line on German throne
Conrad II is elected as the German king, begining the dynasty variously known as Franconian or Salian
1050
Kingdom of Ife
Ife emerges as a powerful kingdom in the equatorial forest of the lower Niger
1096
Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit, an old monk on a donkey, leads the largest of the popular groups from Germany on the first crusade
1096
Jews massacred in German cities
The German crusade begins with a massacre of Jews in many of the region's cities
1138
Hohenstaufen dynasty
Conrad III, of the Hohenstaufen family, is elected German king - a title which remains in the family for more than a century, bringing with it that of Holy Roman emperor
1147
Second crusade
The second crusade is led east by two kings, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany
1150
Charlemagne a saint in France and Germany
In feudal France and Germany Charlemagne is by now venerated as a saint
1150
Germans trade with Livonia
German merchants begin trading along the coasts of Latvia and Estonia, a region to which they give the name Livonia
1152
Frederick Barbarossa king of Germany
Frederick Barbarossa becomes king of Germany and Holy Roman emperor, greatly extending the power of the empire during a long reign
1159
First step towards Hanseatic League
Henry the Lion builds a new town at Lübeck, well placed to develop as the centre of the Hanseatic League
1180
Nibelungenlied
The shared memories and legends of Nordic peoples are brought together in a great German epic, the Nibelungenlied
1197
Three-year-old inherits Sicily and Germany
The three-year old Frederick II has a claim to the thrones of both Sicily and Germany on the death of his father, the emperor Henry VI
1200
German pressure to the east
German pressure eastwards (the Drang nach Osten) steadily brings colonists into regions previously occupied by Slavs
1205
Parsifal seeks Holy Grail
The story of Parsifal and the Holy Grail becomes the subject of a courtly epic by Wolfram von Eschenbach
1220
Frederick II is Holy Roman emperor
Frederick II is crowned Holy Roman emperor by a somewhat reluctant pope, Honorius III
1225
Teutonic knights tackle Prussians
The Teutonic knights undertake a new form of crusade, attempting to subdue the pagan Prussians who occupy part of the Baltic coast
1250
Tannhäuser among the Minnesinger
Tannhäuser is one of the Minnesinger, the German equivalents of the French troubadours
1254
Hohenstaufen dynasty ends
The death of the last Hohenstaufen ruler, Conrad IV, leaves a vacancy on the German throne which is not filled for nineteen years
1308
Teutonic knights seize Gdansk
The Teutonic knights seize the coastal area round Gdansk, cutting off Poland's access to the sea
1391
Canal links Baltic and North Sea
Construction begins on a canal from Lübeck south to the Elbe, linking the Baltic and the North Sea
1397
Germany develops harpsichord
The keyboard of the organ is adapted in Germany to strings, thus providing the harpsichord - first mentioned in a manuscript of this year
1400
Master singers compete in German towns
Guilds of singers and song-writers develop in German towns, calling themselves Meistersinger, or master singers
1414
Council called at Constance
A council is called at Constance, to consider the radical views of John Huss and to deal with the present excess of popes
1415
Huss burnt at stake
John Huss, invited to Constance under a promise of safe conduct, is arrested, tried and burnt at the stake as a heretic
1417
Three popes reduced to one
The Council of Constance, having done its best to dispose of the three existing popes, elects a new one - Martin V
1455
First printed engravings
Master ES becomes the first artist to produce engravings
1456
Movable type in Germany
A copy of Europe's first book printed from movable type, the Gutenberg Bible, is completed in Mainz
1461
Pfister's illustrated book
Albrecht Pfister publishes the first book with printed illustrations - Der Ackermann aus Böhmen ('The farmer of Bohemia')
1466
Prussia annexed by Poland
In the treaty of Torun the Teutonic knights finally cede Prussia to Poland
1470
Venetian printing rivals German
The first Italian printing press is set up in Venice, which soon rivals Germany for the quality of its printing
1492
World's first globe lacks America
The world's first globe is published by Martin Behaim without showing America, in the very year of Columbus' voyage
1493
Nuremberg Chronicle
The Nuremberg Chronicle integrates text and pictures in an ambitious history of the world
1495
Dürer master printmaker
Dürer, the first great artist to tackle the complexities of printing, becomes a master of woodcut and engraving
1500
First etchings
The first etchings are printed in Augsburg, from iron plates
1500
Watches worn on ribbon
The first watches, made in Nuremberg, are spherical clocks about three inches in diameter, worn usually on a ribbon round the neck
1517
Luther outraged by sale of indulgences
The local sale of indulgences by Johann Tetzel outrages a friar teaching in Wittenberg, Martin Luther
1517
Luther nails document to church door
Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg
1518
Melanchthon inspires Luther's New Testament
Philipp Melanchthon joins the Wittenberg university to teach Greek and inspires Luther to translate the New Testament
1520
Luther's writings burnt
Luther's writings are burnt in Rome by order of the pope
1521
Luther excommunicated
Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther after he has refused to recant
1521
Diet of Worms
Luther travels to the German city of Worms to present his case to an imperial diet
1521
Here I stand, says Luther
Luther bears witness to a Protestant conscience, stating at Worms: 'Here I stand, I can not do otherwise.'
1522
Luther in disguise as Junker Georg
Outlawed by the Edict of Worms, Luther lives secretly in the Wartburg as Junker Georg
1523
Hans Sachs calls Luther a nightingale
Hans Sachs, popular poet and master singer, describes Luther as the Wittenberg nightingale
1524
Tyndale at Wittenberg
William Tyndale studies in the university at Wittenberg and plans to translate the Bible into English
1525
Friar marries nun
Luther, a former friar, marries Catherine von Bora, a former nun who has just emerged from her convent
1525
Peasant War appals Luther
Thomas Müntzer leads the rebels in the Peasant War, to the profound displeasure of Luther
1525
Nudes from Cranach's studio
Lucas Cranach's studio in Wittenberg has a profitable line in naked female figures from mythology
1529
Protestants acquire their name
The 'Protestation' of various princes and imperial cities at Speyer identifies them as Protestants
1529
Luther and Zwingli clash on Eucharist
Protestant reformers Luther and Zwingli disagree at Marburg on the nature of the Eucharist
1530
Lutheran confession at Augsburg
The Augsburg Confession, presented by Melanchthon to the imperial diet, defines the Lutheran faith
1530
Printed illustrations of botany
German botanist Otto Brunfels publishes Living images of plants, the first serious work of natural history with printed illustrations
1531
Protestant princes form league
The Protestant princes of Germany form the defensive League of Schmalkalden
1555
Religious compromise at Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg achieves a compromise which for a while solves the religious tensions deriving from the Reformation
1609
First newspapers on sale in Germany
News sheets published in Augsburg and Strasbourg become the first known newspapers
1617
Wallenstein's private army
Albrecht von Wallenstein uses his wife's fortune to mobilize a private army in support of the emperor Ferdinand II
1621
First English newspaper
The first English newspaper (Corante) appears, promising reports 'from Italy, Germany, Hungarie, Spaine and France'
1631
Swedes victorious at Breitenfeld
Gustavus II and the Swedish army win a conclusive victory over the imperial forces at Breitenfeld
1632
Swedish king dies in cavalry charge
The Swedish army wins another convincing victory at Lützen, but Gustavus II dies leading a cavalry charge
1634
Passion play in Oberammergau
A Passion play is performed for the first time at Oberammergau, in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation
1648
End of Thirty Years' War
The Peace of Westphalia finally brings to an end the Thirty Years' War
1650
Von Guericke devises air pump
A German burgomaster, Otto von Guericke, devises an air pump capable of creating a vacuum
1654
Sixteen horses foiled by vacuum
Otto von Guericke uses sixteen horses to demonstrate in Regensburg the power of a vacuum
1660
Berlin carriage all the rage
The berlin, developed in Berlin, becomes the most successful carriage of the seventeenth century
1683
Mennonites settle in Pennsylvania
Mennonites and other from Germany (later known as the Pennsylvania Dutch) begin to settle in Penn's liberal colony
1690
Steam engine with piston
The French scientist Denis Papin, while professor of mathematics at Marburg, develops the first steam engine to use a piston
1702
Mystery substance named phlogiston
German chemist Georg Stahl coins the name phlogiston for the substance believed to be released in the process of burning
1704
Marlborough wins at Blenheim
The duke of Marlborough wins a major victory over the French at Blenheim, capturing twenty-four battalions and four regiments
1708
Secret of porcelain found in Dresden
The secret of true porcelain is at last discovered in the west, at Dresden, by Johann Friedrich Böttger
1714
Cosmas Damian Asam begins work on a highly theatrical creation, the Benedictine Abbey of Weltenburg (1714-1735), joined by his younger brother Egid Quirin from 1721
1714
Fahrenheit takes temperature
Fahrenheit perfects the mercury thermometer and decides on a 180-degree interval between the freezing and boiling points of water
1714
Leibniz discusses monads
In his Monadology Leibniz describes a universe consisting of forceful interactive parts that he calls 'monads'
1720
Bach's Little Keyboard Book
Johann Sebastian Bach compiles the Little Keyboard Book a set of pieces to teach his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
1721
Bach writes Brandenburg Concertos
Johann Sebastian Bach writes the six Brandenburg Concertos for his employer at the court of Köthen
1722
The Well-Tempered Clavier
J.S. Bach publishes The Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection of 24 Preludes and Fugues
1727
St Matthew Passion
J.S. Bach conducts the first performance of his St Matthew Passion in the St Thomas's church in Leipzig
173538
The Asam brothers build at their own expense the tiny and brilliant baroque church of St John Nepomuk, attached to their own house in Munich
1740
Cultured Frederick on Prussian throne
Frederick II, inheriting the throne in Prussia, establishes a cultured and musical court
1740
Frederick invades Silesia
Frederick II, the king of Prussia, invades the neighbouring Habsburg province of Silesia, launching the War of the Austrian Succession
1741
Goldberg Variations
J.S. Bach publishes his set of Goldberg Variations, supposedly written for performance by the young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg
1742
Austrians capture Munich
An Austrian army captures the Bavarian capital city, Munich
1743
Battle of Dettingen
George II leads a British army to victory over the French at Dettingen
1744
2nd part of Well-Tempered Clavier
J.S. Bach publishes another set of 24 Preludes and Fugues, as an addition to his previous Well-Tempered Clavier
1745
The dean and the Leyden jar
The principle of the Leyden jar is discovered by an amateur German physicist, Ewald Georg von Kleist, dean of the cathedral in Kamin
1745
Discipline behind Prussian success
Frederick the Great's Prussian soldiers, advancing in shallow disciplined formation, outclass other armies of the time
1745
Frederick's three victories in a year
Frederick II's three victories in 1745 cause him to be known by his contemporaries as Frederick the Great
1746
Frederick begins Sans Souci
Frederick the Great begins to build the summer palace of Sans Souci at Potsdam
1749
Mass in B Minor
Shortly before his death (in 1750) J.S. Bach completes his Mass in B Minor, worked on over many years
1751
Tiepolo paints bishop's walls
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo begins a series of frescoes to decorate the prince bishop's residence in Würzburg
1755
Winckelmann goes neoclassical
Johann Joachim Winckelmann publishes a book on Greek painting and sculpture which introduces a new strand of neoclassicism
1756
Frederick starts Seven Years' War
Frederick the Great again precipitates a European conflict, marching without warning into Saxony and launching the Seven Years' War
1759
Frederick the Great not invincible
Frederick the Great suffers his first major defeat, by a Russian and Austrian army at Kunersdorf
1760
Zoffany moves to England
German painter Johann Zoffany moves to England to find work as a painter of conversation pieces and portraits
1762
England has its own Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach's youngest son, Johann Christian, moves to London and becomes known as the English Bach
1763
Prussia gains at Austria's expense
The Treaty of Hubertusburg, between Prussia and Austria, increases the power of Prussia among the many separate states of Germany
1772
First slices of Poland
Russia, Prussia and Austria agree a treaty enabling them to divide the spoils in the first partition of Poland
1774
Goethe wins with weepy novel
Goethe's romantic novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, brings him an immediate European reputation
1774
Storm and stress
Goethe's play Götz von Berlichingen, a definitive work of Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress), has its premiere in Berlin
1780
Mendelssohn leads the Jewish Enlightenment
In developing the Haskalah, the German philosopher Moses Mendelssohn reconciles Judaism and the Enlightenment
1781
Kant on pure reason
German philosopher Immanuel Kant publishes the first of his three 'critiques', The Critique of Pure Reason
1782
Schiller sensation
Friedrich von Schiller's youthful and anarchic play The Robbers causes a sensation when performed in Mannheim
1782
Beethoven's Dressler Variations
12-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven publishes his first composition, Piano Variations on a March by Dressler
1783
Astor emigrates to USA
20-year-old John Jacob Astor emigrates from Germany to America and sets up in the fur trade
1787
Don Giovanni in Prague
Mozart's opera Don Giovanni has its premiere in Prague
1792
Beethoven to study with Haydn
Beethoven leaves Bonn and goes to Vienna to study composition with Haydn
1793
Second slices of Poland
Russia and Prussia agree on a second partition of Poland
1794
Goethe and Schiller in Weimar
Goethe and Schiller become friends, and together create the movement known as Weimar classicism
1794
Fichte analyzes knowledge
In his Science of Knowledge Johann Gottlieb Fichte contrasts the I, or Ego, and its opposing non-I, or non-Ego
1795
Mungo Park reaches Niger river
Mungo Park sets off on his first expedition to explore the Niger on behalf of the African Association
1796
Samuel Hahnemann invents homeopathy
German physician Samuel Hahnemann coins the term 'homeopathy' and describes this new approach to medicine
1798
Friedrich settles in Dresden
After four years in Copenhagen, German artist Caspar David Friedrich makes his life-long home in Dresden
1803
Rothschild lends millions to Danes
The Frankfurt banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild lends 20 million francs to the Danish government
1804
Beethoven disgusted with Napoleon
Beethoven changes the dedication of his third symphony on hearing that his hero, Napoleon, has made himself an emperor
1806
Napoleon offers protection to Germans
Napoleon merges the majority of the German states into a Confederation of the Rhine with himself as its protector
1807
Warsaw becomes grand duchy
Part of Poland is recovered from Prussia to become the grand duchy of Warsaw, a small state dependent upon Napoleon
1807
Hegel charts development of mind
In Phenomenology of Spirit Friedrich Hegel interprets history as the advance of the human mind, often through thesis, antithesis and synthesis
1809
Fulani capital at Sokoto
The Fulani establish a capital at Sokoto, from which they dominate the Hausa kingdoms of northern Nigeria
1813
Prussia changes sides
The king of Prussia, Frederick William III, changes sides and declares war on France
1813
Napoleon defeated at Leipzig
The allies inflict a heavy defeat on Napoleon at Leipzig, in the so-called Battle of the Nations
1815
Holy Alliance of autocrats
The rulers of Russia, Prussia and Austria form a Holy Alliance to preserve their concept of a Christian Europe
1817
Fraunhofer studies solar spectrum
German physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer observes and draws dark lines in the solar spectrum
1818
Reform movement in Judaism
The first Reform congregation within Judaism is established in Germany, in the Hamburg Temple
1818
Prussia creates custom-free zone
The king of Prussia, Frederick William III, makes a bid for German leadership by turning his extensive lands into a custom-free zone (Zollverein)
1818
Schopenhauer is pessimistic
In The World as Will and Idea Schopenhauer develops the bleakest possible view of the effects of the human will
1821
Der Freischutz
Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischutz has its premiere in Berlin
1826
Mendelsohn's first Midsummer Night's Dream
17-year-old Felix Mendelssohn composes an overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, amplifed with huge success eighteen years later
1826
Weber's Oberon
Carl Maria von Weber's opera Oberon has its premiere (in London, at Covent Garden)
1827
Ohm publishes his law
German physicist Georg Simon Ohm formulates his law about the proportionality of current flowing in an electric conductor
1829
Mendelssohn revives St Matthew's Passion
After a century of neglect, the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn conducts an influential revival in Berlin of J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion
1829
Mendelssohn visits Hebrides
German composer Felix Mendelssohn visits the Hebrides and see's Fingal's Cave, later the theme of his Hebrides Overture
1830
Lander brothers explore Niger
Richard Lander and his brother John explore the lower reaches of the Niger, proving that the great river is navigable
1832
Full but posthumous Faust
The full text of Goethe's Faust, Parts 1 and 2, is published a few months after the poet's death
1832
Schumann's Papillons
Robert Schumann's first published composition is Papillons ('Butterflies'), twelve short dance pieces for piano
1832
Iron ship steams to Africa
The paddle steamer Alburkah becomes the first ocean-going iron ship, completing the journey from England to the Niger
1840
Schumann's Frauenliebe und -Leben
Robert Schumann composes the song cycle Frauenliebe und -Leben ('Woman's Love and Life')
1840
Schumann marries Clara
Robert Schumann marries the pianist Clara Wieck, daughter of his first teacher
1841
British campaign against slave trade in west Africa
Britain sends four naval ships up the river Niger to make anti-slavery treaties with local kings
1842
Engels in charge of Manchester mill
The young Friedrich Engels is sent from Germany to manage the family cotton-spinning factory in Manchester
1843
The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman is the first of Richard Wagner's major operas to be staged, with its premiere in Dresden
1843
Mendelssohn's final Midsummer Night's Dream
Mendelssohn's overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, amplified now with incidental music, is greeted as a masterpiece at a performance of the play in Potsdam
1848
Prussians adopt needle-gun
The Prussian army is the first to adopt a breech-loading rifle, the 'needle-gun' developed by gunsmith Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse
1849
Prussian king declines German crown
Delegates of the German states offer the imperial crown of a united Germany to Frederick William IV, the king of Prussia, who rejects it
1849
Marx settles in London
Expelled from Germany after the year of revolutions, Marx makes his home in tolerant London
1851
Rabbi Hirsch becomes neo-Orthodox
Samson Raphael Hirsch becomes rabbi of a synagogue in Frankfurt, where he develops the theme of neo-Orthodoxy
1851
Helmholtz invents ophthalmoscope
German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz invents the ophthalmoscope, making it possible for a doctor to examine the inside of a patient's eye
1851
Wagner writes anti-semitic tract
Richard Wagner writes an anti-semitic tract, Jewishness in Music
1854
Schumann attempts suicide
Robert Schumann throws himself into the Rhine, in an attempt to commit suicide, and spends the last two years of his life in an asylum
1854
Eliot and Lewes travel openly as a pair
Marian Evans and G.H. Lewes flout British convential morality by travelling openly to Germany together
1854
Quinine proves effective against malaria
William Baikie, on an expedition up the Niger, protects his men from malaria by administering quinine
1856
Neanderthal man found in quarry
The first Neanderthal man to be discovered is unearthed by quarry workers in the Neander valley, near Düsseldorf
1860
Bunsen Burner
German chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and technician Peter Desdega perfect the non-luminous gas burner for use in the laboratory
1861
Lagos a British colony
Lagos, on the coast of Nigeria, is annexed as a British colony when the royal family prove unable or unwilling to end the slave trade
1862
'Blood and Iron'
Otto von Bismarck declares Blut und Eisen (blood and iron) to be the only policy by which Prussia can become strong
1864
Quarrels over Schleswig-Holstein
Prussia and Austria combine forces to seize Schleswig-Holstein, but soon fall out
1865
Tristan and Isolde
Richard Wagner's opera Tristan and Isolde has its premiere in the Munich court theatre
1866
Prussia launches Seven Weeks' War
Prussia invades its neighbouring German states and launches the Seven Weeks' War
1866
Seven Week War
The Prussians achieve the first blitzkrieg in their Seven Weeks' War defeat of the Austrians
1866
Prussia upstages Austria in treaty
The terms of the treaty of Prague, ending the Seven Weeks War, make plain the transfer of German leadership from Austria to Prussia
1867
Kapital hits bookstalls
The first volume of Das Kapital is completed by Marx in London and is published in Hamburg
1867
Prussia excludes Austria
A revival of the Prussian Zollverein, or customs union, includes all the German states except Austria
1868
Mastersingers of Nuremberg
Richard Wagner's opera The Mastersingers of Nuremberg has its premiere in Munich
1869
Brahms' German Requiem
Johannes Brahms' German Requiem, setting passages from Luther's translation of the Bible, has its first complete performance in Leipzig
1869
Das Rheingold launches Ring cycle
Das Rheingold, with its premiere in Munich, is the first part of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle to be staged
1870
Telegram from Ems tampered with
Otto von Bismarck adjusts the Prussian king's telegram from Ems in a way calculated to provoke the French
1870
France declares war on Prussia
With public opinion in France outraged by the Ems telegram, the French government declares war on Prussia
1870
Wagner marries Liszt's daughter
Richard Wagner marries Cosima, the daughter of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt
1871
German emperor proclaimed in France
The Prussian king, William I, is proclaimed emperor of a united Germany in the palace at Versailles
1876
The Ring of the Nibelungen
Richard Wagner's sequence of four operas, The Ring of the Nibelungen, has its first complete performance at Bayreuth
1876
Brahms's first symphony
Johannes Brahms' first symphony has its premiere in Karlsruhe
1878
Austria to rule Bosnia
A congress in Berlin agrees that Austria may administer the Turkish province of Bosnia-Herzegovina
1879
British traders unite to control Niger
George Goldie and British traders on the Niger form the United African Company (later the Royal Niger Company) to consolidate their interests
1880
Academic Festival Overture
Johannes Brahms' Academic Festival Overture is performed first at Breslau university, which has conferred on him an honorary Ph.D.
1882
Koch discovers TB bacillus
German bacteriologist Robert Koch announces his discovery of the bacillus that causes tuberculosis
1882
New alignment for Italy
Italy, previously non-aligned, signs a Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary
1883
Nietzsche and 'superman'
In Thus Spake Zarathustra Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche envisages the Übermensch ('superman') enhancing human existence
1884
Bismarck launches scramble for Africa
Bismarck launches the colonial scramble for Africa by suddenly annexing three territories for Germany (Togo, Cameroon and Angria Pequena)
1884
Frege's Foundations of Arithmetic
German mathematician Gottlob Frege publishes Grundlagen der Arithmetik ('Foundations of Arithmetic'), linking mathematics and logic
1884
Bismarck hosts conference on Africa
Bismarck invites the European powers to a West Africa Conference in Berlin
1885
Benz builds first petrol-driven car
German engineer Karl Friedrich Benz builds the Tri-Star, a three-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion that is considered the first commercial automobile
1885
Germany pioneers state welfare
Bismarck pioneers in Germany state welfare policies such as sickness benefits and old-age pensions
1886
Carve up in east Africa
Germany and Britain define neighbouring spheres of interest in east Africa
1886
Daimler builds 4-wheel car
German engineer Gottlied Wilhelm Daimler builds the first successful 4-wheel vehicle with an internal combustion engine
1887
First contact lenses
A German physiologist, Adolf Fick, grinds a pair of lenses to fit snugly in contact with a patient's eyeballs
1889
Strauss's Don Juan
The tone poem Don Juan, by the 25-year-old Richard Strauss, has a passionately mixed response at its premiere in Weimar
1890
Kaiser dismisses Bismarck
The new young German emperor, Wilhelm II, dismisses the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck
1890
Hedda Gabler
Henrik Ibsen publishes his play Hedda Gabler, with its powerfully manipulative central character, a year before it is first produced (in Germany)
1891
German East Africa is protectorate
Germany takes direct control of German East Africa as a protectorate
1891
Heligoland in African trade-off
Britain cedes the tiny island of Heligoland to Germany in return for vast areas of Africa
1891
Lilienthal makes first guided flight in glider
German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal achieves the first of many guided flights in a glider, from a hill near Potsdam
1893
Hansel and Gretl
Hansel and Gretl, an opera by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck, has its premiere in Weimar
1894
Franco-Russian alliance
France and Russia, alarmed by Germany's ambitions, sign a defensive Franco-Russian alliance
1895
Schlieffen Plan targets France and Russia
General Alfred von Schlieffen devises plans for a potential two-pronged attack against France and Russia in a swift war
1895
Roentgen discovers X-rays
German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovers rays that can penetrate light-proof barriers, and names them x-rays because their nature is as yet unknown
1896
Lilienthal dies in air crash
Otto Lilienthal dies when a wing fractures on his glider and he crashes from a height of 17 metres
1897
Germany claims Ruanda-Urundi
Germany claims Ruanda and Urundi as a joint colony adjacent to German East Africa
1898
Expansion planned for German fleet
Germany passes the first of four Fleet Acts, reflecting the determination of Alfred von Tirpitz to build a navy equal to that of Britain
1900
Water-soluble aspirins
The Bayer company in Germany sells aspirin in the form of water-soluble tablets, the first medication of its kind
1900
Successful flight by Zeppelin
Ferdinand Zeppelin's first dirigible makes its test flight from a floating hangar on the Lake of Constance
1900
Nigeria becomes British crown colony
The British government assumes direct responsibility for the entire region of Nigeria, previously entrusted to a commercial company
1900
Planck proposes quantum theory
German physicist Max Planck proposes the revolutionary concept of the quantum theory
1901
Mercedes car named after investor's daughter
Daimler cars launch a new brand, the Mercedes 35 hp, named after the ten-year-old daughter of the investor and distributor Emil Jellinek
1901
Buddenbrooks
Thomas Mann's first novel, Buddenbrooks, brings him immediate success
1903
Radiation therapy for cancer
German surgeon Georg Clemens Perthes discovers, in Leipzig, that X-rays can inhibit cancer
1905
Electromagnetic radiation of light
Albert Einstein explains the photoelectric effect as a flow of discreet particles (quanta) of electromagnetic radiation
1905
Micro-organism causing syphilis is identified
German biologists Fritz Schaudinn and Erich Hoffmann discover the micro-organism Treponema pallidum which causes syphilis
1905
Einstein's special theory of relativity
In his special theory of relativity Albert Einstein reconciles the apparent clash between relativity and electromagnetic theory
1905
Die Brücke
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and other Dresden students form the Expressionist group Die Brücke
1905
First U-boat
The first German submarine, or U-boat, is constructed in a programme to catch up with Britain and France in this area
1905
e = mc2
Albert Einstein relates mass and energy in the equation e = mc2
1905
Richard Strauss's Salome
Richard Strauss's Salome, based on Oscar Wilde's play, has wide success in spite of censorship difficulties
1906
Wasserman devises test for syphilis
German immunologist August von Wasserman develops a diagnostic test to reveal the presence of the syphilis spirochaete in the blood
1906
Germany to build more battleships
In direct response to Britain's new Dreadnought, Germany increases the production of battleships
1906
Third Law of Thermodynamics is fornulated
German physicist Walther Nernst establishes the Third Law of Thermodynamics, dealing with temperatures close to absolute zero
1906
Alzheimer describes a mental condition
The German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer identifies physical symptoms in the brain of a dead woman who had presenile dementia
1907
Persil launched in Germany
Henkel & Cie launches in Düsseldorf the first domestic washing powder, Persil
1907
Heidelberg jaw found
A fossilized human jaw, probably at least 500,000 years old, is found near Heidelberg in Germany
1907
Deutscher Werkbund
The Deutscher Werkbund is founded in Munich as an association of architects, designers and industrialists
1908
Geiger Counter
German physicist Hans Geiger, working in England with Rutherford, develops an instrument that can detect and count alpha particles
1908
SOS internationally accepted
After first being discussed at the Berlin Radiotelegraphic Conference in 1906, SOS is formally ratified as the international distress signal
1909
Strauss and von Hofmannsthal collaborate
The opera Elektra, the first collaboration between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, has its premiere in Dresden
1910
Mahler's 'Symphony of a Thousand'
Gustav Mahler conducts in Munich the first performance of his Eighth Symphony, subsequently known as the 'Symphony of a Thousand'
1910
Zeppelin provides commercial air service
Ferdinand Zeppelin's dirigible Deutschland provides the first commercial air service for passengers
1911
Der Rosenkavalier
Richard Strauss changes musical direction with his opera Der Rosenkavalier, once again with libretto by Hugo von Hoffmannsthal
1911
Agadir crisis
Germany causes international alarm by sending a warship to Agadir, a port in French-controlled Morocco
1911
Hoffmansthal's Everyman
Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapts the English medieval morality play Everyman ('Jedermann') for performance in Salzburg
1911
Das Lied von der Erde
Bruno Walter conducts in Munich the first performance of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, a few months after the composer's death
1911
Fagus Factory by Gropius
Walter Gropius builds the Fagus Factory at Alfeld an der Leine in Germany
1911
Der Blaue Reiter
The painters Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc and others form Der Blaue Reiter
1912
Kaiser decides against European war
The Kaiser and his advisers decide to postpone a preventive war against France and Russia
1912
Theory that continents are drifting
German scientist Alfred Wegener, impressed by the neat fit between the coasts of Africa and South America, proposes the theory of continental drift
1912
Left-wing success in Reichstag
The Social Democrats become the largest group in Germany's Reichstag
1912
Berlin Opera Ballet
The Berlin Opera Ballet is founded to perform in the city's new opera house
1912
International Modern style in architecture
Walter Gropius and other architects in Germany develop the International Modern style
1912
Ariadne auf Naxos
The opera Ariadne auf Naxos, by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, has its first premiere in Stuttgart
1913
Death in Venice>/I>
German author Thomas Mann publishes the novella Death in Venice
1914
Nigeria united as British colony
British rule is consolidated in Nigeria by the merging of north and south as a single colony
1914
Gropius makes his mark
A building by Walter Gropius for the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition in Cologne brings him international attention
1914
Austria guaranteed German support
Germany promises to support Austria-Hungary if a strike against Serbia provokes war with Russia
1914 July
Erskine Childers is Irish gun-runner
Erskine Childers sails his own yacht from Germany to Ireland with 900 rifles and 14,000 rounds of ammunition for the Irish Volunteers
1914 August 1
Germany declares war on Russia
In response to the tsar's mobilization of his troops, Germany declares war on Russia
1914 August 2
Berlin and Constantinople in alliance
Germany and the Ottoman empire sign a secret treaty of alliance
1914 August 2
Germany invades Luxembourg
German troops move into Luxembourg and demand passage through neutral Belgium
1914 August 3
Germany declares war on France
With her troops already poised to attack, Germany declares war on France
1914 August 4
Britain declares war on Germany
Bound by treaty to defend Belgium, Britain declares war on Germany
1914 August 20
Germans capture Brussels
A Germany army reaches and enters the Belgian capital, Brussels
1914 August 23
Japan enters war
Japan, with her own local agenda in the far east, declares war on Germany
1914 September 3
Germans threaten Paris
A Germany army crosses the river Marne in an advance towards Paris
1914 October
British bomb Cologne and Düsseldorf
British planes, taking off from Dunkirk, bomb Cologne railway station and destroy Germany's latest Zeppelin in its great shed at Düsseldorf
1914 October 29
Turkey joins Germany
Turkey, launching an attack on Russian ports in the Black Sea, enters the war on the German side
1914 November 16
Japan takes Qingdao from Germany
The German enclave of Qingdao, in China, falls to the Japanese after a two-month siege
1914 December
Casement urges Irish soldiers to change sides
Roger Casement travels to Germany to persuade Irish prisoners of war to change sides and invade Ireland
1915
Einstein's general theory of relativity
Einstein submits a paper, The field equations of gravitation, containing the sums required to explain the general theory of relativity
1915 May
Italy revokes Triple Alliance
Italy revokes the Triple Alliance of 1882 that aligned her with Germany and Austria-Hungary
1915 May 23
Italy enters the war
Italy declares war against Austria-Hungary, but not as yet against Germany
1915 June
Advantage for German fighter planes
Dutch aircraft designer Anton Fokker, working for the Germans, vastly improves the Roland Garros technique for firing machine guns through the propellers of fighter planes
1915 July 30
Flame thrower used in action
The Germans make their first effective use of a new weapon, the flame thrower, in an attack on the British in the second batte of Ypres
1916
Spartacus League in Germany
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg found the radical Spartacus League, named after the gladiator
1916
Hitler is wounded in the leg at the Battle of the Somme
1916
Guide dogs for the blind
Dogs are trained in Germany, by Dr Gerhard Stalling, to guide soldiers blinded in the war
1916 May 31
Rival fleets clash off Jutland
The German and British fleets clash off Jutland, in a hard-fought but inconclusive encounter
1916 June 4
Brusilov breaks through
Aleksei Brusilov leads a surprise Russian offensive against Germany and Austria-Hungary
1916 August 20
Italy declares war on Germany
A brief success in the front line against Austria prompts Italy to declare war on Germany
1916 September 17
Red Baron begins his tally
Baron von Richthofen, the 'Red Baron', shoots down the first of many Allied aircraft
1917
Hitler promoted to lance-corporal
Returning to the front after being wounded in the leg, Hitler is promoted to the rank of lance-corporal
1917
Klemperer is music director at Cologne
Otto Klemperer starts a seven-year spell as music director of Cologne opera, and begins to acquire an international reputation
1917 March
Germans withdraw to Hindenburg Line
German troops on the western front begin withdrawal to the recently constructed defences of the Hindenburg Line
1917 April
Lenin returns to Russia with German help
The German authorities allow Lenin to travel home from Switzerland through Germany, hoping for Communist disruption of the Russian war effort
1917 April 6
USA goes to war
Woodrow Wilson, president of the USA, declares war on Germany
1917 April
U-boats' deadly score
German U-boats sink 430 Allied and neutral merchant ships in this month alone
1918 March 3
Russia accepts Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
At Brest-Litovsk Lenin signs a peace treaty with Germany and Austria, ceding vast territories and valuable resources
1918 April 21
Red Baron killed in action
The German air ace Baron von Richthofen is finally shot down, after himself destroying 80 Allied planes
1918 July 8
Goering commands Richthofen Squadron
Hermann Goering, a fighter ace who has shot down 22 Allied aircraft by the end of the war, becomes commander of the Richthofen Squadron
1918 August 4
Iron Cross First Class for Hitler
Adolf Hitler is awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, a decoration rarely given to a corporal
1918 October 4
Kaiser appoints chancellor to end war
The Kaiser appoints a new chancellor, Prince Max von Baden, to negotiate an end to the war
1918 October 5
Germany requests armistice
The new German chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, sends a message to President Wilson requesting an immediate armistice
1918 October 5
Hindenburg Line breached
The British, under Douglas Haig, break through Germany's heavily defended Hindenburg Line
1918 October 30
German fleet mutinies
A mutiny in Germany's fleet in Kiel sparks uprisings in several German cities
1918 November 8
Germans meet Allies in railway carriage
The Allied commander-in chief, Marshal Foch, meets a German delegation in a railway carriage in the forest of Compiègne to discuss an armistice
1918 November 9
Ebert is German chancellor
Friedrich Ebert, leader of the Social Democrats, becomes the first chancellor of the newly proclaimed German republic
1918 November 9
Soviet German republic proclaimed
The Spartacus League proclaims a rival German republic on soviet lines
1918 November 10
Kaiser abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and goes into exile in the Netherlands
1918 November 11
German armistice agreed at 5 a.m.
The Allies and the Germans finally agree the terms of an armistice at 5 a.m.
1919 February
Hitler returns to Munich
Hitler returns to Munich and in the prevailing mood of post-defeat resentment begins to take an interest in extremist politics
1919
Hitler joins German Workers' party
Adolf Hitler joins the tiny German Workers' party, the members of which share his own virulent anti-semitism
1919
Gropius and the Bauhaus
Walter Gropius becomes director of the newly formed Bauhaus in Weimar
1919
Keynes attacks terms of Versailles
In The Economic Consequences of the Peace Maynard Keynes publishes a strong attack on the reparations demanded from Germany
1919 January I
German Communist party
The Spartacus League transforms itself into the Communist party of Germany
1919 January 6
Berlin crowd demands revolution
A vast crowd, assembling in Berlin, calls for a revolution and begins to seize public buildings
1919 January I5
Liebknecht and Luxemburg shot
After ten days of street fighting in Berlin, Spartacus leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg are captured and shot
1919 January I8
Paris peace conference
The delegates to the peace conference in Paris, mainly concerned with the terms to be imposed on Germany, hold their first session
1919 February
Weimar republic established
The German assembly meets in Weimar and elects Ebert as president of the new republic
1919 June 28
Peace treaty at Versailles
The peace treaty with Germany, ending the world war, is signed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
1919 June 28
Germany to pay reparations
The Versailles Treaty declares that Germany must pay reparations for wartime damages, with the precise amount to be decided by May 1921
1919 June 28
Sudetenland becomes Czech
The peace-makers in Paris assign the Sudetenland, with its 3.5 million German-speaking inhabitants, to the new republic of Czechoslovakia
1919 June 28
Poland recovers access to Baltic
The Versailles Treaty provides a corridor of land to give Poland access to Danzig and the Baltic, thereby dividing two parts of Germany
1920
Right-wing putsch in Berlin
A right-wing military putsch seizes power for a few days in Berlin
1920
Danish-German border fixed
A plebiscite in Schleswig establishes the border between Denmark and Germany
1920
Communist uprising in Ruhr
A Communist uprising in the Ruhr is suppressed with difficulty by the German army
1920
Nazi party emerges
The German Workers' Party, with Adolf Hitler as one of its leading members, changes its name to the Nazi party
1921
Germany to pay punitive damages
The commission considering the level of Germany's war reparations to the Allies decides on $33 billion
1921
Klee at the Bauhaus
Paul Klee becomes a teacher at the Bauhaus in Weimar
1921
Hitler leads the Nazi party
Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi party, which now has about 3000 members
1922
Kandinsky at the Bauhaus
Wassily Kandinsky takes up a teaching post at the Bauhaus in Weimar
1922
Germany recognizes Russia
Germany is the first nation to re-establish full diplomatic relations with Russia
1922
Felix Krull makes a brief confession
Thomas Mann publishes a fragment of his Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man
1922
Furtwängler conducts in Berlin
The German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler is appointed to the Berlin Philharmonic, and spends most of the rest of his life with the orchestra
1923
French and Belgians seize Ruhr
France, with Belgian support, occupies Germany's industrial heartland in the Ruhr
1923
Inflation makes German mark worthless
German inflation reaches fantasy levels, at 242 million marks to the dollar
1923
Communist uprisings in German cities
Germany's communists organise uprisings in Saxony, Thuringia and Hamburg
1923
Hitler's beer-cellar putsch
Adolf Hitler, launching a putsch in a Munich beer cellar, announces the birth of a new national government
1923
Abrupt end to Hitler putsch
Adolf Hitler's beer-cellar putsch ends in ignominious failure, as he turns and flees under fire
1923
Goering wounded in Nazi fiasco
Hermann Goering is wounded in the aftermath of the Munich beer hall putsch, but unlike Hitler manages to escape
1923
Rilke's Elegies and Sonnets
Rainer Maria Rilke publishes his Duino Elegies and his Sonnets to Orpheus
1923
Mein Kampf begun in prison
Adolf Hitler dictates Mein Kampf to Rudolf Hess in their shared prison cell after the failed Munich putsch
1923
Lebensraum for Germans
Rudolf Hess suggests to Hitler the policy of Lebensraum or 'living space' for the German people
1923
Hindemith's Das Marienleben
Paul Hindemith sets Rainer Maria Rilke's song-cycle Das Marienleben
1924
Belgian mandate for Ruanda-Urundi
The League of Nations grants Belgium a mandate to administer the former Germany colony of Ruanda-Urundi
1924
The Magic Mountain
German author Thomas Mann publishes his novel The Magic Mountain
1924
Wankel conceives the rotary engine
German scientist Felix Wankel builds a model of a rotary engine, thirty years before the first prototype is manufactured
1924
One new German mark for a trillion old
A new German currency, the Reichsmark, is launched with the value of a trillion old marks
1925
Mein Kampf
The first volume of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf is published
1925
Heisenberg and quantum mechanics
23-year-old German physicist Werner Heisenberg publishes his ground-breaking theory of quantum mechanics
1925
Hindenburg is German president
Field marshal Paul von Hindenburg is elected president of the Weimar Republic in Germany
1925
German navy adopts Enigma
The German navy adapts a civilian encryption machine, Enigma, for military purposes
1925
Locarno Treaties
Treaties signed at Locarno, in Switzerland, aim to stabilize and guarantee Germany's borders with France and Belgium
1925
Wozzeck as an opera
Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck has its premiere in Berlin
1926
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) is established by the Nazi party for teenage boys
1926
Germany joins League of Nations
Germany joins the League of Nations, with a permanent seat on the council
1926
Labanotation
Rudolf von Laban publishes a new system of dance notation, which becomes known in English as Labanotation
1926
Monument to Liebknecht and Luxemburg
Mies van der Rohe designs a monument in Berlin for the Spartacus leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
1926
Bauhaus moves to Dessau
Walter Gropius designs buildings in Dessau as a new home for the Bauhaus
1927
Jonny Strikes Up
Ernst Krenek's jazz opera Jonny Strikes Up has its premiere in Leipzig
1927
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
Werner Heisenberg publishes his Uncertainty Principle, declaring that it is impossible to define precisely the position and momentum of a sub-atomic particle
1927
First collaboration between Brecht and Weill
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill write Mahagonny Songspiel for the Baden-Baden music festival
1927
Steppenwolf
Hermann Hesse publishes a mystical novel, Steppenwolf, based on the concept of a double personality
1927
Heidegger and Dasein
In Being and Time German philosopher Martin Heidegger makes an existentialist case with Dasein ('Being There') as the central theme
1927
Weissenhofsiedlung defines Modernism
Stuttgart's Weissenhofsiedlung, designed by Mies van der Rohe, le Corbusier, Gropius and others, sets a defining standard for International Modernism
1928
Breuer chair
Marcel Breuer, working at the Bauhaus, designs the classic version of his tubular-steel cantilever chair their homesr
1928
Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera, by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, opens to great acclaim in Berlin
1929
Himmler commands SS
The SS, which has evolved from Hitler's personal bodyguard, is put under the command of Heinrich Himmler
1929
All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque publishes All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel based on his wartime experiences in the German army
1929
Barcelona Chair
Mies van der Rohe designs his famous Barcelona Chair for the German pavilion at the Barcelona World Fair
1930
The Blue Angel
Joseph von Sternberg directs Marlene Dietrich in the film The Blue Angel, shot in both German and English, making her an immediate international star
1930
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
The opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, opens in Leipzig
1930
Goebbels in charge of propaganda
Adolf Hitler puts Joseph Goebbels at the head of the Nazi party's propaganda campaign
1930
Allies withdraw from Rhineland
The Allies withdraw their occupying forces from Germany's Rhineland, five years ahead of schedule
1930
Nazi election success
The Nazis become the second largest party in the Reichstag, winning 107 seats
1931
Hitler becomes the Führer
Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels makes Der Führer a compulsory term for Hitler in the Nazi party
1932
Hitler becomes a German
Adolf Hitler finally exchanges Austrian for German nationality, just in time to run for the German presidency
1932
Hitler polls well as presidential candidate
Adolf Hitler stands for election as president of the German republic and wins 36% of the vote
1932
Nazis the most popular party
Winning 230 seats in the election, the Nazis become the largest party in the Reichstag (albeit not with a majority)
1932
6 million unemployed in Germany
Unemployment in Germany rises during the world-wide depression to the unprecedented level of 6 million
1933
Hitler is German chancellor
President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler chancellor of the German republic
1933
Sterilization in Germany
German chancellor Adolf Hitler orders the sterilization of carriers of hereditary mental diseases, in one of his government's first pieces of legislation
1933
Nazi terror in new election campaign
The electoral campaign for a new Reichstag, demanded by Hitler, is conducted with escalating Nazi violence
1933
Reichstag burns, Hitler benefits
The burning of the Reichstag during the German election enables Adolf Hitler to introduce emergency measures restricting liberty
1933
First Nazi concentration camp
Heinrich Himmler sets up the first Nazi concentration camp, at Dachau near Munich
1933
Hitler claims unrestricted powers
Adolf Hitler puts a bill before the first meeting of the newly elected Reichstag, giving himself unrestricted powers
1933
Krupp joins Nazis
Gustav Krupp and his son Alfried, Germany’s main manufacturers of armaments, join the Nazi party
1933
Hitler dismisses Jewish state employees
Adolf Hitler passes a law forcing the 'retirement' of all Jews working in the civil service, schools and universities
1933
Bauhaus closed
The new Nazi government closes down Germany's distinguished school of modern art and architecture, the Bauhaus
1933
Adenauer sacked by Nazis
The Nazi government dismisses Konrad Adenauer from all his appointments, included that of Lord Mayor of Cologne
1933
Richard Strauss's Arabella
Arabella, by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, is first performed four years after von Hofmannsthal's death left it incomplete
1933
Single political party in Germany
Germany becomes a one-party state, with only the Nazis allowed to engage in political activity
1933
Thomas Mann leaves Germany
Thomas Mann leaves Germany and moves to Switzerland, where he engages in a steady polemic against the Nazis
1933
Germany withdraws from League of Nations
Adolf Hitler, the new German chancellor, pulls Germany out of the League of Nations and its disarmament conference
1933
Germany leaves League of Nations
Adolf Hitler wins massive referendum support for his withdrawal of Germany from the Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations
1933
Testament of Dr Mabuse
Fritz Lang's film The Testament of Dr Mabuse is banned in Germany because of implicit criticism of Nazi thugs
1933
Schoenberg leaves Germany
Arnold Schoenberg leaves his teaching post in Germany, now under Nazi control, and in 1934 settles in Los Angeles
1934
Speer designs Nuremberg rally
Nazi architect Albert Speer designs a spectacular new setting for the party's annual Nuremberg rally
1934
Riefenstahl films Nuremberg rally
German photographer Leni Riefenstahl glorifies Hitler and the Nuremberg rally in her film Triumph of the Will
1934
Korngold goes to Hollywood
Erich Korngold, one of Austria's most admired composers, moves to Hollywood
1934
Hitler orders death of Roehm
Adolf Hitler visits his SA commander, Ernst Roehm, in his hotel before having him shot
1934
Night of the Long Knives
Multiple murders are carried out on Hitler's orders during the Night of the Long Knives
1934
SS and Gestapo brought under one command
In addition to the SS, Heinrich Himmler is given command of the state secret police, or Gestapo
1934
Hindenburg dies
Paul von Hindenburg dies, enabling Adolf Hitler to combine the roles of president, chancellor and supreme commander of the German armed forces
1934
USSR joins League
USSR joins the League of Nations, after Germany leaves the organization
1934
German voters want Hitler as Führer
In a referendum 38 million German voters say yes to Adolf Hitler becoming Führer, Germany's supreme leader
1934
"1000-year Reich"
Hitler tells the party faithful in a Nuremberg rally that their new third Reich will last for 1000 years
1934
Mathis der Maler
Paul Hindemith's opera Mathis der Maler is banned by the Nazis and is not performed until 1938 in Zurich
1934
Gropius leaves Germany
Openly hostile to the Nazis, the architect Walter Gropius moves to England and three years later makes the USA his home
1935
Hitler openly rearms Germany
Adolf Hitler informs Britain and France that he is building up the German armed forces, in contravention of the Versailles treaty
1935
Weill moves to USA
The German composer Kurt Weill moves to New York, where he writes Broadway musicals
1935
Goering to head Luftwaffe
Adolf Hitler reinstates Germany's airforce, the Luftwaffe, putting Hermann Goering in command
1935
Saar votes to join Hitler
The people of the rich mining district of the Saar vote to merge with Germany
1935
Hitler brings in conscription
Adolf Hitler gets away with a calculated international risk when he reintroduces conscription in Germany
1935-1938
Germans find work in weapons
Adolf Hitler's rearmament programme begins to reduce German unemployment, and by 1938 eliminates it entirely
1935
Dönitz in charge of U-boats
Adolf Hitler gives Karl Dönitz, a submarine commander from World War I, responsibility for Germany's U-boat programme
1935
Hitler curtails sexual freedom of Jews
Adolf Hitler promulgates a law prohibiting any sexual relationship between Jews and 'Aryans'
1935
Jews in Germany are non-citizens
New Nazi laws announced at Nuremberg strip Jews of their German citizenship
1936
Hitler moves troops into Rhineland
The rest of Europe offers no effective objection when Adolf Hitler moves his troops into the demilitarized Rhineland
1936
Berlin stadium by Werner March
German architect Werner March designs spectacular buildings for the Berlin Olympics
1936
Nazi youth groups compulsory
Membership of the Hitler Youth (for boys) or the League of German Maidens is made compulsory
1936
Heydrich heads Gestapo
Hitler gives Reinhard Heydrich control of the Gestapo
1936
Four Olympic golds for Owens
At the Berlin Olympics, attended by Hitler, the African-American athlete Jesse Owens sets three new Olympic records and equals a fourth
1936
Carmina Burana
Carl Orff's cantata Carmina Burana has its premiere in Frankfurt
1936
Germany and Italy form axis
Hitler and Mussolini form an axis, or alliance, causing Germany and Italy to become known as the Axis powers
1936
Germany and Japan in anti-communist pact
Germany and Japan establish an Anti-Comintern Pact against their common enemy, the USSR
1937
Pius XI condemns Nazis
Pope Pius XI issues an encyclical, Mit Brennender Sorge, condemning the Nazi ideology of racism
1937
Mann stripped of honorary doctorate
Under Nazi influence the University of Bonn deprives Thomas Mann of his honorary doctorate, which is restored to him in 1946
1937
Niemöller arrested in Germany
Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller is arrested for defying the Nazis and spends the next eight years in concentration camps
1937
Nazis ridicule avant-garde art
A Nazi exhibition of 'degenerate art' opens in Munich, and visitors are invited to mock the avant-garde works on show
1937
Buchenwald set up as labour camp
Buchenwald, near Weimar, is set up as a concentration camp providing forced labour for local arms manufacturers
1937
Von Braun directs rocket research
Rocket engineer Wernher von Braun is appointed director of Germany's weapon research centre at Peenemünde
1937
Mussolini impressed by German might
Adolf Hitler, entertaining Mussolini in Germany, puts on spectacular demonstrations of German military and industrial might
1938 February 4
Ribbentrop is foreign minister
Adolf Hitler appoints Joachim von Ribbentrop as Germany's foreign minister
1938 March 1
Hitler marches into Austria
German tanks cross the border into Austria, on the official invitation of Austrian Nazis
1938 March 12
Hitler announces Anschluss
Adolf Hitler, following his troops into Austria, announces the Anschluss (union of Germany and Austria)
1938
Persecution in Nazi Austria
Left-wingers and Jews suffer immediate persecution in Nazi Austria, now part of Germany
1938
Voters say yes to Anschluss
Voters in both Germany and Austria give massive approval for Hitler's annexation of Austria
1938 September 15
Chamberlain flies to meet Hitler
Neville Chamberlain makes the first of three flights to Germany, this time to negotiate with Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden
1938 September 29
Chamberlain and Daladier in Munich
Neville Chamberlain and Édouard Daladier fly to Munich to discuss Hitler's designs on the Czech Sudetenland
1938 September 29
Munich agreement appeases Hitler
Chamberlain and Daladier agree at Munich that Hitler may annexe the Czech Sudetenland, with its largely German population
1938 October
Sudetenland becomes part of Germany
The Sudetenland is transferred from Czechoslovakia to Germany, in accordance with the Munich agreement
1938 October
Hitler demands Danzig
Adolf Hitler makes unacceptable demands upon Poland, including the transfer of the free port of Danzig to Germany
1938 October
Hitler wants right of way through Poland
Adolf Hitler demands a strip of territory through the Polish corridor to reunite Germany with East Prussia
1938 November 9
Kristallnacht in Germany
Nazi gangs smash the premises of Jews throughout Germany and Austria in a night that becomes known as Kristallnacht, the night of cut glass
1939 September 17
Russia invades Poland
A Russian army invades Poland from the east, fulfilling the secret protocol of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
1939
Poland the first victim of German blitzkrieg
The new German technique of blitzkrieg ('lightning war') is demonstrated with devastating effect against Poland
1939
Nuclear fission
German physicists, led by Otto Hahn, announce their discovery of nuclear fission
1939
Von Karajan directs Berlin State Opera
Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan becomes music director of the Berlin State Opera
1939 March
Hungary signs anti-Communist pact
Hungary aligns itself with the Axis powers, signing Germany and Japan's Anti-Comintern Pact
1939 March 15
Hitler's tanks roll into Prague
Hitler's armies smash their way into Czechoslovakia and enter Prague, against all his previous promises
1939 August 21
Ribbentrop-Molotov pact
Ribbentrop flies to Moscow to sign a Nonaggression Pact with Molotov, depriving Britain and France of an ally
1939 August 21
Hitler and Stalin have plans for Poland
A secret protocol, attached to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, divides Poland and the Baltic states between Germany and Russia
1939 August 27
Germans achieve jet flight
The He-178, designed by Hans von Ohain, becomes the first jet engine to fly, with a test flight lasting five minutes
1939 September 1
Hitler invades Poland
Adolf Hitler launches a massive attack on Poland, with tanks crossing the border and air raids on Warsaw
1939 September 3
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France, receiving no answer from Hitler to their ultimatum over his attack on Poland, declare war on Germany
1939
French await Germans on Maginot Line
French troops rush to defend France's border with Germany, along the heavily fortified Maginot Line
1939 September 27
Germany and Russia share Poland
Warsaw falls, after a brave resistance, whereupon Germany and Russia carve up Poland
1939 November
Hitler decrees 'mercy killing'
Adolf Hitler orders the 'mercy killing' of all those with specified categories of infirmity, beginning with newborn babies and young children
1940
Lord Haw-Haw goes on air
William Joyce, broadcasting in English from Germany, becomes notorious in Britain as Lord Haw-Haw
1940 April 5
Hitler 'misses bus'
Inactivity during the Phoney War prompts Neville Chamberlain to assure the House of Commons that Hitler has 'missed the bus'
1940 April 9
Hitler invades Denmark and Norway
German ships and marines occupy the harbours of neutral Denmark and Norway
1940 April 9
Germany flies assault troops into Norway
The German invasion of Norway includes the world's first airborne assault, with troops arriving by plane to attack the airports of Oslo and Stavanger
1940 May 19
Germans reach the coast in France
German tanks reach the French coast at Abbeville, nine days after crossing the border from Germany
1940 June 16
France sues for peace
Marshal Pétain, as the new premier of France, immediately asks Germany for an armistice
1919 June 24
French-Italian armistice
A delegation from France, defeated and partly occupied by Germany, signs in Rome an armistice with Mussolini's Italy
1940 July
Germany in control of Romania
Germany takes control of Romania, to secure the country's rich oil fields
1940 July 16
Hitler plans invasion of England
Hitler orders preparations for the invasion of England, under the codename Operation Sea Lion
1940 September 27
Germany, Italy and Japan in pact
Germany, Italy and Japan form a Tripartite Pact as a military alliance
1940 October 2
Invasion of Britain cancelled
After the summer's losses in the air, Hitler orders the effective cancellation of operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain
1940 October 31
First prisoners in Colditz
The castle at Colditz, adapted as a high-security prisoner-of-war camp, receives 140 Polish officers as its first inmates
1940 December 18
Hitler plans to attack Soviet Union
Adolf Hitler orders preparations to be made for Operation Barbarossa, his planned invasion of the Soviet Union
1940 June 22
Germany invades Russia
German armies cross the border to invade Russia on a front from the Baltic to southern Poland
1941 April 6
Germany overwhelms Yugoslavia
German troops invade and rapidly overrun Yugoslavia
1941 April 7-28
Germany invades Greece
German troops move on from Yugoslavia into Greece, driving a small British force from the mainland across the sea to Crete
1941&nbIsp; May
Hitler sets up murder squads
In preparation for the invasion of Russia, Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler set up Special Task Commandos (Einsatzkommando) to exterminate Communists and Jews
1941 May 10
Hess flies solo to Britain
Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy in the Nazi party, flies to Britain on a bizarre secret mission
1941 May 27
Bismarck goes down
Germany's latest battleship, the Bismarck, is sunk in the Atlantic with the loss of nearly all her 2222 crew
1941 July
First steps taken in Holocaust
The systematic shooting of Russian Jews by German Einsatzgruppen is the first step in the development of the Holocaust
1941 July 31
Plans for Final Solution
Goering orders Reinhard Heydrich to prepare plans for the 'final solution of the Jewish queston'
1941 August
Nazis experiment in murder by gas
Nazi experiments are carried out on Jews and Soviet prisoners of war to find effective means of murder by gas
1941 September 8
Germans besiege Leningrad
A week or two after reaching Leningrad a Germany army establishes a siege that will last 900 days
1941 October 16
'Final solution' in use as a phrase
Adolf Eichmann, in an official letter about policy in relation to the Jews, uses the phrase 'the final solution'
1941 December 13
Bulgaria sides with Germany
Bulgaria signs the Anti-Comintern Pact and joins the war on Germany's side
1942 January 20
Death camps planned at Wannsee
Reinhard Heydrich convenes a meeting at Wannsee to discuss the practical details of the 'final solution'
1942 February
Speer responsible for armaments
Hitler's chief architect, Albert Speer, is put in charge of Germany's armaments programme
1942 from March
Factories move to Auschwitz
German industrial enterprises are moved from the vulnerable Ruhr valley to the slave labour facilities of Auschwitz
1942 April
Baedeker raids
Germany launches a bombing campaign specifically targeting historic British cities with three stars in the Baedeker guidebook
1942 May
Bonhoeffer makes secret overture to Britain
German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer flies to neutral Sweden to contact the British on behalf of conspirators against Hitler
1942 October 3
V-2 rocket
The German V-2 rocket is successfully tested by Wernher von Braun and his team at Peenemünde
1942 December 17
German genocide condemned
An international declaration condemns Germany's 'bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination'
1943 January
Dönitz commands German navy
Hitler appoints Karl Dönitz as commander of the German navy
1943 April
Bormann is Hitler's secretary
Martin Bormann, previously head of the party secretariat, becomes Hitler's personal secretary
1943 May 16
Dam Busters raid Ruhr valleys
Two hydroelectric schemes in the Ruhr valley are destroyed by the RAF's Dam Busters and their bouncing bombs in Operation Chastise
1943 July
Belsen becomes concentration camp
Belsen, used as a prisoner-of-war camp since 1940, is turned into a concentration camp
1943 July 28
First firestorm
The Hamburg Fire Department coins the word Feuersturm ('firestorm') to describe the unprecedented effects of an RAF raid on the city
1943 August 17
German rocket station bombed
The RAF bomb the German V-2 rocket research station at Peenemünde
1943 August 23
Bombers blitz Berlin
Allied bombers begin four months of night-time raids on Berlin
1943 October 13
Italy changes sides
Italy changes sides and declares war on her recent ally, Germany
1944
Bonhoeffer's Letters from Prison
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in Buchenwald, writes his Letters and Papers from Prison
1944 July 20
Plot fails to kill Hitler
Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes death from a bomb placed by Claus von Stauffenberg
1944 July 25
Germans use jet in combat
The Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter-bomber flies into combat, introducing the jet era in aerial warfare
1944
Rommel among the condemned
from July - more than 5000 Germans, among them Rommel, die because of the Stauffenberg plot
1944 August 24
Romania joins Allies
Romania changes sides to fight with the Red Army against Germany
1945 January
Hitler withdraws into bunker
Allied bombing of Berlin forces Hitler to take refuge in his underground bunker
1945 February 13
Bombers demolish Dresden
British bombers launch a devastating raid against Dresden, killing tens of thousands in a firestorm
1945 March 6
Soviet-sponsored government in Romania
The Soviets instal a puppet government in Romania while the fight continues against Germany
1945 March 22
Allies cross Rhine
Patton's Third US Army is the first Allied force to cross the Rhine, at Oppenheim, south of Mainz
1945 March 23
Montgomery crosses Rhine
Montgomery's Twenty-First Army Group crosses the Rhine at several points in the north
1945 April
Hitler demands scorched earth
Adolf Hitler orders a scorched earth policy within Germany, in the path of the advancing Allies
1945 April 5
Bonhoeffer executed
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is executed in a Nazi concentration camp just a month before the end of the war in Europe
1945 April 11
Horrors of Buchenwald revealed
American troops discover the German concentration camp at Buchenwald
1945 April 15
Belsen worse than Buchenwald
The British reach Belsen and reveal appalling Nazi atrocities, worse even than at Buchenwald
1945 April 25
Americans greet Russians
American and Soviet troops join up at Torgau, 70 miles south of Berlin
1945 April 25
Berlin surrounded
Soviet armies form a complete circle around Berlin to isolate the city
1945 April 29
Hitler marries Eva Braun
Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun in his bunker, and holds a champagne reception with Goebbels as the principal guest
1945 April 30
Dönitz to be Hitler's successor
Hitler chooses Admiral Dönitz as his successor and appoints his cabinet
1945 April 30
Hitler and bride in suicide pact
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun retire to their marital quarters in the Berlin bunker and commit suicide
1945 April 30
Soviet troops in central Berlin
Soviet troops storm the Reichstag in the centre of Berlin on the day when Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker below them
1945 April 30
Lord Haw Haw goes off the air
Anglo-US Fascist William Joyce ('Lord Haw Haw') makes his final English broadcast from Hamburg
1945 May 1
Goebbels kills his family
In the Berlin bunker, on the day after Hitler's death, Goebbels arranges for his six children to be lethally injected, and himself and his wife to be shot
1945 May 2
Berlin surrenders
The German general commanding Berlin, Helmuth Weidling, surrenders the city to the Allies
1945 May 7
Germany surrenders unconditionally
The unconditional surrender of all German forces is accepted at Eisenhower's headquarters
1945 May 23
Himmler commits suicide
Heinrich Himmler, escaping in disguise, takes poison when he is identified
1945 June 21
Czechoslovakia recovers Sudetenland
The Sudetenland is restored to Czechoslovakia, seven years after its transfer to Germany under the Munich Agreement
1945 July 3
Four occupying forces for Austria and Germany
The four Allied powers (USA, UK, France, USSR) provide occupation forces for separate zones of Austria, Germany and Berlin
1945 July 17
Summit at Potsdam
Truman, Stalin and Churchill meet for a summit conference in Potsdam
1945 July 26
Attlee replaces Churchill at Potsdam
Winston Churchill, losing the postwar general election in Britain, has to yield his seat at Potsdam in mid-conference to Clement Attlee
1945
Death toll of Gypsies and mentally ill
[1939-1945] - in addition to 6 million Jews, the Nazi death camps have killed some 400,000 Gypsies and 100,000 'useless defectives'
1945 November 20
War crimes tribunal in Nuremberg
Twenty-two German defendants are put on trial in Nuremberg, charged with war crimes
1946
Ribbentrop hanged
Germany's former foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, is sentenced to death at Nuremberg and is hanged
1946
Furtwängler acquitted of collaboration
German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler is acquitted of the charge of collaborating with the Nazis
1946 October 1
Verdicts at Nuremberg
Twelve of the defendants at Nuremberg are sentenced to death by hanging
1946 October 15
Goering commits suicide
Hermann Goering, sentenced to death at Nuremberg, kills himself with a potassium cyanide capsule the night before he is due to be hanged
1947
Brecht's Galileo
Bertolt Brecht's play The Life of Galileo has its premiere in Los Angeles with Charles Laughton in the lead
1948
Four Last Songs completed
Richard Strauss completes his Four Last Songs in the year before his death
1948 June 24
USSR blockades Berlin
The Soviet Union imposes a blockade on Berlin by denying the other powers access through the land corridor to the city
1948 June 26
Berlin airlift
The Western powrers respond to the Soviet blockade by launching the Berlin airlift, flying in necessary provisions of every kind
1949
Inbuilt compass of bees
Karl von Frisch demonstrates that bees make use of the polarized light of the sun to calculate direction
1949
Adenauer is West German chancellor
The Christian Democrats win the first elections in Germany since 1933, and Konrad Adenauer becomes chancellor of West Germany
1949
Berliner Ensemble
Bertolt Brecht establishes a new theatrical company, the Berliner Ensemble, in East Germany
1949 May 12
Berlin blockade ends
The Soviet Union lifts the blockade on Berlin and the airlift ends, after providing for nearly a year a lifeline to the city
1949 May 25
Independence for west Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is formed from the British, French and US zones of occupation
1949 May 30
Independence for east Germany
The USSR grants nominal independence to east Germany as the newly established German Democratic Republic
1950
Four Last Songs
Kirsten Flagstad sings the posthumous premiere, in London, of Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs
1951
Field ion microscope observes atoms
Erwin Müller completes his development of the field ion microscope, the first instrument capable of observing atoms
1952
Henze's Boulevard Solitude
Hans Werner Henze's first full-length opera, Boulevard Solitude, has its premiere in Hanover
1954
First rotary engine
The German firm NSU builds the first working example of the rotary engine invented in 1924 by Felix Wankel
1954
Allied occupation of West Germany ends
Relations are normalized between West Germany and the USA, France and Britain, ending the postwar period of occupation
1955
Felix Krull confesses more fully
Thomas Mann publishes a longer but still incomplete version of his novel Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man
1955
German prisoners return from USSR
Konrad Adenauer negotiates the release of the last 10,000 German prisoners of war held in the USSR
1956
Stockhausen's Song of the Children
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Song of the Children combines electronic sounds and the human voice
1956
Henze's Stag King
Hans Werner Henze's opera The Stag King has its premiere in Berlin
1957
European Economic Community
Six founding nations (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, West Germany) establish the European Economic Community (EEC)
1957
Stockhausen's Gruppen
German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen uses three separate orchestras to achieve acoustic space in Gruppen
1958
The Swamp Dwellers
Nigerian dramatist Wole Soyinka's play The Swamp Dwellers is produced in London
1959
The Tin Drum
German novelist Günter Grass has an immediate success with his first novel, The Tin Drum
1960
Independence for Niger
Niger becomes independent, with Hamani Diori as the new nation's first president
1961
Cranko directs Stuttgart Ballet
British choreographer John Cranko becomes director of the Stuttgart Ballet
1961
Thalidomide disaster
The drug Thalidomide, synthesized in West Germany, is shown to have been the cause of severe defects in about 12,000 children born in 46 countries
1961
Berlin Wall
The East German government erects the Berlin Wall to prevent an exodus of its citizens
1963
Kennedy is a Berliner
President Kennedy, in divided Berlin, makes the dramatic declaration: Ich bin ein Berliner ('I am a Berliner')
1963
Erhard follows Adenauer as chancellor
Konrad Adenauer resigns after 14 years as Chancellor of West Germany and is succeeded by his economics minister, Ludwig Erhard
1965
Beckenbauer's debut on world stage
Footballer Franz Beckenbauer plays his first international for West Germany
1965
Beuys educates a dead hare
German performance artist Joseph Beuys walks round a gallery demonstrating How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare
1967
Biafra claims independence
The Ibo of eastern Nigeria claim independence for their region – as the republic of Biafra
1968
Stockhausen's Stimmung
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Stimmung ('Tuning') employs six unaccompanied voices for 75 minutes
1969
Brandt is German chancellor
Willy Brandt, leader of the SPD (Social Democratic Party), becomes chancellor of Germany
1970
Biafra surrenders
The breakaway province of Biafra surrenders after three years of devastating civil war in Nigeria
1971
Honecker replaces Ulbricht
With support from Moscow, Erich Honecker takes Walter Ulbricht's place as leader of East Germany
1972
Terrorist attack on Israeli athletes
Eleven Israeli athletes are killed by Palestinian 'Black September' terrorists at the Munich Olympic Games
1974
Solzhenitsyn expelled from Soviet Union
Alexander Solzhenitsyn is deported from the USSR to West Germany for publishing The Gulag Archipelago
1974
Brandt resigns
Willy Brandt resigns and is succeeded by Helmut Schmidt, as leader of the SDP and chancellor of Germany
1975
Gowon toppled in Nigeria coup
Yakubu Gowon, who united Nigeria after the Biafran war, is thrown out in a military coup
1977
Three Acts of Recognition
German author Botho Strauss's play Three Acts of Recognition wins him an international audience
1981
Stockhausen's Thursday from Light
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Thursday from Light, the first of a seven-part opera cycle, is performed in Milan
1982
Kohl is German chancellor
CDU leader Helmut Kohl follows Helmut Schmidt as chancellor of Germany
1984
New Stuttgart art gallery
British architects James Stirling and Michael Wilford complete a new art gallery for Stuttgart
1984
Luciano Berio's Un re in ascolto
Luciano Berio's opera Un re in ascolto has its premiere in Salzburg
1984
Forsythe directs Frankfurt Ballet
US choreographer William Forsythe becomes director of the Frankfurt Ballet
1985
17-year-old wins singles at Wimbledon
17-year-old German tennis-player Boris Becker becomes the youngest ever to win the men's singles at Wimbledon
1987
Steffi Graf deposes Navratilova
18-year-old German tennis player Steffi Graf deposes Martina Navratilova as world no. 1
1987
Libeskind's City Edge project
US architect Daniel Libeskind designs the City Edge project in Berlin, building it up from startlingly fragmented forms
1989
Honecker resigns
Erich Honecker, leader of East Germany since 1971, is forced to resign after massive popular demonstrations
1989
Berlin Wall comes down
Citizens of East Berlin demolish the Berlin Wall, in what proves a symbolic end to the Cold War
1990
Germany reunited
East and West Germany are united in a new Federal Republic of Germany
1994
Shumacher is world champion
German racing driver Michael Schumacher wins his first world championship title in Formula One
1995
Saro-Wiwa hanged
Ken Saro-Wiwa, playwright and pro-democracy campaigner in Nigeria, is among a group hanged by the ruling junta
1998
Civilian rule in Sierra Leone
Nigerian forces expel Johnny Koroma from Freetown and reinstate Sierra Leone's elected civilian president, Ahmad Kabbah
1998
Schröder is chancellor
SPD leader Gerhard Schröder replaces Helmut Kohl as German chancellor, in a coalition with the Green party
1999
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club, a nostalgic documentary by Wim Wenders, triggers a cult for Cuban music
2000
Kiefer's Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
Mao Zedong inspires German artist Anselm Kiefer's Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
2001
Sebald writes final novel
InAusterlitz W.G. Sebald follows the painful quest of a Czech Jew, brought to England in 1939 on a Kindertransport, to discover the history of his immediate family
2005
Merkel is chancellor
Angela Merkel, leader of the CDU, replaces Gerhard Schröder and becomes Germany's first woman chancellor
2010 May 1
Severe austerity measures in Greece persuade Germany to back an increased EU and IMF bail-out package of 110 billion euros
2013 October 24
Relations between the USA and Germany are severely strained by the revelation in leaked documents that NSA has for years tapped Angela Merkel's cellphone
2015 September 18
VW diesel tests in question
Automaker Volkswagen is alleged to have been involved in worldwide rigging of diesel emissions tests, affecting an estimated 11 million vehicles globally