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Francis II, last Holy Roman Emperor, resigns after a defeat from Napoleon. his kingdom is replaced by the confederation of the Rhine.
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The confederation of the Rhine, an alliance of German nations favoring Napoleon, is dissolved with Napoleons defeat by Britain, Prussia, and Russia.
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Austria, Prussia, and other German speaking nations unite in a lose confedearation, with Austria and Prussia partially outside the borders
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The state of Bavaria permits the construction of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway, first Railroad in Germany.
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These protests proved unsuccessful, but fought for unification and inspired many to seek it.
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Seeking sovreignity over dthe German States, Prussia and Austria began a brief war which was to have dramatic consequences for Europe.
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After Prussia defeats Austria, the German confederation dissolves, and Prussia absorbs several German states, forming the North German Confederation, which all Northern German provinces enter by 1867.
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The North German Confederation is formed, and Otto Von Bismarck becomes Chancellor
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Due to issues in power balance since Napoleon, Prussia and France began a fight against each other. Bavaria and the other South German states assisted in the conquest. Prussia won and the French King, Napoleon III, was exiled.
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Germany is officially declared a unified nation, with Otto Von Bismarck as Chancellor and Wilhelm I as Emperor
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Wilhelm I, Emperor of Germany, dies shortly before his 91st birthday. His son Frederick III briefly suceeds him, but dies of cancer 99 days later,and Wilhelm II, grandson of Wilhelm I, becomes emperor.
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After the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian anarchist, Austria invaded Serbia. Russia entered the war to help Serbia, which it had an alliance with, and Germany, which was allied with Austria, began to mobilise its troops
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Armistice signed ending WW1, with Germany, Austria, and Turkey on the losing side.
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The Allies placed all war blame on Germany and ordered it to pay off all the War debt. Germany was also forced to give up all overseas territory and many eastern provinces, as well as the Alsace-Lorraine region on the French border. It also forced Germany to dismiss most of its military
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Worthless reichmark replaced by Rentenmark and currency stabilised. Before this, Germans had to pay a trillion dollar for a loaf of bread. This was because to pay off for the war debt, Germans had had to print massive amounts of money, and the money printed became almost completely worthless. The picture here shows children using tied-up money to build a tower-- it was cheaper than buying toys.
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Paul von Hindenburg apointed Adolf Hitler, an anti-semitic former Austrian soldier, Chancellor. Hitler had been imprisoned for trying to overthrow the Wiemar Republic, but had written Mien Kampf, his Autobiography, in prison, which explained to the Germans his hatred against the Jews.
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The Riechstag building, where the German parliament met, was set on fire by Marinus Van der Lubbe, a dutch Communist. As the Nazis opposed Communism, this event caused greater opposition to Communism--and more aleggiance to the Nazis
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As Hitler increased stepped up his fight against the Jews, he came to seek for the Annihilation of them. On this night, Nazi soldiers ransacked Jewish shops and moved a fourth of the Jews into concentration camps. This event was the beginning of the Holocaust, in which nearly six million Jews would be killed.
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With his dominion in ruins and the Solviets closing in, Hitler knew he would soon be killed by the Solviets, so he and his new wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide together.
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when the Solviets took over Berlin, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allied forces. Until 1949, The United States, Britain, and France, controlled the Western sections of Germany, the Solviets controlledthe Eastern sections, and all four countries controlled sections of Berlin.
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The federal republic of Germany, known as West Germany, is declared sovereign from allied rule with Konrad Adenauer as Chancellor. Several months later, The Democratic Republic of Germany, known as East Germany, is declared sovereign with Wilhelm Pieck as Chairman.
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The Communist Government of East Germany had ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall to prevent East Germans from moving to West Berlin.
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East Germany's Government allowed all German citizens to visit West Germany. So East Germans began breaking through the wall while people on both sides played "Wir Sind Ein Volk" (We are one people) and Ein Feste Burg, the German national anthem.
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After the Berlin wall was torn down, the East German Government permitted free elections for the first time. The Christian Democratic Party, which favored unification, received the highest by far, winning over 40% of the vote and making unification nearly inevitable
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Germany finnaly reunified under the leadership of Helmut Kohl, chancellor of West Germany
