KEY EVENTS IN GERMANY'S HISTORY
German lawmakers agree on a new constitution (the "Basic Law") for the western sectors of Germany, controlled by France, Britain and the United States. Two days later, the western city of Bonn is chosen to be the country's new capital.
On September 12, 1949, federal and state lawmakers elect Theodor Heuss the first president of the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD). Three days later, Konrad Adenauer is elected to become West Germany's first chancellor.
In response to the creation of West Germany, the section of Germany under Soviet control is declared the German Democratic Republic (GDR). On October 11, Wilhelm Pieck becomes East Germany's first president. A day later, Otto Grotewohl becomes its first prime minister.
Construction workers launch an uprising on the streets of communist East Berlin. A boosting of work quotas leads workers to demand economic reforms. East German and Soviet military forces quash the protests.
"The Miracle of Bern" -- West Germany's national soccer team defeats a highly favored Hungarian team 3-2 to win the 1954 Football World Cup. It was Germany's first championship -- and the nation's first moment of postwar euphoria.
The Paris Agreements, which had been negotiated the previous October, enter into force. The moment marks the formal end to the country's occupation and the beginning of its sovereignty. NATO is founded on May 9 and, in response, the Warsaw Pact is signed on May 14. East Germany becomes a member of this alliance of communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. On Sept. 20, the Soviet Union confirms East Germany's sovereignty.
While on a visit to Moscow, a diplomatic delegation of West Germans led by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer succeeds in convincing Soviet authorities to allow the last of the German POWs held in the Soviet to Union return to Germany.
The coal and mineral rich Saar Protectorate in southwestern Germany, which had been administered by France since the end of World War II, joins the Federal Republic of Germany as the state of Saarland.
Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany sign the Treaties of Rome, thereby establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) to foster economic integration. The EEC would go on to become one of the European Union's three pillars when the latter organization was created in 1993.
To stop the flow of people emigrating to the West, East German authorities seal the border between East and West Berlin and begin constructing the Berlin Wall. By the time the Wall came down in 1989, 98 people lost their lives trying to flee to the West.
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle sign the Élysée Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Frienship, which calls for reconciliation between the two countries and an end to centuries of antagonism.
The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials begin. Almost 20 years after the end of World War II, 22 mid to low level SS officers are put on trial for their wartime roles at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The trials bring to light -- and public attention -- horrific details about the machinery of the Holocaust.
The first "grand coalition" between the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is formed under Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger. One of his legacies is the constitutional amendment known as the German Emergency Acts, one of which enshrined society's right to resist into law.
While protesting a state visit to Berlin by the Shah of Iran, university student Benno Ohnesorg is shot by a plainclothes policeman. Ohnesorg's death helps encourage protesters to organize the left-wing "68ers" movement of massive political protests also known as the "Extraparliamentary Opposition," or APO. Recently released information indicates that the officer who shot Ohnesorg might have been a spy of the Stasi, the former East German secret police.
National elections held on Sept. 28 secure a parliamentary majority for the SPD and the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP). Willy Brandt becomes the first Social Democratic chancellor in postwar Germany. Brandt initiates a program of policies aimed at reducing tensions and improving relations with East Germany, Poland and the Soviet Union.
On a visit to Warsaw, Chancellor Willy Brandt kneels down at the memorial to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a monument to the thousands of poorly armed Jews who rose up in 1943 before being crushed by German troops. This gesture of German humility and penance -- as well as his policies aimed at relaxing tension with the BRD's eastern neighbors -- help him win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.
Walter Ulbricht, who had played a leading role in the creation of East Germany, steps down as first secretary of the SED Central Committee, the office that made him the country's effective leader. He is replaced by Erich Honecker, who remains in office until right before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
During the Olympic Games held in Munich, Palestinian terrorists kidnap and kill 11 Israeli athletes. A police officer and five terrorists also lose their lives in the confrontation.
Petroleum-exporting nations proclaim an oil embargo that causes gas prices around the world to skyrocket. In West Germany, driving is outlawed on a number of Sundays.
Chancellor Willy Brandt steps down following revelations that Günter Guillaume, one of his closest aides, is an East German spy. He is succeeded by Helmut Schmidt.
After two years of negotiations, most European states, the Soviet Union, Canada and the United States sign the Helsinki Accords, which aim to improve relations between the Communist bloc and Western countries. One article of the accords obliged the countries to seek peaceful resolutions to disputes.
On Sept. 5, the militant left-wing Baader-Meinhof Gang kidnaps the prominent industrialist Hanns Martin Schleyer in an attempt to secure the release of imprisoned members of the Red Army Faction (RAF). The following month, Palestinian terrorists allied with the RAF highjack the Lufthansa plane "Landshut" to increase pressure on the German government to release the prisoners. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt refuses to give in to the terrorists' demands. On Oct. 18, members of the elite special task force GSG 9 raid the aircraft and free the hostages. On the same day, three of the imprisoned RAF members-- Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe -- commit suicide. On the following day, Schleyer's body is found.
Despite massive protests, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt backs the NATO Double-Track Decision, which calls for the deployment of American midrange nuclear missiles in Europe to counter the Soviet Union's deployment of their own midrange missiles. The decision leads to massive increases in membership in the peace movement.
Several social groups and citizens' initiatives band together in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe to form the Green Party. In 1985, the Greens become part of a ruling coalition at the state level for the first time when they join forces with the Social Democrats (SPD) in the parliament of Hesse.
A vote of no confidence forces Helmut Schmidt to step down as chancellor. He is replaced by Helmut Kohl.
A massive explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine releases massive amounts of radioactivity into the environment, causing a wave of panic in Germany. Winds carry radioactivity west all the way to Germany and beyond.
Hundreds of East German citizens demonstrate in Leipzig against state-imposed travel restrictions. The protests lead to the so-called "Monday demonstrations," a series of non-violent protests against the East German government held on Monday evenings. The protests attract tens of thousands of people and ultimately lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
To the surprise of all, East German officials announce that there will no longer be restrictions on border crossings. That night, thousands of celebrating East Germans pour into West Berlin, and vice versa.
The first free elections are held in the People's Chamber, or parliament, of East Germany. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wins almost 41 percent of the vote.
The five states of the German Democratic Republic are officially joined with the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany is reunified. Before unification, however, both states reach an agreement on borders with Poland.
On Sept. 20, far-right extremists attack a hostel filled with foreign refugees, injuring 30. The attack is followed by a series of xenophobic attacks. In November 1992, three Turkish women die after their house is torched in Mölln, a town in the northwestern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. In May 1993, five men die in an arson attack in Solingen. Thousands demonstrate against the xenophobic acts.
The first coalition made up of the Social Democrats and the Greens on the national level is cobbled together. Gerhard Schröder (SPD) is chosen to become chancellor, and Joschka Fischer of the Greens becomes foreign minister. The coalition decides to deploy German military forces to Kosovo and to Afghanistan, and it secures the passage of a package of highly controversial social reforms known as the "Agenda 2010."
So long to Germany's traditional currency, the mark. Germany and 11 other EU member states introduce the euro as a new common currency.
A vote of no confidence forces Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to call for new elections. Following the vote in Sept. 2005, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) join forces to form the ruling grand coalition. Angela Merkel is chosen to become Germany's first female chancellor.
The global financial crisis hits Germany. The federal government is forced to rescue numerous banks from collapsing. Germany's economy falls into a deep recession.
Ferientermine
Bücher
Hörbuch-
Arztsuche
buch aktuell
Hotels
Partnersuche
