History of Germany. Germany chronology

History of Germany

From the Beginnings to the Early Middle Ages
From the Reformation to the Dissolution of the Roman Empire
A Confederation, an Empire and a Republic
19th to 21st Centuries
Chronology of Germany
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Chronology of Germany

Ancient German History
1000 BC- 500 BC	German tribes settle in the territory of Northern Germany
113 BC- 439 AD	Wars ensue between the German tribes and the Romans
57 BC	Caesar gains control over much of the German territories
9 AD	The boundary between the Germans and Romans is established as a result of the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest
90	The region of Roman Germania is established
800	The Holy Roman Empire is established, with the Frankish ruler of France and Germany, Charlemagne, as emperor
843	The Frankish empire collapses and Germany becomes a separate kingdom
962	King Otto I moves the centre of the Holy Roman Empire to Germany
1250	Emperor Frederick II Hohenstraufen dies, ending the existence of the empire
1438	Albert I is elected king and begins the Habsburg dynasty in Austria

16-19th Century
1517	Martin Luther's 99 theses begins the Protestant Reformation and splits the Catholic church
1618-1648	The Thirty Years' War leads to the failure of the Habsburgs to restore Catholicism
1806	Napoleon rules over Germany
1813	Napoleon is defeated at Leipzig and his rule over Germany ends
1848	Rapid industrialisation begins
1871	Otto von Bismarck unifies German territories. Parliament is elected under the name of Raichstag, but the emperor still has overall power
1888	William II' s reign sparks rapid economic growth, and begins colonial expansion of Germany, as well as naval power development
1890	Workers' growing discontent begins the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Twentieth Century War History
1914-1918	The First World War
1918	After defeat, Germany relinquishes rights to all weapons and to possess an army.
1919	The Treaty of Versailles sees Germany lose its colonies and some of its territories, as well as large amounts of money in reparations. The Weimar Republic begins, resulting in high unemployment and discontent
1923	In Munich, Adolf Hitler, head of the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party, lead a coup against the government
1924	Hitler, from prison, writes 'Mein Kampf'
1933	Hitler gains power in the country by becoming chancellor and the republic is governed as a one-party state. Persecution of the Jews escalates
1934	The Third Reich is announced by Hitler
1935	Germany begins to rearm and Jews are stripped of citizenship
1936	The Olympic Games are held in Berlin
1938	Germany annexes Austria and Sudetenland. Physical attacks against Jews and synagogues are further escalated
1939-1945	Germany invades Poland and the Second World War begins. Millions of Jews, Slavs and other races are destroyed by the Holocaust
1945	Germany is defeated and divided into occupation zones by the Allies
1945-1946	Nuremberg war crimes trials begin

Post World Wars Germany
1949	Germany is divided into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), a zone governed by the U.S., France and Britain; and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), a zone governed by the Soviet Union
1950s	Rapid economic growth begins in West Germany
1955	West Germany joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), while East Germany enters the Warsaw Pact
1957	West Germany joins the European Economic Community (EEC)
1961	The Berlin Wall is built
1968	East Germany refuses to unite with West Germany until the latter becomes socialist
1973	Both East and West Germany join the United Nations (UN)
1982	Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl becomes the new chancellor of West Germany
1987	The leader of East Germany Erich Honecker visits West Germany for the first time
1989	The Berlin Wall is torn down. Many East Germans cross the border to former West Germany seeking better economic opportunities

United Modern Day Germany
1990	Helmut Kohl becomes leader of the united Germany
1991	Berlin becomes the capital of Germany
1993	Germany becomes part of the Maastricht Treaty on EU
1994	Kohl is re-elected. German troops are given the right to participate in UN peacekeeping operations
1998	Gerhard Schroeder becomes the new chancellor
2002	The Deutsche Mark is replaced by the euro
2002 September	Schroeder is re-elected
2005	The German parliament ratifies the EU constitution
2005 November	Angela Merkel becomes the new chancellor of a coalition government