Germany Timeline Highlights
B.C.
500 – Germanic tribes migrate to northern Germany.
113 – The Germanic tribes begin to fight the Roman Empire.
57 – Most of the region was conquered by Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire during the Gallic Wars.
CE
476 – Odoacer, the German Goth, becomes King of Italy, marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.
509 – Clothar I, King of the Franks, brings most of Germany under his rule.
800 – Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. He is considered the father of the German monarchy.
843 – The Treaty of Verdun divides the Kingdom of Franks into three regions, including East Francia, which would later become the Kingdom of Germany.
936 – Otto I becomes king of Germany. The Holy Roman Empire is centered on Germany.
1190 – The Teutonic Order is founded.
1250 – Emperor Frederick II dies and Germany becomes several independent territories.
1358 – The Hanseatic League, a powerful group of merchant guilds, is founded.
1410 – The Teutonic Knights are defeated by Polish forces at the Battle of Grunwald.
1455 – Johannes Gutenberg prints the first Gutenberg Bible. His printing press would change the history of Europe.
1517 – Martin Luther publishes his 95 Theses, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
1524 – German peasants revolt against the nobility.
1618 – The Thirty Years’ War begins. It is mainly fought in Germany.
1648 – The Thirty Years’ War ends with the Peace of Westphalia and the Treaty of Munster.
1701 – Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
1740 – Frederick the Great becomes king. Expand the German Empire and promote science, art and industry.
1756 – The Seven Years’ War begins. Germany allies with Great Britain against France, Austria and Russia. Germany and Great Britain win.
1756 – Famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is born.
1806 – The French Empire under Napoleon conquers most of Germany.
1808 – Premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.
1812 – The first collection of folk tales is published by the German writers Brothers Grimm.
1813 – Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Leipzig, Germany.
1848 – German philosopher Karl Marx publishes the Communist Manifesto, the basis for Marxism and Communism.
1862 – Otto von Bismarck is elected Chancellor of Prussia.
1871 – Germany defeats France in the Franco-Prussian War. The German states are united and a parliament called the Reichstag is established.
1882 – The Triple Alliance is formed between Germany, Austria and Italy.
1914 – World War I begins. Germany is part of the Central Powers along with Austria and the Ottoman Empire. Germany invades France and Russia.
1918 – World War I ends, Germany was defeated.1919 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed, forcing Germany to pay reparations and surrender territories.
1933 – Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor.
1934 – Hitler declares himself Führer.
1939 – Germany invades Poland, beginning World War II. Germany is part of the Axis Alliance which includes Germany, Italy and Japan.
1940 – Germany conquers most of Europe.
1941 – Germany declares war on the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
1945 – World War II in Europe ends with Germany surrendering to the Allies.
1948 – Berlin blockade takes place. 1949 – Germany splits into East and West Germany.
1961 – The Berlin Wall is built.
1973 – East and West Germany join the United Nations.
1989 – The Berlin Wall collapses.
1990 – Germany is reunified into a single country.
1991 – Berlin is named the capital of the newly unified country.
2002 – The Euro replaces the Deutsche Mark as the official currency.
2005 – Angela Merkel is elected the first German Chancellor.
Germany History Highlights
The area of what is now Germany has been inhabited by Germanic-speaking tribes for centuries. It became part of the Frankish Empire for the first time under Charlemagne, the father of the German monarchy. Most of Germany also became part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1700 to 1918, the Kingdom of Prussia was established in Germany. In 1914 World War I broke out. Germany was on the losing side of the war, losing an estimated 2 million soldiers.
After World War I, Germany tried to rebuild. A revolution broke out and the monarchy fell. Soon a young leader named Adolf Hitler seized power. He founded his NSDAP, which he believed in the supremacy of the German race. Hitler became a dictator and decided to expand the German Empire. He started World War II and conquered much of Europe, initially including France. But America, Britain and the Allies succeeded in defeating Hitler. After the war, Germany was divided into her two nations. East Germany and West Germany.
East Germany was a communist state under Soviet control, while West Germany was a free market state. The Berlin Wall was built between the two countries to prevent people from fleeing East Germany to the west. It became the central point and focal point of the Cold War. However, with the fall of the Soviet Union and communism, the wall was torn down in 1989. On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany were reunited into one country.