Modern History
Home > Modern History > National Studies > C Germany 1918-1939 > Germany 1918 - 1939: timeline
Germany 1918–1945:
Pamela Panczyk
Jamison High School
| 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1929
| 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1938
| 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
| 1918 |
This timeline goes beyond the scope of the HSC Modern History course as it finishes in 1945 at the end of the war instead of the required 1939 .
January
President Wilson's Fourteen Points was announced
September Hindenburg and Ludendorff
informed the Kaiser that Germany had lost the war and
that an armistice should be sought immediately
October Prince Max of Baden was
appointed Chancellor
Ludendorff was replaced by General Groener
Mutiny broke out in the German navy
November A Workers' and
Soldiers' Council was set up in Kiel and in other
cities
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated the throne of Germany
Ebert became Chancellor of Germany
Scheidemann declared Germany a republic
The armistice was signed and world war one ended |
| 1919 |
January Sparticist uprising in Berlin
was suppressed by the Freikorps
Leibneckt and Luxemburg murdered
February the German government met in
Weimar
Scheidemann became the first Chancellor of the Weimar
Republic
Ebert became the first President of the Weimar
Republic
September Hitler joined the German
Workers' Party in Munich |
| 1920 |
February Hitler announces the new
name for the German Workers' Party - National
Socialist German Workers'Party (Nazi) - and his 25
point plan for the future |
| 1922 |
December
Germany failed to make reparation payment |
| 1923 |
January
French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr
German workers began passive resistance in the Ruhr
September Chancellor Stresemann ended
passive resistance against the French government in the
Ruhr
October A new currency called the
Rentenmark was introduced
November Hitler's Beer Hall
Putsch in Munich failed |
| 1924 |
April Hitler
was sentenced to five years' imprisonment
The Dawes Plan was announced
December Hitler was released from
prison and began to rebuild the Nazi Party |
| 1925 |
February
Paul von Hindenburg was elected President of Germany
October Germany signed the Locarno
Treaty with France, Britain, Belgium and Italy
guaranteeing its borders with France |
| 1926 |
May Hitler
declared leader (Führer) of the Nazi
Party |
| 1929 |
January
Goebbels appointed chief of the Nazi propaganda
department
October Death of Stresemann
Wall Street stock market collapsed, beginning the
Great Depression |
| 1930 |
March
Muller's government failed to deal with the Great
Depression
Bruning was appointed Chancellor
July Bruning's budget passed
using Article 48
September Nazis won 107 seats in the
Reichstag elections |
| 1931 |
March
Unemployment in Germany reached 4.9 million
July Use of Article 48 was used to
govern Germany |
| 1932 |
April Hitler
stood for President, but Hindenburg, at 85 years of
age, was re-elected
May Fall of the Bruning government
Franz von Papen was appointed Chancellor
July Reichstag elections were
held
Nazis won 280 seats and became the largest party in
the parliament
August Hitler was rejected in the
position of Vice-Chancellor
September Reichstag dissolved
November Reichstag elections were
held
Nazi vote declined
Papen government resigned
December Von Schleicher appointed
Chancellor |
| 1933 |
January
Schleicher's government fell
Hitler was appointed Chancellor, with Papen as
Vice-Chancellor
February Reichstag Fire
Law for the Protection of People and State
March Goebbels appointed Propaganda
Minister
Reichstag elections were
held
Enabling Act was passed
April Jewish children were restricted
entry into German schools
First boycott of Jewish businesses and professionals
May Trade unions abolished
Burning of "un-German" books
June Political parties banned
SS assumed control of concentration camps
July Nazi Party became the only legal
party in Germany
Hitler signed an agreement with the Pope to protect
the Roman Catholic Church in Germany
November Reichstag elections were
held with the Nazi Party winning every seat |
| 1934 |
January
German states were abolished
April Himmler was appointed head of
the Gestapo
June Night of the long knives
SS no longer part of the SA
August President Hindenburg died
Hitler combined the offices of President and
Chancellor
The German Army swore an oath of loyalty to
Hitler |
| 1935 |
March
Germany reintroduced conscription, which was against
the Treaty of Versailles
September Nuremburg laws against Jews
were passed |
| 1936 |
March German
troops reoccupied the Rhineland
June Himmler became Chief of the
German police
August Olympic Games were held in
Berlin
September Four-Year Plan for economic
self-sufficiency and rearmament introduced
October Germany signed a treaty with
Italy |
| 1938 |
March The
Anschluss, Austria was incorporated into the Reich
September The Munich Conference was
held
November Kristallnacht, Night of
Broken Glass |
| 1939 |
March
Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia
Britain and France gave guarantees to Poland about its
security
August The Soviet-German
Non-Aggression Pact was signed
September Germany invaded Poland
Britain and France declared war on Germany
October Poland surrendered to
Germany |
| 1940 |
April
Germany invaded Norway and Denmark
May Germany invaded Holland, Belgium,
Luxembourg and France
(HSC Modern History Course – Option C Germany 1918-1939 finishes here)
June France surrendered to Germany
July The Battle of Britain began
September Italy began its attack on
North Africa
Germany, Italy and Japan signed an agreement
|
| 1941 |
February
Rommel arrived in North Africa
March Bulgaria joined the Axis powers
April Germany invaded Greece and
Yugoslavia
June Operation Barbarossa began
August All Jews were required to wear
a yellow star of David on their clothing
December German troops were forced
back before Moscow
Japan bombed American base at Pearl Harbour
Germany declared war on the United States of
America |
| 1942 |
January The
Wansee Conference in Berlin was held on the final
solution
February Albert Speer was appointed
Minister for Armaments and Munitions
July The Treblinka Concentration Camp
opened in Poland
September The Battle for Stalingrad
began
October The Battle of El Alamein
occurred
November United States troops landed
in North Africa |
| 1943 |
January The
first American bombing raids were carried out on
Germany
The German Sixth Army surrendered at Stalingrad
February Goebbels called on Germans
to wage total war
June Himmler ordered the liquidation
of all Polish ghettos
July The Allies began the invasion of
Sicily
Mussolini was overthrown in Italy
September German troops entered
Rome |
| 1944 |
January
Soviet troops entered Poland
June D-day occured in France
July An attempt to assassinate Hitler
failed
August Paris was liberated from
German control
September German war production
reached its highest point
November Auschwitz ceased to function
as an extermination camp
December Battle of the Bulge |
| 1945 |
January
Hitler returned to Berlin from his headquarters in East
Prussia
March Allied armies began to cross
the Rhine and into Germany
April Death of Franklin D Roosevelt
Mussolini was executed
Soviet troops took the ruins of the German Reichstag building
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide
May Goebbels and his family committed
suicide
The end of the war in Europe (VE Day) |
|